Before I knew it Charlotte had thrown all my stuff onto the floor and had pounced onto me hugging me close

I could faintly feel the heavenly peaks through her shit horrifying me

'Calm down! Calm fucking down!'

"I was so worried you motherfucking bastard!"

I raised my hand and rested it on her head

"I-It's ok, don't worry"

"I will always worry when you come back like this!"

It hurt. I scared her so bad and I can't do anything to prevent her from being so scared. Not now and not in the future

'You will always be a a worthless, weak man'

"I can't take it anymore Lucas"

"W-what do you mean?"

"You're gonna come with me from now on. I'll protect you no matter what. So please just, let me keep you safe"

Her quiet voice broke through the silence as she remained buried in my stomach staining my white patient outfit with tears and snot that seemed like it would never end at this rate

"O-ok, I'll follow you. Please take good care of me"

"Of course"

Even after agreeing she didn't move, she didn't back away

Just as I was about to say something I heard a soft rhythmic snoring coming from her

It caused my heart to go into turmoil

My thoughts slowed and a smile adorned my face uncontrollably

As I played with her hair I remembered all the good times we had shared together and my heart began to fill up with a warm longing for more time with her

I leant back against the wall and began to imagine the future

'Two kids sounds perfect right? I wonder how many kids she would want to have though?'

That was how I spent the rest of my time in the medical branch before I was kicked out for being in good enough health

...

Strolling into my room I threw my satchel onto my bed and patted down my clothes

They felt crusty and stiff as they had been drenched in days of sweat, plant liquids and mud that I had probably fallen into when I passed out

'Maybe it's finally time I took that shower?'

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The last shower I remember taking was well over five days ago

Lifting my arm I quickly smelt myself

"Gurrg"

I smelt like shit

'A shower it is'

I immediately felt motivated to wash myself off to make sure this smell would disappear

Lifting my bed I pulled out a grey shirt with more holes in it than the one I was currently wearing, I also grabbed a pair of long black cargo pants that had been repaired many times

After grabbing them I pulled out a zip up hoodie and a large absorbent cloth twice the size of me. A makeshift towel to dry myself off afterwards

Grabbing everything I needed I walked out of my room and headed for the showers

Coming out of the dormitory section I walked past the cafeteria and headed deeper into the base

As I walked I passed by a large metal gate that was imbedded in the wall

It was as thick as an entire arm and had rusted spots across it making it a gradient of black and copper brown that contained all the colours in between

This was the second 'wall' it was made incase the outside defenses were breached so everyone could escape into a safe place

Luckily the last time the defenses were breached was well over five years ago. The longest this base has ever gone without one

After walking for a bit more I found myself in front of a wooden desk with a door behind the man who sat at it

He looked up from his thick book and carefully scrutinized me for a few minutes before his languid voice left his cracked lips

"Its been awhile twerp. Thought you died by now"

"That's too much old man Hugo, I thought you of all people enjoyed seeing me"

"Stop deluding yourself, there's probably only eight people who would be happy to see you return everyday"

"Really? Can you tell me who they are?"

Hugo was a special enhancer, unlike most he only has enhanced memory meaning he remembers everything even if only seen or heard for a second, one of his jobs were to make sure there wasn't anyone who showered more than once every two days to save water, it was also a great way to keep track of who's still alive

But that wasn't what made him so important, he had a wide net of information and could find out about everything going on in a matter of minutes

If anything happened in this base Hugo would be one of the first to hear about I, no matter what it was

"Of course, that'll be three middle grade scrap"

"What? Why's that so expensive?"

"someone else paid to keep some things secret"

'Who would pay two middle grade scrap to keep a secret? What is important enough for that cost?'

Amazed at the wealth of others I was momentarily stunned

"Are you going to have a shower or what?"

"Huh? oh. Ah, yes"

turning away from me he continued to read the thick book in his hands, he read it again and again even though he had already memorized it the first time

Overcome with curiosity I just had to ask

"Why do you read that so much?"

He paused trying to find the right answer

A bitter smile spread across his face as an ocean of sorrow appeared behind his brown eyes

"For hope. I need to remind myself to hope"

I couldn't respond, his answer was so sad that it even left me feeling empty

He remembered every moment of his life

Every powerless moment, every moment he would regret and moments that should have been locked away to preserve his sanity

'Such a poor man. Cursed to remember it all'

I left and went into the shower

I walked away leaving the old man to resume his reading of the old, worn out and faded bible, the book that gave the man enough strength to hope for a brighter tomorrow

Walking down the tiled hallway I found myself with two doors, on my left were the men's showers and the female bathroom on the right

I chose the left door without hesitation coming into a large locker room were one could place there stuff for when they wanted to get dressed after showering

Choosing an empty shelf I placed all my stuff onto it only keeping my towel on me

With my towel wrapped around my waist and all my clothes left on the shelf I walked down past the different cubicles filled with splashes and rising steam until I found one that was empty

Luckily there was enough empty one's as the entire bathroom held a little over a hundred different showers for people to use

It was good not having to wait most of the time when you wanted to shower

Walking into the cubicle I locked the door behind me and threw the towel onto the small hook before turning the water on

The hot water burnt my skin and relaxed my body

For the first time in a long time I genuinely relaxed without worrying for my surroundings