Fallen world

" It wasn't me ! " A guy said as Liam angrily shoved him against a wall .

The guy was robust , with brown moppy hair . His eyes were brown and his face was handsome . Liam hated him , especially for his good looks . How many times had he been ignored by girls because they were walking together ?

But right now , it wasn't any lady problems that were making him mad .

" You told everyone about the elevator incident , don't lie to me ! " Liam yelled as he grabbed the man's collar , " Ricky doesn't care , Martin wasn't there and that leaves you ! "

" Somebody could have told Martin . " The guy said holding Liam's hands . " I did not say a word . Believe me . "

" Yeah right ! " Liam scoffed , " First the girls , now my reputation . What else are you going to take ? "

" Girls ? " The guy asked confused and Liam would have given him a tongue lashing if someone didn't interrupt them .

" Hello ? Am I in the right room ? " A voice said by the door and everyone turned to the owner .

Lesley stood by the door of a shower room , where four men were standing naked taking showers . One man was dark , with black hair reaching his shoulders and a beard . Another was more muscled , with long brown hair . In the corner Lesley saw Liam naked holding a guy who was wearing a shirt but no pants .

He turned around and shut the door and his eyes , taking a deep breath , before walking down the corridor . There was no way , no how he was in the right place . Even if Liam was there , that couldn't be his squad .

" Hey Lesley , where are you going ? " Liam said looking at his cousin , he was by the door , dripping water and naked with no shame .

" To find your squad captain !" Lesley called over his shoulder .

" But he's in here ! " Liam called back and Lesley stopped dead in his tracks .

No . No way . It's impossible . Those guys are too hot . Liam is like a four on hotness . He can't be working with those guys . They can't even be ranked 36 if they look that good . Lesley had these thoughts for a moment before he turned around and looked at Liam .

" Where can I talk with him ? " He called and Liam scratched his head .

" He's right here . You can talk now . " He said but Lesley gave him a glare and Liam realised his situation .

" Sir ? " Liam called one of the guys showering .

" Mmm ? " The guy gave Liam a glance .

" My cousin just arrived . The one I was telling you about . " He said , " He was wondering if you could talk to him after showering ? "

" Why not now ? "

" He is not comfortable with that . " Liam said , " He has problems with naked people . "

" You're kidding me . " The guy with a beard said with a chuckle , " Is he squamish about blood too ? "

" No , just naked people . " Liam said and the squad captain shrugged his shoulders .

" Five minutes , we'll meet in the Setroom , then we head out . " He said and Liam nodded his head .

" Go around the corner to your right and then take the second door on the left . We'll be the in ten minutes . " Liam told Lesley who gave him a thumbs up and left .

" Oh , and Liam . "

" Yes sir ? " He asked his boss .

" Your cousin was blushing . " The brown haired man said with a smirk , " Is it naked ' people ' or naked ' men ' he finds uncomfortable ? "

Liam opened his mouth and then he shut it . That told the squad captain all he needed to know and he carried on showering .

....

" So you're the cousin ? " Martin asked Lesley . He was the man with black hair and a beard .

" Yes I am . " Lesley said looking at Squad team 36 .

There were four members , including the captain . Martin was the second in command , Ross and Liam were the Support team and then there was the Captain Rick . He was the one that Lesley's eyes kept going to and it would have been strange if they didn't .

Rick was handsome , his face an equal to a Greek deity . With a muscled body and a slight tan , he captivated the eyes . His own eyes were deep and hard , his face screamed authority and discipline . The only thing contrasting this was the playful smile on his face as he looked at Lesley .

" So , you're our rookie ? " Ross asked him , " I've always wanted one . "

Lesley's eyes twitched at the way Ross made it sound like he was a new pet . He didn't bring it up though , after all , these people were now his superiors . They held his future in his hands , especially the captain who could make him stay as a rookie or promote him to squad fighter .

They all stood inside a room with equipment like ; uniforms , combat boots , weapons , maps of the city , Comm mikes , a giant metal table , a hanging lightbulb and a rack of keys next to where the guns were .

Liam was by the door , Ross and Martin were sitting by a bench infront of the table and the captain and Lesley were sitting on chairs , the only chairs , by the table together .

" How are your combat skills ? " Rick asked him , his voice a deep velvet baritone .

" I've been training him for a year . " Liam said .

" Then he's a dead fish . " Martin said jokingly and chuckled .

" Have you ever trained with a Skillet , Crux or On hand weapons ? " Rick asked ignoring Martin .

" I've used alot of On hand weapons but not the other two . " Lesley answered and Rick smiled .

