CHAPTER 126: CAMP ZENITH.

Hades did not want to share the troubles in the base just yet as he wanted her to be focused out there but at the same time, he knew that if he did not tell her, she would call someone else and get the answers.

"There was some trouble here too," he admitted

Sunshine’s stomach knotted. "What kind?"

"Some of the sheep mutated, they are part of the group that ate the mutated grass. They are as big as calves and their wool is extremely thick....like a cloud. A small to medium cloud.

It falls off by itself at night so we won’t have to shear them thankfully. They eat meat and I would not want my hand anywhere close to their teeth. They ripped off a boy’s arm...." He sighed tiredly.

"It sounds like keeping them around in risky." Sunshine said slowly.

"It is and many people are sharing their opinions on this very subject. But they are only dangerous when hungry." We are keeping them fed in exchange for the wool. With winter on the way, it would not harm to have blankets and jackets made from wool that is extremely warm."

Sunshine pressed her lips together. "Then you have to beef up security measures wherever you put them. Have the paddock fences reinforced, double guard shifts especially at feeding time. And keep curious people away from them because there will be no lack of idiots looking to provoke the sheep in one way or another."

"Already done." Hades chuckled. Even from miles away his wife was still in command. But she was right about the idiots. Some people kept trying to sneak into the paddocks to look at sheep, feed them or take pictures of them.

He had even resorted to having trespassers arrested and sleeping in the base prison section for a night, just to prove a point.

"How are you sleeping?" he asked her.

She closed her eyes and actually yawned. "Not enough and not comfortably."

"Same." He said slowly. "The bed is too big. The house is quiet and chaotic at the same time. Every time the wall sets off some kind of alarm I hope that it is you and when I realize that it is not, I feel like a kid that has been told Santa is not real."

"He is not real." She picked up a nail that was laying on the table and started pushing it around. "You know that, right?"

He hissed. "Don’t kill my childhood innocence."

Sunshine chuckled. The wolf of the business world and innocence! Those were not words that went together.

[Free minutes are almost used up, you have fifty nine seconds left.]

"The signal is about to fade. I have to go but I will call again whenever I can. Hopefully everyday until I get back." Sunshine told him.

She heard the sound of Hades swallowing hard and then he said. "I will have the phone with me always."

She heard footsteps and then Hades yelled for the boys to come and say goodbye to her. Their voices competed, including Castiel’s. He was sniffling but he sounded calmer.

"Come home soon." Ariel said.

The line crackled and then died.

Sunshine stared at the golden phone in her hands, her heart arching but steadied. The call had been too short, it did not feel like they had talked enough.

****

Camp Zenith.

The morning light was dim as it filtered through the acid rain. A faint smell of antiseptic clung in the air like the inside of a hospital. Moon was touring the place where her father had brought her.

This place was not wet or stinking. There were no annoying sounds of children crying every other minute. There was freedom, safety and fresh air. It was what a shelter in an apocalypse should at least be.

"Not a bad place to stay." Moon mumbled over the faint hum of generators that came from somewhere in the west wing, accompanied by the distant chatter of voices of people that were training.

Her new place of residence was called Camp Zenith, a former army base which had been abandoned many years ago but still well maintained. Moon had already started getting the lay of the land and she had taken note that there were many superhumans around. This was outside of those that had come to Rainhounds to rescue her. Many could have been an exaggeration as they were only four.

Moon still thought they were one too many to be in one place at the beginning of an apocalypse. She was wary of superhumans so she was observing them carefully and from what she could tell, Camp Zenith was an organized hive under the leadership of someone strong.

The camp’s territories were clearly marked: the east wing served as the living quarters for families, the west wing housed the training halls and armory, the northern was converted into laboratories and medical units and in the south, a vast open yard that had been turned into a make shift market and lounge area.

Everything ran on a schedules _morning drills, breakfast, lunch, ration distributions, work schedules. The best part of it all was that water was available in plenty since there was a superhuman that could neutralize the toxins in acid rain.

Dustin walked beside her with an uncharacteristic looseness in his posture since he was aware that they were safe. Her mother followed them slowly as she was still recovering from injuries Pastor Salem had left on her legs.

She had not seen the camp in the dark so she was staring wide eyed at the base which she thought was actually heaven compared to what Pastor Salem had promised.

She smiled at the people that were gazing at them as they took their tour. They were newcomers so the people at the camp stared at them with open curiosity.

"Are you still suspicious of these people?" Dustin asked his daughter. He had explained everything to her about how the group had rescued him after he escaped from the Rainhounds base.

They had helped him through his awakening and were guiding him in how to train his abilities and strengthen them.

"Yes I am." Moon answered.

They had welcomed them warmly but Moon suspected that they wanted to use her the way Salem had done. Her father had already told them openly and recklessly that she knew the future because it was the only way he could get them to rescue her. They valued advantage, and foresight was the greatest of advantages in the apocalypse.

"They think that you are a superhuman like most of the people here." Dustin shared with her. "I didn’t tell about the rebirth." He lowered his voice to a whisper when he said this.

Moon was barely paying any attention as her gaze drifted to the tall, raven haired handsome man walking towards them. A faint silver streak run through it adding more to his charm. His black shirt and utility trousers spoke of practicality not frivolousness or calling for attention.

There was an undeniable force about him. His stride was deliberate, eyes sharp and calculating, and his face though calm, carried the tension of someone who had survived too much and still stood ready to crush whatever came next.

"That is Dominic Steward, the commander of this base." Dustin shared with Moon.

People hushed silently where he passed and gave way without a verbal command. Some looked like they were about to be pulled to the ground by invisible magnets.

"Who is the woman?" Moon asked picking interest, eyes flashing with some greed and desire.

"Leah Steward, his wife." Dustin whispered.

She was striking. Tall, with warm brown skin and eyes of molten copper. Her presence was different from Dominic’s: where he exuded pressure, she carried grace. People smiled and greeted her by name.

She responded to each with a gentle nod or touch to the arm. She was beloved, and Moon knew from one glance that she was also respected. It was almost irritating to watch.

It aroused anger in her. This bitch was another Sunshine!!!