Caden felt the agitation inside him grow with every second that passed. It was almost time for curfew, after which he knew the doors would be shut. He stared at the box which contained food for Renee, who was yet to show up. 

"Laundry work shouldn't take so long, right?" Caden thought as he paced around the room anxiously. 

"Can you not move around? We're trying to spread the mattresses" Someone said in annoyance. 

"Right, sorry," He said, feeling extremely stupid. He spread his mattress in an empty corner, as well as one for Renee right beside it. 

"All doors will be locked after curfew" 

Those words rang in Caden's ear, as the clock had almost struck 10 PM. Would Renee be left to wander the safe house if she couldn't make it on time? 

He peeked out the door one last time, to see if Renee was coming and this time, she was! She was running towards the door as fast as she could, which wasn't very fast but it did the trick, as she made it right on time!

As Caden checked the clock, he realized she'd made it with only two minutes to spare. 

"What took so long?" He asked, with a raised voice. 

"Work took longer than I expected," She said with a sigh. 

"Laundry doesn't take so long" Caden replied, sceptically. He didn't really what he was onto, but something just didn't seem right. 

"It does when you have to wash and dry everything by hand," She said, frustrated by his interrogation. 

"I guess," He said. 

"Let's just go to sleep, I'm tired," Renee said.

"Aren't you hungry?" He said extending the bento box towards her. 

"Not really, I just wanna sleep," She said and lay down. 

Caden found her behaviour strange, as she wasn't usually one to turn down food. But then again, he'd only known her for about a week. 

He tried to let go of these thoughts by focusing on the bigger matter at hand. His weapons. 

He expected something from Gabriella the next day, as she saw her entering and exiting one of the 'no civilian entry' rooms, which meant she'd have access to the information. 

The sooner he got his weapon, the safer he'd feel.

»»————-　☠　————-««

Gabriella was allowed to sleep in that day, given they'd been working till 2 AM the previous day. This was one of the few days Gabriella saw herself in bed past 5 AM, and it felt liberating, even though the total hours of sleep remained the same. 

She woke up right as breakfast was being served and quickly got dressed. She still had work to do for the day. 

They had been informed the previous day that they would be continuing the same work as yesterday, which gave Gabriella hope that this would end up as a permanent promotion. 

On her way out, she felt a pair of rough arms pull her back to a corner, she immediately grabbed the attacker's wrist, ready to twist it.

"Woah, stop. It's me!" Caden said, panicked. 

"What the hell was that for?" Gabriella screamed. 

"I just wanted to talk to you," He said sheepishly. 

"You could've just called me," She said with her arms folded. "Anyway, what do you want?"

"I came to receive updates on our weapons," Caden said. 

"It's only been a day, Caden" Gabriella reminded him "I'll work on it when I have time" 

"But I saw you inside one of those secret rooms yesterday," Caden said. 

"Caden, you know I can't share all that with you," She said sternly "It's confidential" 

"I know that, but didn't you get anything," He asked expectantly. 

"I was occupied with something else," She said. Seeing his face fall, she added "I'll tell you when I find something"

"I know," He said while nodding. "You should get going" 

"You're right, see you later," She said and rushed to catch up with the others. 

Caden sighed and went to his room to receive his chore for the day. He opened up his slip and saw the word "Dusting" written in a robotic font. He looked around for Renee but left after realizing she had already left. He followed the sign board which led him to a part of the safe house he never knew existed. 

He opened it and realized it was a storage room which mainly consisted of brooms and rags. The empty space between the shelves accommodated the other dusting people who had already arrived. 

"Ah, come on in son," An elderly woman said. Caden gave his best polite smile and walked in. 

"As you all are aware, you will need to dust the safe house. We don't want any new diseases forming" She said and began cackling at her own joke. 

"Everyone grab a broom or a cloth and get started. The rules remain the same, no entering the restricted areas" The woman said and walked out.

Caden picked a broom and together everyone went to the main hall, from where they went their separate directions. 

"This is going to be a long day," he thought to himself. On the bright side, he got to roam around the entire safe house without getting questioned by anyone. Maybe he could find out where his weapons were being stored. 

He swept the floors as fast as possible, to try and cover more area. He began sweeping through one of the hallways, which seemed to mainly consist of dorm rooms and other storage lockers. All except one door at the end of the hallway, which had the sticker of a military logo along with a "Do not enter" sticker on the door. 

Caden knew the door would be locked, but it didn't stop him from going close and overhearing something. He pretended to sweep around the corner of the hallway and got closer to the door. 

"You're in too deep, there's no backing out anymore" 

"I know that, I was just pointing it out" 

"We really don't have time for this, you know I can't keep coming here" 

"I know, we've got something good for you today" 

"Finally, let me see it" 

Caden felt his stomach twist, he didn't know what they were talking about but it sure as hell didn't sound good. 

"Wait. I think someone's out there" He heard from inside. 

Hearing this, Caden immediately picked his broom up and ran as fast as he could. Feeling a little dizzy, he sat down and began comprehending what he'd just overheard. The voices were a little muffled, but he knew for sure one of them was Arthur.