Chapter 2: Awakening
(Three Days Later - March 31, 2017 - 18:19...)
After my entrance into Harran, I was unconscious for quite a while. Though I did have a couple of moments where I awoke to be greeted by the woman, Jade I think it was, and occasionally a kid who sounded quite young, around fifteen or sixteen years old presumably. Guilt still had the tendency to brim though me whenever my rescuer visited, however...
Because you did such an awesome job in getting the woman's friend killed, Crane. And she now hates you for it. The kid probably hates you for it too.
"You pinch him!" A kid's voice suddenly dared, causing me to come to my senses and gradually attempt to force my eyes open whilst a light flashed in my head. What the?!
"You're scared," Her friend, a young boy, scoffed.
"I'm not scared!"
"Then pinch him!"
My attempts did seem to work this time round and the girl instantly took notice. "He blinked!"
"What?!" The boy asked with worry. Easy kids, I'm not gonna hurt you.
"He blinked again!"
"What if he's a zombie?" What? No!
As soon as my eyes opened, I leaned over to my left to reassure the kids, only to see them running away with fear and screaming.
"Zombie! Run!" The boy yelled out. H-Hey wait, I'm not what you think I am!
Once their footsteps faded, I felt a wave of defeat as I struggled to lift myself off the white bed, taking in my surroundings after I managed to catch my balance. The hotel room I was in had a regular space with sets of floral wallpaper and a dirty floor. It was also piled with a brown closet, tallies on the walls and a white bunk bed, the latter which I emerged from without my radio and pistol! Damn it...
"Sh*t, my head..." I groaned, placing a hand against my temple once the light faded away. And more importantly, what the hell is this place? ... Only one way to find out.
I clenched my eyes shut for a second before reopening them and walking for the exit, taking notice of the small dining room and kitchen before pushing the front door open to be greeted by the kids running and screaming again. Hey, easy! I'm not gonna hurt you both! No harm done!
"You sleep for three days like a dead man and scare children?" A black haired man with brown eyes and clad in a grey long-sleeved shirt, dark cargo pants and boots, demanded angrily. That wasn't my intention. "Off to a great start, 31,"
"Where am I?" I asked.
"In paradise, can't you see?" My new acquaintance responded jokingly, before turning to address me with a glare. "Okay, enough joking around. Head to Room 190," A clasp on the shoulder later, and he was strolling off. "The Boss will brief you,"
"What do you mean 31?" I demanded. I'm not an object, buddy!
"Ask the Boss!"
Ugh, fine.
Turning away from him and walking for the left corner of the room which had an 18 painted on the wall (190 is on the next floor up, I see), I noticed that the boy seemed to calm down as he was playfully kicking a drinking can to and fro. "Hey kid," I greeted him with a friendly grin. "I didn't mean to scare you and your friend back there. It's good to see you're both alright now,"
The kid responded with a nod and smile of his own. Glad we're on the same page.
"31." A black haired woman said, snapping my attention to her. She was dressed in a similar manner to the dude I spoke to moments ago, but she had her hair tied back in a ponytail and was clad in a grey tank top, white pants and darker trainers. "That's your number,"
I frowned. "Excuse me?"
"Your number. You're the 31st infected, I'm the 18th," She explained, allowing sadness to lace her tone as she continued. "Everything is counted here. One fewer doses of antizin, one more infected and three more runners gone,"
Christ...
"Look," I began, allowing self-disappointment to paint my face. "I'm sorry about what happened to Amir, okay?"
"Thank you." The woman responded, giving me a polite nod. "Once you head up the staircase, 190 will be in front of you."
"Thanks." I said, returning her gesture before turning round the corner and walking down a hallway near two dudes having a conversation at the end. I hope I'm going the right way...
"Amir died because of this guy?!" One of the dudes, who had black hair and dark skin, shouted, influencing me to stop in my tracks and glower at him. What?
"Quiet!" His pal chided before noticing me and groaning in anger. "Oh f*ck quiet. Now he's gonna get Amir's antizin!"
"You got a problem, buddy?" I calmly addressed him. These guys could take me on if they wanted to get revenge, but I doubt they'd succeed.
"No, it's just," The dude answered, glaring at me. "Amir and the other two would still be alive, if you hadn't gotten in trouble,"
For f*ck's sake!
