Crucify My Love - Chapter 2
His mother’s dead eyes, the sound of his father’s ribs being chewed on like toothpicks. Not even a viral could reanimate after a gouge like that, he couldn’t run out of the house fast enough. His mother was behind him and the door was locked, he didn’t know why he’d have to choose between dying or becoming viral but it felt like his skin was being pulled off.
“Hey. Hey, kid. You comin’ to?” A cold washcloth was on his head, it was only itchy linen scratching at his skin. “He’s shaking.” It was a younger man’s voice.
Ray jumped at the sounds and swatted the thing on his forehead away. “D-Don’t touch me!” He snapped and almost started crying. Ray covered his eyes, pressing his palms against his face as he trembled.
“It’s okay, we’re not gonna hurt you. Promise.” The voice was brighter than what Ray wanted to hear in this situation.
He shook and finally pulled his hands away when he could get a breath in, the voice at least sounded sincere. “W-Where are my glasses?” He asked as he looked at the blurry faces.
“Here, sorry.” The other boy put Ray’s glasses in his hand. “My name’s Caleb. I watch over the injured ones here, this is Gus. He’s one of the combat leaders, right hand… You’re safe here.” Caleb put Ray’s glasses on him gently when he was too shocked to move his hands. “What’s your name, lad?”
Ray looked at Caleb and sighed. “I-I’m Ray. I don’t know how to do anything.” He half laughed and sat up, feeling woozy at the motion. “I’m okay. I just need something to eat and drink.” He rubbed the back of his sore neck. “W-Who was the man who saved me?” Ray asked softly, rubbing at his sore knee.
“Careful, you had some nasty blood clotting.” Caleb placed a bag of ice over Ray’s knee. “Ray, huh? Nice to meet you. I wish it were in better circumstances.” He smiled sadly as he checked Ray’s blood pressure. “The guy who saved you? Yeah, some hero those soldiers were. Ryan got there in the nick of time. He always does.” Caleb checked the boy’s forehead temperature too. “You’re not infected, Ray. Do you have family, a home you need to return to?”
Ray choked up and looked down at the floor. “N-No… I came home to my dad laying on the table and my mom w-was... over him, arm in her mouth, he bled out. His ribs were thrown around the kitchen and she wasn’t… She wasn’t my mom, I ran.” Ray mumbled and shivered at the thought. “H-His name is Ryan? I-I wanna thank him… Those soldiers did a number on me. They didn’t help me at all.” He sighed and rubbed his eyes under his glasses.
“Just take it easy. Ryan’s been tracking that pack of virals for weeks, for some reason they seem to be congregating in certain areas. I don’t know when he’ll be back at camp.” Caleb carefully pushed Ray’s shoulder back to the linen cot. “I-I’m so sorry about your parents, you’re still in shock.”
It was only then that Ray was able to look around, metal walls, beige tarps and fucking boxes of guns sitting towards the thick open door. The doors had wheels on them like some kind of fucking vault. There were at least five other unconscious people passed out on cots, one was even strapped down but none were making noise.
“Hey, I promise you’ll be alright,” Caleb brought his attention back. “It’s a bunker, we’re underground. Mile a dirt above our heads. We can’t let you go back out there if you don’t have a home… Gus, grab him some water and a can of food, will ya?”
Ray sighed and relaxed back on the cot the best he could while Gus retrieved some supplies. “Yeah… It’s okay. I probably should’ve just let my mom kill me, then I wouldn’t have to worry about any of this…” He suddenly felt sick to his stomach and his appetite dwindled. Everything was too surreal, he was praying for it to just be a bad dream. He closed his eyes and held back the bile that was building in the back of his throat. “I’m not hungry anymore. I’ll just take the water.”
Gus huffed slightly and handed Caleb the bottle of water. “Here. Deep breaths. It’s hard when you encounter this kinda stuff for the first time…” Gus said softly and touched the boy’s head. “Have some water and go back to sleep, it’ll help.”
Caleb smiled encouragingly and nodded. Caleb had to be one of the most important people in the renegade crew, Ryan knew he could work magic with bandages but he was the only one who could make people feel optimistic again. “I can spare you a couple more painkillers if your knee hurts, leave it elevated… Gus, Ryan should know the kid’s not infected. Do you know where he took the first squad?”
