The inside was basically an apartment. It was clean and well-lit, the ceiling was painted white and the walls were sky blue. There were doors leading to a bathroom and two other rooms, but the largest space that they saw upon entering had a kitchen and possibly a counter. However, it was removed along with any furniture that made it feel like someone’s home.
Instead, there was a wooden desk with chairs, a table next to it and a whiteboard behind it. Ignoring how the windows were completely barricaded, the place had been redecorated to look like an ordinary office. Sitting at the desk was a chubby man that had a friendly-looking round face. His frizzy black hair had grown into a small afro on top of his head.
He was in his early forties and was wearing a red shirt that had a black grid pattern on it. His dark skin was carved by wrinkles, due partly to his age and mostly stress. His hands were moving nimbly, going from the laptop on his right to the documents set before him. His dark brown eyes darted about, analyzing the information in his possession. When he finally noticed the intruders, he adjusted his round glasses and looked at the black-haired woman.
“Carmen, you’re back.” [???]
He said after exhaling in relief.
“Of course we’re back. You worry too much, Omari.” [Carmen]
“That’s because it’s my job. Literally. Anyhow… Was the run successful?” [Omari]
“Yep, we brought back food, duct tapes, nails, batteries and more.” [Carmen]
“Anything fresh? Like eggs.” [Omari]
“No, we didn’t go to the zoo. Stop asking me that.” [Carmen]
“Sorry, sorry. Haaah, I miss eggs for breakfast. So… Who’s this?” [Omari]
The man, Omari, asked as he turned his eyes to Ryner and Jessica, who were surrounded by Carmen’s team.
“Stragglers.” [Carmen]
Carmen said as she also stared at them.
“You sure?” [Omari]
“Positive. My trigger finger didn’t itch.” [Carmen]
“Well, if you say they’re not guests, then I’ll believe you.” [Omari]
Omari stood up from his desk, showing his round body and the rest of his outfit. He wore black trousers that, just like his shirt, were clean and immaculate. His brown leather shoes moved swiftly on the black carpet covering the floor, taking him towards the two newcomers.
“We won’t turn away those with Carmen’s seal of approval. Welcome to the Alpha Condominium on 10th Caravans Prototype Street. It’s long, so we sometimes go by Caravans.” [Omari]
He said amicably.
“I’m Omari. Omari Adebayo, and I basically work as the manager of this place.” [Omari]
“Leader, you mean.” [Carmen]
Carmen butted in from the side, causing her leader to sigh and stare at her tiredly.
“Only because you forced it on me. Anyway, this is Carmen, full name Carmelita Ramirez. She’s the chief of our security force.” [Omari]
“What’s up?” [Carmelita]
The woman, Carmelita, jerked her chin and greeted the duo nonchalantly. Her black hair was cut short, her sharp eyes were green and her rather attractive face that lacked excess fat showed a strong will. She wore a white T-shirt and khaki green pants as well as a pair of brown running shoes. On her back was a black backpack and in her hands was an assault rifle.
She possessed womanly proportions and a well-trained physique which was evident from the thick arms that were in full display. Moreover, although she was in her early forties like Omari, her lightly tanned skin did not have prominent wrinkles, a testament to the youthful energy her body still carried and the lack of stress that could cause a stomachache.
“The ones escorting you are part of her team and… Wait a minute. Did all of you get inspected after returning?” [Omari]
When Omari tried to introduce everyone else, his smile fell and he inquired slightly nervously.
“You know we’ll say it if we got bitten.” [Carmelita]
“Come on, Carmen! It’s procedure! We all agreed to follow procedure!” [Omari]
“Ugh, such a stickler for the rules. Fiiine. Let’s go, people.” [Carmelita]
The black-haired woman rolled her eyes and ordered her team to leave the room.
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“Not just them, you need to get checked out too.” [Omari]
“YOU need someone here just in case.” [Carmelita]
The glasses-wearing man tried to complain, but it fell on deaf ears. So, having given up, he returned his focus to the two stragglers as the other three people left.
“I guess, while the rest is off to take care of business that EVERYONE is neglecting… Could you tell me your names?” [Omari]
“Ryner.” [Ryner]
“He’s Danish.” [Carmelita]
“I-I’m Jessica.” [Jessica]
“She’s Milk and Butter.” [Carmelita]
“… Whut?” [Omari]
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Ryner and Jessica sat down in front of Omari’s desk while Carmelita stood to his right. She tried to sit on the table, but there were documents on it and her leader had begged her not to mess up his workplace. They had explained to him how they had met and the events that led them to arriving to his doorstep.
“.. Danish? As in the pastry?” [Omari]
It was the first thing the leader of Caravans asked after quietly listening.
“Yeah. You never ate one before?” [Ryner]
Ryner answered and threw his own question at him.
“… Why is she Milk and Butter?” [Omari]
“You don’t eat your Danish with milk and butter?” [Ryner]
“… Uhh, okay? And why did you introduce yourself as the Great Danish?” [Omari]
“Because I read Shakespeare and the main character in one of his plays was the Great Danish.” [Ryner]
“… You mean the Great Dane?” [Omari]
“Ohhh yeah, that’s right! I wonder if they eat Danish pastries where he’s from?” [Ryner]
“Oh my god, I, I just, I just can’t…” [Omari]
Omari stammered, sounding fed-up and rubbed his eyes with his hands.
