(Floor 20 in the Tower - 13:53...)

Now, I know what Abe would probably think if he learned that Jade and his little bro were together back then. He'd geek out like an idiot and ask me: How the f*ck did you get a bad*ss woman like her?!

Well, my answer is very simple. I went around stuttering like a cowardly high-school nerd following her orders until things got real, thus prompting me to grow some b*lls and hit back. Boom! I got her, easy as that! It would have been nice to get to know Jade before, I'll admit, but you know the old saying: better late, than never. So, the two of us took the opportunity after we became official. Jade excitedly told me about her stints as a kickboxer and the fights she did in the ring, which all seemed awesome! Despite the bloody injuries afterwards, might I add. Though, the best part about her occupation was sharing her stories with Azra, Metin and Rahim, alongside meeting her fans - which I admired because celebrities should be thankful for their fans, as they're the ones who help them get to big milestones.

It's similar to Libby and Henry. She's one of the fans who voted for him and because of that, he won the singing competition and went on to sell albums.

Then came my story. I told Jade about how excited I was to become an uncle when I was a scrawny teenager; 13 years old when Lauren was born in 1996 and 14 years old when Beth was born a year later - the latter occurring seven days after my birthday, in fact! I also mentioned studying at university in England, that's when the What If scenario involving geeky me encountering a tiny Libby came up. Despite feeling saddened that it didn't occur (though it could have done, only we didn't remember), the alternate event itself sounded awesome. After that, cue Jade to ask me about my occupation. I was f*cking terrified because I knew I couldn't reveal that I was working for the GRE (as much as I desperately wanted to), so the closest I came to telling her involved me helping people and the fact that I was starting to hate my Boss.

Luckily, I didn't accidentally expose myself in the process...

"Hello, excuse me?"

A man's voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts as I neared the end of Floor 20's left hallway and I stopped to face him. He appeared to be a tad older than me, Henry and Brecken at the latest and his dark hair was styled in a mullet, matching his equally dark eyes perfectly. His outfit merely consisted of a black collared shirt underneath a grey waistcoat, matching pants and black boots. Wow, isn't that a bit too smart for the apocalypse?

"Yes?" I asked.

"Hi, my name's Dawud," The man introduced himself. "If I may have a moment of your time, I need to get out and find a safe place for my wife and son,"

"Huh, seems to me that this is the only safe place there is," I shot back with confusion. Why would anyone want to bail out of the Tower, anyway?

"Safest place in the Slums, maybe," Dawud agreed. "But the Slums aren't safe, it's no place for my family and I found a way out!"

What the f*ck?!

"You mean out of the Slums?" I probed with surprise.

"I can't tell you the details," The man told me in a seemingly disappointed manner. Key Word: Seemingly. "But I need to get across town and I can't do it without a gun. If you're willing to get me one, I'll tell you about a place that hasn't been looted for supplies yet. I promise you won't regret it,"

"How do you know that this place hasn't been looted, though?"

"Because, there's only one person who has access to it," Dawud boasted eagerly. "And you're looking at him. Bring me a gun, and the key is yours - as well as everything you find there,"

Sounds promising.

"I'll consider it," I commented with intrigue, giving him a farewell salute before leaving. "Expect an update soon,"

"Thank you,"

"Don't mention it," I responded, stopping by the nursery and taking a second to think things over. How the f*ck am I gonna find a gun?! I can't just steal one from Rais without getting myself killed! You know what, Kyle? Call some people up and see what they say.

With that, I switched my radio on. "This is Kyle Crane, does anyone in the Tower copy?"

"What's up, mate?" Henry's voice came through on the other end.

"You wouldn't know where to find a gun, would you?" I asked with a concerned frown.

"There should be some in the police vans across the Slums," The former bandit answered, later worriedly continuing with "Why do you need a gun, anyway? I think melee's the better option because gunfire attracts virals,"

"Virals?"

"Infected who have just starting turning," The man explained. "Those b*stards are bl**dy fast, so I wouldn't take them on if I were you,"

"Oh, right! Gotcha," I answered in understanding. "I have to find one for somebody, because he says he knows a way out of the Slums,"

"W-Wait, seriously?!" Henry gawked with disbelief.

"Apparently,"

"No way!"

"I'm serious, dude!" I protested, holding back an amused smirk. "I thought the same thing too,"

"Okay," My friend responded, upon recovering from his shock. "How about I take you to some of the vans until we find a gun? We can talk as well, if you're up for that?"

Hearing this, I smirked. "Done, meet me on the first floor,"

With that, I switched my radio off and jogged back down to Floor 19, entering the elevator and pressing the button for Floor 1.

Okay, Henry - let's see what tricks you can pull off...

...