The boy laid a blanket over Ray and got off the side of his cot, talking with Gus more privately by the wall of the infirmary. “Ray needs to be permitted to stay with us, Ryan doesn’t know his home’s lost,” Caleb continued.
Ray pulled the blanket over his face, trembling slightly. How could the world have gone to shit so fast? How could his life be fucked up this bad? He had no one left.
Gus nodded and ran his fingers through his hair. "I know. I'll radio him and talk to him about it. He'll probably be back tonight..." Gus said as he glanced over at the boy. "I feel so bad for him. I'm sure Ryan will want to let him stay. He can be another runner maybe."
"Not before that leg heals," Caleb retorted. "He looks as young as me, go try the radios. It's almost sunrise, make sure Ryan gets back here before he bites off more than he can chew." More people were ending up in the infirmary these days. Caleb could work magic but not miracles.
Gus nodded and looked at Caleb. "See if you can talk to him. I'm gonna try to radio Ryan." Gus said as he turned to leave for the radio room.
Ray looked at Caleb when the boy walked back over. "Hey..." He mumbled as he ran his fingers through his hair. "My head hurts..."
“You hit it on the asphalt,” Caleb looked at the padded bandage on Ray’s temple. “I was afraid you’d have a concussion, try not to move too much, okay? Can you tell me what you remember happening tonight?” He sat on the seat beside Ray’s cot and looked at him kindly. “What were you doing out there?”
Ray sighed softly and looked away Caleb. "My mom was chasing me. A-And I heard howls so I ran. I had nothing on me." He mumbled. "I ran into the soldiers and they beat the shit outta me, then someone picked me up and saved me from the virals." He shrugged shakily and tipped his head back. "Fuck, I should've let my mom kill me instead. Then at least I wouldn't watch everything burn."
Caleb gently squeezed Ray's arm, giving him a stern look. "What the military doesn't want us to know is that we're running out of survivors, Ray. Another friendly face to see is all I can hope for in a day, and to hope not see those faces die. You can't lose to this war. That's why Ryan saved you." He idly cleaned out Ray's bandages and applied new cold compresses to his knee. "The swelling's going down... I know you're still in shock, but don't give up. You've lost immensely but you haven't lost everything."
Ray snorted under his breath and looked at Caleb. "It certainly seems like I've lost everything... So how did you end up here. Tell me about you." He half demanded as he let Caleb tend to his wounds, and amend the compress to his knee. "Thank you..."
“You haven’t lost your life… A lot of people wish that, I know,” he replied in a gentle voice. “I’ve been a part of this ever since it started, I suppose. I used to work at a hospital when the virus spread. Ryan used to be one of my patients, preached to me about how the world was ending. His renegade was the only thing that would save us. I thought he was fucking crazy.” Caleb laughed. “But I ended up believing him… Went with him at the start of this war.”
Ray looked at Caleb and smiled a little. "So Ryan is like the mastermind of this place? What can you tell me about him?" He asked softly. "I mean... If you want to! What was he your patient for?" He asked and laid down on his side so he could look at Caleb.
“You can say that, he’s the real vigilante around here.” Caleb grinned. “He’s trying to make a force that can actually win this… end the virus. Easier said than done. He’s already herded a number of talented scientists. All I know is that he can be crazy. There’s never something he can’t or won’t do.” He rested his chin in his hand. “I first met him in the hospital for a collapsed lung and broken clavicle, almost punctured one of his major blood vessels. Psycho walked out of the hospital. I don’t know how the hell he got that… The virus has always been the center of Ryan’s focus, I don’t know why.”
"So he came in with a lot of broken bones and shit? Wow..." Ray mumbled and smiled. "You're cute when you talk about Ryan. Your eyes light up." He giggled and reached out to hold Caleb's hand. "So what's gonna be happening with me? What am I gonna do here?"
“Ryan’s the reason a lot of us are alive,” Caleb replied. “No one’s going to throw you on the streets after what happened, you’ll stay here. We’ll find some safety for you… We often have to move around. It’s a lot of work, exercise, we have to look out for each other. I’m terrible at combat, but even I have to train with the others.” He stopped talking when Gus came back into the infirmary.
“Ryan’s back. Wouldn’t even take the damned radio call,” he mumbled sourly.
