"I hope they'll be okay too. I really like them. They'll be okay. They can't me mad at each other forever.... I don't think." I placed my hands in my lap as Sam began pushing me down the hall. I sat comfortably as we wandered through the halls. The bright white of the place was beginning to give me a small headache, so I was ready to get back to my room. "I don't know where to go either. This entire place is a maze." I yawned, covering my mouth with my hand. "How're you doing back there. Are you okay?" I asked Sam, looking over my shoulder at him. His face was focused and full of thought. It felt like our little band of survivors was falling apart.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, fine." I glanced down at Daisy and smiled at her. "Just have no idea where the heck we are." I chuckled as I glanced around for some sort of sign that we were going in the right direction.
There was nothing, just like all the other hallways we'd wandered through. If only we had Isy back to lead us through.
Just as I'd thought that a flash of red turned a corner and began coming towards us.
"You're kidding me. I was just thinking about you!" I said, stunned but happy something was finally going our way.
Isy raised an eyebrow at me and smirked. "Okay, Chief... but maybe we should have a drink first. I like to loosen up a little before I attempt to make anyones fantasy's come true."
I felt my face burn up and I stuttered about for a moment trying to let her know that wasn't at all what had just happened. "Wh- uh, no. I just-" I cleared my throat and tightened my lips. "That wasn't what I was-".
Isy simply grinned at me and looked down at Daisy.
"It's funny I found you two actually. The other two guys who were with you earlier both strode past me down the hall. Neither looked particularly pleased about their lives."
I looked down at my feet, still trying to get over the embarrassment of what had just happened.
"Anyway, I'm guessing you guys are leaving. I didn't think you'd have the guts." She glanced back at me with a look in her eye I couldn't quite read. "Such a shame, if only you were staying a little longer..."

I laughed at Isy's comment that had quickly made Sam get a little flustered. She was an interesting girl. I was glad she'd come to the rescue or else we'd be lost in this maze of a building forever.
"Why should we stay a little longer?" I questioned, raising a brow at her. "Cant you tell us a little something? I mean, it's hard to make such a decision when you're completely in the dark." I tried to get something out of her. She was a bit stubborn and seemed to like to avoid answering direct questions. But I'd give it a shot.

She looked at Daisy as she spoke and then tilted her head.
"If you were staying you could know everything," she paused and winked at me, "even my fantasies." I swallowed and felt my face heat up again as she continued talking to Daisy. "Though you should know, I admire your strength. When I arrived I was quickly pulled in to it all. Too curious for my own good. I just had to know."
She folded her arms and shrugged. "Of course when I found it all out I was eager to get the hell out of here. Once I knew it everything though, you know the drill, you can't leave. So here I still am. Waiting for eternity to roll over and get me above ground. We work hard, yes, and one day it'll pay off and you and I won't have to worry anymore about the war. I'll probably receive some kind of commendation for my commitment to my country, yada yada... Or I'll be dead, blasted to pieces in the thick of it all." She paused as she stared at the two of us. I was standing there slightly dumbfounded at how much she was letting on. "Who knows when that will be... depends on my rota... Anyway, nice to chat. I'll see you around I suppose." She waved her hand quickly and brushed past us.
I turned quickly to call out to her. "Wait. Hold on."
She looked over her shoulder, waiting for whatever I had to say.
"Can you tell us how to get back to our rooms?" I asked and she smirked once more.
"Of course I can." She began walking back to us and then stopped in front of me. "Would you like me to take you inside yours as well? I can show you where the bed is." She tilted her head again, fluttered her eyelashes, then sauntered off ahead of us before laughing. Two fingers beckoned us and I shook myself out of my stupor to push Daisy along behind Isy.

"Ah, well..." I didn't exactly know how to respond to the little she gave off. She hadn't said much, but she'd said enough to convince me that I definitely didn't want to stay here. From the sound of it, Isy's been stuck underground at this base ever since she found out it's deep secrets. It was too much for me. I was leaving as soon as I was healed up.
As Isy continued to hit on Sam, I grinned, holding in a giggle. I couldn't tell if she was purposely trying to make him flustered or if she really meant it. Regardless of her intentions, it was hilarious. Her teasing Sam was quite the show. I was honestly curious to know if he'd take her up on her offer. She was obviously into him and it was great to watch each surprised expression that came over Sam whenever she made a comment. She was pure gold.

