Reviv'd

Chapter Four - Tiddly Bits of Humanity

The smell of chlorine hung in the air. Along with that, a musty odor seemed to linger about.

You found yourself inside a hospital. You sat on the edge of one of the benches alongside Keith and Krista. With the lot of time in your hands, you managed to make a brief observation of the place; though, there really wasn't much to say, besides the fact that the floors were tiled, and the walls dirty white. And as to be expected, there weren't a lot of people around.

All of a suden, a hand lands on your shoulder, which makes you flinch.

"Woah, hold your horses, kiddo!" the police officer chuckles.

"Hello there, officer," Krista greets him. "Is there anything you need from us?"

"No, not really, there's none." he responds. "But there is something you might need. Care for a little tour of the city?"

You gave each other nervous glances.

"But what about-"

"Samantha?" he quickly interrupts. "She'll catch up to ya'll fellas some other time. The quarantines may take a while, so, why won't you just come along with me?"

Seeing no other options, you decided to tag along.

He leads you to the back door of the building, which seemed like an awfully shady place. (Both literally and metamorphically). No light had touched the place, except for the lamp that swung from time to time (most likely from the wind that was passing through the fans that spun around on the high walls of the buiding. Why they had set that up, you had no idea. But it sorta reminded you of those warehouse factories that had similar rotors. Actually, you think they were used for the same reason) high above you. The officer stopped as he touched the doorknobs.

"I welcome you fellas to..." he paused to think. "...the last tiddly bits of humanity."

He twisted the knob and pushed the door open. Light rushed in the place, which blinded you temporarily. When your eyes came to focus, well, there really wasn't much to say. And that was great, because everything seemed normal. There was nothing that was out of place to point out, really. Right before you stretched a perfectly normal city. Cars rolled by, people just walking around the place. Not a single trace of hell in this little haven. You could see people in stores, marquees - everything was going perfectly normal.

"Well, what do ya'll think" the officer asks with a smug look on his face.

"What do we think? This place is amazing! I can't believe that a place like this can still exist!" Krista exclaimed.

"This definitely is a change from the shitstorm happening outside." Keith remarks.

The officer smiles.

"So... how exactly did you manage to build this whole fortress? And to preserve it like this?" Krista inquires. "This is just outstanding."

"Heh. We all saw it coming." the police officer starts. "When we heard the virus had reached America, we dropped everything we were doing and started barricading this whole damn place. The people from all around San Diego started flooding to this place. And those who didn't, well... they're the ones you see on the other side of the walls."

"So, this place has never been under attack?" Krista asks.

"Never, ever, ever." he assures. "Jus' like that song from Taylerr' Swift, or something similar to that."

"So the people in this place are completely oblivious to what's happening to the rest of the world?" Keith inquires.

"Sadly, that's... a yes." he sighs. "But us police, we're the servants of the people. We know how to deal with 'em. There's nothing to worry. Ain't nothing's gonna faze us!"

He throws his fist into his left hand, which makes the punch-on-the-open-palm signal thing that signifies "tough guys". You weren't exactly reassured with that.

"Alright, I'm going to assign you to your own rooms. The three of you are going to stay in..." he flips out a checkbook from, well, out of nowhere. "...Archstone Harborview. I'm going to call a taxi real quick to take us there."

"Shouldn't you be conserving your resources, like gas? I mean, we could just walk there. It's fairly close. Plus, in an epidemia like this..."

"Not to worry." the officer interrupts you. "We've got lots stocked in storage. Now, come on! The Orange Cab is here. They can't be waiting forever."

You glanced skeptically at your group mates, and they shrug back at you helplessly.

To make the short argument that happened between you and the police officer even shorter, you hopped in the cab and made your not so long trip to Archstone Harborview, where you were going to stay in for maybe around until dinner, or maybe forever (Mulan reference right there). You subconsciously wished for the latter.

The police officer claimed the shotgun seat, so the three of you were crammed at the back of the car. Sitting right beside you was Krista, who was fiddling with a piece of metal that hung around her neck. A few moments later and you realize that it was a dog tag. You focused your eyes on the text engraved on it. But right before you can make out what the letters spelled out, Krista flicked it away from view. You weren't quite sure if she did that on purpose or not, but you figured it wouldn't be the best time to ask her about it. After all, she looked all teared up when she held it in her hands just now.

Around five minutes later, the cab pulls up in front of a large archway with a path extending inwards the apartments' lot.

"This place is huge." Keith observes.

"Guess we'll now walk our way in," the officer says. "Mr. Smarty pants here suggests we should save 'em gases."

"That's Mr. Maron, thank you very much." you respond sarcastically. "And, if you were to make the decision to save gas, you should've done that earlier, before we even rode this cab."

"If that's what you want then I gladly invite yer' to walk back there and come back here."

"Well, I-"

"That's enough, Jordan." Keith interevenes. He then turns to the police officer. "I'm really sorry, sir. Um, can you show us the way to our rooms?"

"Heh. At least someone in your group has manners for us older folks." he snorts. "Alright, alright. Hop off the cab, and follow me."

The doors open all at once, and all of you (besides the cab driver, of course) crawled out of it. After a bit of stretching and feet shaking, you followed him towards, well, your room. Jumping along the story, you arrive in front of your door, and he hands Krista the key for it. She gladly accepts it and quickly inserts the key into the hole. She twists it, and the door unlocks.

"Enjoy your stay, sweetheart." the officer says.

"We will, but... what about Samantha?" Krista asks.

"She'll, uh, follow in a bit." he replies. "But nevermind that for a while, why won't you all go inside? I'm sure ya'll are tired."

"That's true..." Keith sighs.

The officer smiles and turns to the other direction, and starts walking away. Presumably to do his task of protecting the city and stuff. But before he got any farther-

"Wait!" Krista yells. "We never got your name, sir."

The officer turns his head around and smiles. "It's Billy, sweetheart. But you can call me... Bill."