Walter groaned as all the forced emotions flowed into him like a heavy truck just crushed him and left him on the road before another truck ran over him again and again. The hatred burning every inch of his body, his eyes see red, all the sudden boiling anger inside him making his hand trembling, in need to leash the accumulated anger. The dimly lit spaces were dancing in his eyes into a rhythm he found too stimulating his brain. Every sound was a ring of big bell that echoed as far as it got next to his ears. He cupped his ears hoping to reduce the noise. His every fingertips tingle urging him to rip something, it vibrates to his bone slowly and painfully forcing his throat dried like sandpaper in search for something thicker with a tint of metallic liquid.
As everything crumbled down on him, trapping him inside like minced meat, he hopped down the bed without making any noise, as if his muscles remembered the easiest and quieter way to do so, he glided out from the spaceGlancing three unconscious men, he felt it then, it's like a lightning, from his chest and it's exploded, reaching his fingertips, he wants it, he needs it, the grudges not familiar to him fill him to the brim. It's a wave that hard to resist trying to sweep him off from his feet, taking control of him like a thunderstorm, it's too wild, a surge if emotions that too dangerous, in need to kill, bloodlust. . For a moment everything was washed in red, swirling like a thick dark red wine, dancing in his eyes mocking and taunting for his empty stomach. His eyes graze on three people, unconscious and vulnerable in their seats, as if he could taste their blood and meat on his tongue, others growling inside his head, threatening to take his food. He bared his teeth, letting out a growl unconsciously, a sound which drew him from the bloodthirsty madness clouded his head for a second. The sound surprised him, inhuman and unfamiliar.
The disgust came slowly at first, before an onslaught of blinding guilt hit him like a plunderer. Shakily, his body staggered to the door where orange light creeped in between the sterile smell curtains. The faint throbbing all over his body slowly being engulfed with the screeching filled with blinding rage, his head ringing from the continuous onslaught, he could not fall asleep, the serene of nothingness suddenly with voices and emotions multiplied hundred or probably more. Even breathing is hard now, the easy act has pulled on his chest, as if every veins being ripped and his lungs shrink at every intake, leaving him breathless and sweating from the pain.
He leaned at the empty desk, he did not realize when he reached outside but the warm and humid air prickled his covered with cold sweat skins. Everything was in pain now, he felt his legs joint loosened, swinging like a soft metal, melting under his weight.
He sighed. 
Somehow, he felt tired of everything. Of what exactly?.
The sinking feeling drowned him so deep. Onslaught of emotions hot him like a tidal wave, again and again, he already gave up trying to reach the surface. As the night blanketed whatever lurking behind the darkness, as the night promising another second of darkness, he fell unconscious from all the pain, physically and emotionally.
_____________________…
“Sir, should you walk around like this?. Aren't you still recovering?.”
“It's fine. Infirmary only stored my fat from all the eating. And it's felt stuffy in there.”
The shirtless guy laughed heartily.
“ it sure does.”
Walter smiles. Ignoring the throbbing pain everywhere, he crouches down before lifting the wooden chest. The size already engulfed his head. 
“Ayy, what with the ‘sir’ thing?. Just call me Walter.”
“If you say so.” 
The guy wiped off some sweat from his forehead as he also continued his vegetable bed with a grin. 
As he walked down the familiar path, passing the tent area he used to share with laketown resident and the same tent he slept in with Blythe and others, his feet brought him to the canteen, where all the empty seat used to be busy and loud with their chatter, the memories flowing down as he make his way to the kitchen. All the bustle he heard now has gone, he hope they reach the safe place just fine. 
“Hi ladies. Hi chef. I bought something from the grounds.”
A small space connected with the kitchen was wide open with the ladies sitting on floor, prepping some food ingredients and the chef busy tending for the arrangement. Walter watched as they were silent as if engulfed with their works, they usually very chatty during meals. It's a bizarre thing, might be the first time he see them this quiet. He let out a chuckle which quickly raised some attention from the ladies.
“I see some young man decide to leave his health behind. What are you doing with the crate?. Do you realize how dangerous it could be to your wounds?.”
