[ 84 ]
There was no definitive change in temperature as they pulled themselves up the ladder and through a hatch that opened up into one of the high-rise buildings in the centre of the city. They made no rash moves, taking it as steadily and as quietly as possible. Even though Fahren hadn't been part of the world before the apocalypse, he knew not to take any unnecessary chances with Rotters. They could pop up from anywhere, sometimes in places you wouldn't expect.
In the initial panic, those vying for survival could have locked them in unassuming places. Which didn't bode well for people opening those doors at a later date.
Hitching his jacket so it was snug against his skin, Hansel peered around their new surroundings. It was odd seeing such a modern space go unused. And from where they stood, the building didn't seem to have sustained any damage. But they were located in the area created for the maintenance crews; who naturally went to and from unnoticed.
A breeze coursing through the open space made Hansel shiver even more. Niklas detected it too, leading them both in the direction it was coming from. They stuck to the walls; marble floors masking their movements. The time they spent in the tunnels ate away at the daylight, black clouds making it increasingly dull. The temperature was only going to drop further.
Peering around one of the many corners of the Mirage Hotel, both men were greeted with the skeleton of a once elaborate entranceway. From the looks of it, a majority of the construction was made up of glass. Which was always going to be the first victim in a state of chaos. Dark red splatters, long since dried, were embedded in the mosaic-style feature in the centre of the oval reception area.
Anyone could be fooled into thinking that the Mirage had been unaffected, but that would be after wading over a battleground of various shards of glass and questionable appendages discarded here and there.
As Hansel had previously guessed, they were in fact in the centre of the Hydro-City. Which meant that their current position was a focal point of the area. Now since the entire entrance of the building had imploded and opened to the elements, the two men could be considered to be in an exposed location. But ideal for potentially scouting any Advanced Rotters.
Niklas looked over his shoulder, expecting to see Hansel waiting on his orders while flush against the wall, but instead he was practically peering around him impatiently. The older man sighed, ushering him backwards with a series of nudges. "We need to get somewhere warm and then eat. The weather doesn't look promising and I don't want us getting caught outside."
Hansel nodded his head while looking around the reception, "I wonder if they have any rooms available?" He wondered aloud before tilting his head just enough to expose his small grin to the Commander. As if that wasn't a hilarious joke, Niklas ignored him and started doubling back towards the emergency staircase they previously passed.
There was a single window they were able to see through before opening the door. On the left hand side, stuffed in a corner, was an unresponsive Rotter. From the looks of it, bugs had feasted on the remnants of the corpse. The odd fly still lingering around the skeleton.
Niklas gripped the door handle and intended to use it when Hansel stopped him. "Pull your coat up and around your face," Hansel demonstrated with his own. "We should try and keep as many flies off us as possible. Since they've been gorging on that Rotter for who knows how long, they'll likely be infested."
Hitching the fabric around themselves, partially covering up their faces, they stepped through the doorway. Even with their heads protected, they both picked up on the buzzing that filled the compacted space. So they didn't hang around; with Niklas leading the way they reached the first floor in no time.
After inspecting the layout through the stairwell's door, they quickly ruled it out. There was blood stains throughout the hallway and damaged doors either side. "The higher the better?" Hansel suggested and the Commander didn't argue with him. They continued upwards.
Walking up a seemingly endless flight of stairs would have otherwise killed Hansel if it wasn't for the fact that the exercise was keeping his chilled body warm. But he had a newfound respect for the term high-rise.
Even the fittest of individuals would, in the current temperature, struggle. Which is what Niklas was dealing with when they came to a stop on the thirty-fourth floor. The two breathless men looked at each other, a unanimous decision being made, and stumbled towards the door. Unlike the previous levels, where there was a hallway with a handful of doors leading to apartments on them, the higher they went the more exclusive the space became.
There was now only one huge apartment per floor. As their means of entrance was via the fire escape, there was no locks. But when they approached the set of double-doors that was used as the main entrance to the apartment; they paused. There was no remnants of blood, no corpse around. Even as they had climbed Mount Everes—the stairs, there was a clear lack of Rotter activity.
It appeared that Niklas' previous briefing wherein he stated that the apartments were quickly bought by the rich and then only used for holiday homes, was correct. They likely weren't in the Hydro-City when it kicked off. "Shall we see if there's anyone home?" Hansel gestured to the door bell in front of him.
As the windows were still intact, as well as the walls and doors on their current level, there was no chance of the bell echoing any further than the apartment. So Niklas agreed. After it chimed, they braced for any sudden appearance of Rotters. When the seconds ticked by, without any sound of movement coming from the other side of the door— they tried the handle.