"I get it," I spoke with a hint of frustration. "Both he and his friend didn't have to save me and I could have gunned down those zombies myself. I appreciate the help and I'm sorry for your loss, but Amir didn't have to go get himself killed because of my situation,"
Upon hearing my remark, the dudes quickly shut up and I strolled off, shortly coming across the staircase afterwards and ascending it to find a green clad dude with light skin and brown hair sitting beside a light green door. HEADQUARTERS was written on the wall in black and was accompanied by an arrow pointing out the entrance. This is it. I wonder if the Boss is gonna play nice or if he's gonna be a d*ck like the two friends?
"Hey, I'm looking for the Boss," I addressed the man. "Is he in there?"
"Oh, you're 31," He responded. "Go on in,"
"Thanks, man," I said, quickly nodding in appreciation before opening the door and venturing through another set of brown ones to find myself in Room 190.
Unlike the hotel room I woke up in, this section had a much larger space with a mildly dark green wallpaper, multiple framed paintings and a lighter brown floor. It also had the small standard kitchen far to the left and on the right sat a dark chair, matching crates (with tall bookshelves) and a lighter table with sheets of paper strewn over it. Huh, that must be their plans for missions I assume? The final pieces of furniture consisted of a black television sitting on a table near the bookshelves. It flashed images of an elephant on a blue screen and informing everyone of the dangers in the quarantine and the night in a kid-like nature.
Good way to help the younger kids learn about the outbreak. Overall, this is a hell of a place they've got here. I'm impressed.
As I took in my surroundings further, I discovered that I wasn't alone. Standing on a balcony outside 190 was a man who appeared to be slightly shorter than all the other dudes I ran into. From what I could see, a pair of white glasses? sat on his black hair and his slightly tanned skin nearly reflected his darker t-shirt worn over a long-sleeved checkered grey shirt. The finishing touches to his outfit involved a pair of dark brown cargo pants and black combat boots. Hopefully this guy will play nice... With that thought in mind, I pulled the glass door open and gave him a quick tap on the shoulder.
"Excuse me?" I said calmly. "Hey, I'm looking for the—" A sigh of annoyance escaped my throat. "Are you the Boss?"
The reason why I was annoyed, was that he looked like he was too young to be running a place like this - around presumably eighteen. His green eyes pierced mine with negativity and the fist design on his t-shirt indicated that he was prone to losing his temper quite a lot. If his life was horrible, then that's understandable. The objects which I assumed to be glasses were actually a pair of goggles. Maybe you're the one who needs glasses, Crane. And finally, a scar with a hint of dried blood sliced through his right eyebrow. Ouch.
"What, am I too young?" The kid demanded angrily, his words laced by a Turkish accent. He could somehow read my thoughts and appear to be fed up with addressing me. "You got a problem with my age?!"
"No," I answered. "You wanted to talk to me?"
"That's better," The kid said, calming down a little. "Do you remember anything, know where you are?"
"Yes, I can see this is... some kind of shelter?"
"We call it, The Tower," The kid explained, jumping up to sit on the balcony. "Brecken and his team of runners put it all together two months ago, and we've been here ever since. Hunting airdrops, scavenging and rescuing people,"
"Yeah," I put in, remembering the woman who helped save me three days ago. "I wanted to thank that woman,"
"Good." My new acquaintance scoffed. "Because if not for her, you would already be chewing someone's knee bone. Your Antizin was totally crushed by the way." He then grabbed hold of a yellow and black radio. Hey, that's mine! "The only thing Jade could salvage was your radio."
"Great," I said, grinning politely. "So, can I get that back please?"
"Actually," The kid responded with a teasing smirk. "I think I need it more than you do,"
You cheeky little— Hold it together, Crane.
"Believe me, pal," I muttered calmly with a hint of anger. "That's not the case,"
Hearing this, a look of pure fury painted his face and he shoved my radio into my chest rather violently (so much that it cause a wave of pain to flare up! Christ, kid!) before walking into Room 190. "Fine, take it!"
