Three days had passed since the Battle of Central Luzon.
The smoke north of Pampanga had finally begun to thin, and for the first time in what felt like forever, Basa Air Base was no longer in a state of constant emergency.
The airfield remained busy, but it was the kind of busy people preferred.
Mechanics repaired vehicles damaged during the fighting. Engineers inspected sections of the outer walls and replaced defensive barriers that had been battered by endless waves of infected. Cargo trucks carried supplies instead of ammunition, and helicopters transported construction materials instead of quick reaction forces.
People were rebuilding.
People were living.
It felt nice.
Adrian walked down one of the concrete roads leading toward the training grounds with his hands inside his pockets. For once, he wasn’t wearing body armor. Instead, he had simply thrown on a dark T-shirt beneath his combat jacket and a pair of cargo pants.
He looked almost like an ordinary young man.
Almost.
A few soldiers passing by immediately saluted.
"Morning, sir."
Adrian returned the salute casually.
"Morning."
The soldiers moved on, chatting about breakfast and maintenance duties.
Adrian smiled faintly.
There was something comforting about hearing normal conversations again.
Eventually, the sound of shouting reached him.
Commands.
Cadence.
The rhythmic sound of boots hitting dirt.
He rounded a corner and arrived at one of the training fields.
Several dozen recruits were currently running laps around the obstacle course while instructors barked orders at them.
Others were practicing rifle drills.
Some were learning first aid.
A few groups were doing physical conditioning.
Then Adrian spotted a familiar face.
He stopped walking.
About thirty meters away, a woman in camouflage fatigues was doing push-ups alongside several recruits.
Twenty-eight.
Twenty-nine.
Thirty.
The instructor finally shouted.
"Recover!"
The group immediately stood.
And among them—
Chandrika adjusted her glasses and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Even dressed in military fatigues, she was easy to recognize.
Her hair was still cut into that neat bob that framed her face. It was slightly longer now and tied back to keep it from getting in the way. She still wore round glasses that slightly magnified her eyes, giving her a softer appearance despite the rifle slung over her shoulder.
And honestly...
She was beautiful.
Not in the glamorous, movie-star sense.
She simply had that mature kind of beauty that made people look twice.
Her features were soft and feminine, but there was a quiet confidence in the way she carried herself now.
Three years ago, when he had first met her at Okada Manila, she had looked frightened and exhausted.
Now?
She looked like a soldier.
Granted...
A very pretty soldier.
Adrian blinked.
Wait.
Why was he thinking that?
"You’ve been staring at her for almost ten seconds."
Adrian nearly jumped.
He looked to his left.
Ryan stood there with a cup of coffee.
Again.
"When the hell did you get here?"
Ryan sipped his coffee.
"About five seconds ago."
"You move too quietly."
"I wasn’t being quiet."
Adrian sighed.
Ryan followed his gaze.
Then a grin slowly spread across his face.
"Oh."
"No."
"Oh."
"I know that look."
"There is no look."
Ryan looked toward Chandrika.
Then back toward Adrian.
Then toward Chandrika again.
"You know, she’s pretty."
Adrian ignored him.
"Very pretty."
No response.
"Actually, I think she’s exactly your type."
Adrian finally looked at him.
"I don’t have a type."
Ryan looked horrified.
"That’s even worse."
Before Adrian could reply, the instructor blew his whistle.
The recruits immediately moved toward the shooting range.
Chandrika happened to look up.
Then froze.
Because she had spotted him.
A second later, a small smile appeared on her face.
She excused herself from her group and jogged over.
As she approached, Adrian noticed that she had changed a lot.
She looked healthier.
Her complexion had improved.
She had put on a little muscle from training.
Even her posture was straighter.
Most importantly...
She looked happy.
She stopped in front of him and smiled.
"Sir."
Adrian nodded.
"How’s training?"
She sighed dramatically.
"It hurts."
Ryan burst out laughing.
The young woman looked at him.
"Everything hurts."
Ryan nodded sympathetically.
"Welcome to the military."
She looked genuinely offended.
"I didn’t know running could hurt this much."
"It can."
"My arms hurt."
"Normal."
"My legs hurt."
"Normal."
"My back hurts."
"Also normal."
She looked at Adrian.
"Does it ever stop hurting?"
Adrian thought for a moment.
"No."
Ryan nodded.
"No."
Chandrika looked betrayed.
"Why are you both like this?"
Ryan took another sip of coffee.
"Because suffering builds character."
She narrowed her eyes.
"I don’t think that’s true."
"It absolutely is."
Adrian almost smiled.
Almost.
She noticed.
"You smiled."
"I didn’t."
"You did."
"No."
"You absolutely did."
Ryan looked between the two of them.
Then his grin became even wider.
"Oh, this is interesting."
Both of them ignored him.
Chandrika adjusted her glasses.
"I didn’t expect to see you here."
"I was checking on repairs."
She nodded.
Then looked back toward the training grounds.
"I wanted to thank you."
Adrian frowned slightly.
"For what?"
She looked at him as if the answer was obvious.
"For saving me."
Silence followed.
A gentle breeze passed through the training field.
Several recruits continued running in the distance.
"I never really thanked you properly."
Adrian looked at her.
She wasn’t joking.
The expression on her face was completely serious.
"If you hadn’t gone to Okada..." she said quietly. "I don’t know what would’ve happened to me and my friends."
He remained silent.
Because honestly?
He didn’t know either.
Eventually he shrugged.
"I was doing my job."
She smiled faintly.
"Maybe."
Then she looked around the base.
"But because of that job... I got to live here."
She pointed toward the residential district.
"I have a room."
Then toward the canteen.
"I have food."
Then toward the training grounds.
"And now I have a purpose."
Adrian followed her gaze.
Dozens of recruits continued training under the morning sun.
Many of them had similar stories.
Rescued.
Displaced.
Broken.
Now rebuilding their lives.
Chandrika looked at him again.
"So... thank you."
For some reason, hearing those words felt strange.
Because people thanked him all the time.
Yet this one felt different.
Maybe because he still remembered seeing her open that hotel room door.
Scared.
Exhausted.
Trying to act brave despite everything.
Now she stood here in uniform.
Alive.
Training.
Planning for the future.
It was... nice.
Ryan suddenly cleared his throat.
Loudly.
Both of them looked at him.
He looked completely innocent.
"Don’t mind me."
Adrian narrowed his eyes.
"I don’t like that face."
"What face?"
"That one."
Ryan grinned.
"I think I should leave you two alone."
"No."
"Absolutely."
"No."
Chandrika looked confused.
Ryan ignored her.
He patted Adrian’s shoulder.
"Talk."
Then he turned and walked away.
"Ryan."
"Nope."
"Ryan."
"I’m helping."
"You are not helping."
Ryan waved without turning around.
"You kids have fun."
Then he disappeared around the corner.
Silence.
A long silence.
Chandrika slowly looked at Adrian.
Then toward the direction Ryan had left.
Then back at Adrian.
A faint blush appeared on her face.
"...Did he just imply something?"
Adrian sighed.
"Ignore him."
She adjusted her glasses.
Her ears had turned slightly red.
"Right."
Another awkward silence followed.
Then, for some reason, both of them started laughing.
And for the first time in days, surrounded by rebuilding walls, training soldiers, and the sounds of ordinary life returning to Basa Air Base...
The apocalypse suddenly felt very far away.