This isn't listed in the categories but I think more people should probably give it a chance. It's inspired by the old radio dramas and is about a group of survivors trying to live in a world overrun by zombies. This started out as a recurring dream and I couldn't get it out of my head. The characters are mine and not from We're Alive. I hope you like it. All comments are welcome.

Chapter 13

It was late in the afternoon, well after practice when Aenne finally returned, smiling from her afternoon with Roadie. It was rare for him to have so much time off with her so I couldn't help but feel happy for her. I left the squad candidates to train with Kyle, hoping that the extra responsibility would do him some good. Mostly it was downtime exercises that they used to let off steam from the day's training. It was healthy for them to enjoy a little free time to themselves before dinner and lights out. I had seen there was now a vast improvement in Kyle's attitude and felt that when the time came to form new teams, he would make a great addition.

And Aenne had been right. After starting off the morning with a few basic drills, I took them to the shooting range. We had trained mostly with the Compound issued hand guns that were specially outfitted with silencers. It was only during a few occasions that we practiced with the P-90 assault rifles, which were small and light-weight, compared to most with a better round capacity or the tactical shotguns. As a rule, I strongly advised to never use the shotguns unless you wanted to attract every undead creature to your location. The noise from the discharge of the weapon would act as a beacon and unless you had a way to make it to safety, for us it was considered a last resort weapon. Today was perfect to go down to the field for long distance target practice. It was one of those rare sunny yet not stifling hot days that I preferred.

After such a successful day, I was ready for a nice long bath and a quick nap before joining everyone in the mess hall. Aenne was waiting outside the door to my room, looking content and more than a little happy to see me.

"Someone looks like they had a lazy afternoon," I commented as I unlocked my door and she followed me in.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a lazy afternoon but I did spend most of it in bed, in case you're wondering," she said as she made her way to the chair closest to my bed, where I had started to untie my boots.

"I could do without the details of your sexual escapades, thanks," I said as I gently threw a pillow at her before tossing my boots and socks by my closet. "Let me grab a fast shower first," I said as I got up and walked into my small bathroom.

"I thought Hope would be back by now," I heard her say through the door as I quickly undressed and stepped under the hot water. I lifted my face up and let the blast of water rain down on me, turning my head and letting it soak my hair before grabbing one of the bottles from the shelf. I massaged the shampoo in my hair before rinsing and grabbing the bar of soap. I could hear music coming from my room and paused when I realized it was something I didn't recognize, washing up quickly so I could ask Aenne what it was.

I dried my hair quickly before wrapping it up in a towel. I didn't realize that I was humming along with the music as I dried off to put on some clothes. I found Aenne was now sitting on my bed with her eyes closed, hugging the pillow I had tossed at her.

"What's this?" I asked her as I sat down at the edge of the bed with a bottle of lotion.

"I don't know. It was in your bag," she said, watching as I squeezed a little and started to spread it on my skin. I listened to it some more before turning to her, putting the bottle down on the bed.

"Wait, I found this hidden among the cd's when we came back from the last run," I said as I rubbed the lotion on my arms. "I thought it was odd that it wasn't labeled so I borrowed it and just never had a chance to listen to it."

Aenne had this far off look in her eyes for a few minutes before grabbing my arm. "This doesn't sound familiar to you somehow?" she asked.

It was then that I realized that I had heard it recently as well, here at the compound. "Doesn't that sound like…"

"I thought so!" she said and laughed. "Well he did say that he came over here to record his music!"

"I didn't know he already had," I said as I was lying down on the bed next to her.

"I always thought he said it to impress you," she joked and I punched her lightly on the arm. "He would have been big with a voice like that," she commented.

"It's always nice when he takes out that guitar of his during meal times," I said and sat up. "I should probably get dressed for dinner."

"I already picked out something for you to wear," she said and I turned to her. "You need to look your best. And if you forgot to, perhaps even go back and shave if you need to."

"What are you going on about? Is there another celebration that I should know about?" I asked and she smiled as she handed me a note. I rolled my eyes as she crinkled her nose and blew kisses at me.

"No but someone wants to see you later," she said in a sing song voice. "From the weird looks he was giving me earlier, I think tonight is going to end your frustrations for good!" she said and laughed as I flushed.

"Aenne!" I said as I sat down, rereading the note that was undoubtedly written by Gabe, asking me to meet him for dinner. After taking another look at her smiling face, I was a little afraid of what she might have chosen for me to wear.