Alex and Gerald ended up bunking away from the others in a small makeshift hut on the roof of the tall building. They said that usually the sharpshooters would alternate using it to sleep in, but they were willing to share it with the two Rangers. It was tiny, L shaped hut and only had enough space for a queen mattress and two bed rolls and a small campfire in between the two. The queen mattress sat in the small cubby of one side and had two cabinets above it that held food and supplies for the sharpshooters since they were to stay on watch all night and had alternate shifts.

There were four sharp shooters total on the roof. Two men, two women. There was a red head named Ron with a primitive, serious look forever pasted to his face and a lanky body. He reminded Alex of a stray dog with bad experiences with people. Another sharpshooter was John. He didn't speak and held his gun very close, always looking nervously into the campfire before getting up quickly and walking around the roof over and over before he got tired and sat down again. The other two were twin girls, who claimed their names were Star and Liz. They had messy hair and wild grins about them, always goofing and getting into trouble, and were oddly very sexual in their jokes and behavior. The four would took turns getting up at different points of the day and night to keep watch for threats. They would also alternate looking around and there was always at least one person walking around the roof with a pair of binoculars and a look of fear pointed to the boundaries of their vision.

Gerald and Alex were informed they would have to share the queen mattress when they choose to sleep, and as their first night there, they choose to speak with the sharpshooters and settle in. They were prepared to go out at the crack of dawn, and now sat by the campfire with the twins while Ron paced around the roof.

"You guys are brave for being outside of walls all the time. What happens when a hoard is near?" Liz, or at least Alex guessed that was who it was, said to them.

Gerald smiled at them politely. "If a hoard passes by, we usually get under this very large thick comforter that's been put over a campfire so it smells of smoke. That way they cannot smell us as well. It hides the smell of our breathe, which is what they smell and our odor but it's not as strong. And we are not that brave, just very, very unintelligent" Gerald smiled wolfishly at Alex upon saying the last sentence.

"It must get so hot under there." Star said with a mischievous tone. "I bet you guys have to get naked to keep cool." Her twin snickered as they grinned together, like looking at a mirror.

Alex immediately looked down with red hot coals for cheeks. "Not at all." She mumbled. Sex was an uncomfortable topic for Alex, after all at the end of the world, there wasn't a whole lot of time to focus on relationships and boy parts, especially since she studied more and didn't party and throw herself at the whim of other people like most teens in her generation did.

Star and Liz giggled together as they noticed her reaction. "Oh how cute." They said together.

The two moved closer to Gerald, "Teaching the virgin a thing or two, are we master ranger?" Star teased.

Liz snickered. "I bet we could school the master."

Star gasped and slapped her sister's arm playfully. "Liz, you slutty girl!" She exclaimed.

Liz giggled, they were like children. "You started it!" They giggled even louder.

Alex stood up, mostly to get away from light that betrayed her bright cheeks and embarrassed look. Never had she met such vulgar girls, and to be acting in such a way towards her teacher made it even worse. She turned her back as they giggled more at her and she went to the edge of the roof to aid in keeping watch. She heard their devilish whispers to Gerald, teasing and tempting him. He seemed unresponsive, until he spoke.

"Girls, it is so repulsive to act in such a way." He spoke calmly, with a friendly smile. "I understand, new people are exciting I'm sure." And with that he got up and left.

The girls seemed not to care about his reaction and continued to giggle and joke with their obscene humor.

Gerald stood next to Alex. "Those girls thrive off of any sort of reaction towards their language. Do not be ashamed for what you haven't experienced. Be proud. One of the few things I see anymore is class."

"I'm not embarrassed." Alex grumbled.

Gerald chuckled. "I never said you were." He smiled at her encouragingly. "Come, it is getting late and we have to get up early."

Alex nodded and she followed him to the small hut. They layed their bedrolls on the dirty mattress.

"I'm going to wash up." Alex said, grabbing her small bag for personal care.

Gerald nodded as he took off his shirt. "Of course."

Alex climbed down the ladder and to the well in the middle of the courtyard. She grabbed a bucket and filled it halfway with water. Using a dirty cloth and some small scraps of soap left, she went behind a curtain meant for washing up and took her shirt off. She washed her chest before taking her pants off and doing the same. She was always covered in dirt from her travels. She dumped the bucket on her body to rinse off and began to dry herself off quickly as she shivered uncontrollably in the night.

Help!

Alex stopped. Something called in the distance.

Help me, anyone!

There. A voice. Carried by the wind, faded.

Alex quickly got dressed and looked around. She couldn't see anything in the dark night.

Please!

A pleading voice called, it was urgent. She was able to figure that it was from the direction that Caleb said that his Runners went missing. Maybe there was a Runner trapped somewhere in the ruins. To call out in the dark and expose your location, they must be in deep trouble.

The hair stood up on the back of her neck, thinking of what she was gonna do next was too scary to plan it out, she just had to do it.

Alex acted quickly. She went back to the hut to find a sleeping Gerald.

Should she wake him? No. She could do this on her own... right?

She quickly grabbed her stuff and talked herself into doing this stupid, and very dangerous thing. She'd been out in this shit world for almost a year, she could do it. Sooner or later, she'd have to leave the safety of Gerald too...

She took an empty bag to gather supplies and her weapons were strapped to her belt. She covered her face with a smoky bandana. The smell would mask her breathe and since she just washed, she should be good for a couple of hours.

Just follow the noise, look at the scenario and decide whether or not to act or just report it back to Caleb.

As she left the hut, Ron caught her arm, "What are you up to, Ranger?"

Alex cleared her throat. "Ranger business. Just doing some investigating. I'll be back in a couple hours."