"Hey man," I greeted my friend as I stepped out of the elevator to see him waiting. I have to admit that I was pleased to see that he was no longer wearing Rais' colors and instead wore a freshly clean version of my yellow t-shirt, dark cargo pants and boots. "How's fitting in coming along, then?"

"It's been..." Henry began, holding back an amused grin. "Interesting, let's say,"

"Well?" I demanded as we exited the Tower and stepped out once again into the warm air of the Slums. Please tell me he sh*t his pants when he saw the jump at the beginning, please! "Give me details, dude!"

Hearing this, the former bandit chuckled with hurt visible in his eyes. "Okay, okay! First of all, I'm glad I had Libby to back me up because I don't think I would have stood a chance against Rahim and Brecken on my own. Those two were insane when they insulted me front and center,"

"I'm sure that's just their way of welcoming you," I reassured him, sensing that he was secretly a tad upset. "Don't take it personally,"

"Well, how did you take it?"

"I just kept going like a champ," I answered. "In all seriousness - I'm not impressed with the leap of faith at the beginning,"

"Yeah, make that two," Henry agreed, holding back a grin.

"Did yoush*t your pants?" I smirked teasingly.

"No!" My friend shouted, much to his indifference. "I saved every bit of dignity I had left, you *sshole!"

"Relax!" I calmed him as we both ascended onto the roofs, safely away from the drunk as sh*t infected. "I'm teasing you, buddy. Try and loosen up too because otherwise, you're never gonna get laid,"

Hearing this, Henry shot me a dumbfounded look and I couldn't help but smirk whilst shaking my head. "You know, just... forget I said that,"

"Don't worry, it's fine," My friend responded, now in understanding before changing the subject. "So, were you here when the Outbreak started?"

"I heard about it on the news," I answered honestly. Don't f*cking blow your cover! "Why do you ask?"

"Making conversation,"

"Right, okay," I replied. "Libby told me that you were meant to perform at the Games because you won that competition - X Factor, was it?"

"I was, yes," Henry confirmed. "They wanted one of the winners and I was pretty much the first to sign up, so my family and I met up with my band and we flew over here. We thought we'd might as well get a nice holiday out of the deal,"

As he spoke, I could see sadness becoming visible in his eyes and this prompted my intuition to flare up. "What happened to them?"

"I, um," My pal began, steeling himself together with regret later lacing his tone. "I don't know. One moment we were enjoying the Games and the next, we all got separated. I met up with Rais and I helped him protect two doctors who were working on a cure for the virus - that is, until..."

"He left them behind?" I guessed with concern.

"Yeah," Henry answered, guilty. "I couldn't do anything, either. I had to go with him," That *sshole!

"Who are these doctors?"

"Zere, and the other is Allen Camden. Both are really nice people,"

Hearing this, my eyes widened in shock before I commented: "No wonder Zere was surprised when he called me,"

"Yeah, tell me about it," My bud agreed.

After this, the two of us had managed to find a police van just down the street from the Tower which was stored in a fenced area behind a tall row of flats with green metal bars barricading the open roof. Okay, first stop. Let's see what we got here.

"I'll unlock this whilst you watch my back," I informed Henry, kneeling down in front of the lock and briefly turning my head to address him again. "You got any lockpicks on you?"

My friend fished one out of his left pant pocket and handed it over. "Here you go,"

"Thanks," I responded appreciatively, taking the lock pick and turning my head back to face the van before beginning the process of unlocking it. Just like last time, it didn't take very long for me to pry the damn thing open and once it clicked, I pulled myself up to my feet and opened the door to find a ton of supplies waiting with the gun Dawud needed!

"Well, that's a bonus," I muttered in a pleased manner, diving in and shoving the medical kits into my rucksack.

"What is it?" Henry asked with confusion.

"There are a lot of med kits stored in here with the gun," I answered, beckoning him with "Check it out,"

"Nice!" My bud marvelled after he noticed the objects, following suit in taking them. "This is almost the equivalent of a bonus airdrop, don't you think?"

"Yep," I agreed with a smirk, zipping my rucksack up and grabbing the prized pistol.

Alright then, back we go.

(Floor 20 in the Tower - 14:00...)

"You got it?" Dawud asked as Henry and I stopped outside his apartment after handing the medical kits to Lena downstairs. "And who's this, by the way?"

"Henry," My friend introduced himself politely, offering his hand which our acquaintance took. "Nice to meet you,"

"Likewise," The man responded before pulling back and addressing me with a harsh "So?"

Woah, easy there cowboy in a suit!

"Here," I replied calmly, handing him the pistol which he excitedly took and happily exclaimed "Great!"

He then fished out a key from his left pocket and gave it to me. "Here's the key I promised,"

"Thanks," I said appreciatively, taking the latter and placing it in my pocket. "What's the location, exactly?"

