At the camp.

Olivia and Alicia diligently tended to the household chores, their hands moving rhythmically as they swept and scrubbed. They passed the time while chatting and gossiping about many things, recently the hot topic around the house, mainly related to Fletcher’s recent shenanigans.

"I don't know what he's been up to, but from the way he looked yesterday, it wasn’t anything good" Alicia stopped midway cleaning the plates and told Olivia in a serious tone of voice.

"He must've killed some innocent people again, I hope someone stops him soon" Olivia recalled the bloody figure holding an unconscious woman on his shoulders, walking through the doors a couple of days ago.

"Did you see the woman he brought with him?, she's been locked in that room, poor thing, I don't wanna know what that creep is doing to her?" Alicia said with genuine concern.

"Do you think we should try to help her?" Olivia responded immediately, she shared Alicia’s concerns and felt sympathy for another woman, the thought of helping her crossed her mind many times, she just needed some support, if Alicia is willing to lend a hand, she would do it beyond a doubt.

"Olivia, are you crazy, what can we do? Our situation isn't any better" Alicia quickly put that idea to rest, she knew how reckless Olivia could be sometimes, and the last thing she wanted was to encourage her.

"Wait I'll go ask my brother about her, he is the only one allowed upstairs" Olivia remembered the fact that her brother got to meet the prisoner face to face, she might be able to pry something out of him, even though she noticed Ray was distant and a little off since the hotel incident.

"Don't! You could put your brother in trouble, and to be honest, your brother seems awfully close to that creep" Alicia cautioned Olivia, while also trying to raise her attention toward how Ray has been behaving recently, it seemed everyone could see it other than Olivia.

"No way, my brother is just doing what he can to protect us" Olivia said dismissingly, but deep down she was concerned.

"Whatever you say" Alicia replied in frustration.

Right then someone rushed inside the kitchen.

"Hey, you too! Do you know anything about the woman upstairs?" Stacey asked clearly agitated about something.

Getting no response.

"Why am I even bothering, you bums don't know shit" Stacey said viciously and stormed out of the kitchen.

"Look at her fidgeting around; she has been like this ever since the creep brought that woman” Alicia said sneeringly, she couldn’t help but enjoy seeing Stacey suffer some humiliation.

"She must be afraid of being replaced already" Olivia didn’t shy away either and joined in the bashing.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

***

Binna had been locked up in this room for the past two days, only allowed a few sips of water from time to time, when she first opened her eyes, it took her a while to readjust herself, because for a split second, she thought the worst day in her life, to have been nothing but a nightmare, and that she was finally awake, away from the clutches of that terrifying monster.

Alas, she had a reality check, when she felt the uncomfortable tightness around her body, the stinging pain radiating from the bruises on her skin; all brought her back to her senses.

She darted her eyes around the unfamiliar room and tried to look for something anything, the fear of the unknown was unbelievably taxing on her mind, the images of her dead teammates, and the face of their killer staring at her with those lifeless eyes, played continuously in her fragile mind.

The only person she saw after being imprisoned, was a fair face young man, his innocent facial features, which lowered the guard of anyone, were like a light breeze blowing on her injured body and mind, she felt safety and comfort in the presence of that young man, and those rare and fleeting moments when he visited, gave her a hopeful outlook on her situation.

Binna tried to converse with the young man, but whenever she did, he would ignore her by remaining silent, frustrated she even threatened him, trying to fish out a response out of his lips, but his discipline and calm demeanor surprised her, eventually, she relented and just appreciated his gentle touch and conduct.

Fletcher kept a close eye on the prisoner, waiting for the right moment to conduct a thorough questioning, after all, he didn’t know why a bunch of awakened, ended up in his backyard, that is why he chose to give the prisoner some much-needed time, to settle in and calm her turbulent emotions, if he were to question her right away, there would be a high risk of her mind breaking.

***

After two days, it was finally time to get some answers, Fletcher calmly entered the room, looking at his clean and fresh look, gave the impression of a completely normal person, nothing like the blood-covered crazy maniac, from that horrifying massacre.

Binna briefly looked in bewilderment, it took her a few seconds to recognize the man standing in front of her, the shock of seeing him, made her body shake uncontrollably, such a strong physical reaction, represented the amount of dread engulfing her mind at the moment.

“Aww, what do we have here? don’t be like that, you’re hurting my pride as a man, Am I that scary-looking?” Fletcher put on a fake display of concern; his acting skills would trick a seasoned judge.

“…” Binna remained silent, unable to respond to his bold and bizarre behavior.

“Alright, I’ll keep this as short as possible, tell me everything I need to know, and everything will be over soon” Fletcher all of a sudden, changed the tone of his voice, and asked with a serious face.

“…” Binna kept on giving Fletcher the silent treatment, part of it was out of her resentment, but also not knowing how to react in such a baffling situation.

“You should know one thing about me, I don’t like to repeat myself, so are you going to cooperate willingly or not?” Fletcher said impatiently and emphasized the last word.

Binna scared by the explicit threat of violence, nodded her head.

“Ok tell me everything” Fletcher grabbed a chair and sat down.

The questioning was easier than Fletcher had anticipated, He was surprised to hear about many things, and he also realized how close-minded he was, confining himself in the outskirts, while the real big dogs thrived elsewhere.

‘I need to visit one of those bases in the near future; it sounds like a lot of fun’ The thought of a place full of awakened is very alluring, and one that Fletcher intends to fulfill as soon as possible.