Our rooms weren't really all that much further from where we'd been standing talking to Isy. Along the walk I'd been struggling with my thoughts, but this time it wasn't just because of the siblings issues, or the big decision I was supposed to make tomorrow morning potentially regarding the next few years of my life. No. It was because of the fiery red haired girl striding along in front of me.
I couldn't read her. That was the trickiest bit. Was she just teasing me, thinking I was ridiculous? Or was she actually sending some type of signal? If so, I wasn't receiving it... Or was I?
I suddenly realised that I thought she was very pretty. Not that I hadn't noticed it before, I had just never taken it in. I was always too busy focusing on the words she said rather than what colour her eyes were or how many freckles she had dusting her cheek bones.
Quite unexpectedly, a rush to learn more about this unusual hot-headed girl took over me.
But that Rush was quickly dashed. I was being stupid. It didn't matter whether I'd be here for a few weeks or a few days, there was too much else happening to even think about something as trivial as a relationship. No, I couldn't allow myself such luxuries at this point in time. Not with everything else happening.
"Well, here we are." She said not ten minutes since we'd left the hallway where Joe and Spencer's emotions reached their boiling point.
"Thanks for your help, Isy. Appreciate it." I nodded at her before pushing Daisy down the white hall we'd stopped at the end of.
"You alright from here?" I asked as we came to a stop outside of her doorway. Glancing over my shoulder, I chanced a peek and caught the end of Isy's bright plait whipping out of sight.

I was surprised at how close we actually were to our rooms. If Isy wasn't there to guide us, it probably would've taken us an extra ten minutes to find them. Isy said her farewell as Sam and I thanked her for leading us to our rooms.
"I am. Thanks for wheeling me through these twisted halls." I gave Sam a smile, watching as he subtly looked for Isy. "Welp!" I reached for my doorknob. "G'night, Loverboy." I laughed, twisting the doorknob and carefully wheeling myself inside. I tried my best to stand up as painlessly as possibly, moving my chair out of the way and gently shutting my door. I let out a long tired sigh, sitting down on the edge of my small bed. I leaned back, starring up at the ceiling, resting my hands on my stomach.
"What a damn day." I breathed. "Ridiculous." I shook my head, thinking of the siblings shenanigans and current family feud. "It's not my business." I kicked off my shoes, wincing at the sudden pain that traveled through my leg. I was too careless in the action. I pushed myself up, scooting back until I was comfortably at my pillow. I slipped under the blankets, not bothering to turn off my bedroom. I was too comfortable to get up again. I pulled the blankets over my face and shut my eyes, lying there with my own thoughts until I drifted off to sleep.

I rolled my eyes at what Daisy had said, and before she shut her door managed to get a quick goodnight in.
With a sigh, I continued down the hall and found my own bedroom door. It didn't take me long once I'd entered the room to sort mysel out. A quick shower, a tired glance in the mirror at a tired man, followed by a slow crawl into bed.
Today had been a whirlwind of activity and emotion. We all definitely had a lot to think about. I was definitely leaning in a direction of whether I would find out the information General Thomas had for us or not. It was just making that decision final and being able to stick with it. I had to stick with it. There was no going back no matter which way I chose.
For now though, I could hardly keep my eyes open. With one last glance around the small white room I now called my own, I reached over to the stainless steel lamp and shut it off. It was a weird relief, to not be able to see anything at all, the brightness of the base we'd been getting lost in all day had created a constant headache and given me tired eyes.
Laying back on the pillow was the sweetest feeling I'd had in a long time. I'd barely had time to think about what a luxury it was to have a bed to sleep in again when I fell asleep.

