The first thing Aran noticed when he entered the building was brightness. The shower building had been lit from above by a single, large light, but the large foyer he entered now looked so normal it felt wrong, somehow. A pristine tile floor opened up from the entranceway, with an open second level above, with gleaming wooden railings. Alice was waiting near the door, slouching on a bench, head back with her eyes closed. As they entered, her eyes flashed open, and she yawned, stretching luxuriously as she stood. Aran felt his eyes wander, and snapped them up as she returned his gaze.

“Come on, this way.” She said with a wave, and turned, walking quickly. Aran jogged to catch up, surprised to find James following as well. Seeing his quizzical look, James answered the unspoken question. “We’re all supposed to report together, since our patrol found you. Plus, as soon as we finish the report, it's straight to bed for me,” he added with a chuckle. Aran grinned in response. Alice led them down the hall to a large oak door where she pulled up short, rapping her knuckles on it twice.

“Enter!” A voice from within called. As they filed in, Aran saw the room was even nicer than the rest of the building, with polished hardwood floors, richly upholstered chairs and couches, and a large desk at the opposite end. Behind which sat a handsome man in his 50’s grey hair accompanied by a crisp beard framing a shrewd face. He stood as they entered, smoothing the creases in his immaculate suit. Rick stood to the side of the desk, hands clasped behind his back in a pose that spoke of quiet confidence. As they approached, Aran watched as the other man’s eyes took each of them in, brows drawing together for a split second when they landed on Aran.

When they had all arrived at the desk, the man spoke in clipped tones. “Good morning. I am Mayor George Ellis, newcomer. We’ll get to your story in just a moment. Captain, please complete your report.”

Rick snapped to attention, launching into the details of the previous night. They’d been following the road, looking for supplies and survivors heading north, when they’d seen tracks in the snow. When they heard a disturbance in the trees, Alice had gone to investigate, as their quietest member, finding Aran bent over a branch and looking like hell. Alice added in that anecdote. Rick finished the report quickly, and the Mayor sat, looking contemplative.

“So, you’re from Welksfield then?” He asked, his gaze riveted to Aran. Aran squirmed under the gaze, suddenly worried this man would throw him out of the town if he didn’t answer how he wanted. “Uh, yeah- Yes. Sir,” he stammered out. “And you’ve been on your own for over a month out there? On your own? And apparently without shoes, in the snow.” The mayor peppered him with questions, rapidfire, leaning forward as he continued. “While we’re on the subject of you, where were you when the bomb fell? How did you manage to survive?”

Taken aback, Aran stammered, unable to articulate. The mayor paused, patiently waiting for him to respond. Aran dropped his gaze, the steely blue eyes unnerving. “Uh, I’ve just been wandering, looking for other people this whole time. I found a gas station that still had food, and stayed there for a bit while I looked for more people. Then I… stayed there for a while, then came south when I didn’t find any more people.” The mayor sat, hands steepled before his face as he stared at Aran. “And? You have not answered where you were during the explosion.” Aran’s heart skipped a beat, as if his body was reprimanding him as well for his failure to answer. “Oh, sorry. I… was with a police officer, we had holed up from the monsters, when the bomb fell. I was on the roof, and I saw the explosion. It blew me off the roof, and I passed out. I woke up… later, I’m not sure how much later though. I was pretty beat up. Nobody was left when I woke up. After that, I just sort of wandered around, trying to find people, and food. Then I headed here, hoping to find Burville still standing.”

The mayor sat back, drawing his brows together. “You survived a nuclear bomb? Just… survived it? You expect me to believe you just got blown away? Forgive me, but you can understand my hesitation to believe such a story. Tell me, did you have your… unique complexion before the bomb?” Aran felt heat creep up his face. “Um, no. This came… after. I think the radiation, uh... I think it changed me.”

