novelraw Chapter 481: Welcome Home
Chapter 481: Welcome Home
They didn’t take them anywhere right away.
After Checkpoint Three, the clerks grouped people according to housing assignments and made them wait in tidy clusters near the administrative wing. No one was allowed to sit, no one was allowed to wander, and armed soldiers stood just close enough to discourage conversation that carried too far.
Lachlan noticed that the clerks didn’t rush.
They waited until the groups were full... whatever that meant. For their group, there was seven people including them.
Only when lucky number seven appeared did the tours begin.
Their guide introduced himself with a bright smile and a name Lachlan immediately forgot. He wore a clean uniform with no visible rank, the kind meant to look approachable without being familiar. A rifle hung across his back, but it was positioned like an accessory rather than a threat.
"Welcome to Hope Sanctuary," the man said, voice practiced and warm. "You’ve made it through the hardest part."
Lachlan almost laughed.
Instead, he adjusted the strap of his pack and fell into step beside Sera as they were guided forward with the rest of Commune C.
They walked down what the guide called Main Street.
It looked... normal.
Buildings lined the wide road on either side, constructed from repurposed base housing and reinforced storefronts. Windows were intact. Doors were painted. Signs hung neatly over entrances advertising services and food.
A bakery.
A tailor.
A small café with mismatched chairs and a chalkboard menu.
People moved along the sidewalks without hurry. Some carried baskets. Others pushed carts. A few waved at the guide as they passed, smiles easy and unguarded.
Children ran between adults, laughing.
Lachlan felt his creature tense. It wasn’t because it sensed any danger so much as it was in complete disbelief.
"Well I’ll be damned," Lachlan muttered under his breath. "They really committed to the bit."
The guide chuckled like he’d heard something reassuring. "Everyone contributes here. The more you work, the more points you earn. Points mean access. Food, amenities, services. We reward effort."
"And the people who can’t work?" Lachlan asked lightly.
The guide didn’t miss a step. "Everyone can work."
Sera’s gaze moved slowly across the street. She didn’t look impressed but she didn’t look suspicious either. Instead, she looked like someone cataloguing details she would need later.
Zubair walked with his shoulders squared, eyes scanning not for threats, but for exits. Alexei and Elias kept pace behind them, quiet and observant. Luci trotted close to Sera’s leg, tail flicking once when a child laughed too loudly.
"This is what people have been looking for," the guide continued. "Stability. Community. A future that only Hope Sanctuary can provide."
Lachlan watched a woman step out of the café with a steaming mug in her hands. She smiled at no one in particular and leaned against the wall to drink it like she had nowhere else to be.
"That’s dangerous," Lachlan said casually.
The guide blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Hope," Lachlan clarified with a grin. "It gets people killed."
The guide laughed, but there was a flicker behind his eyes this time. "You’ll find we take very good care of our people."
They kept walking.
Main Street narrowed gradually, shops thinning out and spacing increasing. The buildings lost their color first, paint fading into functional grey. Then the signage disappeared altogether.
The sidewalks became cracked concrete.
The laughter faded, and by the time they reached the outer residential blocks, no one was waving anymore.
"These are the communal zones," the guide said, tone unchanged. "Efficient housing for essential labor groups."
Lachlan glanced at the structures lining the road.
They were long rectangular buildings with small windows that were set too high for anyone to actually see out of unless they were eight feet tall.
There was no decoration and no sound of any kind.
Alexei slowed half a step, something old and unpleasant settling behind his eyes.
"This is familiar," he snorted quietly as he tipped his head toward the closest building.
Zubair nodded in agreement. "Soviet-style. Communal living. Minimal privacy. You should feel right at home."
"Minimal dignity," Lachlan added with a snort as Alexei narrowed his eyes at a smirking Zubair.
"Leave the jokes to Lachlan," Alexei grunted. "He does them better."
The guide stopped in front of a large building marked with a simple C.
"Commune Block C," he announced. "You’ll be staying here."
Two men from their group were directed inside first.
"Just a quick orientation," the guide said pleasantly. "The rest of you can wait here."
Soldiers shifted, forming a loose semicircle behind them as minutes passed.
When the guide finally returned, his expression was flat and professional. "Alright," he said. "The rest of you. Inside."
The interior smelled like sweat and old metal as they walked up several flights of stars. The five of them could feel the eyes of the other occupants on them, but not a single one actually moved from where they were hiding in the shadows.
Finally, the guide brought them up to the fifth floor and walked into a room. Rows of bunk beds filled the space, at least fifty of them, stacked three high. The mattresses were ridiculously thin and there was no dividers for privacy or lockers to keep their stuff safe in.
What was worse was the fact that the men were already turning to look at the new arrivals.
Their eyes went immediately to Sera.
The guide gestured broadly. "This is your living space."
He paused, then added, "There are twenty-five blankets."
The room shifted at the mention of the number of blankets. Those who were already in the room straightened, their hands flexing as their eyes calculated just how big of a threat Lachlan and the others were going to be.
"The fastest and strongest get them," the guide continued calmly like he was just speaking about the weather and not a fight to the death. "Whether you can keep them is a completely different matter."
His gaze flicked to Sera.
"Of course, that rule applies to everything you have."
Lachlan felt his creature bare its teeth.
"And food?" Zubair asked, voice even.
"There’s a cafeteria," the guide replied. "Find it yourself or go hungry." He stepped back toward the door. "I’ll meet you out front at five am for work detail," he said. "Good luck."
The door shut behind him.
No one moved for a heartbeat and then the first man lunged for the nearest blanket.
There were no words for what happened next.
Hands were everywhere, grabbing what they could as elbows dove into the soft parts of bodies. Someone went down hard between bunks, but no one stopped to allow him to stand up. A shout cut off into a grunt as another man decided not to get involved.
Zubair stepped forward without raising his voice.
"No."
It didn’t stop them.
Alexei’s eyes went cold.
Lachlan moved instinctively, positioning himself between Sera and the nearest group of men. He didn’t crack a joke. He didn’t smile.
Sera hadn’t moved at all.
She stood in the doorway space, hands relaxed at her sides, watching the room like a scientist observing a controlled experiment.
Her creature stirred, quiet and alert. They are being taught the rules. I only wonder if it is our men being taught or the others.
’The others,’ Sera purred silently. ’And they’re learning fast or die.’
A man stumbled backward, clutching a blanket to his chest. He froze when he realized how close he was to her.
"Mine," he growled, reaching toward her and grabbing her arm. "I claim you."