#cmlfic

(final chapter)

Caleb helped Ray drop down into the elevator, followed by Joel who was carrying their extra guns slung around his back. When both the tarps and everyone were situated, Ryan pulled the hatch shut and spun it into a lock. “Hit the button.”

Ray let Caleb lean against him as the elevator descended. "You sure you're okay?" Ray asked again as he held Caleb close. He felt bad that the boy got hit trying to protect his sorry ass. He sighed softly and kisses the top of the boys hair. "That was too much excitement for one day." He chuckled.

Joel grinned and ruffled Ray's hair. "Too much excitement for the newbie. We shoulda left you at home." He teased and caught Ryan's eye. "Sorry..." Joel was a little jealous of how protective the man was of the newcomer, how much he took a shining to the small boy. Joel felt like Ryan was too old for the kid and it wasn't fair that Ryan could just use Joel without expecting him to get some kind of feelings.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I see worse in my infirmary every hour,” Caleb laughed airily. “We got our revenge on him anyway.” He tapped his foot against the rolled up tarp.

Ryan saw Joel’s frustrated look and he clenched his jaw. “Why don’t you and Gus make yourselves useful and carry these motherfuckers to Burnie’s lab?” He said when the elevator reached the bottom of the shaft. “Go on.” Ryan yanked the heavy grate doors open, Gus groaned a little in protest but picked up one of the tarps.

“Caleb, we should get you to the infirmary, okay? We’ll go by there on our way to the sterilizing room,” Ryan continued.

Joel huffed and picked the one Ryan killed lugging it through the doors and down the hall. Joel was pissed off, and there was no way he'd let the man come to him again for a booty call. He could jerk himself instead.

Ray helped Caleb out of the elevator and supported the boy's weight. "Okay, as long as you promise you're okay." He said softly carrying the duffle bag as well. "What's the sterilizing room? You gonna pour alcohol on me?" He laughed a little trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll just rest for a bit." Caleb always got embarrassed when he was the one people focused their worry on. "Don't worry about it, just get Ray cleaned up. It's just a vacant chamber where they'll wash you off with some hot water, wash your clothes too."

Ryan walked with them towards the infirmary, hovering at the doorway. "Then you just go through a little vacuum Burnie cooked up, gets the germs we're looking for off you. Bit of a hassle." He nodded for Ray to follow him. "I'll check on you in a bit, okay Caleb?"

Caleb rolled his eyes and sat at his desk. "Alright, go on."

Ray waved at Caleb as they left the infirmary and walked down to the sterilizing room. "Who's gonna wash me down?" He asked softly and reached out for Ryan's hand. "I just wanna get high..." Ray mumbled and chewed his bottom lip. He sounded like such a pothead but that was all he wanted to do. He needed to relax and that was the only way he knew how to.

The white room was empty when they entered, like some old shower room that was stripped down. Ryan stalled on the sterile tile. "I guess I will. You can keep your boxers on, stand over the drain there." He unraveled a faucet off the wall and started running the hot spring water.

Ray blushed and pulled his sweater off, tossing it on the floor. "You gonna sponge me down too?" He giggled and he pushed his pants down and then hooked his thumbs in his boxers. "You want me to leave my boxers on?" He asked softly and looked at the man. "Oh, and can you hold my glasses too?"

Ryan took Ray’s glasses off and smiled calmly. “Of course I don’t want you to keep your boxers on,” he answered. “Why don’t you take them off?” Ryan backed up a few steps and waited with the faucet running in his hand. “Does it bother you, me staring at you?”

Ray blushed harder as he squinted to see Ryan's face without his glasses. "Uh... Not really? I mean it kinda does. I'm not ashamed of my body." He laughed softly and pushed his boxers down his hipbones slightly. Ray couldn't really see the man’s face face from this far away, he was a blur of colour with mild features which somehow made it easier. He pushed his boxers down a further revealing his more of his body, until the boxers fell to the floor and Ray stood there in front of the man naked.

