"Grurg"

A faint rumbling echoed from my stomach

'I guess I'm hungry'

"Sigh"

I opened up my leather pouch and pulled out a few pieces of jerky from the small pouch they had been placed inside of

I reached up and grabbed my mask and undid its strap freeing my mouth before placing it back in the leather satchel

I stuffed the jerky into my mouth and started chewing them as I stretched my body

I put my arm across my torso and pulled it towards me using the inside of my elbow to free up the shoulder joints

After swallowing all of the jerky I picked up the piece of rebar and pushed it against the door on the roof

I made sure it was being pushed hard against it and used it to open up the door revealing the blinding sunlight causing me to wince as my eyes took a minute to properly adjust to the new brightness that filled the room

When my eyes had adjusted I took a second to relax before I stood on the boxes I had used as a bed before I jumped up and grabbed the edge of the door way

I pulled myself up using the doorway before throwing my foot onto the surface making my climb up slightly easier

I threw my body over the ledge and laid on my back staring at the sky

After relaxing for a minute I sat up and looked around searching for any dangerous mutants that might be lurking around

Luckily it seemed like the entire depot was empty, for now at least

I slid forwards and turned my body around before lowering myself down until my feet touched the rocky ground

I stopped for a minute and took in a deep breath of the fresh air

I began walking off carefully watching my surroundings with my dagger back in hand instead of the rebar crutch I had before, I had left it inside the container as my leg was healed enough to not need it anymore

After making my way out of the depot I retraced my steps following the alleyways I had taken before trying to find a familiar path to get back to the base

After following my traces for a few blocks I found an area that I recognized

Making sure I was right I began walking towards the base hoping for an easy journey back

...

Leaving the extremely crowded alleys I came to an open area that seemed to have been flattened through unnatural means

In the completely open space there was a single building that stood tall and strong in the face of the elements

Parts of it had been replaced and fixed but it still looked as if it could endure almost any assaults with the right support

It was the base I had missed for so long

I walked across the open field carefully scanning the buildings and sky for any mutants that might try and attack me when I leave myself open

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I finally made it to the door and I knocked on it heavily

"Doof! Doof!"

"Shreaaa"

The slider opened revealing two pure green eyes

"Lucas! you're alive? You have no idea how sad and worried I've been"

"Yeah, haha. It's been a difficult day Micheal"

"It's great knowing you're ok"

"Thanks, can you let me in now? I'm kind of tired"

"Of course! Wait... Tell me something only the real Lucas would know"

"Your bitter because all your friends are married but your still single, is that enough of a secret?"

"Tch. I might just keep this door locked you ass"

"No please let me in! I'm sorry"

"Scheatt"

The slider closed but before I could apologize more I could hear the faint sounds of latches being undone so I waited patiently for Micheal to open the door for me

Before long the door finally opened and he let me in

"You shouldn't have come back at all"

"Haha, I know you missed me"

We made shots at each other as I went past him and into the base

I made my way through the corridors and straight to the dormitories to throw all the stuff I had been carrying in my room before getting something to eat

Walking into my room I searched through my pouch and pulled out the important pieces I had scavenged

Placing them down I put the pouch next to my bed before moving towards the right corner of my room

I pushed down on the tile diagonal from the corner one and turned it with difficulty before I slid it to the side revealing a small crevice that was about as big as a draw

The draw was filled with different parts and useful scrap

Ruffling through the different items at the very bottom sat a pure black crystal about as big as half a fist wrapped in a cloth, next to it was the see through vial filled with a yellow liquid I hadn't brought with me

'Phew. Looks like everything's here'

After making sure everything was still in my secret stash I moved back to my bed and grabbed my new part

Placing it gently into the draw I grabbed the edge of the tile and dragged it back over the items before turning it to the right so it lined up with the other tiles, hiding it from others view again

After making sure it was completely hidden I stood up and walked out of the room heading towards the cafeteria

It had been far too long since I had a proper meal

As I walked into the cafeteria I noticed it was much more crowded than yesterday but that wouldn't be too big of a problem

I stood in line and waited for my turn

When I finally got to the front I met Debbie

"Hey Debbie, how've you been?"

"Lucas! Where have you been? I didn't see you at all yesterday, you know young people need to eat everyday to grow big and strong right?"

Before I knew it Debbie was bombarding me with question after question stopping me from answering anyone of them

"I-I'm okay, really. I just had something else really important to do"

I didn't want her to worry, she was like a mother to many, she always checked up on me to make sure I was okay and worried about me

It was nice having a mother figure around and checking up on me every now and then like a real parent. Something most people at the base didn't have

It was common to have only one parent after all, the others usually had none but a very small few still had both, it was most likely if they both had tasked inside the safe areas of the base like the farms

At least a half of the people at the base had combat orientated mutations though, this caused a large turn over as not all expeditions ended well

After I received my food I took it and went to a empty table so I could enjoy the food in piece, Debbie had thrown on some extra food out of concern for me

I picked up my knife and fork and started tearing apart the chicken leaving the half covered plate of vegetables for last, after all the meat would fill me much more than a bunch of greens

After a few minutes of scarfing down my food I was left with an empty plate in front of me

"Ahhh. Now that hit the spot"

I felt refreshed after finally being filled to the brim with food

I sat there digesting my food for a good couple of minutes while I thought about what I had been through the last couple days

"It's truly been hectic, will everything go back to normal now?"

'Normal... Everything will go back to normal?'

My thoughts seemed wrong. I was almost disturbed by what I was saying to myself

'Do I want things to go back to normal? Did I like the excitement of almost dying?'

I couldn't believe my own thoughts

Did I actually enjoy that rush of almost dying

'Was my struggle for survival actually enjoyable and fun?'

The longer I thought the more twisted and insane the ideas became, I was slowly losing it and I myself knew it

I quickly got up and carried my tray over to the door and slid it down the ramp, it probably went off to get washed for reuse

Unlike last time I had actually followed procedure

'Leaving the tray at my table would've been easier'

My words were almost like a sweet whisper that only I could hear

"Haha. Charlottes a bad influence on me"

I froze

'Did I just... When did I?'

I reached upwards and used my fingers to feel the small smile that was now playing on my lips

'I'm smiling. charlotte made me this... Happy?'