“Sorry about that, so what can I do for you?”

“Actually, I think it is the other way around. Joff sent me here to talk to you about some issues he said you were having.” Danny responded

“Joff?” Hank looked at Danny quizzically.

“Yeah. You know… the guy manning the gates.” Danny explained.

“Yeah, I know who Joff is, but that is not what I meant. I was just wondering why would he send you here. Now that I think about it… I don’t think I ever saw you around before.”

“That’s not surprising. I just entered the settlement today for the first time.”

Hank nodded his head and said:

“That explains it. So, what kind of issues were you referring to… Oh my! I just realized I didn’t quite catch your name!” Hank said as he leaned forward and placed his hands on top of the desk – fingers interlocked.

“You can call me Danny.” He introduced himself.

“Well then Danny, it is nice to meet you.” Hank smiled and responded politely.

“Likewise.” Danny returned the gesture with a nod.

“Say Lad, what is it that Joff told you?”

Hank had this... way about him. Danny could tell from the man's mannerisms that he was the kind of person who spoke openly, directly from the heart. He spoke his mind without restraints or second intentions.

“Like I said to Sally, I am not too keen on the details, but when I arrived at the gates earlier today, Joff told me that you guys have been on the lookout for outside help to deal with some kind of zombie problem. He said that I fit the bill, so he pointed me towards this building and told me to speak with the one in charge.” Danny shrugged his shoulders after clarifying why he was there.

“Oh… that…” After understanding dawned on his face, Hank adopted a more serious expression.

He leaned back on his chair and caressed the stubble on his chin as he looked carefully at Danny, taking a second look at his visitor and properly analyzing him for the first time.

“Hmm, maybe you can be of help after all…” Hank nodded his head, as if satisfied with what he saw.

“So, what do you know of our current circumstances?” Hank crossed his arms and inquired.

“Not much. Joff only told me that he had been ordered to keep a lookout for people that could help. Other than that, he didn’t say much. Again, I only now it has something to do with zombies, but why you guys are not dealing with it yourselves and what kind of problem it is, I currently have no idea.” Danny answered truthfully.

To that, Hank merely sighed and nodded tiredly. It appeared as if this had been the source of a headache to Hank for quite some time already.

“Sally!” Hank screamed suddenly, catching Danny by surprise. He tensed at the unexpected action, however, before Danny could ask Hank what was going on, the man turned to him and said:

“Can we get you anything? Coffee? Water? Beer perhaps? If you want something to eat it can be arranged as well.”

It seemed that Danny was too jumpy after going so long without proper human interactions. He was still in survival mode, and that was not necessarily a good thing.

Though he had met Lara not too long ago and had a pleasant chat with her, he never took the time to drop his guard and properly interact with another human being without worrying if he was going to be attacked or have a trap sprung onto him the next moment.

Even if it was wise and prudent to be careful, being too tense and high-strung was not a good thing. People might suspect his intentions if he reacted too intensely to everything and he might even end up causing some misunderstandings. He needed to learn how to relax a little bit.

Of course, that did not mean that Danny should simply drop his cautious attitude entirely and act in a carefree manner, it simply meant that he needed to find a better balance to his mindset than his current one.

“Thank you, but I’ll pass.” Danny answered politely.

“Are you sure? It might take some time to go over the details, and we have some pretty good stuff here. Ice cream, burgers, coffee, soda, meat… you name it and we will fetch it for you.” Hank smirked proudly.

Seeing the man’s grin and way of speaking, Danny realized that the leader of the settlement was trying to entice him. By making a show of what he could provide for Danny, in a soft projection of power, the man was attempting to rope in Danny and bring him to his side.

Whatever it was that he needed from Danny and whatever it was about Danny that made the middle-aged commander think that he was up to the task, apparently it was enough to make the man do his best to try and tempt Danny like a common salesman.

After all, there was nothing preventing Danny from simply refusing his request or leaving the settlement altogether.

After checking Danny’s appearance and gear thoroughly, Hank had already figured that Danny was entirely capable of fending for himself and therefore there was little he could do to make the man do his bidding other than enticing him.

Differently from the many other people currently huddling together in fear behind the shelter’s improvised walls, Danny did not need their protection nearly as much. If that was the case, then Hank’s bargaining power was greatly reduced.

After realizing that, in a split-second decision, Hank decided that the best approach to get what he wanted was to dangle a bait in front of Danny’s face in the form of delicious meals, a decent roof over one’s head and other sources of comfort and pleasure in order to make the young man want to help them.

One could not judge a book by its cover. Despite his boisterous voice, hulking size, and easy-going personality, Hank was actually quite a shrewd man.

It was no coincidence that he managed to keep himself in the seat of power of this small encampment even after they managed to evade the initial threat and settle down. Sure, not much time had passed since the initial zombie outbreak, but nonetheless, it was still quite a feat considering the limited military might Hank had under his control during all this time.