The lock, like the one which was on the entrance of the maintenance tunnels, was still active. A green light shone to reflect that. But when they turned the handle the door opened. It made a clunking sound as it did but it wasn't anything to be concerned about. They walked inside and Niklas guided the door closed behind them.
"How is the electricity still on?" Hansel had to ask as him and his companion looked around the apartment to make sure they were alone.
Niklas shed the bag he was carrying and set down his weapon. From there he twisted his upper body and rubbed his shoulder. "I don't know a lot about Hydroelectricity, but I would have presumed that someone needed to be in control of it. Unless they also made that self-sustaining." He shrugged his shoulders.
Hansel, who was also in the process of removing kit, nodded. "If this place was sort of like a rich person's prototype, then that's possible." He moved over to the wall-sized windows that gave a clear view of the heart of the city as well as the Dam that surrounded it.
The map they had previously looked at did no justice to the actual scale of the place. A series of buildings were dotted around them, all containing different designed living-walls. Lush green vegetation was growing strong up the sides. This design was likely encouraged within the city that wished to be as eco-friendly as possible. Unfortunately the architects didn't get to see the beauty of the place that Hansel and Niklas now did.
Niklas rested an arm on the glass as he looked from the skyline to the ground. "It'll be a suitable home for us all in the near future."
Hansel found himself watching the man. A soldier who was well-known and held in high regard within the current safe-zone. Even though the man was nice on the eyes, Hansel still recalled the differences between them. "Yes, the elite will be more than comfortable in these apartments." He also joined the man in looking at the quiet streets.
In the reflection, he could see Niklas looking at him. They both didn't have the energy to carry on such a corrosive topic. So with the backdrop of the dark apartment, the two looked outside. They were notified by the brooding storm's arrival when the first splatters of rain hit the window.
"If the electricity is still arguably working, what are the chances that the shower is?"
Niklas looked just as uncertain, but at the thought of a warm shower they both moved to find the bathroom. In their current base, the shower was a block to stand in and a tank of cold water that provided the cleaning duty. It was enough to make any man so cold down south they looked like a woman.
The chrome tap filled the two men with a similar apprehension. They silently pleaded to themselves that it would work. When Hansel slowly turned it, there was nothing immediate. After two more turns, he heard the gurgling of water— then it shot out of the tap.
He reduced the amount and then watched it in amazement. Even though both men were born in modern times, they were rendered speechless by such a simple bit of plumbing. After leaving it running to flush out the dust that came from the unused casings, Hansel felt the temperature and to his absolute delight it was actually lukewarm.
Whipping his head in Niklas' direction, his eyes were practically sparkling with joy. The soldier had been watching carefully and when greeted with such an innocent expression, was stricken. Standing up straight he nodded his head, "You shower first; don't ingest any of the water just in case it's contaminated."
Hansel just agreed without really listening. He was already lost in the thought of showering the dirt and grime off his body. The Commander wasn't even out of the bathroom yet when Hansel began hurriedly stripping. As soon as the barely warm water touched his abused skin, he moaned.
The sensation was far better than his favourite sweets he'd consumed in previous worlds. He scrubbed himself clean and even grabbed one of the scented oils that was kept nearby. But when he sniffed them, he was slapped with the strong perfume-y smell. And so even in the midst of an apocalypse, Hansel refused the strong scented lotion.
When he jumped out he eyed his heap of dirty clothes in distaste, knowing they'd felt like a second skin to him throughout the mission. He instead reached for one of the robes on the back of the door. Though a bit dusty, Hansel shook it off and slipped it on.
System was likely rolling their eyes watching this scene.
Grabbing his clothes he exited the bathroom. The cool temperature of the outside had him pulling the robe closer together. "We'll stay in one room, just to be on the safe side. And I've left the rations out so go and—" Niklas had heard him coming out of the bathroom so began speaking. When the older man finally looked around he paused.
Seeing a young, fresh-faced and rosey-cheeked man in a white robe was something that only appeared in the strict man's dreams; and it certainly wasn't Hansel that usually popped up. Niklas' gaze unknowingly followed a droplet that left Hansel's hairline and down the side of his face to his jaw. With a quiet drip, the Commander cleared his throat.
"Dry off, you'll get sick in this weather." He instructed tensely as he marched around the young man and to the bathroom.
The medically-trained individual who had just been given medical advice stood still. He turned to see the bathroom door shutting. With a brow steadily rising, Hansel wondered what he had done to piss the man off this time. He wasn't foolish enough to have missed the quick look of longing in the horny militant's eyes, but it was swiftly masked with a frown.