"My old pawnshop," Dawud answered eagerly. "Used to be the best in town. Speaking of which, would you do me another favour?"

"Sure, what is it?" Henry chimed in kindly.

"I need you two to bring me something from my shop," The man in the suit explained. "It's a Ray McCall action figure. I know it sounds silly, but it means a lot to my son,"

"Okay, no problem," I replied. "Could you describe what this thing looks like, before we go?"

"It's a Caucasian man who's wearing a long brown coat, pants and boots. He's got a cowboy hat on too, so he shouldn't be hard to miss,"

"Alright, we're on it," I said, turning to leave with Henry in tow. "Expect an update,"

"Thank you," Dawud called out after us. "You'll find my shop just down the street from Zere's truck,"

"Cheers," Henry thanked him.

Hopefully, we'll be done after this...

(Dawud's Pawnshop in the Slums, Harran, Turkey, The Middle East, Europe - 14:07...)

After the two of us stepped back outside, we followed the directions provided and soon enough, we found our destination. Sure, it was hard to get in (blame the biters for constantly bombarding us!) but thanks to Henry covering me, I was able to pry the door open and we both entered the pawnshop in disbelief. Why? Because Dawud wasn't lying when he revealed that the place hadn't been looted for supplies as there were tons of lock picks and med kits stored all over the place! The main area had a simple small space with lime green walls and a matching marble floor (the latter underneath a patterned red mat), a large number of brown shelves with fans, books and supplies stacked atop, accompanied by smaller shelves housing the useful objects we thought the Tower could use. The final touches consisted of the darker chair desk sat in front of us was home to a broken laptop and matching printer.

Both Henry and I were well impressed.

"This guy's done pretty great," My bud commented as he began scavenging for the action figure whilst I looted the supplies. "I can't believe I'm about to say this, feel free to kill me Crane, but Dawud's doing just as great as Rais,"

"Why would I kill you?" I questioned. "Any enemy of Rais is a friend of mine, don't worry about it," Hearing this, Henry appeared to be quite surprised and... is that terror and guilt I see in his eyes there? What the f*ck's up with him? "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah," The man stammered before recomposing himself and forcing a brave grin on his face. "I just got lost in my imagination for a moment, sorry about that,"

"It's fine," I replied, still storing supplies in my rucksack. It's going to be fun carrying this back. Joy.

"So, why don't you tell me more about yourself?" Henry suggested hopefully. "You said that you're into skateboarding, right?"

"I sure did,"

"Any other interests?"

"Well," I began, pondering on them. "I grew up in Los Angeles and I would always watch movies with my family. Sometimes we'd go to premieres in Hollywood too, they're awesome!"

"Sweet!" Henry commented happily. "I've had my fair share of premieres as well. The first one I went to was terrifying, because I was still getting used to people recognising me,"

"I can imagine," I responded in understanding. "Do you have any favourite movies?"

"One of them's Jaws,"

Hearing this, I whirled round to face him excitedly. "Dude, that's my favourite!"

"Is it, really?" Henry asked with intrigue.

I nodded. "Yep. Funny story; Libby watched it before you joined and during the first half, she was like If you're desperate to scare me, you're fired only to get jump scared twice later on,"

My bud stifled a laugh, prompting me to shake my head with a chuckle. "I would have loved to have seen that,"

Maybe you would have, if you joined us earlier.

"Anyhow," Henry continued, coming across a familiar figure on top of a shelf and reaching up to grab it. "Oh, hey - I think this might be it,"

"Bingo!" I cheered, zipping up my backpack and sliding it on as I rose to my feet. "Let's bail,"

But just as I approached him, a sudden blare of static erupted from my radio (accompanied by a distant gunshot) and whilst I gestured for a puzzled Henry to give me a second, I switched it on. "Hello?"

"Kyle, where are you?!" An incredibly worried Brecken's voice came through the other end.

"Henry and I are in Dawud's pawnshop," I answered with concern. "What's wrong?"

"F*ck!" The Tower's leader growled frantically. "Listen Kyle, someone gave him a gun and he kidnapped his son, they're both gone!"

"What?!" Henry gawked in shock. Took the words right out of my mouth!

Suddenly, I felt a strange yet familiar presence engulf the room and it didn't take long for me to catch Libby's brother, Adam, out of the corner of my eye. I turned to face him and the look on his face was complete and utter terror! Behind him stood my surrogate daughter's two sisters, Hannah and Raegan; both of them equally as terrified as the teenage boy and Brecken. What the f*ck is going o—

Why do you think they're here, Kyle?

The sudden realisation hit me like a violent explosion from a Bomber. "Oh no,"

Libby!