With anger beginning to brim, I followed him and stopped when he turned on me with the most hateful glance I ever saw! "You know why runners put their lives in danger?" The kid growled, walking over to one of the nearby desks and sitting down to sort a radio station. "For guys like you,"
"So now, you take the Antizin meant for our friend and you won't even share your gear with us?! I don't have time to deal with your bullsh*t. I've lost contact with one of our guys, thanks to the f*cked up radios we're stuck with." He then rose from his seat and stared me down before sitting again. "Do something for me, would you? I don't want to see you or your precious radio anymore, so go be useful somewhere else. We don't tolerate lazy a**holes here in the Tower."
You little sh*t!
"Hey, be fair!" I said in self-defense, growing frustrated when the kid didn't even bother to acknowledge me. "I'm not lazy and I never asked for Amir to die! Hey, Boss!"
"Save it!" The kid spat, shoving my hand away. "The lost guy I mentioned? He's only on the 13th floor, but he might as well be trapped in a mine cave-in. Come back later if you want to get off our sh*tlist." My acquaintance turned to face me with a glare. "And I'm not the Boss. Too young, remember? I'm Rahim, Brecken's in charge here."
As soon as Rahim went back to his radio, I walked out of the room and attempted to prevent myself from going back and giving him a piece of my mind. You ever heard of the saying, Don't judge a book by its' cover? I understand why you're upset and it wasn't my intention for Amir to get himself killed, but maybe you should learn not to judge people, you little sh*t!
Okay Crane, enough. 13th Floor. Elevator's gotta be around here, somewhere. See if there's people on the other side of this floor who can help.
With the thought in mind, I began the trip down to the other side and shortly caught sight of a pale and freckled woman (who appeared to be shorter than Rahim) walking by in a p*ssed off hurry. "Hi, excuse me?"
"Yes?" She asked, her words laced with an English accent. Oh...
Now I will admit, a wave of surprise flared up and I could tell that she seemed surprised too. Why? Because she was a kid who looked and sounded quite young, possibly around fifteen or sixteen years old. Is she-? The younger kid's green eyes weren't piercing like Rahim's and her dark brown hair was tied back in a messy ponytail with bangs framing her face. Her outfit consisted of an olive green hooded camo jacket with a grey t-shirt underneath, darker blue jeans tightened by a black belt and a pair of black combat boots. To finish things up, a brown watch was snapped around her right wrist and a blue lapis ring encased her right ring finger whilst a dried bloody scar sliced through her right eyebrow. Just like the older kid.
"Do you know where I can find an elevator here?"
"Oh, um, yes. If you go on ahead and make a turn, you should see it on your left." The girl answered politely. Though whilst I spoke, I couldn't help but notice that she leaned forward slightly with her left ear. Why is that, I wonder?
"Thanks. You're the kid who visited me, aren't you?"
Hearing this, a shy look painted her face. "Yep, I'm one of the Tower's doctors. It's good to see you're still in one piece, 31,"
"Right. Thank you for patching me up and paying me a visit." I responded with a smile. This kid isn't so bad. Bonus 1. "And I'm sorry about Amir,"
"If you're worried that I'm going to blame you for it, don't." The kid revealed, sending a small appreciative grin in my direction and unknowingly surprising me with her response.
"W-Wait, you don't blame me?" I demanded.
"I don't see the point," My new acquaintance said honestly. "Yes, I'm upset because Amir was a good friend to everyone and he always loved to help them. But you shouldn't judge people and berate them for something they did unintentionally,"
Yes, thank you! Looks like I was wrong about her hating me as well. Bonus 2.
"I gotta say, I agree." I replied, finally allowing my anger to deflate a little ... only for it to flare up slightly as I continued. "Though, everyone else could be a lot nicer,"
A concerned frown painted the kid's face when she heard my words. But it was soon replaced by a look which indicated that an idea had come to mind. "W-We have a Scouts team which go out to do missions and assist survivors, even though we've lost too many members recently. I'm planning to join them again and Amir was a part of the team too. You could maybe join and try helping people? It will give you a chance to prove yourself and show everyone that you didn't want Amir to die."
You know, that's not a bad idea. Bonus 3.
"Okay, yeah, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the suggestion, kid," I said, giving her a grin. "I better get going, but I'll see you around?"
"Sure,"
"Alright," Feeling a lot calmer, I began heading forward and turned back round to face her once more. "Hey, I forgot to ask. What's your name?"
"Hm?" The girl asked, trotting over to me. Something's definitely up...
"What's your name?"
"Libby," My new acquaintance answered cautiously, unknowingly allowing me to catch a glimpse of surprise in her eyes. What does that mean? "You?"
