Caden walked out of the closet feeling like shit. He didn't mean to antagonize Gabriella, he should've thought things through before speaking to her. 

As much as he wanted to make things up to her, he knew he had a mission to focus on. If his suspicions about Arthur were true, he had to get out of the safe house. But he couldn't convince Renee to leave with him without any proof. 

He walked back to the main hallway where he spotted Renee talking to one of the military people.

"Ok, thanks," Renee said as they smiled at each other before the military guy left. 

"Who was that?" Caden asked, startling Renee.

"You scared me," She said after realizing it was just Caden. "And that was one of the safe house managers. I was asking her about the situation of the virus"

"And, how is it?" Caden asked, intrigued. A grim look spread over her face before she answered. 

"As bad as you'd expect. The virus has spread to neighbouring countries as well. As for the situation here, the safe houses are completely full and not taking any more survivors leaving many of them in danger" She replied.

"But, they're building more safe houses right?" Caden asked. 

"They're trying, but it's hard to do so with the undead everywhere" Renee replied. 

Hearing that, the same grim look appeared on his face. He tried avoiding this topic, but it was inevitable. Since he entered the safe house, he did not need to worry about the undead, but the problem was spreading. 

That didn't mean he'd forgotten about the virus. Every night, he would remember those two awful days he spent unprotected. The paranoia, the fear of being eaten was fresh in his mind. 

"Caden, you okay?" Renee asked snapping her fingers in his face which brought him back to reality.

"Y-yeah, I'm good," He said. 

"I get it, the virus is a depressing topic" She sighed. "Anyway, on to a different note, how'd it go with your sister?"

"Way less depressing than the undead, but not too great" He replied.

"What'd you do?" She asked.

"I fumbled. Accused her of doing evil shenanigans with Arthur and now she's mad at me for not telling her sooner" Caden said with an apologetic look.

"What did you say in your defence?" She asked.

"Nothing, I just stood there stunned" He replied sheepishly. Renee looked at him apathetically. 

"I tried, ok?" Caden said trying to defend himself.

"It's ok, I'm sure she'll come around. I understand how paranoia feels, especially in a situation like this" She said.

"Mm, you're right. I should get going now, I have some work to do" He said before he left. 

Well, he lied about the last part. He didn't have any work, he just needed time to think. He walked out of the main hall and into one of the corridors and opened a jalousie window, which was the most sunlight allowed into the safe house. He was indeed one of the lucky few who made it into safety. If Arthur ever found him snooping around, he'd lose the only thing he had right now - a place to stay. 

At the same time, a little voice in his head told him that whatever Arthur was up to might have a great impact on everyone in the safe house, maybe even threaten their survival. He now knew that none of the others from the military knew about this, which only agitated him further. 

Both roads were equally risky, he just had to hope the one he picked wouldn't result in his funeral. 

»»————-　☠　————-««

Gabriella was upset about the conversation she had with Caden. She'd never known him to be a conspiracist, but it seemed as though she didn't know him as well as she thought she did. 

Still, she knew he wasn't a liar and if he heard what he said, then he was probably onto something. She entered the conference room, where Arthur had asked them to come after his announcement. 

"As you all should know by now, the safe houses all are stocked up, which is why we are no longer required to go on rescue missions," Arthur said. 

"But shouldn't we still terminate the undead?" Janelle objected. 

"That is not our priority at the moment. Our task at the moment is to ensure food to the civilians in this safe house. The reports I've received tell me that the market we've been getting supplies from won't last long. Tomorrow, we will go further away to find new sources of food" Arthur instructed. 

Everyone nodded their heads, except Janelle who still seemed unconvinced.

"Shouldn't both be our priority? The civilians will be in less danger if-" 

"You're all dismissed," Arthur said, disregarding Janelle's concerns.

Gabriella's body left the room, but her mind was elsewhere. She had hardly paid attention to anything Arthur said, she was distraught by the thought that Arthur could be betraying them. 

"Arthur is making the wrong choice, there should be some limits to his authority" Janelle seethed. 

"Mhm, you're right," Gabriella said, still only paying half attention to her surroundings. 

"Are you even listening to me?" Janelle said, releasing her frustration on Gabriella. 

"Huh? Yeah, of course, I am" She said, snapping back to reality. 

"Back to my rant, I know Arthur isn't the one making the decisions but I do know he has the power to question their choices" Janelle continued, now that she had Gabriella's attention. 

"Maybe this is the choice Arthur supports" Gabriella shrugged.

"Come on, don't tell me this doesn't bother you," Janelle scoffed.

"What doesn't bother me?" She questioned. 

"Always living in Arthur's shadow, having to do whatever he says, your voice not being heard," Janelle said. 

"It sucks, but it is the way it is," Gabriella said "I've finally accepted that" 

"I suppose," Janelle said after a long sigh. 

Suddenly, a thought struck Gabriella. If she intended to find out more about Arthur, she'd need help. Sure, she and Janelle had the same amount of power in the military, but an ally could help her. She'd never been 'close' to anyone in her team except Declan, but maybe it was time that changed. 

Janelle would also make the perfect ally. She was righteous, and brave and was always trying to get her voice heard. Together with Gabriella's analytical mind, they'd be able to achieve it. There was just one problem, she didn't trust Janelle enough to tell her about what Caden heard. 

Maybe she'd tell her sometime later, but for now, she needed another reason to work with Janelle. 

"But it doesn't necessarily have to be this way," She said, gaining Janelle's attention.

"It's like you said, we can't change it" 

"You know the problem with people like Arthur? They only respond to aggression" Gabriella said.

"What are you suggesting?" Janelle asked, intrigued. 

"I think our main problem is that we don't know much about the system or anything else about what's being planned. If we did, we would have more of an argument" Gabriella said. 

"That's not going to work. Arthur will never hear us out" Janelle said, hesitant about her plan. 

"Of course it will!" Gabriella argued "If we figure that out, we can be more assertive, then he'd have no choice but to do something. It may not work, but I'm willing to give it a shot" 

Janelle's expression was still hesitant. Gabriella knew whatever she just said was a load of crap, she just needed something which wouldn't expose her true intentions as well as get what she needed. 

"Okay, I guess" Janelle finally said. "So we just need to spy on Arthur?" 

"Pretty much yes. Eavesdropping, snooping through his stuff if we get a chance, all that" Gabriella said. She knew she sounded incredibly suspicious, but she needed to make sure they were on the same page. 

"I'm down. But I have two conditions" Janelle said, grinning.

"What are they?" Gabriella asked.

"We will tell each other everything we find, there can't be secrets between us. The second is that this mission stays between us, anyone else knowing could jeopardize everything" Janelle said.

"Deal"