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Jason woke up to knocking. He rubbed his eyes and looked at his watch, 7:30, he got up, making his way towards the door. He wrapped his hand around the handle and twisted it open, it was Laura. "Hi!" "Hey" he said groggily. "Just wanted to let you know, they're serving breakfast in the cafeteria!" "Thanks-wait..where is the cafeteria?" She smiled "get dressed and I'll show you".

When he had finished getting dressed, he put a leash on Mayo and walked outside. "She's pretty" Laura said scratching her head. They started to walk down the corridor,"Yeah" Jason said, hiding his embarrassment. "How long has this place stayed up?" "Since the beginning, it was a military safe zone, but they left". "What? They left?", "Yup, sucky right?", Jason threw his hands up "they where supposed to protect y'all, but just left, that's not their job!". "We didn't think so either, just woke up one day and-" she snapped her fingers"they where gone". "That's crazy" they opened the door to the courtyard and stepped out.

"So, how long have you been out there?" Jason looked at her, "Almost the whole time". "And when did you find her?" She motioned at Mayo. "Only two years ago, and she was only a puppy, Well a big puppy, but still.".

Laura opened the door to the main building and they walked in. They walked pass the common area, where people where smoking and some eating. Pass the market, and down a long hallway. There where two double doors at the end, which she pushed open, revealing a huge room. There where rows and rows of tables. Dinning tables. Coffee tables, cafeteria and patio. There where tons of people sitting everywhere, there was almost no where to sit. "Follow me!" Laura said loudly, Jason followed her up to a counter, where a man with long, grey hair and and eye patch over one eye sat behind it. "Mornin' Axel!" The man looked at her and smiled, "Mornin' Laura! The usual?" "Yup" Axel glanced over at Jason. "What's your friend want?". Laura turned to look at him, "uh what is there?" He said, scratching his head. Laura turned back to the counter, grabbed a slip of paper and handed it to him. Jason looked down at it, a menu. The writing was handwritten, and kinda sloppy, the paper was rough and stained. His face lit up seeing all the choices.

He decided on Dexter's Breakfast Special. It had 3 over easy eggs, 4 link sausages, 2 pieces of toast and 4 slices of bacon. He got orange juice with it. After he had placed his order, Laura led him to a small patio table with her family sitting at it. Libby smiled when she saw them, "Y'all two are getting along great!". "How do you like the place so far?" Venessa asked. "I love it! I'm also excited to get a meal!" Matias looked at him, "Dexter is a great cook, can make anything taste good!" An old lady wearing a food stained, white apron came up to them holding a tray with food on it. "Who ordered the breakfast special?" Jason raised his hand and the women sat a plate in-front of him. She gave everyone else their food, and they happily dug in. "Can I play with your dog later?" Venessa asked taking a big bite of pancakes. "Sure!" Jason said smiling. "So, has Harold put you on any jobs yet?" Matias asked him. "No, but I hope to be a supply runner". "Dangerous job" Laura said through a bite of omelette. "I sure I can manage".

After breakfast, Jason went to the showers. It felt amazing, he hadn't had a hot shower in 12 years! When he was done, he brushed his teeth. He put his tooth brush back in a ziplock bag and set it on the counter beside him. He then turned on the sink, he grabbed a soap bar and washed his face. When he was finished, he grabbed a hand towel to dry his face. He looked up in the mirror, and closed his eyes.

****

The man's name was Allen, he was strict, but because he wanted to protect him. Jason slept in an extra bedroom he had, he cried himself to sleep for a few months, thinking of his family. His Mom, Dad and Brother were dead. What about his Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt, Uncle, Cousins?! He couldn't stop think about it.

"Eat!" Allen said sliding a bowl of cereal and water towards. "No! It's nasty". "You'll die if you don't!" "You're mean!" "FINE THEN, STARVE!" Allen sighed and walked towards him. "Look kid, you gotta eat" he put a hand on Jason's shoulder. "C'mon" he put the bowl gently in front of him. "Please?".

A tear rolled down Jason's face. "Fine" he whispered, he picked up the spoon and took a bite. "Now, I wasn't gonna give ya this till later but" he walked over to the living room. "You've been having a hard time, with your family and all" he picked up a backpack and unzipped a pouch. He pulled out a KitKat bar and walked back towards him. "Here" he handed him the candy. "Now, I'm gonna go freshen up then go out to hunt for the day" The man turned to the hall and started walking, when he heard a snap. "Here", he turns around to see Jason holding one of the sticks. He walked over to him and grabbed it. He smiled "Thanks kid".

****

Jason opened his eyes and smiled, sometimes, his memories were bad. But not this one, it was rare having a good memory. He opened the door and coldness hit him. He shivered and walked back to his room, he threw his clothes in the hamper and put on some socks, followed by his boots. He walked over to an old bookshelf that stood in the corner, he spent about 5 minutes browsing before he found a book he liked. He walked back to his old mattress that lay on the floor and plopped down on it. He opened his book and began to read.

"It was a stupid question, but was he?
So terrible and elemental-"

He was interrupted by a knock on his door, he placed a book marker in his book and closed it. He looked at his watch, he had been reading for about and hour.He sat his book on the makeshift nightstand that stood beside his bed. He opened his door and Kasy stood there, "sup!" She said "May I come in?". Jason moved aside, and She walked in. She looked at his book, "IT, huh?" Jason scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, it's pretty good so far". "You like reading?" She asked, "Yeah, it's how I passed the time for like, 12 years". "Anyway, Harold wants to know if you wanna be a supply runner?". Jason hid his excitement, "I would love to!" She smiled, "C'mon, let's meet the team."

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