“That much is obvious I think, if we are to take you at your word. I think in the face of that, being shoeless in the snow doesn’t really compare. Regardless, I have no evidence leading me not to believe you, even if I personally find your story utterly ridiculous.” Anger flushed within Aran. “Why would I lie? Your people pulled me out of a tree and marched me here!” The mayor made a patting gesture with his hands, more patronizing than calming. “I cannot fathom why anyone would spin a tale so ridiculous, but in these strange times, the ridiculous appears to be the normal, so for the time being, I will let the matter rest.” This was said with an air of finality, and suddenly the Mayor was back to business. “If you intend to stay in Burville, you will earn your keep. Captain, ensure he is fed and clothed, and then you will have him join your next patrol. If he is capable of making it all the way here without being killed, he will make an excellent addition to our Rangers. Beyond that, Mr. Briggs, unless you have anything else, I believe the matter is closed.” Aran’s eyes widened, unable to comprehend everything he’d heard. “Uh, what? I have to go back out there?” “Yes, Mr. Briggs. Everyone in Burville must contribute. You obviously possess survival skills, so you will join our Rangers as a new recruit. If you are unable to fulfill those duties, we will find other work for you, or we will show you to the edge of our city.” Oh, shit, he thought. “Captain, please escort our new recruit to where he’ll be sleeping. Mr. Briggs, you have until tomorrow to finalize any decision you may have about staying. After that, we cannot afford to waste any resources on anyone who won’t contribute.” With that, the mayor turned his gaze back to his desk, where he began reading a report, in an obvious dismissal. Aran opened and closed his mouth, trying to find some way out of this mess. I can’t go back out there! I’ve nearly been eaten, blown up, and fried by radiation! “Uh, Mr. Mayor, I really don’t think I’m the right guy for being a Ranger. I mean, uh, I’m sure someone else…” He trailed off as the Mayor looked back up at him. “I’m sure you’re not thrilled at the prospect, Mr. Briggs. But every able bodied person has to contribute to the common defense. You will serve, or we will be done with you. Think of this as a way of proving your intentions. If you are who and what you say you are, you will fulfill your duties, or the Captain will find a use for you. If you are not…” He let the insinuated threat hang in the air. Aran glared at him. He was starting to think he had been better off back in Welksfield, where nothing had bothered him. Better to be here though, he admitted to himself. At least here I can put a real roof over my head, and hopefully find out more about what’s happening in the world. Maybe I’ll be able to find more people, and then I won’t have to man the wall. “Fine. I’ll do it.” The Mayor did not look up again, motioning to the Captain. Rick gave a quick salute, fist to chest, and turned toward Aran. Extending an arm, he herded Aran towards the door, Alice and James following.

Aran’s mind was so full of questions and fresh worries about having to go back outside the walls, he didn’t realize they’d left the building until they arrived at a squat, strange looking building. It wasn’t until they’d made it up the steps that it hit him. “Was this building made with magic?” He asked, incredulous. Rick answered, “Yeah. Mr. Callum built it for us, so we’d have a centralized place for all the Rangers.” As they entered, Aran’s jaw dropped. Every surface was stone, rough hewn on the walls, and perfectly smooth on the floors and ceiling. A central hallway dominated the view, with corridors branching to either side. “Come on, 3rd Patrol’s upstairs,” Rick said, taking the stone stairs to their left. Aran followed, unable to look at anything besides the incredible workmanship of the building, lit by several candles, and what looked like actual torches with strange holes in the ceiling directly above them. James chuckled, watching Aran. “The holes are channels for the smoke, keeps the building from turning into a death trap. They’re like miniature chimneys.” They arrived at the landing on the upper floor, turning to the right, and made their way to the end of a long hallway, a door to either side with a large “3” carved into the stone beside both. Rick pointed to the door on the right. “This is you. We’ve got watch in 9 hours, so I suggest you get some rest. I’m across the hall, Alice and James have the next two rooms. I realize you have questions, but we’re all tired, and I’d appreciate it if you could hold those until after we get some sleep. He didn’t wait for an answer, turning and entering the room behind him. Alice and James likewise entered the doors just a few feet away.

Aran was left standing in the hall, alone. He took a moment to get his bearings, then entered his own room. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but certainly not this. A rough wooden bed stood to one side of a room longer than it was wide, with the bed taking up roughly half the width. A stone sink emerged from the wall, and a small hand mirror sat atop it, along with a plain toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. Aran ignored the rest of the room and immediately snatched up the brush and paste, feeling tears start to pool in his eyes. His lips trembled, as he placed a smear of toothpaste on the brush, and began brushing his teeth for the first time in more than a month. He ended up brushing 3 times, just enjoying the feeling of clean teeth. Surprisingly, the paste didn’t turn to dust on his tongue, but he decided he didn’t care why. Once he was satisfied with his mouth hygiene for the moment, he hesitantly picked up the small mirror. Turning it to see his reflection, he stared for a long time. His eyes, previously blue, had turned a dark emerald green. As he studied them closer, he saw that even the blood vessels had turned green, giving them a truly alien appearance. The skin of his face was much the same as the rest, though without the many scars he’d accumulated across the rest of his body. His eyebrows and hair remained, the dark color even more pronounced against his slate grey body. Lifting his shirt, he traced one of the many scars in a spiderweb pattern across his chest from the snow monster. Compared to the rest of him, his chest looked truly bizarre, long dark green scars taking up nearly as much space as his actual skin.

He huffed out a sigh. All things considered, could be worse. Never going to win a handsomeness contest, but I don’t think I’ll send people screaming, he found himself thinking, surprisingly at ease. Setting the mirror down, he suddenly felt worn out, his mind filled with thoughts of sleep. Kicking off his new boots, he lay down on the bed, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

-------

A hard knocking jolted Aran from his dreamless sleep. Bright sunlight lit the room through the small window at the end of the bed. Blinking his eyes sleepily, he crossed to the door. Pulling it open, he was greeted by the grinning face of James. “Rise and shine new boy!” he said with a chuckle. “Come on, there’s a kitchen down below, we can grab breakfast then head out.” Mild panic rose in Aran’s mind, as far as he knew he couldn’t eat breakfast, but James was already making his way down the hall. Aran jumped to pull on his boots and followed, walking quickly to catch up.