I woke up to a hard knocking at my door. I jumped, kicking the blankets high into the air. "Shit." I cursed myself, wincing at my sudden actions. I hurt my leg again. No surprise there. Another hard knock continued and I groggily hopped to the door, careful not to put pressure on my leg.
"Daisy!" I heard my name. "Daisy, open up!"
"Just give me a second." I grumbled, finally reaching the door and opening it. It was Nina.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"I- I was sleeping." I said, partly annoyed. What did she want? "What time is it?"
"It's 7am." She paused, looking me over. "Did Joe rough up Spencer?" She asked me. "He came to my room really upset last night. Said he punched Joe." She leaned in my doorway, curious.
"Yeah. They got into a bit of a tiff. Mentioned some family stuff that I didn't really catch." I yawned, covering my mouth.
"That's all I needed to know." Nina nodded at me before walking off down the hall.
"What just happened?" I peeked around my doorway, watching Nina walk away. She didn't answer me. I rolled my eyes, closing my door and turning off that light I was too lazy to turn off in the night. I hopped back to bed and collapsed once more, closing my eyes and almost immediately falling back asleep.

Waking slowly, I turned over in bed lying flat on my back, staring at the ceiling with groggy eyes.
I'd almost forgotten where I was. For one second I thought I was lying in my bed at home, the silence was all too familiar. But once I'd seen the white everything and the small size of the room that held me, I realised quickly I was still in the Grey base.
Rolling over I spotted the clock on the bedside table and felt my heart skip a beat. 8:43 A.M., it read.
I was supposed to be in that meeting with General Thomas in just fifteen minutes.
Yanking off the covers, I pulled myself out of bed and hurriedly dressed myself in another uniform. There would be no time for breakfast, I'd have to go straight there and hope that I wouldn't get lost along the way.
My bedroom door swung shut behind me as I left the room and darted off down the hall, running my hands through my hair to avoid it's current slept in look.
I could only assume that the others were already there; with the exception of Daisy and possibly Joe. I quickly wondered if he would change his mind after what happened yesterday.
I hoped that the four of them had a chance to talk everything through at some point last night... Or this morning. They sure needed to. Especially after we saw Spencer punch Joe in the cheek.

I slept for about another hours and lazily rolled over in bed. I normally hated complete darkness, but being surrounded by such bright lights all the time made the darkness feel like serenity. I reached for a table side lamp and pulled the string, letting the light illuminate my room. I was so refreshed and still so tired at the same time. I needed this sleep. The past few days had been rough and being able to sleep with no worries was amazing. I stared at the ceiling, wondering if Sam and the rest of the siblings had resumed their meeting with the General yet. I was eager to hear what decisions they'd made.
Eventually, I rolled out of bed and made my way to the shower. I turned the water up to it's hottest temperature, letting the scalding water run down my back. It was nice to be able to have basic luxuries again. I washed myself, brushed my teeth, and put on the clothes the Grey Base had provided for me. My hair stuck out in tight curls all over my head. I pulled it back into a fuzzy bun before exiting my room. Carefully, I sat in my chair and began rolling myself down to breakfast. I prayed that they were still serving food and I wasn't too late.

It was almost nine o'clock by the time I reached the door I was looking for. Taking a deep breath, I turned down the handle and stepped inside.
As expected, I was the last one to arrive. Nina, Em and Spencer were already seated around the table, with General Thomas standing tall before them.
"Great," said the General as I moved into the room, slipping into a seat next to Em. "Glad to see we're all here. The non appearance of Daisy and Joe, I assume means that they have decided to go ahead with their original decision."
I looked at Nina who was staring straight ahead. Em and Spencer said nothing either so General Thomas continued.
"So, I suppose we'll get right to it. Have you all come to your individual decisions?" She looked around at our faces, waiting patiently for someone to speak up.
"I'll be requesting to stay and find out more." Nina spoke confidently, her eyes levelled on General Thomas'.
Em looked sideways at her sister. Her shocked look told me they handn't discussed anything.
"Nina-" Em started but Nina stopped her.
"That's my decision. It has been the whole time." She looked hard at her sister telling her there was no changing her mind.
"Very well, thank you, Nina. Welcome to the team." The General nodded at Nina.
Spencer and Em looked quite uncomfortable. I was under the impression neither of them wanted to stay, but could see how they were finding it hard to face leaving their sister behind.
To break the silence, I sat up straight and cleared my throat.
"I'd like to move on, General Thomas. Thank you for giving me the option to join your work here, I hope it pays off." She smiled at me and I sat back again in my seat, relieved and pleased with my final decision.
Em and Spencer were now looking at me, clearly struggling with what to do.
"I don't want to leave you here, Nina." Em said, her voice catching. "But I don't think I can stay." She was struggling with her words but she'd said it, and as Nina looked at her sadly, Em sniffed, trying to hold herself together.
"I'll stay too..." Spencer said quietly. "I'll stay with Nina."