Then he realised, "Fahren, you idiot." He scolded himself. Not everyone is as accepting of their sexuality. Especially not a stereotypical authoritarian like Niklas who didn't want to give anyone any reason to doubt his leadership skills.
As he walked around he ran a towel through his hair. Since Niklas had stated they would be in one room, which he assumed was the open area with the kitchen and lounge where they had previously been looking out of the window, Hansel made his way over. He stopped when he spotted the handy-work of the other man.
Around the wall-sized panes of glass was a white corner sofa that stretched the whole width of the space. It was excessive given there would hardly be enough people in the apartment to fill it up. But the motto when it came to designing this place was just that— excessive.
Niklas had probably chosen that position for them in order to monitor the outside activity. But whether he knew it or not, the older man had created a little cubby area that looked awfully cosy for the two of them. Hansel's mind wandered back to his earlier debate, but scoffed in the end. Niklas was the type that would likely fight Hansel off with a stick if he got too close.
He wrung out the remaining water from his hair and dropped down on the sofa, tugging one of the blankets over himself. He grabbed one of the small ration packs; consisting of a cardboard-like textured biscuit that was packed full with various nutrients that Dr. Aksel had worked on. It gave his jaw a work-out.
When Niklas reappeared he was also wearing a robe. He wore it just as well as someone from the ancient times wore their elaborate pieces. But it could have also been because the man was drying his own hair vigorously enough that the ends of the fabric parted and revealed more of his impressive chest. Whether it was because Hansel was biased or not, he did prefer a smooth chest and nice defined muscles. And Niklas presented both of them and more.
"Spot anything?"
Hansel choked on air. Then he quickly realised that his Commander was referring to the Advanced Rotters. He shook his head, "No, there's nothing yet."
He decided to do as was expected of him and actually looked outside while the other man corrected his robe and sat down to eat his food. Even though they quickly fell into silence, it wasn't awkward between them. They were both exhausted. It was more strenuous avoiding being spotted than actually fighting the mutant Rotters.
"Do you think the others would have tried the showers?" Hansel turned his head to look at the man who would know the team the best. A little bit of air got caught in his throat once again as he admired Niklas' unusually dishevelled state post shower. His normal thick locks of dark hair were slicked back off his face. He looked exactly like a young bachelor with an affluent background.
His sharp features that ordinarily made him look typically angry could only be considered fanciable. How he hadn't been snatched-up by one of the wealthy ladies or gentlemen was beyond Hansel's comprehension.
"Unless he can guarantee they won't be detected, then Roscoe wouldn't dare. But even then he'll probably be too apprehensive without someone around him with a brain like yours telling him it would be safe."
"Ah," Hansel wondered then how the rest of Alpha team would be doing. Seeing as they had Jakob with them, it was likely they would be doing the complete opposite of the vigilant soldiers and probably showering to his hearts content. ", I can't say the same for Jakob." He mumbled.
Niklas swallowed some of the biscuit he was eating before speaking again, "And Bjorn?"
That brought up many questions, ones Hansel didn't know the answers to. "Can't say for sure. I don't think I've ever had a proper conversation with the man before."
"He's typically seen with Valentin." Niklas informed him and Hansel realised what he was talking about. The man wanted to know what Bjorn's character was like, but since Hansel himself wasn't too certain he tried to sum him up by lumping him in with Valentin.
"Me and Jakob are usually together but I'm not like that psycho. At the same time Jakob has been around Valentin longer than I have yet he's not as bad as his knives would tell you; even though he wants to be perceived as this menacing individual." Hansel rustled his hair as it continued to dry.
"I think Bjorn's been with that manipulative yellow eyed psycho long enough that it's just normal for him to be by his side. Plus Valentin made it very clear to us that we shouldn't trust anyone outside of our group. I just don't think he banked on us being separated so early and for Jakob to stick to me as much as he has."
"Do you usually try to see the good in people?" Niklas drank some water from their filtered flask they brought from base.
"Heck no! I'm the type that likes the comfort of my own little circle of trustworthy people. But unfortunately we're not exactly in a situation where we can move in small groups."
Niklas sat back in his seat, resting an arm across the back of the sofa. "You were pretty natural with the team when we were travelling."
The one being— sort of?— complimented was quick to reply, "I'm just excited by all things science and bored by pessimistic people."
Surprisingly the nosey soldier didn't respond. So Hansel took that opportunity, "What about you? Did you always want to be this grand Commander?"
"Grand Commander?"
"You haven't seen the way your men look at you? Like me when I first spotted my bad boy crush in a leather jacket."