Ryan approached him again with the hot, clean water. “Good,” he murmured, eyes scoping down Ray’s torso. “You shouldn’t be.” He smirked and reached around Ray, staying in front of him as the water hit his shoulder blades and fall down his back. “I wouldn’t look if you didn’t want me to.” He ran the faucet over Ray’s neck, curling a hand in his hair.

Ray almost lost his breath, it felt so fucking good after that encounter with the corp viral. Ray reached his hands up and touched the man's chest. "I bet you're lying! I bet you'd look anyway." He laughed airily and licked his lips still trying to see Ryan.

"You don't want me to?" Ryan grinned and ran the water over his hair and neck. "I think you do. I think you're afraid to think that you do..." He didn't care that the water was getting all over his shirt the closer he got to Ray. He just ran his free palm down to the nape of Ray's back, like a caress that made him shudder even under the hot water.

Ray pushed Ryan's jacket off his shoulders and let it drop on the wet floor. He yanked the man's shirt off over the man's head. "Yeah, I may kinda want you to... I shouldn't want you to..." Ray mumbled as he moved closer to Ryan. He shouldn't want to be this close to him, it wasn't supposed to feel like this. He trembled at the soft touches from the man’s calloused fingers.

“Mm…” Ryan ran his palm down further, touching Ray’s ass and running the water over his chest. There was something in the grain of his voice that made Ray want to lean closer, even before the world turned to shit, he hadn’t felt so attracted to someone before. He’d always assumed he just hadn’t been ready for girls, or worse that something was wrong with him. Ryan rubbed the water down his chest, rubbing away some of the smudges of dried black blood. “You’re fuckin’ beautiful, you know,” he murmured.

Ray blushed and shook his head. "M'not..." He mumbled as he reach down to undo Ryan's belt. Ray stopped himself and pulled away slightly. He barely got a hold of himself and blushed harder. Why was he so attracted to this man, why was he attracted to a man? That's not how it was supposed to feel. His parents wouldn’t expect this from him. "I'm sorry..."

“It’s okay, love.” Ryan smiled and pushed the wet hair out of his face, rubbing his back gently. “I think you’re plenty clean now, we shouldn’t need to fully decontaminate you.” He stepped away and grabbed a towel off the hanger, putting it around Ray’s shoulders to give him a little coverage. “You packed some clothes didn’t you?” Ryan picked up his dirty clothes and put them in the washer at the front of the shower room.

Ray sighed and walked over to Ryan, pressing up against his back and hugged him tightly. "Why're you talking like this?" He mumbled and bit his bottom lip. "Can we go smoke up now?" Ray said softly as he pressed his forehead against Ryan's back between Ryan's shoulder blades. "Call me love again..." He mumbled.

“Love,” Ryan replied smoothly. He turned around and wrapped his arms around Ray’s back, hugging the towel to his damp skin. “You gonna try n’ get me high again? Seduce me, little boy?” He grinned teasingly and pulled Ray towards the door by his towel where they’d left the duffel bag. He unzipped the bag, first seeing the giant bong Ray had stashed in there. “Jesus,” he barked out a laugh. “Put on some boxers unless you want me to carry you naked.”

Ray squeaked and pulled a pair of boxers on. "You're... Gonna carry me?" He asked softly and chewed his bottom lip. "I just wanna get high with someone!" He laughed nervously and looked up at Ryan. God, Ray wanted nothing more than to be picked up in his big arms and carried around as he talked in that soft, almost intoxicating voice.

“I’ll carry you through the fuckin’ apocalypse,” Ryan laughed and grabbed Ray closer, pulling him up by the waist and carrying his legs. “Jesus, this bag is heavier than you. Did you pack a whole closet of weed?” He loved the embarrassed look on Ray’s face when he was carried into the hallway of the bunker, a few people walking by them with wide eyes. No one was used to seeing Ryan goof off like that. “We’ll go to my room, you’re not gonna smother me in another closet.”

Ray giggled and hid his face against Ryan's neck. "Okay. I didn't mean to smother you..." He mumbled and wrapped his arm around Ryan's neck. "I just wanna get high with you. I'm usually alone when I smoke up."