I wheeled myself around the base for about twenty minutes until I found the mess hall. It wasn't very crowded, assuming I woke up a lot later that what was normally the appropriate time to be awake. I got in line, taking up more space that I than I'd liked, but I made it through. I was handed a tray full of waffles, eggs, and bacon. I sat the tray in my lap, maneuvering as best as I could so it wouldn't slid off of my legs onto the floor. In no time, I was at a table alone, scooting chairs out of the way so I could make room for myself.
I huffed, my arms sore and hurting from using so much energy just to find this place. I was tired all over again. I quietly said my grace before I started eating and dug in. A few people walked passed me, slowing down as the walked, wondering who I was and if I was apart of the small group that had come in from the outside.
"Excuse me." I heard a small voice behind me.
"Yeah?" I swallowed my food, looking over my shoulder. A small, pale girl with short curly blonde hair stood with an empty tray in her hands.
"You came from out there, right?" She asked.
"How could you tell? Did the wheelchair give it away?" I said sarcastically. She nodded, a small smile appearing on her face.
"What's it like out there?" She asked me. I saw a few people slowing down behind her, trying to listen in.
"It's uh--" I sighed. "It's a lot. It's rough out there." I admitted. "I prefer it though."

Nina frowned at her youngest brother. "No you will not, Spence. Don't you dare change your mind because of me." She said and I was suddenly reminded of a mother I'd once seen in a park when I was younger. She was telling her child off because he'd hit another kid in the park for teasing his sister. I remember sitting there alone at the top of the slide, watching and wishing that I'd had a mother to tell me off, a sibling to protect against the bullies, or even a father that cared enough to remember his own son had been waiting for an hour to be collected from his school across the road.
"I told you that I would go because that's what you wanted me to do." I was pulled back to reality with the sound of Spencer's voice. Em was looking between her siblings appalled as if she couldn't quite comprehend what was happening.
"Then respect that. I never wanted to go back home, Spencer. Our parents don't want me there, but they want you to be safe. If anything happens on my watch they will come and find me and kill me themselves."
"So you'd rather I'd die on Em's watch?" Spencer shot back.
I just sat there trying not to show my discomfort at the fight that seemed to be going nowhere.
"Spencer, just listen to her. How can you make me leave both of you behind?" Em pleaded with Spencer, grabbing his hand so tightly, I could see the white of her knuckles from across the table.
Spencer looked long and hard at Em, clearly thinking about his next words carefully. He looked over at Nina who gave him a look only he seemed to understand, before turning to face General Thomas who had been silent the entire time, waiting patiently for minds to be made up.
"I- I'll go. I'm sorry about all of this, but I promised. I did. I'll go with Em and Joe."

The girl sat down beside me, curious as to what else I could tell her.
"How'd that happen?" She nodded to my leg. "Why are you in the chair?"
"I was shot escaping from a base that had been flooded with Jaxlor spies." I really wished the girl would leave. I wanted to eat my food in peace.
"Jaxlor spies?" Another voice chimed in. "Whoa. What was that like? Did you shoot any of them? Where are you friends?" They asked. "Are you here alone, now?"
"I'm not alone." I shot them a look. "I don't really want to talk about it. If you all don't mind, I'd like to eat." I was annoyed now.
"But what about-" The girl who'd sat down next to me started to speak again.
"I said I don't want to talk about it. I almost died. My friends could've died and you all sat here safely with no worries or cares that my base needed your help. No one came to help us. But don't worry about us, we're fiiiine." I digressed, rolling my eyes. The surronding soldiers finally got the hint, slowly walking away to do who knows what. I wished the siblings and Sam would make their way back so I had someone to talk to. I was interested to hear what they had to tell me about the meeting. I hoped everything was going fine between them.