Niklas had a strange expression on his face. He shook his head, "I was a competitive swimmer with an attitude. I got into fights and got myself injured badly. It ended my swimming career and my father enrolled me in the army."
Hansel wouldn't have expected that background for the man. "That's pretty harsh of your dad." He acknowledged but the man opposite didn't seem to think so. He shrugged his shoulders.
"Not really. He was high ranking and away most of the year, so with me enrolled he could keep an eye on me."
"Oh," Hansel took a drink of his own, "He was in the military too?"
"He is." Niklas watched as the young man's expression went from surprise, to confusion, to revelation. Hansel had been speaking in past tense. The Commander was faintly amused by his myriad of facial expressions. "You've met him before."
A pair of wide hazel eyes greeted him. "Seriously?"
"We look alike, he's just older and more grey. I suppose our method of interrogating you is something we share too." Gradually something clicked in Hansel's head and his face changed. He made a variety of sounds of amazement.
"The Supreme Commander! Holy— you really do look alike." Hansel chuckled. He remembered how he immediately had the hots for the older man when he first met him in the interview room. It was sadly the last time he had seen him too. But Niklas was definitely just a younger version of the impressive specimen.
Niklas looked like he regretted telling him and he had a strop while chomping one is biscuit. Hansel couldn't let the conversation go— not when it was such good teasing material. "That explains why you're so strict, Commander. Were you taught to march before speaking?" He grinned.
The man huffed. "He's not strict. He's a clingy fool."
Absolutely groundbreaking, Hansel gasped. The image of the Supreme Commander swooning over his son as a chubby baby came to mind. It amused Hansel as he thought of how precious the vision was.
"—then what about you?" Niklas blurted, clearly embarrassed.
"What about me, sir?"
"You look like the type who would have been coddled to death as a child. What was your father like?" The question had Hansel freeze. He preferred to avoid speaking about his father, purely because he ordinarily got frustrated at the mention of the man.
If he was to speak of Hansel's father, then there was nothing special there. The man was gone upon the mother's mention of being pregnant. Leaving the two to depend on each other. But Fahren's life couldn't even compare.
"My father..." Hansel tried to find the right words. He'd had many years trying to sum up his father. The man that raised Fahren and solidified his personality. "He and I didn't really get along. He liked his work and I.. went my own way."
"Was it because of your sexuality?" Niklas boldly asked.
"What? No, no he was very accepting of that. He even tried introducing me to his friend's sons who were gay. It was like a trend to have a homosexual kid at the time. It's just that we just always clashed." He couldn't go into the fact that it all probably stemmed from the pressure to follow in his brother's footsteps. Even though he did well— very well, he felt suffocated.
"I didn't show any interest in his work and I think he expected me to. He was always so supportive of me," Hansel scrunched his face as he gripped the blanket tightly. "But I just couldn't accept it. I wasn't mature for my age at all and we clashed. Things were said, things I wouldn't be able to look at him without thinking he was replaying in his mind."
"He'll always be your father, regardless of what's been said in the past."
"What if i'm too ashamed though?"
"You were a kid, as you said. I said shit to my father that I dredge up every now and then. But it was never held against me and ultimately I was put on the right path. To a degree, it's their job to receive the verbal abuse so that they can teach you how to control it. But seeing as you feel ashamed for what you've said means that you and him didn't speak afterwards."
Hansel stared quietly and at the end of the man's statement he nodded a little. "My dad always knew I'd come around. There was never any point of us fighting because it was just him and me in the end. With you, your dad probably thought you'd do the same. When you didn't and time lapsed then he likely felt just as awkward or ashamed as you do now."
Fahren had cut off his family. His mother was someone he saw a handful of times a month but that was it. He saw how simple the relationship was between his brothers and his father and envied it. Perhaps it was as Niklas had previously mentioned about his sexuality. Since his older brothers were unquestionably heterosexuals.
He rubbed the side of his head, feeling even more drained than before. Never would he have predicted he'd get a therapy session by his Commander, sitting in the darkness of a penthouse apartment in the middle of a city that was currently claimed by Advanced Rotters. What made him feel worse though, was the sudden knowledge that as time went on he was forgetting the faces of his family; including his father they were talking about.
[ TBC ]
[ A/N: Thank you for your patience! And I hope you enjoyed this chapter. ]
[ A/N 2: We're getting to a precarious point in this world on the chapter's ahead on Patreon. Even I'm nervous to write them because I never really know where my imagination will take us. If you want to join the team of fretting peeps, then check out my Patreon page. All links are in bio <3 ]