“I’m just giving you a hard time.” He carried Ray into his bunker, kicking the metal door shut behind them. Ray still fucking loved Ryan’s room. So many of the other rooms just had tile or cement floors, Ryan had strayed his with different rugs and carpets strewn over each other. The same kinds of tarps hung around and over his bed between all the different glowing lamps. “Here we are…”

Ryan set him down along with the duffel bag, letting Ray retrieve what he wanted. He wouldn’t have taken Ryan as the type to decorate if he hadn’t seen the man’s room already, it felt like a special place to him.

“This room has pretty good ventilation, don’t usually get stuck with the pot stench.”

Ray looked at the duffle bag, reaching over to pull a T-shirt out of the bag. "Good! You ready?" He laughed as he pulled his big bag of weed out with his bong. "I feel bad about this stuff, I used my parents money to buy it..." He said softly and bit his bottom lip. "C'mere."

“If it helps, I’m sure your parents would understand the need to get high at a time like this,” Ryan murmured as he dropped off his wet shirt in the laundry basket, unzipping his jeans too. “Bring it over here.” He sat on the bed and took off his shoes, just laying on the bed in his boxers. Ray was starting to really love Ryan’s warm bed.

Ray climbed on the bed and smiled happily. "It does." Ray said as he gave Ryan the bong. "Do we have bottled water? I just need to put some in there." He said as he pointed to the bottom chamber and reached for his bag of weed.

“Yeah.” Ryan grabbed a bottle of water from the nightstand, letting him set up the large bong. “You do this often?” The man grinned at him and sat up, crossing his legs. Ray kept wanting to stare at him, the guy who often wore so much armor was just sitting with him in his boxers. “I’m sorry about what happened today, y’know… I should’ve stayed with you two to be cautious.”

Ray filled the bowl with a bud of weed. "I do this often, yeah... Kinda a pothead." He mumbled and moved closer to Ryan. "It's okay, I get it..." He murmured as he put the bowl piece back in the bong and looked at Ryan. "You wanna go first?"

“Haven’t actually hit a bong in a decade, but alright,” Ryan laughed a little as he took the glass from Ray and lit up the end of it. “I thought it would be better to check the basement, see if any small virals were using the place as a nest… I won’t make that kinda mistake again.” He put his lips to the top of the tube, letting it grow white with smoke before sucking it in. His eyes burned as the scent heated him up from the inside, making him cough.

Ray smiled brightly as he watched Ryan inhale the white smoke. "A decade? How old are you?" He giggled and pulled the slide out so Ryan didn't cough too much. "It's okay. Don't worry too much about it. No one got seriously hurt."

Ryan held it in for a few long moments, huffing the rest of it out. “Shut up! I’m exaggerating, not since I was a teen,” he protested as he passed the bong back to Ray. “Fuck…” The hit gave him some vertigo, easily taking the edge off and making him feel calmer. He smiled gently and left his hand on Ray’s knee.

Ray put his mouth on the opening of the tube, he lit the bowl putting his finger over the choke hole. Ray lit the weed and inhaled slowly letting the smoke gather in the chamber. Ray pulled the slide out as he removed his finger from the choke and inhaled all the smoke, holding it in and loving the feeling of Ryan's hand on his knee. Ray wanted to sit in Ryan's lap, that was where he wanted to be, but he wasn't high enough yet.

Ryan laid on his side next to Ray, watching him breathe in the strong hit and the way his mouth looked so good like that. He had to think of something else. "You brought your GameCube? I'll have to bum that off you time to time..." He chuckled lightly.

Ray giggled and nodded. "’Course! We can play together." He said as he passed the bong back to Ryan. "I like being with you." He said softly and chewed his bottom lip. Was he asking for too much? To be close to Ryan? Did Ryan wanna just fuck him then toss him away?

“C’mere.” Ryan grinned, looking rather giddy as he grabbed the bong from Ray and took another hit. “Said c’mere.” He pulled Ray over to him and wrapped an arm around the boy’s waist, feeling his skin and tingling. “The apocalypse isn’t so bad, right?” He chuckled and pressed his face against the boy’s chest.

