Author's Note:

So after consulting with xXfireXflyXx, I've decided to upload chapters as I finish revising and proofing them rather than waiting to upload once a week. I also found a beta! Much kudos to Arenoptara, a good friend of mine, who has agreed to help me improve the best aspects of my writing style and really hone my story's full potential. If any of you are curious, she has most of her work on AO3: /users/Arenoptara.

Chapters three and four are shorter in length than they were before I revised but the dialogue is all important, I promise. Allie and Luke's relationship develops a little more and we get to hear about how the safe zone operates! Things really pick up in chapter five so stick with me!

I've had a few people favorite/follow Effervescent and even though I sent you all PMs, I'd like to thank you on here for giving the story a chance. It really means a lot to me that people enjoyed reading what I randomly pulled out of my head one day! So thanks again!

Update 3/10/15: I made a minor change to the timeline of Antizin doses. Just one line but it ends up affecting the rest of the chapters. Sorry!

Last Chapter:

"I wouldn't say screwed, I could always go without you. But you're not moving until this wound heals. If you so much as try to do any free running or attempt to lift your body up, the stitches will just tear again. And if you're a bleeder, that's a sure fire way to get their attention and get us killed."

Luke looked away from me, his gaze pointed towards the hallway as if he was thinking about the best course of action. I looked up at him and asked, "Well then, now what do we do? I need Antizin and you need to talk to Brecken and stock up on supplies. We have to return to the Tower."

He nodded slowly. "I need to grab more Antizin from Dr. Zere or Lena for you. I can't risk having you come along or we're pretty much done for. We can't wait for your stitches to fully heal either because that will take a few weeks. You'll need a lot of doses before then.

I crossed my arms and sighed. "So I'm a liability. Great."

Luke shook his head again and said defensively, "That's not what I was trying to say."

I looked at the floor and replied, "I know, I just hate feeling useless. That's why I offered to become a runner. I couldn't just take a bed from Brecken and sit on my ass as thanks." I sighed again. "What's the best plan then? I need Antizin and the Tower needs these supplies."

He looked at the pack on the floor where I had set it down. A few moments of contemplative silence passed before he met my gaze again. "I'm just going to have to go without you. There's no other choice."

I held his gaze for another few tense seconds before replying, "You run this safe zone right? I don't know how to keep it operating. You going alone could leave Brecken's outreach and me in danger. Not that I'm saying I'm all that important but the safe zone..." I trailed off.

Luke swiveled on his heel and walked through the open door, gesturing for me to follow. I rose from the bed, trailing after him. This time he turned right down the hall, instead of left to the kitchen. He rounded the corner and we came to a living room, which was in about the same condition as the rest of the apartment that I'd seen so far. An old, worn red sofa sat against the opposite wall and a wooden coffee table that matched the nightstand from the bedroom sat in front of it. On top of the coffee table was a map of Harran, the Tower's location and various other safe zones circled in red and blue ink. There were also a few more rolls of gauze and what looked like protein bars strewn about around the map. The wall to the right of the table and opposite from the hallway was where the front door was located. Instead of a regular wooden door like the one in the bedroom and that you'd expect to find in most apartments, it had been replaced with a steel door that had safety locks barring the door from the inside. I gestured to it and asked, "Did you steal that from a bank vault? You don't see security like that in a regular apartment every day."

Luke looked over his shoulder at me and smirked. "Actually, yeah, we did."

I shook my head in disbelief. "So what exactly are you showing me in here?"

He turned back and walked around the entertainment stand right in front of us, crossing over to the desk next to the front door. I trailed behind him and came to a stop to his left, my shoulder brushing his upper arm. I stepped to the side to give us some space, wary of that shock that kept popping up every time we touched. It was starting to drive me crazy.

There were three small monitors with black and white images on the screens located on the desk as well as what looked like an operating panel. Luke turned and angled his body towards me, pointing to the panel and directing his gaze towards the screen in the middle.

