Rollll Out!

After the cheering died down, Grant dismissed everyone and told them to gather in the square at daybreak so that they could move out and make the most of the limited time they had.

Once the group had dispersed, Grant and Ethan decided to spend a bit of time catching up before he too left to get some rest. Grant could tell that although Ethan had found a new light to guide him, it would still be a difficult road ahead of him. So he made sure to tell Ethan that if he ever needed anything, he didn't need to hesitate to ask.

Since Scott and the other leaders had left the recruitment of new fighters to Grant, they left shortly after Scott finished his speech. And now that the new recruits were gone, it was just Grant, Ally, and the two kids left in the square.

The four of them ended up returning to the big room where they had held the meeting earlier in the day and shared a nice meal together. Grant brought out a few of the supplies that he had saved that he wasn't willing to share with anyone other than the three of them.

Which included a couple bottles of beer and some wine.

Of course Robin wasn't allowed to drink because she was so young, but Grant allowed her to sneak a few sips when Ally wasn't looking, or at least when he thought she wasn't looking.

Because Ally caught them red handed at one point and ended up scolding both Robin and Grant for nearly 20 minutes before she relented and let them off.

Of course Ally wasn't truly mad she just didn't want Robin to think it was okay for her to drink alcohol whenever she wanted, so after Ally told them off, they all ended up laughing about it and making jokes.

After spending a few more hours, it had gotten late enough where everyone was pretty tired so they decided to retire to their rooms.

But that was when Grant realized he had a problem. He didn't have a place to stay. The two kids were staying in the same room which meant that they had no free beds so that left only Ally with a free bed in her room.

Ally, without a moments hesitation, told Grant that it was okay if he wanted to stay in her room that night, but for the first time, he didn't know if he should accept Ally's good will or not.

After the misunderstanding with Jerrod earlier in the day, Grant hadn't stopped being self conscious about the relationship he had with Ally.

He figured she didn't think of him in that particular way, especially since he was basically her sons age, but since he was a healthy young man, the thought had crossed his mind a time or two.

Without any other option though, Grant had to accept the invitation unless he wanted to sleep on the floor or outside.

He had thought about asking Robin to sleep with her Mom so that Grant could just stay in Richard's room but he was afraid that it would look suspicious if he tried to avoid Ally.

When Ally and Grant reached the room, she opened the door for him and gestured for him to come inside. She then walked over to the beds and told him to pick whichever one he wanted and to sleep there.

Grant immediately laid down and got ready to fall asleep but Ally stopped him as if surprised by what he was doing, which made Grant even more nervous.

It turned out that Ally was just confused by the fact that Grant was sleeping in his armor though. Grant hadn't even considered taking it off because he basically never took it off at this point. Other than to wash himself, the armor never came off.

But after some insistence from Ally, Grant had no choice but to relent. He could have easily taken the armor off himself because he had gotten pretty good at doing it alone but once again Ally insisted on helping him.

What ensued was 10 minutes of awkward silence, at least for Grant, while Ally helped him to remove his armor.

While she was helping Grant, she kept making fun of him for smelling like he had spent a year living in someones gym bag, so she insisted that he use the bathroom and take a shower.

At this point, Grant's head was about to explode from wild thoughts, so he just rushed into the bathroom and slammed the door.

After he was done showering, he made sure to dry himself off and get dressed in the bathroom.

Once again, he returned to the room, head still steaming from more than just the hot water. However, when he returned to the room it felt like someone had poured a bucket of ice water over his head because he froze on the spot.

As much as he was trying to avoid an encounter with Ally, he wouldn't have turned her down if she had made a move but contrary to all her expectations, she was already fast asleep on her bed.

With grief in his heart and blue in his balls, Grant went to bed. He knew he had misunderstood her kindness for something more but he couldn't help but be disappointed.

He just kept telling himself over and over that she was more like a Mom to him than anything else, and sleeping with his Mom would be wrong. Eventually he managed to clear his mind enough to fall asleep.

When the first light of morning came, Grant woke up feeling more tired than when he went to bed. Physically, he was refreshed: mentally, he was fucked.

When he rolled over to see if Ally was still in the other bed, he was surprised to see it was empty. She had apparently woken up before him and hadn't even bothered to wake him up.

After getting out of bed and getting his armor on, he went to get Richard and Robin so that they could join the expedition to train the newbies.

When they didn't answer their door, he went to the common area and realized that Ally, Richard, and Robin were all eating breakfast already.

"Well look who finally decided to wake up! You know you toss and turn a lot when you sleep right? You were making a racket all night!"

Grant couldn't help but blush when he heard Ally making fun of him.

He normally slept like a log when he was in a safe place but Ally's room felt like anything but safe.

"I apologize, I must have had a bad dream or something! Maybe tonight I can find an extra room to stay in so I don't bother you."

"Oh nonsense sweetie! You can stay in my room again. And besides, there are no extra rooms. The people who defend the walls and their families are already using the rest of the rooms."

Grant just shook his head in depression hearing what Ally had to say.. He couldn't help but think that maybe sleeping on the ground outside was better than dealing with another night of false hope and delusions but eventually he relented to her kindness.

"I appreciate that Ally, I guess I'll have to take you up on your offer.

In other news, Richard and Robin, I would like you two to come with me to train the new recruits today. You two know how I like to operate and since you two are the only ones I've ever trained, you can assist me in their training."

In response to his, not so subtle commands, the two rose to their feet and gave Grant the exaggerated salute they always gave him when he took command.

""Yes Sir!""

After making fun of Grant, and finishing their breakfast, Ally and the kids went their separate ways. Ally returned to her room to rest and do.. well Grant didn't really know what she was doing in there, but he had more important things to do so he didn't think on it too much.

And the kids went to grab all their gear, and then along with Grant, they all walked to the courtyard to meet with the new recruits.

Surprisingly, at least for Grant, nearly everyone who signed up the day before had shown up to join the little excursion.

Grant had expected that at least half of the people who signed up, wouldn't show. He thought that after a full night of thinking on it, they would end up being too scared to participate.

For Grant, seeing Ethan in the group, was the best outcome. He was glad his friend was going to take his fate into his own hands rather than putting it in the hands of God.

"Alright everyone, since it's later than I intended to get started already, we need to make this quick.

A few ground rules before we begin.

1) You do what I tell you at all times. If you disobey me and run off on your own, you are at a much greater risk of death.

2) We will not stop for anyone. Once we leave these walls, you are committed to what we are trying to do. If you are overwhelmed, you will still not hesitate. You need to keep moving forward no matter what.

3) If we come across a large group of monsters, you need to do your best to kill them before I even consider stepping in. If I see anyone slacking off or trying to hide, I will personally throw you to the front of the group and make you the first to receive the attacks.

Am I understood?!"

"Yes sir!"

"I can't hear you!"

"YES SIR!"

"ALRIGHT, LETS ROLL OUT!"