Ray giggled and shook his head. "It's not too bad I guess. At least I have friends now." He laughed as he took the last hit of the bong. He placed it on Ryan's nightstand and curled up on the bed with Ryan. "You're so cute..." He mumbled and pressed his face against Ryan's chest.

“Mmh, me? I’m not fuckin’ cute.” Ryan grinned and closed his eyes, grabbing one of the furry blankets and pulling it around Ray to get him to cuddle closer. “You’re cute… How is your body always so warm?” He nuzzled the top of Ray’s head, smelling his hair and touching his back. Ryan usually never got this touchy but all he wanted to do right now was touch.

Ray shrugged and giggled softly. "Dunno..." He mumbled and cuddled closer, his cheek against the man's chest. "I really like you..." He said as he wrapped his arms around Ryan tighter. "You are cute though!" Ray giggled happily and kissed the man's chest.

“Call me cute again n’ I’ll fucking spank you,” Ryan cracked up and grabbed Ray’s ass, teasing him and biting his jaw. “I’ve never had such strong shit before… Surprised you have enough brain cells left.” He laughed giddily and tugged Ray against him, making the boy hook his leg over his hip. “I’m handsome, rugged, chiseled, take your pick. But you’re cute… sexy too.”

Ray giggled and shook his head. "I'm ugly. You're the cutest, rugged!" He laughed nuzzled his face against Ryan's chest. "You just wanna get in my pants. I know how you kinda guys work, just want some action." He laughed and pulled gently at Ryan's hair.

"That's ridiculous,” Ryan huffed and pinched Ray’s side lightly, pressing his face against the top of the boy’s head. “I care about the people I'm physical with, y'know, it's not that simple. I don't wanna implode, but I don't use people for sex." He pushed the hair out of Ray's face. "And by that logic, I would kick you out since I already got in your pants, remember?" He grinned, knowing Ray didn't want to admit to that.

Ray opened his mouth in surprise and pressed his face harder against Ryan's chest. "Shuddaup!" He hissed and looked at Ryan. "Then what about Joel?" He asked sofer, a little confused. "I get that you care about him, but it's not like you guys are thing? You basically just use him for sex?" He mumbled and shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Just high rambling." He said as he pushed Ryan onto his back and sat on his hips. "I do like you though, with you I feel safe y'know?"

“Joel and I hook up when we’re tense, I care for him… If he starts getting real feelings for me, I can’t hook up with him anymore,” Ryan murmured as he drifted his palms up Ray’s warm thighs. “I don’t want to hurt him. With the world looking like this, we need human contact. Romance isn’t a smart thing to pursue though…” He was rambling now too. “Contact, care, not romantic attachment. That’ll kill you worse than the virus, ask Burnie.”

Ray looked at Ryan and chewed his bottom lip. "What happened with Burnie?" He whispered. "And what if I want some kinda romance? It'd have to be with someone other than you then?" He mumbled and rubbed his forehead and placed his glasses on Ryan's nightstand. "I mean that's fine with me. I'm sure I could find someone who would want what I want anyway..."

Ryan furrowed his eyebrows and frowned. “You know what happened with Gavin, that kid was all Burnie loved. It’s not like I’m heartless.” He looked up at the ceiling, not liking the way he was making the boy think. “It’s advice, you don’t have to take it. I’m shocked you’d even consider me for romance,” he snorted. “It’s not a sin to love dick.”

Ray rolled his eyes and squinted down at the man. "I'm not saying it is, though technically it is." He laughed and shook his head. "I remember what you said about Gavin, I didn't know how close they were." Ray said as he leaned down to curl closer to the man.

“They were really close. Burnie and him were the wildest, I remember he was planning to marry him,” Ryan seemed a little dazed by the memory, it felt so far away now. “Didn’t get to ask. That was before the war really broke out too, it’s not a safe time to indulge in romance… Especially not me for what I go up against day to day.”

Ray curled closed closer and held onto Ryan tightly. "Yeah..." He sighed softly and chewed the inside of his lip. So Ryan just wanted in his pants to blow off steam and release tension? It made sense but there was no way Ray would let someone fuck him and have it not really mean anything. He sighed softly and sat back up. "Maybe I should go..."