“Enough bellyaching!” A man yelled out from down the hall of the bunker, his thick boots resonating against the mesh iron floor. “I was already on my way back when you sent for me.”
“Caleb, he’s hurt.”
Ryan slumped down in the center chair of the lobby headquarters, glaring at Gus in the doorway and not going into the infirmary. “It’s a flesh wound, it’ll be fine.” He started looking through the map laid on the table in front of him, marking down where the virals were spawning. He cursed when blood from his arm stained the yellow paper.
All the women in the refugee rooms had their faces turned to the window, looking into the headquarters where Ryan was wiping the sweat off his forehead.
Ray looked at Caleb who stood and ran into the headquarters. "Ryan! Get into the infirmary, now. I can't help you out here." He hissed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're ridiculous." He grabbed the man's arm. "Remember him? His name’s Ray."
One of the women was standing by the door was smiling at Ryan when he walked past. "Ryan! Did you find anything?" She wanted to get him alone, draw his eyes just for a glance. His muscles were covered in dirt and sweat and the women could've thrown herself at him.
Ray could hear them from his bed and suddenly felt nervous about thanking the man.
“It’s getting worse out there. Gus, tell me at least that our researchers are getting somewhere? We brought back samples for them to study.” Ryan sat down on the cot nearest Ray, more like Caleb pushed him into sitting.
Caleb started probing at the thick gash in Ryan’s left arm, it was still bleeding. “Jesus, what did you get yourself into this time?”
Ryan ignored him, his busy eyes falling to Ray and over his messy dark hair, smudged glasses and feeble frame. Ray had never felt more fucking self conscious than under Ryan’s gaze. “You, you’re the boy from nightfall.” Ray saw a brief look of relief on the man’s face. “I almost fucking killed those cops for what I saw them do, are you alright? Caleb, he’s alright?”
“No virus, he’ll be okay. He doesn’t have a place to go though, Ry.”
“Then he’ll stay here,” Ryan said before Ray could even get a word in.
Ray smiled and looked back at Ryan. "T-Thank you. I appreciate it." His face was a little red as he looked over the man's jaw line and well-built frame. He was slightly mesmerized by how firm he looked, sweaty, dirty, messy hair. Ray had to tear his eyes away.
Caleb poured some alcohol onto a gauze pad and held it over the gash on Ryan's arm. "Ryan, seriously you need to be more careful!" He murmured as he pushed the man back to clean and dress the wound.
Ryan frowned while Caleb fawned over his arm. “I said it’s nothing! We needed to get close enough to get samples.” He propped himself up on his side, facing Ray and messing up Caleb’s bandaging. “Glad we got to you in time, the virals are starting to collect in this town. You were in the middle of it. Family?” he asked simply.
Caleb hit Ryan's shoulder and sighed, changing the bandage. "I'm gonna need more medical supplies, Ryan... I'm running out of bandages and antiseptic."
Ray looked away from Ryan and shook his head. "I came home from college and my mom was… picking my dad’s meat outta her teeth, eating him." Ray sighed softly and chewed his bottom lip. "So I don't have any family anymore.”
“I’m sorry.” Ryan looked up at the ceiling, Ray could see his jaw clench. “Wish we would’ve been there sooner… That’s a horrible fate.” He tugged his arm away from Caleb when it was sealed. “We can loot one of the hospitals today. Always good to make sure the dead people in there are actually dead.”
Caleb sighed softly and looked at Ryan. "Why don't you have a couple other runners do it? I want you to stay here and let your wounds heal. Lemme see the one on your thigh. Stand up and drop your pants. I can see the blood soaking through your jeans..."
Ray glanced between Caleb and Ryan. "It's okay... I think you or one of the soldiers killed my mom. At least she's not suffering anymore..." He said softly. "Thanks for letting me stay here. I'll be of some help."
“You just want to get me out of my pants, Caleb.” Ryan stood up, facing Ray as he unzipped his jeans and unbuckled his thick belt. “One of them scratched my leg. It doesn’t hurt.” He pulled down his dark jeans, the three scratch marks needed stitches. “It was my fault, I fucked up for a split second.” He sat back down in his boxer briefs, still looking over the scruffy, dark haired boy in the other cot. “I’m sorry. That this happened… We’re not going to lose this though.”