"Crane," I said with a friendly grin, extending my hand which she hesitantly took. "Good to meet you,"
"Y-You too," Libby responded.
After we shook hands, the kid left to continue down the hallway whilst I followed her directions and sure enough, behind a metal fence sat the door to the elevator. Yes! Only problem though, was the guard leaning against it.
Pfft, been through worse back home.
"Where do you think you're going?" The guard, a dark-skinned man with black and clad in army gear, demanded as I approached him.
"13th floor, I'm getting some stuff for Rahim," I answered.
"13? Sh*t, that's gotta be some dirty work," The dude stated in surprise as he stepped aside to let me through. "But we all gotta pull our weight round here, huh?"
"Tell me about it," I agreed, taking hold of the knob and opening the door. "And, thanks man,"
"No problem,"
Acknowledging his remark with a nod, I closed the door behind me and pressed the button for my destination. Seconds after, the elevator sprung to life and slowly began the descent.
Okay, here goes nothing.
(Floor 13 - 18:22...)
On my way down, my thoughts practically whirled all over the damn place over everyone I met. Most of them were a bunch of a**holes except for the younger kid, Libby. Like she explained, there was the possibility of them changing their tunes. That seemed nice enough and two of their runners did rescue me to begin with.
You know what? New plan after this, help everyone to repay them. It's what Amir did, so I might as well give it a go to honour him too.
The elevator eventually slid to a halt and I stepped to be confronted by a scene of horror. Blood was splattered everywhere, furniture was strewn all over the place (including a bloodied pushchair - Christ... Whatever happened to the kid, I hope he or she is in safe hands now.) and the floor appeared to be stained with dirt and soot.
"Jesus," I muttered with shock. "What the hell happened here?"
All kinds of f*cked up, that's what happened.
It wasn't long until a sudden series of beeps coming from my radio snapped me back to reality. Damn my memory... Pressing a button, I lifted the object to my ear. "Crane here,"
"Where were you?" My Boss demanded with hints of anger and slight concern. "We've been waiting for your report. It's been over 70 hours."
"I lost my radio for a while," I explained. "Don't worry, my cover's intact. No contact with the Tower's leader yet, unable to confirm identity. I'm taking steps to blend in."
"Acknowledged. Time is of the essence, Crane. Remember that."
"There's one more thing. I ... I got bitten." I told her. "I've shown no symptoms, but the people here say I'm infected."
"Then you better get your hands on some Antizin asap, haven't you?"
I opened my mouth to respond but I was cut off by a man screaming: "Help, help! Somebody!"
"What the hell?!" I pondered worriedly, influencing my Boss to ask: "Crane?"
"I have to check something out, Boss." I quickly said. "I'll be in touch."
After turning off my radio, I leaned over to grab a steel pipe from a bloodstained wheelchair and cautiously made my way down the dark hallway, following the sounds of thuds. Christ, what kind of sh*t am I about to experience here? Venturing down further and making a turn, the sounds grew louder and a beam of light shone underneath one of the doors, influencing me to open it ... and find myself witnessing a zombie attempting to break down the door to one of the rooms in an apartment with shock.
Ooooooh sh*t ... Zombie, steel pipe. Steel pipe, Zombie.
Allowing my survival instincts and desire to save the survivor to kick in, I lunged forward and brought my weapon down on the zombie's head. Hard. That type of blow should have ultimately killed it, but after giving a pained groan and stumbling over, it still survived! What the?! ... Oh. Taking it like a champ, I see. Damn! With a grunt, I connected my pipe with its' head again and this time, it was sent collapsing to the floor and it fell lifeless with blood pooling out of the wound.
Holy f*ck...! Okayokay, put this to the back of your head and help the survivor.
Without hesitation, I opened the door which was bashed against and came across a dude clad in a green vest, darker pants and boots, clutching his bloodied left arm. "Jesus! Are you alright man?!"
A grunt of pain escaped the poor guy as he struggled to reply. "I ... cut my arm, getting away from him. Oh god, you had to kill him, didn't you?" Another groan. "Goddamn it! That was ... That was my brother. I came down to see him and—"
"Easy, easy!" I reassured him. "It's alright now, I'll get help,"
I then switched on my radio to contact the floor where I descended from. "Hello? Anyone on Floor 19, do you copy?" Please let me hear from Libby or my rescuer, please let me hear from Libby or my rescuer.