Ron squinted at her. "Go towards the back, there will be three crates. It'll let you jump the fence. You got to jump far though because of the traps. When I spot you come back, I'll open the door for you and let you in, as long as you're not being followed by a hoard that is. The coast is clear for as far as almost a mile. That means they're staying in a large group, probably to keep themselves from freezing like plants tonight. After 3 hours, I'm waking your teacher and telling him you're gone."

Alex nodded. "Thanks for the help."

She then began for the back of the camp, looking for the three crates Ron described. They were easy enough to find.

The crates left just 6 six inches of fence to jump over, but she had to jump as far as five feet. She stretched her legs as far as possible. Her foot hit a wood spike, a little too hard, but after limping it off, she was ready.

She disappeared, just like how Gerald taught her. Rangers were a master of camouflage. She went through shambled ruins and dodged any noise of grunts or labored breathes.

Help!

It was more clear now. A couple blocks in, she had to be on the lookout. There was so much risk but to save someone from a terrible fate... that was worth it.

The dead were also attracted to the noise, which made a great cover for Alex, but they were still heading for the same thing, which meant a huge group could be waiting for her.

She traced the voice to a ruined brick building 3 stories high. Zombies gathered, all scratching at the building, their hunger could be sensed from miles away; their pained moans peirced her ears that sent a shiver down her spine.

She looked over the scene as she listened to the cries for mercy come from the building. That metal door didn't have much left in it. They were sure to break at any minute.

There. A gutter led to the roof with barely any zombies around. She could probably sneak past the fiends in her way but getting out was another problem.

She stuck low to the ground, following the shadows leading to it and dodged any interaction with the undead busy with trying to break down the building for a measly snack. She dug her boots into the side of the building and climbed up as quietly and as carefully as possible. Alex felt the thing coming loose, barely holding on from a couple of screws. As she launched herself forward and grabbed the roof, the gutter ripped off the building and went crashing down to the ocean of zombies below.

Great. Now this place was going to be a hot spot for days.

She walked up to the roof entrance for the building. Locked. A nice, hard kick to the it changed that real fast. She sprinted down the stairs, sure she was going to end up tumbling down them.

At the second floor, the voice was very clear. "Stay away!"

A shotgun went off and almost clipped Alex by the doorway.

"W-wait!" Alex shouted out in surprise. "I'm here to help! I heard your cries."

The woman started sobbing hard in response. "That is s-so hard to believe." Alex then turned the corner to find a skeleton of a woman, crumbled in a pile of dirty cloth. "I've been out here for a week with barely anything to drink and nothing to eat." She cried, and held herself, and shook with emotion. "I just want to go back and hold my husband again. This was such a huge mistake."

"Wait." Alex realized quickly who this woman was. "You're Caleb's wife?!"

She looked up, hope gleaming in her eyes. "You know of Caleb? Of Vigilance?"

Alex nodded. "I'm a Ranger. We were sent to aid Caleb to keep the base going. The place has hit some hard times after you went missing. I was just washing up when I heard you and thought to investigate. You sounded despite. I honestly don't know how I heard you."

She went back to sobbing. "Thank you! Thank you!" She looked up with teary eyes. "My name is Marie. Please... Take me home."

Alex gave an even more defining nod. "Of course."

And of course right when she said this in the middle of a hopeful moment the door on the first floor broke with a loud bang. Zombies began to fill the place and water filling a sinking boat.

They began to bang the door that protected the room. That door wasn't as strong as the other, and was probably going to break in less than a minute. Alex had no idea what to do and quickly looked around. Their only hope was to get on the roof.

"C'mon, the roof is our only hope." Alex said. She grabbed Marie's hand and they sprinted up the stairs, that mostly consisted of Alex dragging the worn woman. She had no energy, and no strength left in her body; but thankfully was also very light due to this fact.

They hit the cool air as they reached the roof and Alex, very panicky, began to look down, figuring out how they were going to survive a jump.

Crash

The second floor door was down. There was no time to think, not time to-

There. A dumpster full of rotten trash and open. Perfect soft spot to land. She grabbed Marie without saying a word and threw her down. She watched as she landed on the soft trash safe and sound. She quickly got out and Alex jumped into the darkness. She landed, hard, and lost her breath.

She recovered as quickly as possible, which wasn't as quick as she would've liked, and grabbed Marie's hand. They would have to run all the way to Vigilance and hope they make it.

After a mile of running with zombies on their heels, Marie began to slow to a crawl as Alex dragged her.

"Please, don't leave me." She started to cry again, her body giving up.

"I won't." Alex promised. She would bring Caleb his wife, even if it killed her.

But just as she said this, a hand shot out from the dark and grabbed her shoulder. Thinking it was a zombie she turned around quickly, and ripped her shoulder out of it's grasp. As she turned around to deliver a solid blow, it quickly deflected it.

"Gerald!?" Alex asked surprised. He didn't say anything to her. His face was one of extremely pissed.

They ran out of time. Soon, zombies were upon Marie, and at the sound of the first scream, Gerald grabbed Alex and began sprinting, dragging her with him as she fought to try and get back to Marie.

"No!" Alex shouted. She promised.

Marie's screamed were terrifying. Sharp knives in the dark, cold night of pain and suffering and loss. "HELP! DON'T LEAVE ME!" Her begging was soon replaced by ear piercing screams of mercy. No more words, just audible suffering for miles.

"No." Alex began to cry. "No, no." Her screams were accusing her of failure. Of cursing her with a terrible death. Her screams could make Alex feel her pain. The teeth piercing her skin, the nail clawing her eyes, her flesh being torn apart while she could feel every thing. And just as suddenly as her screams began, they stopped.

It made it official. She was dead.

Gerald dragged Alex away and away and away. And before she knew it, they were back at the base.

Caleb ran to them, tears in his eyes.

Before anyone could say anything he spoke.

"She's gone."