December 13th 2027
The first few days at the compound are more or less spent exploring, familiarizing ourselves with the city, easing into a routine...adjusting.
Rose – AKA Rosalie Hale – the girl from the recording, shows us around the makeshift city, leading us through the quiet, peaceful streets. Along the way, she points out things of interest; buildings designated for housing, others designated to hold backup food and water supplies, as well as a surplus of candles, lighters, flashlights, batteries, cookware, toiletries, and clothing – essentially anything we might need to comfortably survive.
A small section of land also remains reserved at the front of the compound, where Rose informs me the military keep the sick and possibly infected. It's a place she briefly passes on our impromptu tour, but I understand why she doesn't want to linger.
It's not a place she wants to be.
At first, the concept of being inside the compound is...surreal.
For me it's hard to imagine walking down the street, unafraid of what might wait in the shadows, of how many walkers may be just around the corner, lingering. I can't fathom not carrying my gun with me, cocked and ready to fire at a moment's notice.
But being able to do these things – to step outside and enjoy the beauty of the falling snow without needing my gun, not having to worry about being attacked – is the most exhilarating thing I've felt in a long time. In a strange way, the compound gives me an odd sense of freedom.
It makes me feel lighter, and in spite of knowing it is nowhere close to perfect, I also know it's better than the alternative.
It's a chance to start over.
.
.
"Here," Rose says, tossing me a cute bra from the other side of the table, "this one should fit." I hold up the garment in my hands, admiring the black and white lace finish along the edges. "And plus, it's super hot," she tells me with a wink.
I laugh at her observation, and continue digging, sifting through tables upon tables of anything and everything – shirts, jeans, sweats, underwear...even the sexy, racy type of lingerie I used to buy before the infection began.
We're in the rec center toward the east end of the compound, doing a bit of what Alice likes to refer to as 'shopping'. Though, it's not much more than grabbing what we can – what will fit – from the hundreds of items arranged on the neatly organized tables; items people like Rose and Alice found while they had gone outside the compound walls on a raid.
"Ooh, this," Alice beams with excitement, launching a navy blue and white teddy at my face. I blink through the fabric, and hold a strap on each thumb, scouring my eyes over the lack of material. Even though I have to agree it is cute and sexy, and definitely something I would wear, I don't see a need for it.
It's not like I have a boyfriend, and since our arrival at the compound, Jasper and I have decided it's best to kill whatever it is we had and just stay friends. We came to realize we were trying to force a romantic relationship when there was nothing to really work on. We're still close – he's someone I completely trust with my life – but we both felt we tried too hard to create some type of intimacy when those feelings didn't exist between us.
It was something we explored because of our situation, not something that developed naturally.
"Alice, really?" I say to her with a chuckle, "What the hell do I need this for?"
She shrugs her dainty shoulders and offers me a sweet grin, resuming her perusal. I laugh at her eccentricities, finding it hard to believe I've only known her for a total of three days. With how much I've learned from Esme and Carlisle, not just about Alice, but Edward as well...it feels like I've known them forever.
I already know who they are and what they like, their quirks and habits, and more than that, I care about them.
I cared about them before I even met them.
Once we're finished our night of 'shopping', the three of us walk back through the ploughed streets of the compound, to the apartment building I now call home. It's one of the many structures within the perimeter of the towering compound walls, along with several other condos, smaller houses, public centers, and unused retail stores. The area of the compound covers a small portion of what used to be Seattle, barricading an impressive section of the city (no more than five blocks in each direction), and a number of survivors who have trickled in since the day of the infection.
Although it's not much in the grand scheme of things, I find it an extraordinary accomplishment given the circumstances.
When we make it to the building, I awkwardly twist my arm to open the door, and use my foot to pry it wide enough to fit through. I lead the way down the dim hallways, brightened intermittently by electric lanterns hanging on the walls, some of which are broken and need to be replaced. The gap of darkness between the broken lanterns and the lighted ones makes me incredibly anxious, though I know I have no reason to feel that way.
I suppose it's just a reflex emotion now for me to be afraid of the dark.
After several minutes of navigating the hallways, wrestling with doors, and having Alice and Rose laugh at me, we finally make it to the third floor where our apartments are. I get to the loft I share with Alice's family, and groan at the closed door. Instead of even attempting to open it, I kick it with my foot in hopes someone inside will hear my knocking effort.
"So, what...the world turns to hell and we don't feel the need to knock on doors anymore?" Rose asks teasingly.
I turn around and narrow my eyes. "Hilarious," I reply with a contrived smile, "you wanna give the knock a try?"
Rose chuckles in response, and looks past me when the door opens. Edward and Emmett help us with the bags, some filled with clothes and toiletries, and others filled with rations from the food building; stuff like tuna, canned soups, frozen meals, and a few other packaged goods that haven't yet expired. Though being inside the compound is liberating, the issue of food still persists. What we can find is pretty much limited to cans, pastas, and various frozen items that have been salvaged.
I follow Edward to the kitchen and set the bags down on the counter, carefully sliding over a few burning candles to make room. I help him put the food away, storing the cans in the cupboards and stacking the frozen food in the freezer.
The freezer.
Another problem we face – electricity.
Generators are scattered throughout most of the compound, offering electricity for only what is completely necessary. In short, it's used for working the appliances; refrigerators, stoves, and microwaves. Where we don't need electricity, we don't use it – hence the abundance of candles and lanterns used anywhere we can. It's an easy solution to the problem, and one I don't particularly mind. Using candles gives off a warm, intimate ambiance I quite enjoy.
Edward helps me sort the food and we chat quietly while we empty bags. So far, my conversations with him have been effortless. We simply fall into a discussion, and we're perfectly content to go on forever, whether it's an exchange of opinions or a heated argument. We've talked about countless topics, from movies to sports and everything in between, and no matter the subject, our conversations are always interesting.
Talking to him, just being around him...it makes me happy.
He's someone I look forward to seeing every day.
And as contradictory as it may be, it's both scary and exciting that I just might have a huge crush on Esme's son.