Sunrise came hammering at the door much sooner than Finn would have liked. He groaned and rolled over to his opposite side.
Jamie was in the bed next to his, who also looked incredibly annoyed at the loud, banging alarm clock.
"Get up. Let's gooo." A male voice said. "You have your evaluation with the captain in ten minutes."
As Finn pried himself up from his bed his spine and joints crack. Even with the thin mattress, he slept like a rock. Over the past few days sleep had been elusive, in part from the constant driving and in part from worry. Worry about what to do for these people-his people, and worry about his brother.
Something changed in him after the attack. His symptoms, which had mostly been dormant, seemed to be getting worse. No-he's not worse. He's just different.
As Finn put on his shoes he glanced again at Jamie. Unless you knew, you wouldn't be able to tell there was anything wrong. But there was hesitation in Jamie when he walked through the morning sunbeams casting through the windows. There was a way that he smiled with his lips shut as to not show off his teeth. There was a way he wore a hat or kept his eyes down to keep people he didn't know from seeing the dark rust color of his eyes.
He was good at blending in. Maybe even people that knew couldn't notice his quirks, but Finn noticed. They were brothers-twins-they'd grown up together and knew everything about each other. Finn knew. Finn knew even if neither of them wanted to admit it.
He's worse.
"Where exactly do we have to go to meet the captain?" Finn asked the loud man.
"Down the street. I'll be escorting you."
"All of us?" Andie asked.
"Whoever's in charge?" The man sounded bored.
All the eyes went to Finn. He looked at his brother. Jamie just looked back at him. "You're coming with me. Let's go"
Jamie sighed audibly.
This could either be really good or really bad.
If this Captain was head of this base, then it was probably a good thing to get on their good side. Jamie did pass as human, and Finn truly believed he wouldn't be given a second thought even by someone as high up as the Captain. He needed this person to believe there was nothing different.
"Alright. Follow me."
They walked out in the morning light, following their escort a few steps behind. Jamie squinted at Finn and whispered, "You're an idiot."
"An idiot with a plan." Finn smiled.
"Sure."
They came up to a building that had the words Studio 35 in small white letters on the glass door. It was almost a shock to see the glass still intact and no grafitied penis's drawn on the building.
The inside looked like any ordinary office you'd see from the world before it went to hell. Dull white walls, rectangle lights hanging from the ceiling, and a lot of empty desks that would normally be filled with people.
They walked through a hallway to the end of the building to a closed unmarked door. Their escort knocked-much lighter than he had this morning- and a voice replied signifying they could enter.
"Please, sit." The man from behind the desk had his head down as he was reading the papers in front of him.
Finn took the chair on the right and Jamie took the one on the left.
The man in front of them must be the Captain. He looked like he belonged on an army base. His hair was buzzed and speckled with grey. His face had the wear lines of someone 20 years older than him. He looked up at them and his eyebrows raised. That's usually what happened when people weren't expecting to see nearly identical people sitting across from them.
Finn pushed a smile onto his face. "Hi, I'm Finn. This is my brother-"
"Jamie." The Captain finished. "Yes. I saw your charts."
Finn swallowed.
"You were out there for a long time." It wasn't a question. He flipped over another paper. "And it looks like your commune was attacked. And yet you passed our tests." The Captain stopped reading the papers in front of him.
Finn glanced at his brother. "I would say it's luck, but we knew a great Doctor. He made sure nothing happened to us."
"And what happened to him?"
"He didn't survive the attack." Jamie said coldly. Finn wanted to elbow him. Ever since Jamie was bit he wasn't friendly to new people. And they needed to be friends with the Captain.
"Hm. Anyway, our medical testing is just the first step of the admission process. Know that you and your people will be watched and evaluated to determine if you are a good enough fit for our camp. If not then you are back on the road. No exceptions."
"How long are we evaluated?" Jamie asked.
"Until we have enough evidence to make a verdict."
Great. That should make getting blood real pleasant.
"Sir," Finn started. "Our home was overrun by Duskies only a few days ago. Most of our people can't survive out there alone. They just need a safe place to stay. That's why we're here. We don't want any trouble."
"Do you think we can just take every refugee that knocks on our door?" The Captain leaned back in his chair. "This world has changed people. Those night-walkers are the lucky ones. Those of us who are left see the real monsters that hid under civilization. It's kill or be killed. We can't take any chances. We need to make sure the people who are at our camp are the ones we want. Do you understand?"
"Of course and we're willing to help in any way we can in order to earn our keep."
The Captain smiled a bit at that. "And you?" he asked Jamie.
Jamie looked up. He could put on the facade just as good as Finn when he wanted to. He smiled-without showing his teeth. "Like my brother said, we just want a safe place to stay. We don't want any trouble. We're ready to help in any way we can."
"Hm." The Captain flipped through his papers again. "Well it looks like they've found a spot for you all. You're in luck. Not everyone gets in that easy. But we've been busy building additional living quarters." The Captain's chest puffed and looked proud as if he'd done it all himself, which likely was not the case.
"We're very grateful for that," said Finn.
"Do any of your people have any military or surveillance experience?"
"No, Sir, not officially." Finn thought of Kaid. "We have people skilled with different weapons for self-protection, but that's it."
"You may be of use to us then." The Captain nodded and made notes on the papers in front of him. He seemed to be calculating something in his head. He stood up. "Gentlemen, we'll be in touch."
Finn shook his hand. Jamie gave him a fist bump and saw The Captain hesitate. "Germaphobe." Jamie shrugged. "You can't be too careful."
"Right." The Captain bumped his fist back.
...
On the walk back to their barrack Jamie and Finn didn't have an escort. It didn't mean, however, that they weren't being watched. Helmeted soldiers dressed in black head to toe patrolled through the buildings. Each one was armed with a gun.
"I think that went well." Finn said.
"I actually agree with you." Jamie said, kicking a rock as he walked. "It went well… considering."
"We just have to get through their trial period. I think this place could work for us."
They were talking quietly "I think that's easier said than done. One of us used to be a Duskie that ran around and ate people and I-"Jamie paused.
"I know." Finn stopped and put his hands on his brother's shoulders. "It'll be fine. We'll make it work we always do." Finn paused. "They even have a medical team maybe that means there's someone we can trust to give Doc's journal to."
Jamie scratched his head. "Yeah. You're right."
…
[The Captain's Office - Moments Later]
There was a knock on his door. "Come in."
One of his soldiers came through the door. He took off his helmet. "The girl was taken care of, Sir."
The Captain leaned back in his chair. "Were you followed?"
"No, Sir. No witnesses."
"Thank you, Duncan."
Duncan spun on his feet to leave.
"Wait," The Captain stood up now. "We had another positive test come in last night. He's from that group that just came in. Watch him. Tell the others. He may be of use to me."
"Yes, Sir." Duncan nodded and completed his exit out of the office.