Danny did not know about any of this yet, but Hank was actually the leader of the police force that rescued the residents of Clear Water Village and led them towards this small oasis during this period of so much chaos and mayhem.

At the time he had arrived in Clear Water Village, Hank only had a dozen or so officers under his command and that had hardly changed in the following weeks.

How could he be expected to keep absolute control over this encampment, enforcing his rule with just that insignificant force, when there were thousands living inside these walls?

The ratio between military or police-related personnel and the total population living in the camp was completely skewed.

In fact, when Danny was scrutinizing the gatekeepers after he arrived in the area for the first time, he had noticed how poorly trained Joff was, even if he was a good fit as a greeter for anyone approaching the settlement, and how careless they were being with their security.

Danny did not know it at the time, but he had hit the nail on the head. The old guard and his companion actually had no training whatsoever.

With few hands on deck, Hank had no alternative other than to recruit voluntaries to fulfil the many roles throughout the settlement from among the people he had initially led here, and from the ones that had arrived later.

More frequently than not, the people assigned to these tasks had zero previous experience in similar jobs, meaning that they could not be expected to perform to the highest of standards. But hey, one had to work with what one had, right?

Considering all that, it was quite a feat for Hank to have remained in control, despite the hard times that the settlement was going through with the shortage of food and whatnot.

There were more than a few voices of discontent going around the place, and taking into account that Hank was the one deciding who got to eat till they were full and who had their rations reduced, it was not surprising that many people started vying for his position.

Yet, all of that was of little importance to Danny.

He was not one of the residents and he did not depend on the encampment’s handouts to get by, so he was largely unaffected by all these political problems.

“Well, since you so kindly offered, I’ll accept some ice cream.” Danny embarrassedly accepted the older man’s generosity.

There was no helping it, Danny was a sucker for ice cream. He knew that the chances of him finding a place with a working fridge during his travels to indulge in an ice-cold cup of ice-cream were next to non-existent, so this might as well be his only chance to get his hands on some for a very, very, very long time.

Also, Danny wasn’t worried about being poisoned or anything of the sort.

From all he saw so far, he was absolutely sure that this was just a normal settlement, filled with desperate, but ordinary people. There was no nefarious purpose behind Hank’s offer other than the poorly veiled attempt to seduce him with luxuries.

Since he already had the intention to help them with their problems, why not ‘fall’ to Hank’s ‘schemes’ and pamper himself a little bit? Wasn’t he just thinking about how he needed to learn how to relax every now and then?

Considering that supply chains had been completely broken, and trade went out in a puff of smoke, any sort of goods you wanted to get your hands on needed to be produced locally or scavenged for.

Furthermore, energy was not as easily available as it once was, so products that needed a specific treatment to be preserved, like refrigerated goods, were becoming more and more scarce.

It was truly luxurious to be offered fresh meat and ice cream. Even boiling water to prepare a cup of coffee had become a chore.

Therefore, Hank’s generosity wasn’t as much of a hidden plot as it was an open attempt to recruit him, even if it was not spoken out loud.

“Great choice!” Hank gave him a big smile and slammed the table with his fist.

Everything about the man was loud, wild and unrestrained. At least, that was what Danny thought.

A few seconds after that, Danny could hear the tip tap sounds of Sally’s boots on the corridor, and soon she opened the door with a scowl on her face.

“What?” Sally said, glaring at her superior.

“Come on girly, don’t be like that! I already apologized, haven’t I?” Hank smiled at the cranky woman, unfazed by her attitude.

To that, Sally merely harrumphed while rolling her eyes.

“So, what do you need me for?”

“Right, bring me a cup of coffee please, and some ice cream for our guest.”

Sally rose her eyebrows, surprised by Hank’s request, but in the end, she did not make any comment about it. Instead, Sally merely nodded her head and turned around after leaving a “be right back”.

Her expression did not go unnoticed by Danny though. It seemed that even Hank, the leader of the settlement, did not have as many luxuries available to him as he would like Danny to think.

Nonetheless, Danny was happy to feign ignorance. It was perfectly understandable for Hank to be trying to show Danny the best possible side of this small budding village in order to make a good impression. If anything, the fact that Hank was willing to share, even while having less to spare, only made Danny think better of the man.

Soon, Sally came back with their respective treats, leaving the room soon after placing the wooden tray containing their orders on top of Hanks desk and being thanked by them both.

Danny scooped a spoon of the strawberry cheesecake-flavored icy delicacy in front of him and put it in his mouth, making no attempts to disguise his happiness and eagerness.

As soon as his taste buds registered the delicious taste, Danny could not help but think:

“This part of my life, this little part, is called… happiness”.