"What do you want, a**hole?" Damn it, not Rahim! "I thought I told you that we don't tolerate lazy people like you here!"
"Well I'm making up for it, because I'm down here on 13!" I explained with annoyance. "Listen, this guy of yours got f*cked up pretty bad by a zombie."
"Oh sh*t!" Rahim said with surprise, changing his attitude completely. "You went after Mark?! Is it ... Is it safe down there?"
"It's safe enough, now."
"Okay, don't move." The kid instructed. "I'm sending Lena downstairs."
"Alright," I responded, turning my radio off and addressing Mark. "Hold still, buddy. Lena will be here any minute."
"Gauze!" Mark gasped. "Combine it with alcohol and that will stop the bleeding! You'll find them in two of the rooms here, please hurry!"
"Try to stay calm, okay? I'll be right back." I said, giving him a quick thumbs up before exiting the room for the hallways.
Alright, they're in two rooms here. Start with the left side. With that in mind, I ventured down that route and shortly found a bottle of alcohol sitting in the kitchen's fridge. Afterwards, I exited the room and decided to take a trip down the hallway I first came through. Wonder if there's anything hiding around there? It didn't take long for my question to be answered as I was able to find a piece of gauze in a small white shelf hidden in an apartment close to the elevator. Yes!
"Okay, that's everything I'm gonna find," I said to myself. "Let's give this a shot,"
This should be easy considering I've been trained in the activity during my initiation.
Upon heading back to Mark, I knelt before him and quickly poured some alcohol on a sample of gauze, taking his hand away from the injury. "This is gonna hurt a bit,"
The poor dude nodded and gritted his teeth in pain when I placed the combined first-aid object against his arm. "Easy," I reassured him. "You're gonna be fine,"
"Okay, who's hurt?" A black short haired woman with green eyes called out, entering the bathroom and kneeling beside me. Like many of the other survivors here, she too was clad in green but she had two medical instruments held in the neckline of her shirt and others in her pockets. This must be Lena.
"He's bleeding pretty bad," I informed her.
"Let me see him," Lena said, inspecting Mark's injury and allowing a slightly impressed look to paint her face. "Gauze and alcohol, huh? Pretty primitive, but it will work."
Good to know.
"Thanks for the help," She continued, giving me an appreciative smile. "I'll take care of him from here,"
"You're welcome," I responded, nodding in return and pulling myself up to my feet. Well, that was ... different. But on the plus side, Mark's in good hands now. Back up to Floor 19 to face Rahim ... that's if he wants to play nice.
"Hey?" My radio suddenly vibrated to life with a familiar voice with a Turkish accent on the other end. Oh, speak of the devil. "31, do you copy?"
"Loud and clear," I affirmed.
"Alright, I'll admit. You're not so bad for a new guy." Rahim surprisingly commented. "Perhaps I misjudged you."
Yeah, kid, you did. Maybe we can start over, though? "I just want to help and repay you guys for what you did for me."
"Well, good. Come find me and Libby, and we'll talk about how you can do that." Rahim said before finishing our conversation. Bonus. Feeling pleased, I re-entered the elevator and soon enough, it came to life and began ascending.
Wonder what the kids have planned?
(Floor 19 - 18:26...)
Seconds after the elevator slid to a halt, I opened the door and headed for Room 190 by using the same route I came from. You'll get used to finding your way round here, soon. Heheh, kinda reminds me of when kids got lost and caused traffic at high school. Good times.
It didn't take long for me to find my destination and once I entered, I found Libby and Rahim overseeing some papers with another dude. Friend of the latter's?
"Alright, everything's all taken care of." I informed the older kid as his friend left. "What else have you got for me?"
"Well, let me think." Rahim replied with a hint of a smirk. Oh god, please don't let this be batsh*t insane!
"Rahim!"
A twenty something year-old Turkish woman who was dressed in brown and had her black hair tied back in a ponytail with small aspects braided, stormed in angrily. My rescuer! "You are just smart enough to be dangerous, you know that? Omar told me about your plans for the nest. Explosive charges, really?!"
"What?! Explosives, I never said that!" Rahim protested, unknowingly influencing Libby to raise an eyebrow in slight annoyance.