They shriek in horror at the scene they saw. They quickly stood up and the chef was already in front of him as he took the crate in a second. Walter freeze at the sudden burst, not that he doesn't get this reaction, he does since the crack of dawn, however their shrieking is something else to noted about.
He laugh awkwardly.
“But, it's okay. Nothing hurt. And I feel like my body need some exercise, it feels like eternity in the bed and the infirmary smell might stick on me if I stay any longer.”
Some stuff crashed along with their shock reaction. They still stand there gaping on him. A lady who seems to be the oldest among the ladies inches closer to him.
“You stubborn kid. You shouldn't walk around with work, I received some complaints about you this morning. They all worried and now I see why. You just don't listen if it's not Blythe, huh?.”
She softly hit his head. Evidently the concern stretches in every pore of her’s.
“Nah, not that I listen to him well, it's just, his nagging is the worst.”
The lady shook her head. 
“Come sit here.”
She pulled him towards one of the nearest tables. 
“Ladies, Benjamin, let's give this stubborn young fella some warm food.”
“No, no need. It's okay. I will eat with the guys later.”
Walter tried to refuse. 
“ that will be a couple of hours later. You are a patient!.”
She grumbled before some clinking sounds vibrated from the kitchen. Some would think they were having a fight with a kettle and pan in there. He sat there quietly, taking a whiff of some kind of soup, it stuck to his taste bud, as if a cause of the tingling on his body. His stomach growl in response. 
Blythe has been too strict with him for the last two days after he woke up, surgery's wounds miraculously left some swollen bump, and after a day it's gone without any trace. They said he almost died from losing all the blood and Blythe saved him. Though all he fell right now the energy coursing from his head to his finger toe, he believes he could lift a truck if he was given the chance. 
His hair tousled from the work he kept doing around since the morning. Sweat sticking his white stained clothes to his body. No one stop him from working, except a few nag here and there, after all, Blythe wasn't here and he would not come back a few days later. His body felt a lot better now that energy was flowing out. His stiff muscles feel like brick before, hard and heavy, bit by bit, every muscles loosened, perhaps that's how baby chick was before out of it's shell?. Small constraints and suffocating place crack slowly as it's body expand to it's size. 
All is good. 
As long as the nagging man wasn't there. 
His legs bounced in excitement. For weeks real food didn't make it into his stomach. As the smell wafted he lost in his head, ignoring the slow and faint whispers in his head. Lost in the track, his nose welcoming the delicious smells, ignited the growling from deep of his already starving stomach. 
As the bowl of some simple meat stew, he scarfing down the food without a second glance. The warmth of food soothe his throat, slowly spreading the warmth to his sore and cold body, travelling all over, as if taking a hot bath after so long stuck in the snow, as if the comfort food after a long day of work. It's too good as he is wolfing down another spoon. As he lift the spoon, taking a bite of the soft meat, he felt the sudden shiver on his back. A chills that make his head felt like a balloon, so big and so uncomfortable. The shock took him out as he gulped down the whole meat without chewing, and that's when he felt it, as if his chest expanding three times the size, his stomach suddenly turned into an endless void, craving for more meat. But, his tongue taste something else than that stew, it's metallic, tangy flavor, like licking on rusty coin, it's taste salty as linger on his tongue, pooling the need from the deepest part of him. As if a nail knock into his head, something changed within himself. 
He looks down. 
‘Ah, how can a food taste more heavenly than this?.’
His head rings. A smile creeps in. Everything caved in as he lift the bowl to his mouth, gobbled up the meat chunks, more liquid leaked from the corner of his mouth. The unsatisfied hunger, the insatiable need, the itch that he can't scratch, the pain that be can't cured, it's there, and he want more of this, whatever it is to quell the feeling.
Loud gulping makes the ladies satisfied. Wide smile adorned their lips. A warmth of pride swelling from inside. 
‘He must be that hungry after all the time eating only bread and grilled fish’. 
As time ticking, the heavy footsteps easily lost in their satisfaction. A hand swings before the bowl hit the ground, the half filled stew lands on the floor. Seething Blythe stood there, glaring down on already dazed Walter as he wait watched the later crouched down, taking a chunk of meat in his hand, with a hunger looks in his eyes, he tried to put it into his mouth before another swing landed on his blooming red arm. His eyes instantly changed. 