Ryan let his grip around Ray loosen, letting him sit up. “I’m not asking anything from you,” he said under his breath. “The world’s shit enough without people using each other, I don’t want you to go…” He leaned back against the headboard with his arms behind his neck, still tingly. “Go ahead if you want, I need to make sure those samples got to the lab.”

Ray looked at Ryan and sighed, moving to sit between the man's legs and leaned against his chest. "I… I just..." He shook his head. "It's nothing." Ray mumbled and traced shapes and different lines over Ryan's chest. "What did you do before all this happened?" Ray was kinda curious about the man's past.

Ryan shrugged, not having focused on it in a long while. “I was in the army, I left the army to take care of my sister’s kids.” He was surprised to hear Ryan even had family, it hadn’t computed to him before. “Worked at a meat shop for a while…” He caught Ray’s jaw in his palm, making him look at him. “Tell me what you were thinking.”

Ray looked at Ryan and leaned up slightly so he could peer at his eyes. "Thinking about what?" he asked as he ran his fingers through Ryan's hair. Ray liked being around Ryan, even if all he wanted the boy for was to release tension.

“When you said, ‘it’s nothing.’ What is it?” Ryan asked in a soft voice. He sat up with Ray curled up on his lap, caught in his arms. He had a sudden hankering for food too. “I wanna get some snacks… Drop by the lab.” He hadn’t worked high before.

Ray looked at Ryan and blushed. "I-I was gonna ask if I could kiss you..." He chewed his bottom lip, figuring Ryan wouldn't let him anyway. He sat there in his lap, just looking up at Ryan with a shy gaze.

Ryan assessed him carefully, taking in to measure what Ray had said about romance, what he had said about attachment but he ended up just being hung up on the way Ray fit in his arms and how cute his voice was. “Not enough time to kiss… When I kiss you, you’ll be stuck with me for hours.” He smirked and picked Ray up off the bed, setting him down so they could get dressed into something more proper to be seen outside.

Ray huffed and laid back in Ryan's bed. "I'm tired and hungry. Can't we just stay here and cuddle instead? Or is that against your rules?" He teased, a little worried that the man wouldn't want to lay with him anymore.

Ryan zipped up his cargo pants and pulled some socks on, leaning against one of the bedposts. He seemed a little put off by Ray’s straightforwardness. “That goes against the rules, Ray, just because I wanna get mixed up with you doesn’t mean you should wanna get mixed up with me...” He grabbed his boots and laced them on. “The lab has a kitchen area, we should get down there.”

Ray sighed and sat up, putting his clothes on haphazardly. "Fine, let me put my stuff in my room so I don't have to disturb you again..." He mumbled and put his glasses on, pulling his hood over his head. Maybe it was a bad idea to have said that. Ray was kinda mad at himself, and to be honest, didn't wanna be around the man. He feels him up, and then nothing, not even a kiss. Ray was done with Ryan. He definitely wasn't gay.

Ryan opened his mouth to say something but didn’t know how to save himself. He unlatched the door to his bunker, letting Ray leave with his dufflebag of things, the high in them both turned a bit sour. “Disturb me whenever you want,” he managed to get out before Ray had gone.

Ray felt another flare of frustration, he jammed his hands in his pockets and walked towards his room. He hated how Ryan could treat him so casually with that rasp in his voice, yet still make him feel like he was all Ryan was looking at when he looked at him.

Ryan rubbed his forehead and stepped out of his room too, deciding to go by the infirmary to check on Caleb.

Ray set the duffle bag down on his bed and opened it up. He pulled his clothes out and put them away in his dresser drawers, unpacking a little. Ray placed his bong on top of the dresser and sighed. Why did he have to ruin his own high with asking Ryan for things he knew wouldn't happen? He laid in his bed staring at the ceiling. Fuck Ryan. Fuck the apocalypse, he'd just sleep.

"Caleb?" Ryan stepped into the infirmary, finding the nurse boy laying in one of his own cots. "How ya doing?" He walked over, able to see where Caleb was bruising. He looked tired as shit.