General Thomas had her answer. From the six of us that arrived yesterday, only one of us would be staying. I imagine she wasn't particularly pleased at losing out on six capable soldiers, but she didn't show those feelings at all.
"Thank you. Spencer, Emma, Sam," She started nodding at each of us, "remember to make yourself at home while you are here, you are welcome to leave any time you wish. I just have to clarify before you all leave, that there will be exceptions to the rule if it's found that you've discovered any information that cannot leave this building. Even something you overheard. We absolutely cannot risk any leaks. Understand?" She flicked her gaze at Nina, as we all nodded our heads.
The message was clear, Nina wasn't allowed to say a thing.
"Great, Nina will meet with you later." General Thomas dismissed the three of us, and with slow movements and regretful gazes, Em and Spencer stood up, following me out of the room.

I sat in silence, eating my food in peace. I could still feel the gaze of those who wondered who I was and of those who wanted to know more about what was going on outside. From the curiosity of their voices and the questioned they'd asked, you'd think they'd never been outside of this base. Like they had been stuck underground for the duration of their time in this never ending war. It took me a while, but I'd finished majority of my food. I picked at the remained of my food with my fork, poking around and trying to kill some time. I didn't feel like wheeling myself back to my room. It was too tiresome of a task that I did not have the energy for. I wasn't used to having to maneuver a wheel chair.
After a while, I grabbed my tray and placed it in my lap. I wheeled myself to the trashcan where I scraped my plate and left the tray on a little space above the can. I took a deep breath and began making my way back down the hall towards my room. I had no idea where else I could go, so that's where I went. I hoped I'd run into a friendly face along the way.

We stood in silence as the door swung shut behind us.
I wasn't sure if I should leave them there and find something to eat, but I didn't feel right just walking away after what had happened.
"Did you know she wanted to stay?" Em asked and I looked at her, suddenly worried she was asking me. But her gaze was on Spencer's downcast face.
"No, she didn't tell me that. That's why I changed my mind and said I'd stay. I didn't want her to stay. Be alone here." He said looking at Em sadly.
"I know." Em reached over to her brother and gripped his shoulder, squeezing it briefly before pulling him into a hug.
Now I just felt like I was intruding. I stepped back slowly, unsure if it would be weirder to leave or stand here and wait or them to finish.
"C'mon. Let's go and see if there is any food left." Em said as she stepped back from Spencer.
Em smiled at me and touched my arm as she walked past with Spencer on her other side. "Coming?" She asked.
"I suppose so." I said and started down the hall with them. "If it's not too touchy of a subject, where's Joe? Have either of you spoken to him?"
Spencer looked over at me. "I haven't seen him since last night."
Em shook her head. "I saw him briefly early this morning, he said he was going to the food hall to eat. I assume he's in his room wallowing now."

I wheeled myself down the confusing halls, still trying to learn my way around the place. The bright lights bounced off of the white walls, making this place look absolutely pristine. I couldn't help but wonder who designed this place. Whoever did it needed to know that all white everything was just blinding. It was too much to look at all the time. I shook my head, trying my best to wheel myself around the corner. In do so, I saw Em, Sam, and Spencer making their way down the hall. A look of somber plagued their faces. Something must've happened in that meeting. I waved my hand at them, giving a soft smile as they neared closer.
"G'morning." I stopped wheeling myself, praying one of them would take over. My arms felt like noodles. I had no idea how people did this everyday.

"Morning." We all spoke in usion in response to Daisy's greeting as she wheeled herself around the corner.
"What's for breakfast? Don't tell me you've already eaten?" Spencer said as he tried to lighten his own mood, walking up to Daisy grabbing the back of her chair, twisting around so she faced they way she'd come
"I'm starving," Em announced, "I hope there's bacon."
I smiled and nodded. "Is there bacon, Daisy? I'm not sure Em's going to make it much longer with a plateful." I joked and Em laughed but didn't disagree.