Caleb sighed heavily as he cleaned Ryan's thigh. "Seriously Ryan! You're not going anywhere until these stitches heal." He growled and looked at the man. "I understand you feel like you need to be the big strong man, but seriously! You're not leaving this room, I'll strap you down if I have to. And no pants till I redo the stitches!"
“Gonna sew me up? You’re so good at sewing.” Ryan scoffed.
Ray chuckled and smiled softly. "I would listen to Caleb. That looks awful." He removed his gaze from Ryan. Ryan's stare was making him feel uncomfortable, he didn't even look away when he undid his pants. He felt unusually hot.
A woman came to hang by the infirmary doorway, dressed in some dirty clothes. “Oh god, Ryan! Do you need anything? I can get you some water, or play nurse,” she jested lightly.
Caleb awkwardly rubbed the back of his head as he started to relace Ryan’s stitches with a needle. The refugee girls constantly tried to get close to Ryan, Ryan was never backhanded to them but he never reciprocated the like of attention.
“I’m fine, thanks, miss.” Ryan ran his fingers through his hair when another woman came up from behind the dejected one.
“You’re covered in sweat and grime, Ryan! Let me.” She came into the compartment and sat beside Ryan’s cot, using a damp towel to clean his face.
Caleb sighed loudly and glared at the woman. "Excuse me, could you leave ‘til I'm done? I don't want him to move and stab him with a needle." Caleb was getting a little bitter about the flocking girls.
Ray chuckled as he watched the women scoff and leave the infirmary. "I'll clean him up after. Is this a usual thing? Women throwing themselves at Ryan?" Ray asked as he sat up slightly. "You're thigh looks so bad. You can be my cot buddy and keep me company." He chuckled and smiled softly.
“Good luck getting him to sit in one place,” Caleb added, tone still bitter.
Ryan half laughed and leaned back with his arms behind his head. “Not really.”
“Yes really. They’re always crowding him whenever he’s in the bunker!”
“I don’t see it. Where’s Gus? I’ll get him to send some scouts out for supplies…” Ryan tried to sit up again but Caleb forced him down.
“You almost got a massive artery cut here! You’re staying in bed, at least for awhile. I’ll give the order to Gus.”
Ray smiled softly and shook his head. "Listen to the nurse! You shouldn't be going anywhere. Not with those cuts." He murmured as he watched Caleb storm out of the infirmary. "You need to listen to him, he's just trying to help..." He said before moving onto the chair beside Ryan's bed and wiping the blood off Ryan's cheeks. "How did you get into this? And why're you so gung-ho about getting the virals?"
Ryan almost looked taken off guard by Ray’s gesture, Ray got the feeling that would be the only way to get the guy caught off guard. He also looked a bit uncomfortable. “How does anyone get into this?” He ran his eyes up Ray’s torso, looking at the scruff on his cheeks, the crack on his glasses. “No one chooses to get involved in this… I just want to end it.” He didn’t answer more, only added, “Your glasses are broken.”
Ray looked away from Ryan and put the cloth down. "I'm sorry... And it's okay." He murmured, making his way back to his bed to just lay down, his knee was killing him just from the slight movements and he sighed softly. "I can't really get new glasses, so it's not a big deal. I can live with it." He said as he put the ice pack back on his knee. "Don't worry about it. Maybe you should take a nap? Let your body heal a little?"
Ryan didn't seem persuaded. "I'm sorry, it's, uh, it's been a long night." He turned on his side facing Ray. "I can get you new glasses, just give me your specs and I'll have the scouts retrieve some." He didn't know why he got so defensive towards the people he was trying to protect. Especially the one's with cute lips and messy hair. "Are you scared? Being here, and all."
Ray nodded and smiled at Ryan. "I mean if someone can find me some..." He replied shyly. "You need to rest though. Okay? They can live without for a day." He sighed, "Yeah, I am scared. I'm scared of being alone, and the thought of killing one of these things that could've been someone's mom, or brother, kinda..." Ray shrugged and bit his bottom lip and ran his fingers through his hair.
"Freaks you out?" Ryan nodded. "It freaked me out too... Stick with Caleb, he'll show you the ropes, make sure you don't have trouble adjusting." He paused, silent for a minute as he laid back in the cot. He already felt restless. "You know... I almost thought you were dead when I saw you. The way your skull hit the pavement. Even after these couple years, that really freaked me out. I was terrified."