“Yeah, I wanted to shoot him in the face too.” [Carmelita]
Carmelita chuckled and added from the side.
“Speaking of which, thanks for talking it out with me instead of starting a gunfight.” [Ryner]
Ryner thanked her to which the chief of security raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t mention it, but it was honestly dumb of you to act like a clown at gunpoint.” [Carmelita]
“Meh, you gave a good first impression, so I had a feeling it’d be fine and I was right after talking to you for a bit. You’ve got enough integrity to not shoot a clown in the face.” [Ryner]
“So you trusted your intuition too.” [Carmelita]
“That and I had two loaded guns, there were only four of you and everyone was in front of me.” [Ryner]
“… Oh? Claiming you can kill my entire team before I drop you?” [Carmelita]
“Well, I’m REALLY good at quick drawing contests.” [Ryner]
“Ha! You cocky devil!” [Carmelita]
Carmelita laughed, looking amused, though her grin was rather carnivorous and she was still holding onto her rifle.
“Now, now, we’ve met some decent folks that don’t resort to killing right away, so let’s not fight.” [Omari]
Omari, fearing that a battle would break out, nervously interrupted and brought the conversation back on track.
“As you may have guessed, we’re a moderate-sized group of survivors and we’re doing pretty well.” [Omari]
“Can I ask how many?” [Ryner]
“59. With you two, it’ll be 61. That’ll mean more mouths to feed, but we could always use some extra hands to help around the place. There’s plenty of room in the Caravans, so if you want to join, then you’re more than welcome. How about it?” [Omari]
Ryner blinked his eyes twice at the offer, then turned his head towards Jessica, who was nervously listening in silence. Upon doing so, everyone focused their gaze on her. Suddenly becoming the center of attention caused the young woman to squirm like a small animal.
“Um, it’s my first time seeing so many people in two months, so, uh, I’d like… To try…” [Jessica]
“Right away! One trial period for the lovely lad-ouch!” [Omari]
The leader of the group of survivors answered enthusiastically. He had a beaming smile on his face to show that he was friendly. Sadly, he couldn’t resist his male instincts and his eyes drifted to her chest that was generally exposed. Thankfully, Carmelita quickly reeled him back, though it was through the violent method of hitting his head with the stock of her rifle.
“Ahem! Sorry. Um, since the two of you will be staying with us, I’d like to formally register you.” [Omari]
“Register? Like for a subscription?” [Ryner]
“That’s how Omari is. Just roll with it.” [Carmelita]
“Hey, Carmen, I keep telling you it’s important to have everything properly documented! It’s like military protocol!” [Omari]
“Screw military protocol. Dishonorably discharged, remember?” [Carmelita]
“What, the, that, gah! Ryner! Keeping track of how much food is consumed, how much resources we have left is vital in our situation, especially so the larger the group. Please understand the need to know who our members are, what they can do and where they’re assigned.” [Omari]
Omari, having chosen to ignore Carmelita, explained to a skeptic Ryner before placing his laptop in front of him and typing on the keyboard.
“Now, just answer a few simple questions. First off, what are your full names?” [Omari]
“Full name?” [Ryner]
“Yeah, your last name. Ryner what?” [Omari]
At that, Ryner froze. His laidback, sleepy look was gone. He blinked his eyes of different colors, seemingly at a loss for words.
“… Caaan you tell me?” [Omari]
He was prompted again to which he couldn’t answer.
“What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?” [Carmelita]
“Uhhh…” [Ryner]
Carmelita said jokingly, but was surprised to see him speechless over such a simple question when he could mess around in front of the barrel of a gun.
“Right, with all that’s happened, I forgot to come up with a family name.” [Ryner]
Ryner said while scratching his head.
“Come, come up with one?” [Omari]
“You know how it is. Not everyone has a family name. I don’t. It’s been a long time since I needed one.” [Ryner]
Omari and Carmelita looked at each other, puzzled and intuitively feeling that they had touched a sensitive subject for the black-haired man. As the mood in the room turned delicate, Jessica spoke up.
“Doe.” [Jessica]
She said.
“Every kid in the orphanage took the name ‘Doe’, so my full name is Jessica Doe.” [Jessica]
She declared before turning her kind eyes towards Ryner.
“It honestly didn’t do much, just made paperwork easier. So, I don’t think you need to worry about it too deeply. In fact, you can use ‘Doe’ too if you want.” [Jessica]
She told her companion who, for a moment, resembled a lost child. He, in turn, looked surprised for a second by the way she warmly gazed at him, but regained his cool.
“True. There’s no need to worry. I was just taken by surprise. You tend to forget things when you get older. This is one of those things.” [Ryner]
He said, which sounded a lot like excuses.
“Now that I think about it, there was a name that I often used in the past for cases like this. We can go with that.” [Ryner]
“… Um, okay. What is it?” [Omari]
Omari asked a bit hesitantly.
“Fragment.” [Ryner]
Ryner calmly answered.
“It’ll do for this time.” [Ryner]
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Item of interest
Laptop:
* Wonderful piece of technology.
* Can be bashed on someone’s head.
* Omari keeps information on groups of survivors on it.