Caleb looked over at Ryan and smiled softly. "Where's Ray?" He asked as he stretched and winced at the pain. "How're you? You look upset."

“He went back to his room to rest.” Ryan shrugged and sat down beside Caleb’s cot, giving him a new bag of ice to put on his shoulder. “You look rough. I’m fine, just a bit high,” he huffed out a laugh and held the bag to Caleb’s collarbone. “Think I pissed Ray off, but. I can’t help doing that.”

Caleb looked at Ryan with a slight eyeroll. "What do you mean? What did you do?" He asked as he smiled at Ryan. "I'm doing okay. How're you doing? Just high?" He said as he moved to sit closer, resting his head against Ryan's shoulder.

“Yeah… Kinda fucked up. D’you wanna come with me to Burnie’s office? Why don’t I put you in a wheelchair so you don’t have to move.” Ryan realized he felt more guilty for endangering Caleb earlier today than he’d thought.

"What did you do?" Caleb asked and shook his head. "It's okay. I can walk." He refuted as he stretched. "I'm not too bad. Let's go see Burnie, I haven't been down to see him in a long time."

“‘Cause he rarely lets anyone see him,” Ryan snorted and held his hand out for Caleb, holding up one of the boy’s arms to support. “Just lean on me.” He shook his head as they walked out of the infirmary. “I didn’t do anything! It’s not always my fault.” Ryan laughed and rubbed his eyes, keeping Caleb up. “Don’t worry about it.”

Caleb looked at Ryan. "Then what did Ray do?" He asked as the walked towards the lab. "I wonder how he's doing... I wish he would be okay, y'know?" Ryan opened the door to Burnie's lab and walked down.

Burnie was standing hunched over the corpse, poking prodding and pulling stuff off of the body. "Who's there?! The fuck you want? I'm busy!"

“Burnie! It’s just us.” Ryan grinned as they walked into the lab rooms. The labs were the one area of the bunker that were actually decked out in technology, monitors, white screens and sterile fridges. Ryan didn’t know how to use a single tool in there but he liked watching people like Burnie who did. “Did Joel and Gus get you the new samples? Looks like it…” The corpse on the table was a viral.

"Yeah," Burnie mumbled as he cut into the viral and looked at Caleb. "How're you and Caleb? He looks beaten up." He said with his head kept down looking at viral.

Caleb smiled softly and held onto Ryan. "How's the viral? Got what you needed?"

“Geez… he’d have to learn something. Look at all the guts he’s pulling out.” Ryan cringed as he reached for a face mask to put over his mouth. “Put one on too.” He stepped over to the other side of the table, Burnie was harvesting stem and blood cells into petri dishes. “We’re alright, this guy got the first swing at Caleb, but we’re alright. Why do you need so much more material now? Seems like we just brought in virals.”

Burnie kept his eyes focused on what he was doing, not wanting to fuck up any of the samples he needed to test. “We’re trying to save the world, remember,” the man helpfully replied. “I’m making some progress on a new study… one that will help us.” He usually didn’t get more specific than that. “Barb is working on the counteractive sirum still.”

Burnie his head down, only looking up when the petri dishes were sealed. “So, did you want something?” He asked a  little impatiently. “I have fucking work to do.” His jaw clenched. “I know you wanna know what I’m doing but you wouldn’t get a single thing I say.”

Caleb laughed softly and chewed his bottom lip. “I-I guess we should go, I’m sure Ryan will come back to check up on you.” Caleb hated coming to see Burnie, he was always so tense.

“I just wanted to see how you were doing, man,” Ryan offered. “I haven’t even seen you for like almost two weeks. We got you your virals, how’s about a ‘thank you’? Caleb got a nasty hit for these.” He looked into the viral’s opened body, feeling a little sick. The infection had turned it’s blood into black pus. Burnie had cut open the heart and as working on the cranial cavity. “You’ll go insane if you don’t talk to anyone, Burns. At least let Barbara share this lab room with you.”