"Oh, please," The woman scoffed. "You can't tell a convincing lie to save your life!"
"I know what I'm doing!" Rahim stubbornly growled and attempted to leave 190, only to be dragged back by our new friend grabbing his arm.
"Yeah?!" She demanded. "You think you can't die out there, that you're invincible?!"
"You're not Azra or my mom!"
"No, I'm not. Our mom's dead, and Azra and Metin probably think we're both dead too," Family? "So, you might want to be a little nicer to Libby and I as we are the only family you have left. Especially now that Amir is gone."
The woman then turned to face the younger girl with a more softer tone. "And Libby, it's really sweet that you want to honour Amir by heading out again, but I can't have you lose your hearing completely and suffer the same fate!" Ah, now I understand why Libby was doing what she did earlier. Poor kid. "As I said before, you and Rahim are the only family I have left!"
"Look, Jade," The brunette began explaining. "I understand how you feel, I really do. But I want to help more and plus, I'll have back up on missions. I'll even ask Rahim if he wants to come and we have each other's backs anyway."
Her statement earned her a grateful grin from the older kid. Good to see they're looking out for each other.
"You can't." Jesus, overprotective much?
Hearing this, I could see that Libby was beginning to grow annoyed. "Can't we at least discuss this with the Scouts? Because we all know that Brecken would want to keep us trapped here like you do,"
"That's not the case at all. The two of you do plenty to help survivors inside and you can honour Amir by doing your jobs, it's what he'd want." Jade replied with a hint of remorse for putting her down. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? But it's a no."
With that, she walked to the doors before I stopped her with: "Excuse me? Jade?"
"Yes?" The woman responded, turning to face me.
"I just wanted to thank you for what you did for me and... tell you how sorry I am for your loss. I owe you and Amir my life."
I thought she would respond with a thank you, but she instead responded with a fierce "Yeah, you do. You want to return the favour? Keep my dipsh*t brother and his friend from killing themselves," and exited the room.
Wow.
"Told you," Libby sighed with annoyance, throwing her hands up in defeat whilst Rahim sat on one of the tables and glowered at the doors where Jade stood moments ago. "You got any other ideas on how we can convince them that we don't need babysitting?"
"Beats me," The older boy replied with anger directed at his sister. I honestly didn't know what to think about this situation. I mean, I could understand Jade's side of the story because she wants to make sure that nothing happened to the kids but at the same time, they shouldn't be treated like toddlers. My nieces also experienced similar moments and they absolutely hated it, so I understood how Libby and Rahim felt too.
"Hey," I addressed the two. "I'm not gonna pry or anything but you guys are, what, in your late teens and you're treated like you're two year-olds? To me, you seem like you can handle yourselves for the most part."
"Thanks," Rahim replied with a ghost of a grin. "And I'm 19, in case you were wondering."
"I turn 18, twenty days from tomorrow." Libby added.
"Oh, so you have a birthday due? That's cool!" I said to her, sending a grin in an attempt to cheer them both up. "Do you have any plans for the occasion?"
"I think we'll probably do the same as Rahim's." The younger girl answered sadly. "Basically just playing video games and having nerf-gun fights."
"Yeah," The older teen butted in. Damn... Their birthdays are probably the only moments where they'll get to be kids. Feel bad for them... "So...?"
"So, was Floor 13 enough for me to talk to Brecken?" I asked, sensing that Rahim wanted to change the subject.
"No, not yet. If you want to talk to Brecken and earn your keep, we have to find out if you have the skills." The boy answered. "But first, go change your clothes. We left some new ones for you in your room, you're in 194."
"Something wrong with what I'm wearing?" I demanded, feeling mildly insulted.
"No, nothing's wrong." Libby reassured me. "It's just that you need something which fits the job with the Scouts, that's all,"
"Right, okay." I said, giving them a small grin. "What do you guys want me to do after that?"
"Get your a** up to the Gym." Rahim spoke with the same smirk he wore before Jade entered the room. Oh sh*t. "And before you ask, it's on the top floor. I'll see you up there and Libby will take you to your room."
"Alright then."
With that, Rahim left for the 'Gym' whilst Libby said a little cautiously: "Okay, follow me." and walked out with me in tow for my new hideout.
Ugh... I think whatever Rahim has planned for us will be fun, not.