Ray looked back at Ryan, he was taken off guard this time. "You were terrified?" He asked quietly. "Why? I'm just some random kid? And Caleb said he doesn't run, he's the nurse." Ray murmured and kept his eyes glued to the dark wall behind Ryan, he didn't wanna seem like he was staring at the man.
“Caleb doesn’t patrol, all of us train though. Minor hand-to-hand combat, granted the worst could happen. We try to train all survivors to be able to protect themselves, learn the way virals fight… They’re very similar. Some of the scientists we have in the labs here think they might even have a hive mind… or at least hive instincts.” Ryan stopped, not wanting to scare Ray after his first encounter with them. “Don’t think about it right now, just rest. You’re not some random kid… you’re becoming one of the surviving human species. The military undermines how many of our kind are actually gone now.”
Ray sighed shakily. “Y-You think they hive instincts? Then wouldn’t they have hives? Where they bring back humans and share the food?” He asked as he set the half defrosted bag of ice on the table between their cots. “I’m scared and exhausted. I haven’t had a good sleep in so long. I always stayed up to make sure we were okay…”
“You’re thinking like a real renegade now,” Ryan chuckled as he sat up and leaned his back against the cold metal wall. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out… Man named Burnie is our lead scientist. Granted it’s been a hard last year, we’re making progress. Trying to find something to counteract the virus.” He smoothed his palm over his thigh, wiping away the spare blood. “It doesn’t make you weak to be scared. I admit I don’t sleep much either, but this place is the only place where I feel safe enough to.”
Ray looked at Ryan, watching the man wipe his thigh. He looked at the deep, irritated gashes that Caleb had sown up. "You're thigh is still covered in blood. Let me clean it up a little..." He said as he got up and limped over to Ryan's cot. He grabbed the wet cloth and started to clean the blood away. "How did you get these? And where the fuck are we exactly?"
Ryan stopped the boy from sitting down in the small, uncomfortable seat, instead he pulled Ray to sit on the edge of his cot. “Elevate your leg onto the seat, it’ll help…” He could never get used to someone taking care of him. “I pulled one of my scouts out of range, lost a second on the front of a viral line. My leg is less than worth someone’s life.” He shrugged, hand still straying on Ray’s hip where he hadn’t moved it. “We’re outside the city, border of Texas. Underground. One of the only places I’ve found has less activity... we’re able to hide our labs and headquarters under this dirt. Everything centers around the command room, an abandoned government bunker… Don’t get claustrophobic now though, it only takes a few minutes to get to ground level where we have lookouts.”
Ray smiled softly as he cleaned away the blood on Ryan's thigh. "It sounds like a nice place." He chuckled as he dipped the cloth into the bucket of water and wrung it out. He leaned forward slightly so he could reach the sore on Ryan's bicep. He cleaned the gash on Ryan's arm and then wrung the cloth out again. "I guess it's weird that I'm cleaning you up, and not a hot chick?" He chuckled and scooted closer to the man to clean his face.
Ryan scoffed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know why they do that… I’d rather have this.” He leaned his head back and ran his gaze down the boy’s chest. “You’re not hurt anywhere else, are you?” Ryan took something out of his jacket pocket, an old looking keycard. “This will give you access to my chambers, if something happens when I’m not around. You can hide in there.”
Ray looked at Ryan, surprised. "Oh, okay... If you're sure. And no, just my knee." He smiled and finished cleaning Ryan’s skin, he kept the card safe in his pocket. "Okay! All clean." He put the cloth away and moved to get up and get back on his cot.
“Hey.” Ryan’s fingers hooked on Ray’s belt loop. “Uh, sorry… I haven’t slept in nearly 2 days.” He didn’t normally do this. He pulled Ray to sit on his cot again. “Do you mind just. Sitting here, until I can sleep? Wake me up when Caleb or Gus comes back, though. Wake me if there’s any commotion.” His body was exhausted.
Ray hesitated before nodding. “O-Okay…” He whispered as he moved to get comfortable on Ryan’s cot. “Just sleep. You need more sleep than I do.” Ray said as he thought about laying down on the cot beside Ryan. His head was fucking killing him, there was too much for him absorb right now. “Sleep.”