" Good , you'd be arrested if you did . Now , Liam has told you that today were are going on an excursion ? "

" Yes but there is something I wanted to ask . " Lesley said , " In the briefing I heard that we can't bring back survivors . Why is that ? "

" That's because of one thing ; Risk . " Captain Rick said looking serious , " A few years ago , some squads in Argentina used to bring in survivors . One day they brought in infected ones . Zombie outbreak in less than a day and the safezone city fell . "

" How could they bring ininfected ? Couldn't they tell that it was not a human ? " Lesley asked .

" Nope . " Martin spoke up , " Back in Argentina there were alot of survivors and they used Rovers to collect them . One survivor took her infected child into the safezone city . There were so many survivors going through , that no one was aware of it until after the outbreak . "

" But , there aren't that many survivors now . Don't we need as many people as we can ? " Lesley asked .

" Yes and yes . But one problem in that . You heard that it takes two minutes for full infection right ? " Ross said folding his arms .

" Yes ."

" There are cases of infections taking longer , even 24 hours . Even if the person was changing , it would look like a simple illness . That's what happened in Argentina . " He explained , " Eversince , the Deadpool organisation has made it illegal to take in survivors unless ordered to . "

" ... Okay . So when do we go out ? " Lesley asked Captain Rick .

" After we get you into proper uniform and give you a Crux . " He said pointing to a wall with sheathed knives .

" No Skillet ? " Lesley asked and Rick smiled .

" You earn that by proving yourself . " He said , " Now let's get started . "

Everyone got up and started getting ready , picking weapons and changing into combat uniform . Lesley picked one outfit and was about to take his clothes off when Rick told him to change in the closet . Lesley readily agreed , feeling grateful about not being naked infront of strangers . When he was done changing , he came out , to find everyone waiting for him .

" Nice look kid . " Martin said giving him a thumbs up .

" Thanks ." He said and touched his sleeves , feeling the uniform again . It was dark green trousers , a khaki shirt and cap . His red hair made the uniform draw attention to his face and his eyes glowed with the green colour . Rick smiled , liking what he saw .

" Let's move out ! " Rick yelled .

...

" Hey , kid you nervous ? " Martin said next to Lesley .

They were inside a Rover , with Captain Rick and the others in another Rover infront of them . Rovers could take a maximum of four people and since Lesley was the rookie , he had to have someone with him at all times .

Ross and Liam had volunteered but Captain Rick said Martin should go , since he had more experience than everyone except Rick himself . Lesley had agreed and Martin had shrugged his shoulders , he could take on a kid .

" No . " Lesley said looking outside the window as they drove through the city's orange zone .

" You're nervous . " Martin said and it was a statement not a question .

" I-i- " Lesley tried to argue but Martin just laughed .

" You're not the first nervous one who I've had to babysit . Liam and even Ross tried acting tough but I saw straight through them . " He said shaking his head at the memory .

" I ... I'm sorry . " Lesley said looking down .

" For what ? " Martin asked .

" For being a coward . " Lesley said and Martin have him an appraisal .

" No , you're not coward . You're afraid but who isn't ? " Martin asked but the question was rhetorical .

" You're not . " Lesley answered it anyway .

" I am . Liam and Ross still are , that I'm sure . Heck , even the captain is . " Martin said and Lesley's eyes grew wide .

Captain Rick ? He thought , afraid ?

" But he doesn't look like - "

" He doesn't look like the type to be afraid, I know . But he is , we all are. We're fighting , god damned zombies , if we weren't afraid we'd be stupid . " Martin told him , " Fear is what keeps you alive though . It keeps you sharp , ready to move and that's why we ain't dead yet . "

" So ... it's okay that I'm afraid ? " Lesley asked and Martin nodded his head .

" Civilians are afraid of the security failing , the politicians are afraid of the way of life ending and us poor Squad teams are afraid of having a zombie chewing our faces . Everyone is afraid of something , it's what makes us human . Zombies , are afraid of nothing , they'd run into a burning building just to eat a dog . "

" Have you ... I mean , how many have you ... killed ? " Lesley asked and Martin scrunched his face thinking .

" Last I checked ... 167 . " He said making Lesley's eyes wide again .

" That many ? "

" It ain't that much . Captain has 231 , Ross is 102 and Liam is 68 . " Martin said , " Our squad is low ranked so you can guess how many others have more kills than us . "

" I've never killed one . " Lesley said softly .

" Well , you'll have your chance and in that moment you'll know that you're not a coward . Trust me , I look in those eyes and I see a fighter . A squad fighter . " Martin said , " Give me five . "

Lesley raised his hand and gave the other man a high five , making him laugh . Martin was such a nice and friendly guy .

But he was wrong .

It took more than fear to stay alive in the outside world . In a fallen world like that , only the strong would survive. The other four squad fighters were strong but -

Was Lesley strong ?