An unexpected surprise in the Locker Room...

A/N: Trying to make up for lost time with another quicker update now that we are deep into the long-awaited mission portion of the arc. I hope you enjoy it and if so, please remember to leave a comment for this one if you can.

Lieutenant Mills' POV

You moved deeper into the communal bathroom, your boots squelching slightly on the wet tile. The air here was different, cleaner, tinged with the faint scent of soap rather than rot. That alone made your spine stiffen.

The lights were on further ahead, a warm glow spilling from the locker-room entrance. Fresh footprints crossed the wet floor, bare feet, small and recently made. A pair of discarded shorts lay crumpled near the bench, and a sports bra hung over the edge of a sink, still damp.

You raised a closed fist, and Emily halted behind you. Your rifle tracked the corner as you edged forward, heart rate steady but alert. Someone had been here, minutes ago, maybe seconds. And they weren't dead, because the dead didn't turn on lights or shower. So, you decided to improvise.

"Vista Nova resident," you called out, keeping your voice firm but not threatening. "We're not zombies, and we have no quarrel with you. We're clearing this building of the walking dead. If you're alive in there, we want to help you. We came here to rescue people if there were any to be rescued, not just hunt monsters."

Silence stretched, broken only by the faint drip of water somewhere in the locker room. Then a woman's voice, shaky but defiant, came from behind one of the lockers. "How do I know you're not lying? That you're not with a gang that's been sweeping the towers for supplies and people?"

You exchanged a glance with Emily, who had gone very still, her head tilted.

"Because if we were them," you said slowly, "we wouldn't be announcing ourselves with an invitation to save you. We'd have already forced the door and taken whatever we wanted. We aren't just here to take. We're here to clear the building of rotting time bombs waiting to go off and offer anyone that may be interested in a safe place to stay that option should they wish to take it."

A long pause. Then the sound of a lock sliding, and a section of lockers creaked open. A young woman stepped out, her hair dripping wet, slicked back from her face. She was wearing only a towel wrapped tightly around her body, her arms crossed defensively over her chest. Her skin had a slight Californian tan, and beneath the towel you could see the lean, toned build of an athlete, shoulders squared from years of training.

"Allison?" Emily's voice cracked with disbelief.

The woman's eyes went wide, locking onto Emily. Recognition dawned, and her defensive posture crumbled. "Karlsson? Emily Karlsson? Oh my God, it's you!"

"Tack och lov!" Emily gasped reflexively in what you assumed was her native Swedish, and then she was moving, closing the distance in three quick strides. This Allison met her halfway, and they collided in a fierce, desperate hug. The towel slipped a little over the breasts, and Emily laughed, a wet, relieved sound, as she pulled back and grabbed her shoulders.

"I thought you were dead. I feared everyone from the soccer club was dead. We lost track of so many people when the outbreak hit campus."

Allison shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I wasn't there. Got invited to a birthday party here on the night everything started visibly collapsing around the city, but...they're gone now. One of the residents at the party turned and started biting others shortly after the news got really scary on TV, and then everybody started panicking and fleeing. Before long, the ones that got bitten died of a fever if they didn't die of their wounds first and rose as shambling walking corpses too, but thankfully, they died in the pool area, so we were able to lock them out there.

You raised an eyebrow at the implications in her words. "We?" she pressed.

The young woman nodded. "I've been alone with my father since then, as he was already here due to his work as the maintenance technician for the building. So we have been hiding in the locker rooms that connect to the party room, the generator, and the building's small gym through different doors. Thankfully, the party was for over 35 people, so we had a lot of food, bottled water, and soft drinks in reserve over the last week. But then my dad decided to head out at dawn today to see if he could find some help or at least an easier path out of the building, and...I hadn't seen him since."

She laughed, the sound bitter as she bit her lower lip. "I was in the shower when I heard the shots. I feared that raiders came first, and it was finally my turn."

Emily pulled her close again, one hand cradling the back of Alison's damp head. "No, no, you're safe now. We've got you."

You watched the reunion, your rifle lowering to a safe angle as you smiled. You hadn't expected to find survivors, but this was a pleasant surprise.

"Alison," you said, your voice gentler now. "I am Lieutenant Mills, formerly of California's National Guard. We have a secure building across the street called Pacific Point Tower. We have more food, medical care, and people who will be able to look after you. You'll need to come with us, and we'll get you properly armed and outfitted and escort you out once we're done clearing this place. But right now, we still have work to do on this floor."

She nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "I can help. I'm not a soldier, but I'm fast, and I know this building. The floor plans and the service corridors, where the emergency exits are. Whatever you need."

You considered her for a moment, then nodded. "Get dressed first. Karlsson, stay with her while I head back out to inform the others.

Emily gave you a grateful look, and you understood the weight of the moment settling onto her shoulders. This wasn't just a rescue. It was a piece of her old life, still breathing, still fighting.

You keyed your radio. "Mills to strike team. We found a survivor in the pool's locker room. The daughter of the building's maintenance technician. She has no injuries. Karlsson is helping her now. Hold positions until we rejoin."

After a few grunts of acknowledgment over the radio, you changed the frequency to the channel reserved for your one true Master. "Sir, I have news to report."

The radio crackled for a moment before your Master's voice came through, calm and measured. "Go ahead, Lieutenant. What do you have for me?"

You kept your voice low, glancing back toward the locker room entrance to make sure Emily and Allison were still out of earshot. "Sir, we're nearly done double-checking the social area floor for stragglers, but we found a civilian. Early twenties, name's Allison. Daughter of the building's maintenance technician. She was hiding in the locker room with her father since the outbreak, but he left at dawn today to find help or a way out, and she hasn't seen him since. She wants to help us look for him."

You paused, letting the information settle. "She's also a former teammate of Karlsson's from their university soccer club. Karlsson vouches for her, and she knows the building's layout better than anyone we've got. But since we weren't expecting survivors, I wanted to check in before I made any call about how to handle her."

Silence stretched on the other end. You could picture him thinking along those lines, that furrow in his brow he got when he was weighing options. You waited, patient.

"Alright," he said finally. "If she's insisting on helping and she's fast from her sports training, she could be valuable. Let her provide some intel, but she's a wild card right now, and we don't know how well she could be at handling weapons or using them under pressure against dangerous zombies. I don't want her tagging along for too many floors. Once she's given you what you need, send her back to me and the patrol outside. I'll have the Cruz doctors on standby to check her out."

You opened your mouth to respond, but he continued.

"And if her father is still alive to be found, we'll bring him back to her if we're able. Aside from being the right thing to do, having another maintenance technician will be a godsend for Walter and the generator work, not to mention the solar project we've been planning. If he's out there and not in immediate danger of becoming a zombie himself, I want him found as a top priority."

A warmth spread through your chest at his words. Not just the efficiency of the decision, but the care underneath it. He was already thinking of her father as a potential asset, yes, but also as a person with a daughter waiting for him. That kind of balance was what made you trust him, irrespective of his ownership claim over you.

"Sir, yes, sir," you replied, and you could almost hear the smile in his voice as he acknowledged the transmission and cut off.

You hung the radio back into your belt to carry around small bits of gear, such as your combat knife and returned to the shower room's entrance. Emily handed Allison a pair of athletic shorts and a loose tank top she'd dug out of a gym bag, the younger woman's movements quick and efficient as she finished putting on the sports bra she had seen discarded on the floor despite the emotional whiplash.

"Change of plans," you said, stepping inside. "Our commanding officer has authorized Allison to provide intel and assistance for the rest of this floor and the one directly above it. Once we've cleared it, she gets escorted back to Pacific Point for a medical check-in with the Cruz doctors. And Allison," you added as you met her eyes. "He's authorized me to put effort into finding your father. If he's alive, we'll get him back to you. My commanding officer told me it's officially our top priority if we are able to find him."

Allison's breath hitched. She nodded, blinking rapidly before squaring her shoulders. "Then let me earn that. There's a service corridor behind the generator room that runs along the building's spine. It connects to the stairwells on every floor without going through the main hallways. If my dad was looking for a way out, he'd probably have used that route to avoid the bulk of the zombie hordes."

You exchanged a look with Emily, who was already grinning. This was exactly the kind of insider knowledge you'd been hoping for.

"Very well, show us," you said, and gestured for her to lead the way.

She grinned and started walking, but before she could take 3 steps, there was a loud crashing sound out there in the pool area, followed by a sudden gasp...and then the sound of a gunshot reached your ears.

You cursed and took off to the door, hoping she was not too late to help the rest of her team handle whatever that was.