Ryan seemed a little less tense at Ray’s agreement. He leaned his head back against the pillows and closed his eyes, able to feel the pain in his limbs start to set in as he came out of shock. It seemed after a few minutes that he was actually passed out, the intent worry and focus wasn’t etched into his face anymore. He almost looked peaceful, as much as he could with bleeding wounds and open muscles.
Ray laid over Ryan's waist, feeling his own body radiate in pain. He was so fucking tired and sore. He tentatively rested his head on Ryan's chest, able to pass out easily on top of his firm chest.
Caleb walked back into the infirmary not much later and chuckled at the sight in front of him. He'd never seen Ryan sleep with someone like this, he’d only seen Ryan with a couple girls hanging over him, but that's it. Not cuddling like this.
Scouts had been dispatched to run to the nearest abandoned hospice under daylight, looting at night was too risky. Caleb cleaned up the infirmary in the meantime, taking care of the few other patients, a part of him was appeased to see Ryan finally resting. Another part of him wished he’d have the ability to make Ryan sleep calmly.
Instead of waking them, he brought a cloth fold-up chair over to the bedside, propping Ray’s leg up as he slept and throwing a blanket over the boy’s shoulders. It got cold in the bunkers sometimes, but at least it was sterile.
Ray woke up a few hours later, drool wetting Ryan's shirt. He stretched out on top of Ryan and groaned, looking down at the sleeping man and smiling small. He was glad the man was still sleeping. Ray curled back upon Ryan and sighed. He felt strangely comfortable like this, he didn't even realize Caleb was here.
“Rest well?” The boy smiled as he unpacked the new supplies he’d received. “Infirmary’s stocked for now.” He kept his voice quiet as to not wake Ryan up too. “Gus also prepared you a room, beside mine, actually! The, ah, the attendant passed away, unfortunately…” He put away the new bandages and walked over to Ray, checking on his knee. “Swelling’s gone down, that’s great.”
Ray pulled away from Ryan and smiled at Caleb. "Good! I can be close to you!" He breathed in relief and yawned. "Ryan said you could teach me how to fight, and everything else." He curled back up on Ryan's chest, tired and attracted to the warmth Ryan was radiating in the cold cellar.
Caleb shifted his weight from foot to foot. “We should let him rest,” he said quietly. “Come, I’ll help you into your room and show you around.” He wasn’t sure if he liked how Ryan was so open to this kid. “He hardly ever sleeps, better cherish it.” He grabbed a crutch for Ray to lean on and handed it to him.
Ray nodded and got up, laying the blanket on the man. He nodded and let Caleb help him out into the hall. "Show me around this place." He said softly. He could tell that Caleb was almost mad that he and Ryan slept together but he shrugged it off.
“You’re well-acquainted with the infirmary, hopefully not for long though.” Their boots made loud steps with them on the solid concrete floor. Each rounded tunnel was fortified with iron, rock, bolts, they were also lined with glowing orange lamps. Low-energy conservative lamps. “This hall circles around the command room.” He pointed at the thick glass window in the rock, giving view to a circular room finished with a wide map and tables, guns, seats. “It also connects to the refugee center, the training stockades, and the dormitories. The only thing with stricter access would be the laboratories which are on the opposite side of the command. And then, well, Ryan’s quarters.”
They approached a thick door which Caleb had to shove forward. “These are the dormitories.” More halls split off, all lined with separate rooms for the vigilantes. “I’m down the nearest hall, every room has a small bathroom, closet, bed. Not much more, but if you find anything from surface, you can get it sterilized and bring it down here.” He smiled and opened his room first. His bed was made perfectly, topped with soft knitted blankets. He had a small chest to keep his shoes in, a desk, and his walls were strewn with small posters and scraps of writing to cover the dead wall.
Ray smiled softly and looked around the small room. "It's cute in here..." He said as he shoved his hand into his pocket feeling Ryan's keycard. "Why are the labs strict access? And why is Ryan's room stricter access than the labs?" He asked, "Have you ever been in there? Maybe he has dead bodies in there?" Ray laughed as he sat on the bed and sighed. "I'm so tired... And my knee is killing me."
Caleb cracked up and nodded. “I wouldn’t be surprised, that’s not very sanitary though. The labs are accessible to scientists and high ranked vigilants, Ryan’s more personal with his room. Just a trait of his, I guess.” He shrugged and cleaned up some of the clutter on his desk. “No one goes in there unless Ryan brings people in to look at battle plans, or whatever. When he’s not on duty, it’s always locked.”