"We have three security cameras surrounding the apartment building. This camera is pointed to the only accessible entrance. We've blocked off all the others so biters and other unwanted guests can't get in. Like the Tower, the entire ground floor is lit up with UV lights." He then looked to the screen on the left. "This camera is right outside the apartment door. That way you can see who's knocking. If the generator ever goes out, there's also a peephole that we installed." Lastly, he looked to the screen on the right. "The last camera cycles through four angles on the exterior. That way I can keep an eye on the biters' activities throughout the day."

I nodded, impressed. "That's quite a set up you've got going. You didn't do all this by yourself, right? You kept saying 'we'." I put my hands up and made quotation mark gestures.

Luke turned to look at me. "I'd have to be pretty damned skilled to get this all set up on my own. No, Brecken and a few guys including Rahim, helped set it up when I offered to man the post out in the boonies."

"Why would you choose to be out here all alone? I mean you're pretty stranded. The Tower is quite a ways away."

He went silent for a few moments before replying, "I had some things I had to work through personally. Time to myself seemed like a good idea."

I stared at him, wondering if it had to do with the blonde woman in the photos. Sensing that he might not want to talk about something so personal with someone he had just met, I looked back towards the operating panel and tried to change the subject. "So what does that do then?"

He started, as if he'd been deep in thought and focused his gaze on the panel. "Right. That's the operating panel for the lights. The switch on the left is tied to the UV lights in the lobby. It stays on twenty-four seven, even during the day, because the sunlight doesn't reach all the way into the building. It would suck to run in thinking you were safe and there's a Volatile just waiting to say hi. The switch on the right controls the flood lights on the roof. We only switch them on at night. Keeps the area well lit and helps visibility so we can track the biters with the camera."

I looked back to the tv screen that was currently showing the eastern side of the building. "Flood lights? There's no way a single generator could run the entire set up you've got. How do you power everything?"

Luke looked upwards. "The flood lights are powered by three solar panels up on the roof. This isn't a very big building. There's the ground floor, this floor and the one up above, and then the roof. The generator is also up there."

"How is this floor not overrun with biters? I know you have the UV lights but that can't hold them all off. Not with such easy access."

Luke nodded and gestured to the screen showing the camera that was looking at the entrance. "Brecken and the gang helped me take out the stairs just like the Tower. In order to access this floor, you have to pull yourself up to the ledge. It's pretty high up so biters can't climb it like they can lower obstacles."

I turned to look at him quickly and exclaimed, "How the hell did you get me up here?!"

He looked at me out of the side of his eyes and teased, "My super human strength?" I rolled my eyes and he laughed. "There's a net we use that's operated by ropes linked to pulleys up above the ledge. We use it to pull up multiple supplies at once. I just tossed you on there and after I climbed up, I used the net to lift you up as well."

I pondered that for a few moments then nodded and said, "Thank you. For saving me, I mean. I know I came across as kind of rude earlier about that and I really do owe you."

He held my gaze for a few seconds and shook his head. "Don't worry about it." He turned to head back to the bedroom and I stayed behind to inspect the screens. A few minutes passed and I noticed it was almost sundown and the lights weren't on yet.

I yelled to Luke, "Hey the sun's about to set. Do you want me to turn on the lights?"

His voice came back to me, muffled by the distance. "Nah, I got it. One second."

He rounded the corner with my pack in hand and another large duffel bag that was currently empty. He set them on the sofa and walked back over to me by the desk. Reaching out and flipping the switch on the right, he turned to look at the screen to confirm they'd come on.

I asked him, "What do you do if you're out on a run or at the Tower and you can't be here to flip the switch?"

"I can program them to run on a scheduled timer, if need be. You just have to press the little button next to the switch that I've conveniently labeled 'timer'. It sets it so the lights automatically shut off in the morning at seven a.m. and they turn back on at seven p.m. If I know I'll be gone for awhile or even when I leave on a run, I usually set the timer just in case."

