— FUCK MALTEZ You're alive! I'm so happy to see you.

I jump on his neck without thinking. An unaffected human being. A familiar face. I jump for joy like a child in front of a packet of sweets. I hear a murmur from the injured man.

— I'm going to end up being jealous of him, little heart.

— BLAISEEEEEE. THIBAUT.TEACHER. ALEX.

I hug my friends and they hug me. The teacher gives me a huge smile. His shoulders drop in relief. I must look like a madwoman with my hair covered in leaves and my machine gun in my hand. Melia has heard me scream with joy. She goes out without respecting the safety instructions.

She hugs Maltez, Blaise, Alex and Thibaut. She is in tears. I share her joy. Ten survivors, including five familiar faces. It is almost miraculous. Killer sniffs them all and wags his tail. He doesn't seem worried.

— What do we do, Melia? The five of them, I trust, but there are five other guys...

The professor reassures me. He and our four friends will vouch for the others. They are all peaceful and only want to survive. The professor tells me that they will do what we want as long as we take them to a safe place for the night. Melia inspects Blaise's wound. She decides on the medical issues.

She tells me that he will need daily care. The bite is superficial. The burn seems to be sufficient at first sight. Blaise is very weak. If we leave him in the city without proper care, he could die of sepsis. Mélia has everything she needs to take care of the wound. I understand what she wants at a glance.

I nod my head to accept her secret plea. I think about the best solution. The ten men are weak and hungry. They have no weapons. Here in Town, we will have to bring them food and care. They could be attacked by a passing rat, or if they are infected, they could re-infect this almost healthy town. They are few in number. At the farm, we can watch them, protect them, care for them.

We agree to take the ten boys to our stronghold under conditions. They will have a bed, care and food. But they will be separated, locked up and under the control of a weapon for fifteen days. The time to check if they are infected. All of them accept without flinching. I even get a speech from Maltez, who says he trusts me and Melia completely. He orders his comrades to obey us without question. They all climb back into the back of the pick-up, under my and Killer's supervision. Mélia stays in the cab. Mélia heads for the farmhouse. I close the entrance gates one after the other. She leaves the pick-up on the cleaning area.

— OK. It's safe here. No zombies are in the area. The ramparts are impassable. You can go down. Here is soap and water. Sorry, it's cold. You will undress completely and wash yourself thoroughly. You leave your soiled clothes here in a heap. I will clean them tomorrow. I will bring you towels and clean clothes.

— Professor, Thibaut, Alex, Maltez, you will inspect your friends for every scratch. In case of doubt, blowtorch. No hesitation. Everyone's survival depends on it. Once clean, I'll take you to rooms two by two. Blaise, you're in luck. Since you're the cutest and under the pretext of your injury, you're entitled to a hot shower with two young girls in their underwear. We'll carry you inside.

I slide under Blaise's left arm, on the wounded side. Melia on the other side. I take up the weapons. We go into the building. I put Blaise on a chair in the bathroom. Mélia goes to help him take off his clothes. I wash my hands and bring them as close as possible to the hot plate to disinfect them. I grab nine bags of men's clothes and nine towels and place them in a crate.

I return to the cleaning area. None of the boys have left. They are in their boxers and have started cleaning. For the moment they seem to accept my instructions without flinching. I leave the box on the floor and give the teacher the hygiene instructions. I tell him where the infirmary is. Mélia and I will clean and bandage Blaise and then we will take him to room One. Each room will accommodate two boys. I explain to the group that the rooms are also cells, which will allow Mélia and I to ensure that they are not contaminated in a safe way.

I am very directive and direct, not available for negotiation. I hear them grumbling when they learn that they will be locked up for fifteen days. Maltez quickly silences them by reminding them that the two girls have just saved their lives. Maltez, Thibaut, Alex and the teacher assure me that the others will obey me. In any case, they have no choice. I'm the one with the machine gun.

