"State your business..."
The door to the headquarters burst open as Erin shoved through it, knocking the woman standing behind it to the ground.
"Dammit Erin, you could've warned me first!" The woman growled, clutching her bleeding nose.
"Not in the mood, Gina," Erin replied under her breath, huffing slightly. Alex stood up on his balcony watching her with his arms crossed, his tall, built stature creating a shadow that panned across the dank grey walls of the subway tunnel.
She noticed him watching and looked up at him, shaking her head slowly. He understood her message, turning and walking back into his office.
Erin sighed, heading over to the hospital. As she entered she immediately noticed that all the beds were empty, including the one she'd left the man from yesterday in. She felt her heart sink as Jane walked in, bracing herself for the bad news.
"So he was infected after all, huh?" Erin asked, turning to face Jane.
"What? Oh, no he's fine. He's up and walking so I let him take a shower," Jane replied, gesturing at the bathroom door behind her.
"Do you think he'll be ready for a mission anytime soon?" Erin asked, knowing Alex would be sending her out again soon.
"His leg isn't as bad as I originally thought, but he's still not in the best of shape. He's a tough one, though, I wouldn't count him out," Jane replied.
The bathroom door opened and Erin turned to see the man walk out, hot steam wafting into the room. He wore nothing but a towel wrapped lazily around his waist, and the sight of him stirred something in Erin. For the past few months she'd only seen naked women roaming the streets, something that would turn anyone at least bisexual.
"Hi...are you the one who saved me?" The man asked, studying Erin. She forced herself to look up from his chest, up into his deep blue eyes.
"Yes, I'm Erin," she said, holding out her hand for him to shake. He took it proudly, smiling at her.
"I'm Joe, well Joseph to my family, but everyone else just calls me Joe," he laughed. Erin saw Jane blushing beside her.
"I'm Erin, it's good to finally meet you in a safer place," Erin joked, watching him go serious as he recalled his experience before.
"Yeah, almost got pinched back there...damn things will do anything to feed. Thanks for saving me, if not for you I'd have been a goner," he replied.
"Don't mention it," Erin smiled. She suddenly remembered her job and returned to her serious demeanor, straightening herself. There was still some of that excitable 22 year old college youth in her, reminding her of the way things were before. She couldn't let herself think back that far. All that mattered was here and now, and now she was standing in front of an incredibly buff...
She squeezed her palm with her fingernails, bringing her mind back to reality. Joe watched her curiously before turning back to Jane.
"Do you still have my clothes?" He asked. Jane snapped out of her reverie, turning and opening one of the cabinets. It seemed she too was affected by his proximity.
"Here you are, same as they were when you arrived. I took some time to sew up a few holes though!" Jane beamed, handing him a neatly folded pile.
"Thank you kindly," he smiled back, taking them and retreating back into the bathroom. As the door closed Jane looked at Erin and fanned her chest with her hand, swooning.
"He's a real charmer! You must be excited to have him as your new partner," she said, almost envious.
"You really think Alex will partner me up with him?" Erin asked, the thought not even occurring to her.
"You never know, it's not like we have many other men left," Jane sighed. She was right. With Josh now gone there weren't too many men still in training. The call of the creatures was just too much for them to stand It made Erin wonder how Joe had survived for so long.
The bathroom door opened again and Joe stepped out, now fully clothed in a pair of blue jeans and a white T-shirt with a green jacket pulled over it.
"Well, Erin, I'd like it very much if you could give me a tour of the the place. Thank you, Jane, for your hospitality," he said, turning to the blushing nurse.
"Anytime! Really, come back anytime you'd like," she said with a wink.
"Follow me," Erin said, leading him out of the hospital as quickly as possible. As he caught up with her she realized how much taller he was than her. He seemed to have nearly have a foot on her. She'd never considered herself short, so maybe he was just abnormally tall.
"Sorry about her, she can be a little... handsy with the patient's," Erin said, looking back to see Jane standing in the doorway watching them leave.
"You're telling me...she was real pushy about getting in the shower with me at one point," Joe laughed.
"Yep, that's our Jane," Erin said, hoping the young nurse's libido wouldn't become too much for her to take. Especially with the constant call of pleasure right outside their doors. That was something that affected everyone.
Erin led Joe to the restaurant first, a rectangular shaped building near the hospital that had been a diner before the invasion. The inside had been cleared out to fix boxes of rations, and tables with chairs had been set up outside for citizens to sit at.
"This is our restaurant of sorts, where you can come grab something to eat. Hope you like Sardines and canned ravioli, because that's basically all we've got," Erin said, watching a 'waitress' come out of the building carrying a tray of sardine cans.
"You guys really appreciate formality, huh?" Joe asked.
"Alex insists on it, he likes everything to be as close to it was before as possible," Erin replied, watching the woman deliver her tray to a table where a family was waiting. Their daughter, who looked to be around three, gagged as she smelled the food set down before them.
"I'm guessing you'd do things differently if you were leader, huh?" Joe asked as they started walking again.
"You bet. He likes to make this place like a city, but what we really need is a secure base. Hell, we need a fort. This entire place should be filled with guns, and we should be prepping these people for the hard life they have ahead of them. Pretending there aren't god damn aliens outside at all hours of the day isn't going to help anyone," Erin replied, taking a glance up at the balcony to ensure Alex wasn't eavesdropping.
"Yeah, I know what you mean, but it's kind of nice to be around people acting normal again. Everyone I've met out there is all 'survival of the fittest'; it's rare to be in a place that feels genuinely safe," Joe noted.
"Yeah, I guess that's one way of looking at it...so you've been all around out there?" She asked.