I looked back at the bags he'd set on the couch and then looked back up at him. "You're not planning on leaving tonight, are you? It's practically nightfall. That'd be suicide."

Luke shook his head as a form of denial. "No, I'm just setting them out now. I plan on leaving in the morning at dawn, after I change your bandage one more time. I should hopefully only be gone for a day, two at the most. I'll try to hurry."

"Thanks again. For doing this for me."

He looked at me closely, and tilted his head to the side. "It's not just for you. The Tower needs these supplies and I do need to restock my Antizin stash. Plus I'm sure they'd hate to lose another runner. But, you're welcome."

I brought up my left hand to rub my right forearm, a nervous habit I'd had since I was a teenager and had never been able to get rid of. The room had fallen silent, an awkward atmosphere settling in now that we didn't really have anything else to talk about. I shifted my gaze to the floor and started to inspect the grains in the wood planks when Luke cleared his throat.

I shot my gaze back up to his and he gestured towards the hallway. "The bathroom is through the kitchen, if you wanted to take a shower or whatever. The water works in the building as well so. There are uh, towels in the closet in there. I can put your new bandage on when you're finished."

I turned to follow his gaze and looked back at him and nodded. "Yeah, that'd be nice. I might take you up on that offer." He nodded in response and turned to head towards the couch, sitting down shortly after. I started to walk backwards to head down the hallway, but pivoted back towards the living room at the last second. "Actually, do you mind if I take a bath? My muscles are pretty sore from hitting the ground and then laying in a bed for three days, and I could use a little bit of relaxation time."

He lifted his head up to look at me and stayed silent for a few seconds. I shuffled in place and started to say, "If not, that's fine, I just wanted to-"

He held up his hand, cutting me off. When he spoke, his voice sounded rougher, almost like he was angry with me for asking. "No, that's fine. Take your time." He then lowered his head to look at the map, inspecting it with unwavering focus.

"Okay, then." I whispered under my breath and turned back to walk down the hallway, towards the kitchen. To the left of the fridge was a closed door that I hadn't noticed earlier. I grabbed the handle and turned, pushing the door inwards to open it. Since it was pitch black inside, I felt along the wall to my right for a light switch, flipping it when I found it. The bathroom was small, but it had a shower and tub combo on the far wall, with a toilet to my right just past the light switch. A sink with a mirror above it sat in between the tub and the toilet.

I stepped into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. After turning on the tub, I faced the mirror and winced at my reflection. I had definitely seen better days. My dark hair was matted and was starting to look like a bird's nest in the back. My eyes were red rimmed and swollen from being shut for so long. The nasty bite wound that was held together by just a few pieces of string on the side of my neck also didn't make things any better. The skin around the stitches was bright red. No wonder Luke had suggested I shower, he was probably sick of looking at me. Suddenly a knock sounded at the door and I jumped.

I walked back over to the door and turned the handle, opening it a crack. Luke was standing in front of it with the same shuttered expression on his face from before when I had told him I wanted to take a bath.

"Uh, yes?" I prompted him.

He cleared his throat, voice still gruff. "I forgot to tell you. Don't get fully submerged under the water. You can't get your stitches wet. A bath is fine, just make sure you keep them dry."

I blinked up at him. "How am I supposed to wash my hair?"

He stared at me in silence and after a few tense seconds replied, "No clue. You might have to wait to do that, sorry." He turned abruptly to head back down the hall and then partially swiveled around to look at me again. "Remember, don't get them wet." He continued walking down the hall and rounded the corner to the living room. I shook my head at his retreating back, baffled by his sudden change in behavior.

What's his problem?

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed chapter three! I'm sorry it's so short. Chapter four is also about 2000 words but chapter five jumps to over 6000! So like I said, things will get heavier. Expect chapter four sometime soon!