Burnie straightened up to look at Ryan. He took his gloves off and sighed. "Yeah, I know... I'm just… It's been two years today, since y’know... I'm a little on edge today. I need to go visit him." Burnie sighed heavily and wipe the sweat off his forehead. "Barb is okay in the back. I don't need her to see this. Her and Arryn see enough."

“You’re going to work yourself to death, you visit him almost everyday, Burnie… I promise their graves are all safe from the virus on our holy ground, Burn, it’s surveillanced 24/7.” Ryan sat on one of the stools across from the guy who was cleaning his scalpels and putting a few samples in the fridge. “You don’t need to go back there everyday… In fact, you probably shouldn’t.” He didn’t want to be the one to say it but he cared about Burnie. “Since it’s the date, we can go with you.”

Burnie looked at Ryan. "You know how important he was to me! Don't you!" He was shaking, he needed Gavin here now more than ever. Burnie sighed and took his glasses off to rub his eyes. "I-I need to. I don't want him to think I forgot about him..."

Caleb hated seeing Burnie like this, it killed him. He felt bad for the man. "It's okay, Ryan will go with you, okay? Meg just wants to make sure you're safe."

Ryan got up and crossed over to Burnie, pulling him in by the shoulder and wrapping him in a hug. "Burnie... I'm sorry," he replied softly. "Wrap up this ugly viral, I'll go with you, okay? We'll bring some flowers. But I want you to try not go back there for the rest of the week."

Burnie gripped Ryan's jacket and sighed. "I'm not gonna make that a promise." Burnie mumbled and held onto the man tighter. "I can't not go visit him. You can't stop me from going..." Burnie mumbled, feeling more deflated. "I loved him so much... Why did this have to happen? I can't get over him..."

Ryan hugged him tighter in response. "I know, Burnie..." Since this viral war had broken out, time blurred together. Time moved so slow even though it seemed like just yesterday that Gavin was here. "Clean up these guts, I'll walk Caleb back to his room and we can go. Okay?"

Burnie nodded and sighed as he wrapped the viral up and moved it into the ice boxes. He cleared up his table too as he watched Ryan pick the small boy up and hug close, carrying him out of the lab.

Burnie teared his eyes away and walked into the back. "Hey Barb! I'm going to Gavin's grave. Can you and Arryn run the samples in the fridge with the red X on them? I'll be back soon."

Arryn walked over to Barb and smiled at the man. "Of course. Go. We understand how important today is to you."

“Say ‘hi’ to him for us,” Barbara added with a smile, she sighed once Burnie had gathered his things and gone to meet up with Ryan, leaving the two girls there. “Two years today, huh? We weren’t even completely moved to the bunker then, he still lived up top. I feel so sorry for him… I don’t know why he won’t let us help him with these labs anymore.”

Arryn sighed and nodded. "I know what you mean..." She mumbled and hugged Barbara. "I hope he's okay... I'm so worried about him with Gavin, it doesn’t seem like he’s moved on much at all." She mumbled.

Barbara leaned her head back against Arryn’s shoulder, comforted by her arms around her waist. “I guess we’d better take care of these samples…”

Ryan laid Caleb out in bed, putting on the TV in the corner of the room to watch. Most of the local stations weren’t running anymore so Gus set up a line that played a random string of old movies all day. “Here.” He got a beer for the boy from underneath his desk. Ray’s room next door was sealed shut.

Caleb smiled happily and nodded. "Thanks. Go take care of Burnie. I worry about him, he doesn't look like he’s been sleeping much more." He murmured as he squeezed Ryan's hand. "And talk to Ray!" He hissed and relaxed in the bed, he was glad to be relaxing for a little while. He knew Ryan would take care of him.

Ryan gave his flat frown and let out an exasperated sigh. “Alright, alright. You get some rest. Your cell has my connection in it if you need anything, okay?” He pushed his fingers through Caleb’s short hair before pulling away and stepping out of his room. “We’ll be back later.”

He stopped in front of Ray’s door, resting his forehead against it tentatively. “Ray, you in there?”

Caleb blushed and bit his bottom lip. He loved when Ryan touched him like that.