Ray nodded as he looked around Caleb's room. "It's really nice here. So my room’s just beside yours?" He asked as he laid back on Caleb's bed. "When do I get to learn how to fight?" Ray joked as he lifted his leg up a little. "Uh... I hope Ryan's still sleeping." Ray thought out loud and stretched with a groan. "You being the nurse, will we all have like 'jobs'?"
“Roles, yeah! We play to our strengths. I was a nurse before… all this, I guess. You were a student, huh?” Caleb sat down on the end of the bed. “What were you studying? Before it all. You’ll be right next door, if anything gets to you, you can wake me up. Okay? I don’t mind. It was really hard for me coming here for the first few months.”
Ray nodded, giving him an appreciative smile. "I was studying biology and social work. I didn't like either..." He laughed and sighed. "I wasted my life at school and I didn't even like what I was studying… I was more into playing video games. I'd come home and play games all night, that's all I wanted to do."
“God, yeah. We’re really lucky to have electricity in here, I like games too… Games are useful, people who are good at games are good at solving things, working with computers, deciphering battle plans. We could use that here.” Caleb encouraged as he sat up to face Ray. “It’s a shame, the fact that we didn’t know any of this was coming… I feel like I would’ve spent my time on a healthy Earth much differently if I knew.” He shook his head. “Not worth thinking about though, why don’t I show you to your room?”
Ray nodded and sat up before getting up. “Okay… Let’s go. I want that ice pack I left in the infirmary.” He chuckled and followed after Caleb. “Just show me my room and I’ll go grab my drink and the ice pack from the infirmary, or maybe a new one.”
“You sure? I can go grab it for you, you ought to keep off that leg.” Caleb looked concerned. “Here, this is your room and room key. Don’t lose it.” He passed Ray a metallic card and unlocked the door for him, opening to a very unfurnished, plain looking room. The floor was cement, walls a dark, smooth rock, and the ceiling was reinforced with sharp looking iron bars. All he had was a bed, a blanket, a desk, and a small bathroom.
Ray nodded and smiled gently at Caleb. "I'm okay, I’ll have to learn to tough it out. I'll keep off my leg after this." He said as he walked, limped, back towards the infirmary, he really needed a map for this place.
When Ray entered the nursing cabin Ryan was still there curled up under the blankets. He smiled at the sight and walked over to the freezer to grab an ice pack and a frozen juice box. He was set, Ryan looked peaceful, like he’d be sleeping for days. So Ray left the infirmary, hobbling back to his plain room.
Caleb was hanging up a lantern to give the room a light purple glow, something more friendly. “Tada! A welcome gift… Now lay down and put your foot up on some pillows. If, if you ever need to talk about something, I’m next door.” When Caleb first lost his brother to the virus, he didn’t speak to anyone for days. Ray seemed put together, shocked, but he knew it couldn’t stay like that after encountering one of those demons. “It’s daylight for a few more hours now, tomorrow we can try to retrieve some things from your home if you need them.” He stepped outside the door, wondering if Ray would be okay alone.
Ray nodded and looked at Caleb. "Okay. Thank you, if I need you I'll come over. I don't know if I wanna be alone though..." Ray said softly. "Can we sit in your room and talk? Or can you stay here?" He said as he laid back and smiled. "Just even stay and keep me company."
Caleb returned the smile and nodded. “Sure. I’ll go grab a couple books and a quilt for you to add to your bed.” He stepped out of the small room and retrieved a few things from his own, when he returned he laid the thick quilt out over Ray and sat on the end of the bed with his back to the wall. “Reading kinda keeps me sane when there’s not a computer in reach. You can borrow any of them too.”
Ray smiled brightly and laid close to Caleb, head on his shoulder. "Yeah, I wish I could bring my TV and videogames here, but thats impossible." He laughed and curled close so he could spread the quilt over Caleb as well. "Read to me. I'll probably fall asleep with someone here with me."
“Y’never know, we might be able to salvage some shit and bring it down here. If there’s a single unbroken CD up there.” He chuckled and opened his book of verses, short stories, something that was written when people had the time to make up other worlds ending. And he read them to Ray until the boy was able to pass out again.
