AM13 Outbreak Shorts

One Year On - Twenty Four (Rhys)

Rhys

"I think you're going to be just fine here," Hugh tells me with a smile. "You seem to have a good aim already, so with a bit of practice, you'll be a good enough shot to go out there."

The words out there fill me with a pit of dread, but I don't let that show on my face. When my group finally arrived here and we got behind some safe walls, I didn't think I would ever want to leave again. I thought that I'd seen enough of the outside world to last me a lifetime...but here I am, volunteering myself once more.

I'm going to be back among them. The dead ones. The virus victims. The infected...whatever they're called. Everyone has a different name for the monsters who wish to tear the flesh off of every living human still going. The beasts who wish to grow their army every single day.

But I need something. Since I lost my best friend, Alex, to...well, whatever it is he's doing, I'm still not sure yet, I've been empty, lonely, life hasn't had much meaning. This seems like a good way to get that back.

"Yeah, thanks, Hugh. I think so too. I want to do whatever I can to be useful."

"Well, joining my band of soldiers will surely help you with that. We're out on the road a lot, picking up survivors and supplies, basically keeping everyone alive."

I like that. The idea of working towards the camp rather than against it. It's a real shame that I lost my friend, but instead of moping, I'm going to make some new ones.

Seeing Hugh and the other soldiers laughing, drinking, and having a good time together is actually what drew me to them. I wanted to be a part of that.

And now I am. Or I will be very soon.

That's worth the risk of putting my life on the line.

"Right, well you've already met Baz, Max, and James." Hugh points to some of the other guys in turn. "Let me introduce you to the rest."

There are too many names for me to remember all in one go, but I smile gratefully as I meet them all. There's a flower of hope blooming in my chest that I haven't experienced for a long time. Finally, I have something to pull me out the funk that I've been in. I didn't want to think it, I was scared to accept it, but I might have been becoming depressed.

This really isn't the sort of world where I can get help for that kind of problem, so it was a scary thing to see where that could lead.

"Would you like a beer?" James asks me while handing a can to me.

I take it gratefully and clink it against his, feeling like I finally have a place in this world, a purpose. It fills up the hole that's been growing within me, and I'm sure that all is going to be better from here on out.