The blue almost grey colour deepened in his eyes. A rage. A rage that Blythe knew too well. Before he can blink, walter already wrapped his arms on his neck, choking the life out of him. The small man who had to stand on his tip toe, has his thumbs on his jugular veins. How can he imagine the small man, who's triple smaller than him, squeezing his oxygen out of him. As his hands held the small arm, trying to rip the abnormally thumbs from blocking his airway. His body twitching so hard, he coughed in need of air, his face turned blue, deeper in each second, that his dark skin now seems ashen under the weight who he was supposed to easily tackles down. 
The chaos faded as his eyes blurred for a second, he was close to lost his last breathe before the blurred man, getting straightforwardly yanked from his sight. Blythe folded down as his lung trying to seize every air that he choking and coughing in the process. Tears pooled in his eyes as his chest took the harsh sharp pain.
“Woah woah, what are you doing Walter?.”
Blythe looked up to see Caine’s perplexed face as he eyeing the dangling Walter in his clutch, still seems to be out of it. Caine eyes sweep to him, for a second, those blue eyes twitch in curiosity before he asked.
“You okay?. Funny to see you down.”
He chuckles. 
Blythe push himself up before he turns to the rest of the cooks who has matching reactions, they were all surprised and confused. It's seems his warning to not give walter any meat or anything with it in his food doesn't cross with them. 
“He's not supposed to eat any meat or any residue with meat. Will you take responsibility of anything happen out of your control?.”
Blythe tried to level down his anger, he know getting angry in this situation would give nothing but to satisfy his own temper. Instead of swiping everything out and shouted some curses to the cooks, he tried to make them understand it's dangerous to give the sick person some meats. 
“Is it that dangerous?. He spend the whole morning working here and there, pulling weight but he only eat some plain bread, as a oldest cook here, I can't seem to find in my heart to let him go for another hours without any proper foods.”
One of the cooks answered. Blythe has a tiniest idea that this cook was the one invited Walter to eat. He sighed deeply.
“Ma'am, there's a lot possibility, we are living in the world where we really scared of the dead. Anything can happen. If you care for this boy, listen to my warning. I, too care for him.”
Blythe answered before he turns and took Walter from Caine's arm. To his annoyance, Caine tails him until they reach the infirmary.
"Hmm, that boy you care about would hate to wake up in the suffocating sterile box again.”
Blythe ignored him as he pushed the vynil plastic out of the way. His step echoed in an empty space, the room only lit by a faint light in the entrance. Blythe laid down the man who seems like a stiff ragged doll onto the medical bed. 
“For all I know, he already heal, miraculously, incredibly fast in a week, I doubt he need to go through those strict rules of yours.”
Caine started, he watched Blythe’s every movement and he take note the syringe’s content before he let the big man gave a shot into Walter's arm. Soon, the dazed grey eyes shut and his stiff body relaxed. 
“You already know who he is, you already know who we are and why we flock around him. However, the real question is who are you, and why the fuck you do all of this?. Let's say you guys meet in laketown residence, that's not enough reason for you to be this protective?.”
Seeing how Blythe looks boring as he cleaned the place back and put the blanket on sleeping Walter, Caine seems to be blinded by his rage, before he know, his feet stomps in a second, his body which slightly smaller and shorter than Blythe's, has trapped the man on the wall, his elbow were inches away from the man’s throat, ready to took away his ability to breathe again.
“What's your motive?.”
Blythe's eyes boring down on him. The black pool in the middle of white staring down on the blue eyes. The rage in Caine eyes visible as his hot breathe match the tension.
“What's use of knowing my motives now?. It's all too late. I have been deep in this. Shouldn't you be glad that I would put my life for him?. You guys put your life for him, so why can't I?. Has anyone question you why?. All you need to worry is how to drag him to the safety, knowing all types of enemies want his blood already.”
Blythe calmly reason. 
“How can I trust you?. Any day, any moment you are and will able to hurt him.”
Caine out more strength on his elbow, putting more weight on Blythe's chest.
“I am sure you are there, at that moment, do whatever you need if the situation arise.”
