The laughter eventually died down.

Neither of them seemed to know what to say next.

Around them, recruits continued running laps around the training field while instructors barked orders and whistles pierced the morning air. Somewhere farther away, a UH-60 Black Hawk lifted from the airfield, its rotors beating rhythmically against the sky.

Life inside Basa had resumed.

Or at least, it was trying to.

Chandrika adjusted her glasses.

"I should get back to training."

Adrian nodded.

"Probably."

She looked at him.

"You sound like you’re encouraging me to suffer."

"You volunteered."

"I didn’t know there would be this much running."

"Everyone says that."

A sigh escaped her lips.

Ryan was right.

Military training hurt.

Everything hurt.

Her shoulders hurt from carrying a rifle.

Her legs hurt from running.

Even muscles she didn’t know existed somehow hurt.

And yet...

She didn’t regret joining.

Not even a little.

The military had saved her.

Basa had given her another chance at life.

She wanted to contribute somehow.

Even if her contribution currently consisted of failing obstacle courses and collapsing into bed every night.

Her thoughts were interrupted when her stomach growled.

Both of them froze.

A few nearby recruits looked over.

One of them covered his mouth, trying not to laugh.

Chandrika turned red.

Actually red.

She wanted the ground to swallow her.

Adrian blinked.

Then looked at her.

Then at her stomach.

Then back at her.

"...Are you hungry?"

"No."

Her stomach betrayed her immediately.

Grrrr.

One of the recruits snorted.

Another outright laughed.

Chandrika looked like she wanted to commit murder.

She adjusted her glasses furiously.

"I hate this place."

Adrian almost smiled again.

Almost.

Unfortunately, she noticed.

"You did it again."

"I didn’t."

"You smiled."

"No."

"You absolutely smiled."

He remained silent.

Which was basically an admission.

Her ears turned red again.

Why did this keep happening?

Then another whistle blew.

The instructor looked toward their group.

"Meal break! Thirty minutes!"

The recruits immediately erupted into cheers.

Apparently, starvation was universal in military training.

The instructor pointed at them.

"Back in thirty! Anyone late runs five kilometers!"

The cheers immediately died.

The man smiled.

"I love this job."

The recruits collectively looked betrayed.

Chandrika sighed.

"See? Suffering."

She began turning away.

Then stopped.

Because Adrian suddenly spoke.

"You haven’t eaten?"

She looked back.

"I was going to."

"Now?"

"Yes."

A brief silence followed.

Then Adrian asked,

"Want lunch?"

She blinked.

"...What?"

"You said you were hungry."

Another pause.

"I mean..." he continued, sounding strangely awkward. "I was heading toward the mess hall anyway."

That wasn’t entirely true.

He had no destination.

But somehow, he had said it anyway.

For several seconds, Chandrika simply stared at him.

Meanwhile, several nearby recruits had suddenly become very interested in their bootlaces.

One girl practically leaned sideways to listen.

A guy behind her whispered something.

She immediately elbowed him.

Chandrika’s ears turned red again.

"You want... lunch?"

"Yes."

"With me?"

Adrian frowned.

"Who else?"

She looked even more flustered.

One of the recruits quietly whispered,

"Oh my God."

Another nodded.

"Oh my God."

Chandrika glared at them.

The recruits suddenly became fascinated by the dirt.

She looked back at Adrian.

"I... okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay."

"Alright."

Silence.

Neither moved.

The awkwardness somehow became worse.

Then Adrian finally gestured.

"This way."

"Right."

They began walking.

Behind them, the recruits watched.

They didn’t say anything.

At least until both of them were out of hearing range.

Then one of the girls exploded.

"NO WAY."

Another recruit looked horrified.

"Did the Commander just ask her out?!"

"I think so!"

A third looked confused.

"I thought he was married to the military."

The entire group began whispering.

Their instructor looked at them.

"What are you idiots doing?"

"Sir! We just witnessed history!"

"What history?"

"Commander Adrian invited Chandrika to lunch!"

Silence.

The instructor blinked.

Then blinked again.

"...Seriously?"

The recruits nodded.

The man slowly removed his cap.

Then looked toward the sky.

"Well I’ll be damned."

Meanwhile, completely unaware of the chaos behind them, Adrian and Chandrika walked through the base.

The atmosphere felt peaceful.

Cargo trucks moved along the roads.

Mechanics repaired vehicles.

Children played near the residential blocks.

Several soldiers passing by saluted.

Then their eyes widened.

Because the Commander was walking beside a woman.

A very pretty woman.

The news began spreading immediately.

Inside military bases, information traveled faster than radio waves.

By the time they reached the mess hall, approximately fifty people already knew.

By dinner, half the base probably would.

Chandrika looked around nervously.

"Why is everyone staring?"

"They’re not."

"They are."

A lieutenant walking past them tripped over absolutely nothing.

He recovered immediately.

Then saluted.

"Good afternoon, sir!"

Adrian returned the salute.

The lieutenant looked at Chandrika.

Then at Adrian.

Then back at Chandrika.

His expression changed.

"Oh."

He saluted again.

Then hurried away.

Chandrika stared.

"What was that?"

Adrian sighed.

"I don’t know."

Unfortunately, he did.

And it was going to be a very long day.

They entered the mess hall.

The smell of food immediately greeted them.

Rice.

Soup.

Grilled fish.

Fried chicken.

Simple meals.

But good meals.

They grabbed trays and moved through the line.

Then eventually found an empty table near the windows.

For a few moments, neither spoke.

Outside, helicopters moved across the sky.

Workers continued repairing buildings.

Life went on.

Chandrika looked out the window.

Then smiled softly.

"I still can’t believe this place exists."

Adrian looked at her.

"Basa?"

She nodded.

"When I was trapped in that hotel, I thought the world had ended."

A small laugh escaped her.

"I thought everyone was dead."

She looked around the mess hall.

Soldiers.

Mechanics.

Pilots.

Families.

Children.

"But then I came here."

She smiled again.

"And somehow... people are still living."

Adrian followed her gaze.

People really were living.

Not merely surviving.

Living.

After everything humanity had lost, perhaps that was its greatest achievement.

Chandrika looked at him.

"Thank you."

He frowned slightly.

"You already thanked me."

"I know."

She smiled.

"But I wanted to do it again."

For some reason, he didn’t know how to answer that.

So he simply nodded.

Outside the window, the afternoon sun shone over Basa Air Base.

For once, there were no alarms.

No explosions.

No infected.

Just lunch.

Just conversation.

Just two survivors sitting beside a window.

And somehow, after everything they had been through...

It felt nice.