“I, uh, I generally don’t eat breakfast, actually. Also, isn’t it, like 4 in the afternoon?” Aran asked, trying to keep the anxiety out of his voice. James chuckled again, laugh lines creasing around his brown eyes. “Dude, it's cool, we have food to spare, you don’t have to worry about it. I’ll show you the greenhouses later. It’s actually closer to 6, but that’s when we get up. The 3rd is on night watch tonight. We rotate duties with the other squads, and it works out pretty well, with you being new and all.” Aran blinked, realizing his anxiety had been mistaken for bashfulness. That worked just as well, he supposed. “Still, I’m not hungry, I’ll be okay. How long will we be on watch. Uh, and what will we be doing on watch?”

They’d arrived at the kitchen as they walked, the large room lit by a small fireplace and several of the torches Aran had seen earlier. As they entered, Rick and Alice were sitting at the end of a long table, both turning as they walked in. James gave a good natured wave to them, as he walked to the small iron stove, pulling out some eggs from a pantry. Rick swallowed, then picked up where James had left off. “Mr. Briggs. To answer your question, we’ll be on the wall for watch, doing exactly what it sounds like: watching. We’ll be on the northeast quarter of the wall, but we’ll rotate throughout the shift. You’ll be with one of us the whole time.” He said all this with the same, calm confidence as ever, but to Aran it sounded as if they were going to be keeping an eye on him. “Uh, right. Makes sense,” he said as he walked to the table, taking a seat on the bench next to Alice, facing Rick. As he sat, she turned and raised an eyebrow, a trademark expression Aran was coming to recognize. “Aren’t you going to eat? We’ll be out there most of the night, you know. You’ll need the energy to keep warm,” she said, voice dropping a bit at the end.

Aran shrugged, running a hand through his hair. “Nah, I’m not hungry, couldn’t eat if I tried. Nerves I guess,” he said, forcing a smile. Technically not a lie, he thought to himself, the humor in the sentiment bleak. Alice turned back to her food. “Suit yourself, but I did warn you. Better not fall asleep, we don’t tolerate that crap.” Rick made a soothing gesture with his hands, looking at Aran with a smile that never quite reached his eyes. “Stop Alice, he’ll be fine. He’s been on his own all this time, I’m sure he can handle it.”

At this point James sat down, his plate clattering against the table, making Aran jump. “Ah he’s got this you guys! Look at how jumpy he is! That’ll keep him nice and alert out there.” He grinned at Aran’s frown. “Just messing with ya man. You’ll be fine. We’ll be out there with ya, no worries.” With that, James began ravenously devouring his food, deaf to the world, and the look of vague disgust Alice leveled at him.

“Well, I’m done. I’m going to go get ready, back down in 15?” She asked, glancing at Rick as she stood. “Yes. I’m going to go check in with Barker, make sure there’s been no news before we head out.” He turned to Aran. “Make sure you’ve got everything you need with you, we won’t be leaving the wall for any reason until we’re relieved. Just stay with James, and you’ll be fine.” Rick stood as well, dropping his cleaned plate in dishrack after Alice, both of them filing out of the room.

“Hmmmm. Well, they don’t hate you, so pretty good start I’d say,” James said quietly as he placed his fork down. Aran looked back at him with surprise. “Is that a success? Not hate? That seems like a pretty low bar.” James chuckled. “Well, they’re not as fast to warm up to a new face like I am. But they’ll come around. Long as you do your job, and don’t talk too much, you’ll get along with the Captain just fine. Alice… well, she’ll let you know if you’re doing something wrong,” he said, winking. Aran nodded, making a mental note to watch what he said around James, he seemed to like to gossip. James stood, stretching, dark jacket pulling tight over what Aran realized was an extremely muscular build.

“Alright. I’m going to wash up and see if anyone else is around. If you need to do anything before we head out, now’s the time. Just be back to the entrance hall in 10 minutes. Don’t want to be late on your first day!” James grinned, moving to the sink. Aran stood, nodding. “I’ll be right back, just want to do one thing first.” Aran walked quickly, up the stairs and returned to his room. Picking up his toothbrush almost reverently, he smiled. He brushed his teeth thoroughly, then jogged back down to the main hall. He arrived to find James lounging on a stone bench near the front door, Rick and Alice both having yet to arrive. He sat down quietly, not wanting to disturb James, who seemed to be napping.

He didn’t wait long. Rick walked in through the doors shortly after, nodding at Aran as he did. “Let’s go everyone. We need to be at the wall in 10,” he said brusquely, turning and striding back outside. “Yes sir!” James said, making a comic salute while still laying down. Alice brushed by Aran, startling him. He hadn’t even noticed her enter the room. Shaking his head, feeling a bit of color stain his cheeks in embarrassment, he followed them outside.