There's a deep silence before Caine reluctantly let go of him. 
“Why can't he eat meat?.”
Caine questions.
“My blood has some serious malfunction if you want to put it like that. Some years ago, some surgery failed or successful, which ever it was, but, anyone who received my blood will be violent in face of blood and meat for a few weeks.”
Caine took a step back while Blythe step closer to Walter's bed. 
“What are you, a vampire, a zombie?.”
Blythe chuckles but didn't answered.
A clatter outside of the infirmary took their attention. A shadow behind the vynil came before the hand flap open the plastic, revealing a young man in his gear, panting and sweating, his eyes cross the space before squint down on two figures. Michael straightened his back and took a step away from the vynil plastic.
“Nelson have something to discuss. You two needed. Al- I mean Walter is an exception.”
__________________
The lobby seems empty with the absence of laketown resident, guards on post, a few others people on their spot, working like any other day. The reception space empty, the long tables and benches all empty, the boards filled with some documents and that's it. No one was there. 
And it was cloudy afternoon, a cold breeze sweeping the place as of it was spring already, but after the break down of an disaster, even weather seems to changed, as months passed by, and three years later, there's no summer except the heat at night, there's no winter, spring or fall, except the cold day, and bright sunny morning. 
The wooden stairs stretched further to the second, third and fourth floor. A building in between the stalls and the logging area, a space where the guards and the rest of redwood outpost’s resident stayed. On the fourth floor, the space was different than the other two which was bunk beds and wooden chest as their own table and cupboards in front and at the back of every bunk beds, with clothes hanging around, it's a while jungle than a place to sleep and rest, while on the fourth floor, there's three bunk beds, a table and documents stacked behund the table, now reaching an average human’s height. There's a board, before the opening to the balcony. Almost looks bright and empty, a complete opposite of the others two floor. 
On the table sat a man with a goatee, as he busy talking on the satellite phone. 
“They aren't here. Are you sure you have checked the whole place?.”
“Yes, Caine, Michael and juanne is here. Yes. I'll call you back if there's any other news. Yes.”
Nelson sighed before he acknowledged four men who already climbed the stairs. 
“You guys are here. Take a seat.”
He nonchalantly waved his hands before he cleaned the tables, closed the files, stacked the papers again. 
“There's no seat.”
Juanne jokingly replied.
“Anywhere is fine. Or on the floor, wherever.”
Nelson gave juanne a side eyes, a tired one.
“You seems agitated.”
Caine point out, he took off his cowboy hat, swiping his already hair behind as he took a seat in the bunk beds and the rest follows quietly meanwhile Blythe leaned on the wooden rail, crossing his arms on his chest.
“Well, I called you guys here to inform, the helicopter that supposed to take the rest of you to raven shelter has been took down. The last communication between the pilot and raven shelter was a few hours ago, the pilot alerting that the reiver gang were spotted before taken down.”
Nelson rubbed the bridge of his nose. 
“Then, there's no report of any survivors yet since it's just happened.”
Caine mumbled.
“Yeah.”
Nelson shortly murmured.
“Raven shelter own two helicopter. But, I doubt the other one still function. So, how can we bring him to safety.?.”
Juanne spoke sternly, wiping others demeanor instantly.
Nelson glanced to Blythe, his eyes filled with uncertainty to spill anymore information.
“For now, he's our ally.”
Caine spoke, noticing the wary glance from nelson which in return Nelson sighed deeper. 
“There's no option for us right at the moment. Redwood already under the reiver’s palm even before the disaster fell. There's no way in or out without fighting them. And our number are totally useless against those maniacs.”
Nelson’s face contort into something darker. As if the word were on his tongue, the sharp pain slicing deep in those words. He was trying so hard to not speak the words. If they were brought out by tongue, as if it means they agree of those words, as if they allow such things to really exist. At least, if it keep hidden and shut, they still can hope. Yeah, they can hope for the better.
“You mean, there's no way out?. It's impossible to leave this outskirts and go for the raven shelter.”
Four heads snapped towards Blythe who had an empty face, as if those words were nothing.
“Now, you go confirming things.”
Juanne grumbled.
Michael sighed.