A Volatiles Claim

BONUS Mini Chapter

This is not related to the the main story/chapters and is just a wholesome mini story.

             I step out of the bathroom with damp hair, which I'm currently trying to dry with a towel, and dressed in clean clothes. Today was exhausting as hell. I went on a ton of errands with Aiden, most of them were requests from Survivors and the rest were personal. And I don't know why but there have been more infected on the streets and practically everywhere else we went today. Aiden and I were like a well-oiled machine when we were killing swarms of biters and luckily we managed to end the day without getting a single scratch. So now we are unwinding in a penthouse inside a pretty tall building, and this place is something that the both of us have been secretly converting into our own personal place for a while.

It started after a mission on one of the lower floors, we had to retrieve some personal items for someone that lived there before The Fall. We were going to head out as soon as we got the items when I noticed the skeletal remains of someone wearing a suit laying chest side down in front of a door. It was like they were so close to going inside when they were caught by the infected or killed by something else. In one hand was a golden key, probably the same one that unlocks the door in front of them. I picked up the key and slid it into the lock... click! So it was the right key. I didn't hear a noise inside so it was safe to assume that the inside was empty. Once I opened the door I expected the inside to look like the other rooms but it didn't, it was empty except for a single elevator directly across from the door. I go to step further into the unusual room when a large hand clasps itself on my shoulder causing me to let out a startled scream and jump away. Turns out it wasn't the hand of a biter, just a devious Aiden who decided then of all times that it was a good idea to scare me while we were in the middle of a dark and quiet building probably full of infected. It took him a bit to recover from his chorus of laughter while I was smacking him on his arm while yelling at him. But once that was over, he asked why I wasn't behind him when we were leaving, and I explained what I found and asked if we could investigate. He considered the idea and agreed when he saw my excited expression. I gave a small cheer then rushed in front of the elevator to press the button to call the elevator to the floor.

Aiden voiced his doubts that it would work considering that the power hadn't been on in a long time and that the machinery was no longer working. His ranting was quickly interrupted by the soft ding of the elevator saying it was ready and its doors opened to reveal an empty cab illuminated with a soft white light. We went in and there was only one button with no labeling to indicate what floor it will take us to. Regardless, I pressed it and in seconds the doors closed, and we felt the cabin gently shake and then lift upwards. We were silent as the elevator took us upward, and Its destination seemed pretty far up and I thought it was a service lift to the roof or something. When it did stop, we unsheathed our weapons, prepared for infected to be in there but nope, there wasn't a hoard of infected or humans waiting for us.

Instead, it was a dark penthouse, all the lights off with the only way we could make out what we were seeing was the moonlight shining through the large wall-to-ceiling tinted windows. We sweep the entire place and it was completely empty and in perfect condition. There were no signs of anyone living there for a long time, it was as if the place was frozen in time, unaffected by nature and the virus. There were many valuable items throughout the house ranging from paintings and objects to nice and expensive-looking furniture. Aiden went to turn on the lights and I nearly shouted in joy when they turned on. We spent the next few days sneaking into the penthouse to set up generators and working lights modified with UV lights. And in no time, we had made ourselves our own secret hideout, unknown to the humans and infected outside; a place only for us to take a break and get away from helping others.