I go back inside and lock the front door. I turn on the surveillance cameras in the infirmary. Killer watches the boys through the window. I head for the bathroom. I get into my underwear. Melia is already there. She has taken off Blaise's shoes and top, but he is having trouble standing up. I help them. We explain to Blaise what we are doing and apologise for his privacy. Fortunately, it's Blaise. So it goes well. He is understanding and trusts us.

We wash Blaise in his boxers. When he is thoroughly cleaned except for the boxers, Mélia comes out. She goes to get dressed. I help Blaise take off his boxers and wash himself, allowing him to put a hand on my shoulders. I turn my back to him as much as possible to preserve his modesty. Blushing, I quickly check the critical area for wounds and help him to put on a new pair of boxers. He is the first guy I have seen naked. Despite the circumstances, which don't lend themselves to mental wandering, I am disturbed. What's more, Blaise is superbly dressed. He laughs gently at me, which doesn't help at all.

Melia returns to help me dress him. She checks the burnt wound and puts a soothing bandage on it. It's my turn to change. I check the cameras. The boys are both in pairs in the rooms and quite calm. Supporting Blaise, we lead him to room One where Maltez is waiting for us. Blaise collapses on the bed. He is exhausted. I stroke his hair gently. I tell him to wait a little longer before falling asleep. Mélia closes the bedroom doors. We promise to bring the boys some food in half an hour.

A promise is made and a promise is kept. We come back with five big pots of pasta carbonara. We serve the boys room by room. Many were already dozing. We are greeted by shouts of joy. They are all hungry. Mélia allows herself to unlock and enter rooms One and Two. Blaise and Damien. Thibaut and his father. We trust them and then I have my gun. They help us to feed their group. Mélia stays with Blaise and feeds him. I can hear them laughing. The feeding is over. We lock up the boys for the night.

— Maltez, Alex, Thibaut, Blaise, Professor.... I'm sorry I jumped on your neck earlier. It's been six months since we saw anyone uninfected with Melia, it was hard mentally. When I saw a human, a familiar face, I... Well, there you go. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

I look at the floor. I'm ashamed to let go, to have lost control. I feel two muscular arms crushing me. Lips kissing my hair.

— Don't worry about the hug. I was happy to see you alive too. Please, though. It's the apocalypse. Don't call me Maltez. My name is Damien.

I laugh, snuggled up against his chest. Thibaut and the teacher hug me too. Mélia and I cover Blaise with kisses.

— Damiennnnn? OK, it's the apocalypse. But I can keep bugging you, just a little. Please...

A loud laugh answers me. I think that means yes. We let them sleep. They have huge dark circles and have lost a lot of weight.

The next morning we bring the boys breakfast. We release only our friends to help us. The fresh bread, jams, fruit, eggs and pancakes bring tears of joy to the group. I even made some fried bacon for Maltez, as a request for forgiveness. Melia and I are showered with thanks. We have brought books and other things to do.

In pairs, we let them go out under supervision to stretch their legs and get some fresh air, and take turns showering as often as possible. In pairs, they help us as best they can. One of them, an electrician, repaired the connection to the photovoltaic panels. A handyman repaired the leak in the hot water tank. So in less than forty-eight hours they have the right to a hot shower, which attracts their sympathy.

During their outings, they help us feed the animals, clean, repair and build. Apart from our five friends, I don't give too much information about the functioning of the farmhouse. On the other hand, our friends and especially Blaise are aware of everything. Mélia and I pass on to everyone the data collected on the bacteria and our means of fighting it. This is an opportunity to ask Blaise's forgiveness for the blowtorch, to say that it is the only solution we have today. He forgives us without any worries.

Blaise's wound is cleaned and checked twice a day. It looks very good, no rot, no suspicious blisters. The other boys have nothing according to our friends. Every day, we carry out small tests, more or less discreetly. This is often an opportunity for me to break Damien's back. Blaise is the one we watch most closely. He's also the one we pamper at the slightest opportunity. He returns the favour. It makes him feel good to cuddle us. He doesn't say it and we don't dare ask him. We are all thinking about Sarah and the rest of the school.