"I think they're northeast," Renee said, keeping up her walking pace.

"Um, what?" Caden asked in confusion.

"Never mind" She replied "Just follow me" 

Caden nodded and did as he was told. It didn't take Renee long to locate the military personnel, bringing a massive smile to his face. It didn't matter if a horde followed them now, the soldiers could fight them off and they would be saved. 

"Officers!" Renee screamed in an unsure tone. Caden guessed it was because she wasn't sure about how to address them. They turned behind and Renee used what little energy she had left to run towards them. 

There were seven of them, and even though her face was covered in mud from being in the woods for so long, Caden could recognize those ice-blue eyes anywhere.

"Gabriella?" He asked. "Is that you?"

Gabriella didn't need any sort of confirmation to know that it was indeed her brother. And her heart soared with joy, he was alive! She walked towards him and pulled him close, her arms wrapped around him.

"I missed you so much" He whispered, kissing her forehead. Their reunion, however, was soon cut off by Arthur.

"Enough" He growled "We have work to do"

Even though she didn't want to, Gabriella immediately stepped back and stood beside her fellow workers. 

"He could be infected," Arthur said. 

"I know, my apologies," She said feeling embarrassed. Like any others, they were searched down and sent back with a member of the evacuation team while the others continued to the woods. 

Renee and Caden were taken back to the van and made to wait for the others. After about two hours of doing nothing, they finally returned with another man and they all left for the safe house. 

They all rode back in silence, no one from the military nor Caden spoke a word. Renee didn't mind the silence, she found it relaxing. She shut her eyes and waited for the journey to end. 

"We've reached" Arthur announced as they all got down the van. The head of rations was called and all the supplies brought in by Caden and Renee were taken in. After everyone had left, Caden finally got a moment alone with Gabriella. 

"I was so worried about you," He said, a tear falling from his eye.

"Come on, I'm right here," She said "There's no need to cry"

"I tried everything I could to protect you, you know?" Caden continued, wiping his tear.

"Protect me?" She laughed "It's cute and all, but I don't need protection" 

He was about to reply but she chuckled and walked away before he could. He realized that he had lost Renee and all the other survivors and ran after them. 

All the survivors found that day were gathered around as Arthur was giving them instructions. 

"-will all be expected to follow certain rules to be allowed in here"

Renee signalled him to come to sit next to her. 

"What's going on?" He asked. 

"Just the chief giving rules" She replied. 

"First and foremost, getting pregnant is strictly forbidden. In case of this, the mother would have to get an abortion or leave the safe house" 

Gasps were heard from the crowd because everyone felt it was too cruel to leave a pregnant woman to fend for herself, but no one dared question, Arthur. 

"Everyone will be assigned curfew and all doors will be locked after which" He continued in a stern tone. 

"Under no circumstances will anyone be allowed to go out of the safe house unless instructed by a chief," Arthur said. "Now, the last two rules are the most important so make sure to hear these carefully"

That statement got everyone's attention as they were not willing to do anything to risk their stay here. 

"The boards with the military logo on them are strictly off-limits. No one shall enter, hover outside it or try to peer inside" He said with a deeper voice than usual "And lastly, all your weapons will be confiscated" 

The last rule got everyone in a fit of rage, they remained silent and cooperative with all these rules even though they found some unfair, but they were not willing to give up on their weapons. 

As some soldiers came forward to take their weapons, Caden spoke up. 

"You can't do that!" 

Arthur raised an eyebrow, "And why's that?" 

"These weapons are what kept us safe from those creatures, we need them for safety" He protested. Caden knew that statement was only half true, it wasn't that he needed safety from the creatures, Arthur just didn't give him good vibes, and didn't want to lose his weapons.

"We use the term 'undead'" He said "And to answer your query, we are here for your safety. Seeing that you won't be leaving the safehouse anytime soon, you won't find need of it" 

"But-" Renee tried arguing further but Arthur raised his hand signalling them to keep silent. 

"This can either be done the nice way or taken from you by force. Your choice" Arthur said and left the room, two of his minions to his side. 

Renee didn't have a good feeling about this, she felt something eerie about Arthur, but she also knew they were no match for the military. So, left with no other choice, Caden had to give up all his weapons, including the gun.

»»————-　☠　————-««

Gabriella was in the changing room with all the other soldiers. Civilians weren't allowed in here, nor were soldiers allowed in their rooms. She didn't mind though, she knew she'd still see Caden around and even if not, knowing he was safe was good enough for her. 

After a few days, she finally got the time to braid her long her. French braiding was something her mother loved to do on her, it was a time they would bond. She wasn't a fan of braids, but she wanted to keep her mother's memory alive, so she'd do it whenever she got the time. 

"You're braiding your hair right now?" Liam asked "It's almost night time" 

"I know," She says awkwardly "I just felt like it" 

"Uh ok," He replied and was on his way to the door "Dinner's getting distributed in 5. Also, Arthur wants to talk to us later tonight" 

"Copy that," Gabriella says while struggling to get the braid right. 

Eventually, she did a decent-looking braid and wasn't willing to invest any more time in her hair. She rushed to the dining room and crashed straight into Renee and Caden. 

"Oh hey," She said. 

"Why are you in such a rush?" Caden asked. 

"I'm late for dinner and Arthur wants a 'meeting' later" She replied, a little impatient. Renee nudged Caden's arm. 

"You know, I need a favour from you," He said sheepishly.

"What kind of favour?" She inquired. 

"I need you to get my weapons back from confiscation" Caden finally blurted out.

"What?" She asked, completely taken aback.

"Arthur took away all our weapons as some sort of 'procedure'" Renee explained "And we just don't trust him" 

"I'm sorry, but I can't help with that," She said reluctantly. 

"Please Gabs, you work here. I'm sure there are a few strings you can pull" Caden pleaded.

"You need to understand, I just joined the military last year, they won't trust me with that stuff. The only reason I'm on this mission is that they needed all the help they could get to control the undead" Gabriella said trying to reason with him. 

"I suppose she's right," Renee told Caden with a sigh. As they turned to leave, Gabriella had a sudden change of heart and called them back. 

"I'll still try to figure out what I can"