Ray turned to face the door. "Yeah... What you want?" He mumbled and rubbed his eyes, he'd just been staring at that wall for the past hour on a bad high. "Did you go see Burnie?"

“Yeah, we’re going topside. Today’s the anniversary Gavin died… Did you wanna come meet him?” Ryan leaned against the door, hearing the echo of Ray’s muffled voice. “Did you get some food? Some fresh air might help the high.”

Ray sighed softly as he got outta bed. Why was he so damn drawn to the man's voice? "Yeah okay..." He mumbled as he unlocked his door, opening it, the man almost falling on top of him. "That poor man. He must've really loved him..."

Ryan wrapped a hand around Ray’s jaw, giving him a small, apologetic kiss on the forehead. He didn’t say anything else, just took his hand and walked with him towards the command room. “Yeah, not the most fun of days. Burnie, ready to go?” He found the other man sitting in the center.

Ray blushed as he looked up at Burnie. “H-Hi… I’m Ray.” Ray outstretched his hand and Burnie took it, shaking it lightly. “Burnie.”

Burnie stood and looked at Ryan and nodded. “Yeah. We’re gonna get him flowers right?” He said and leaned against Ryan slightly. He really wished he could’ve went alone, or just with Ryan.

“Yeah,” Ryan mirrored. “Let’s go, there are wildflowers on the way. Ray’s newest here, we found him when we were clearing out that mine in Dallas.” Burnie noticed he was about the same height and build as Gavin was, he tried not to let it bother him. The three of them found their way to the elevator, Burnie wouldn’t look at Ray for longer than a second.

Ray looked at Ryan and chewed his bottom lip. “U-Um… Ryan, maybe I should stay back in the bunker?” He wasn’t comfortable with the way the man was looking at him, it made him uneasy.

Burnie kept his gaze ahead of him looking at the elevator. “Make up your mind kid, we’re burning daylight.”

Ryan lightly smacked Burnie’s chest. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to, you should stay with us.” He reached out for Ray’s hand, pulling him into the elevator. Ray could still feel the shape of Ryan’s lips pressed on his forehead, he said less than a few hours ago that he’d be done messing with Ryan but here he was.

Ray pressed against Ryan’s other side slightly and sighed under his breath. "Okay, I'll come." He laughed and hid behind Ryan’s shoulder.

Burnie clenched his jaw as he looked at Ray. He hated the way that kid looked, resented it, the smallest things reminded him of Gavin. Burnie was pissed at Ryan for bringing this kid to him, like what did he want him to do? Forget about him? There was no fucking way that would ever happen.

Ryan pushed the elevator closed and hit the button, the elevator rattled every time it ascended. Ryan was the first to climb out of the latch at the top, then he helped Ray, and Burnie. “Why don’t we take one bike? Burnie, hop in the sidecart. Ray you can sit behind me.” He could feel Burnie’s discomfort and anger at him, he didn’t know how to comfort him.

“Fuckin’ kidding me?”

“C’mon man, it’s not a long ride.” Ryan laughed and pat Burnie’s back. “Y’okay, Burns?”

Ray looked at Ryan and then at Burnie. "Maybe I'll just stay here, Burnie doesn't seem to like me. It's probably better for him if I stay..." He said softly and sat on the dead grass and kept his head down.

Burnie looked at Ryan and then at Ray. "Well isn't this kid just so smart!? Maybe he should stay here." He half hissed at Ryan, how could Ryan not notice the resemblance? Why did he not consider this would upset him more?

“Burnie,” Ryan replied firmly. “I don’t know what feelings you’re having, but open your eyes. Ray hasn’t done anything to you, he’s Ray. No one else… I’m sorry, kid, why don’t you stay with the bikes? We won’t be long.” Ryan grabbed one of the bikes, waiting for Burnie to come on. He had a bone to pick when Ray was out of earshot, Burnie could see it.

Ray nodded and continued to look at the ground. "Okay. I'll stay here. Don't be too long." The only thing Ray heard was Ryan calling him kid. What did he mean by that? Ray felt so fucking stupid that he came in the first place. He should've just stayed in bed.

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."