Dying Light - Tennessee Gays Edition 1

The campus map remains spread across the entrance desk, now layered with downtown targets, retreat routes, vehicle notes, and materials lists. Refuge traffic flows around the briefing.

Grant circles the uncertain road in red. The hardware store offers concentrated materials, while the construction yard promises heavier resources but less reliable information and more exposed approaches.

Thomas immediately turns the campus map into a posted mission notice, listing downtown reconnaissance, construction supplies, vehicle scouting, route documentation, and strict return protocols.

Thomas raises his voice through the entrance hall and sends the same request over the refuge radio. Work pauses as survivors gather around the desk.

Maya volunteers medical oversight, while Andre and Rosa add security and repair experience. With six field members confirmed, Thomas records the team and leaves space for one final volunteer.

Grant looks from the downtown routes to the crowded entrance hall, weighing the exposed mission against the settlement’s growing need for organized defense.

Grant adds his name to the support roster and moves beside the campus map, marking temporary observation posts and the roads he will monitor during the mission.

Daniel meets Charlie’s gaze without bravado. Around them, the posted mission notice lists hardware stores, construction yards, exposed roads, and unknown infected activity beyond Belmont’s familiar routes.

Daniel adds his name to the field roster. The mission shifts from a volunteer call into preparation: charged lamps, layered protection, marked routes, medical supplies, recovery gear, and defined abort conditions.

Charlie nods and leads Daniel, Evan Cole, Andre, and Rosa into the training workshop. Tables fill with straight branches, cordage, scrap leather, flexible tubing, cloth, and smooth stones.

Charlie selects springy wood for simple bows, shapes matching arrows, and adds blunt practice tips alongside sharpened field points. He checks every limb, knot, and string under tension.

Using scrap tubing and sturdy frames, Charlie finishes several slingshots, then braids compact rock slings from cord and leather. A crate of sorted stones completes the kit.

By afternoon, the field team has serviceable bows, arrows, slingshots, and rock slings. Charlie labels each set, assigns practice rotations, and stores the ammunition beside the charged lamps.

Charlie selects a broad machete blank, steel stock, leather strips, and a short hardened spike. He fits a crossguard, then tests the balance before securing each piece.

The guard locks firmly beneath the blade, while layered leather and rubber create a non-slip handle. Charlie anchors the pointed extension to the pommel for controlled stabbing attacks.

The final tightening slips against a metal edge and cuts Charlie’s thumb. Maya immediately cleans the shallow wound and wraps it, costing one small dressing.

Daniel tests the machete against a hanging tire, using controlled chops and careful thrusts. The guard protects his hand, and the pointed extension remains aligned.

Charlie labels the weapon for Daniel and stores it beside the bows and charged lamps. The machete is field-ready, though the workshop’s metal scrape has left his thumb freshly bandaged.

Charlie lays recovered steel, pipe, lumber, leather, bolts, and rubber across the workshop, measuring each design to its user before reinforcing every joint and grip.

For Evan Cole, he builds a balanced spear with a hardened point, braced shaft, and wrapped grip. Evan Cole tests its reach along the marked training lane.

Charlie fits Andre’s spiked mace around a reinforced steel core, then secures Rosa’s long blade with a guarded hilt and durable sheath. Both weapons withstand controlled strikes.

For Thomas, Charlie completes a reinforced tactical tomahawk with a braced handle, compact steel head, sharpened edge, and rear spike. Thomas tests its balance beside the charged lamps, and the finished weapon joins the mission loadout.

Charlie clears a section of the workshop table and lays out a battery, insulated wiring, a trigger switch, and two metal electrodes. He mounts the assembly beneath the reinforced hammer’s grip.

He routes the wiring through protective tubing, anchors the electrodes into the hammerhead, and insulates every exposed connection. The trigger sits beneath his thumb, reachable without changing his grip.

Charlie places the hammerhead against a secured metal test plate and presses the trigger. A sharp crack snaps across the workshop as blue-white sparks jump between the electrodes.

Charlie labels the modified hammer, secures its battery housing, and adds a spare cell to the mission loadout. The weapon now delivers a controlled electric shock through its head while remaining usable as a reinforced striking tool.

Charlie sorts scrap steel, leather, bolts, and short lengths of pipe across the workshop table. He measures matching blanks for Thomas, Daniel, Evan, Andre, and Rosa, keeping each pair compact and easy to conceal.

He grinds the edges, fits wrapped handles, and adds simple sheaths from leather and tubing. Each teammate receives two small knives, balanced for controlled silent takedowns rather than heavy fighting.

The final handle wrap slips against a freshly sharpened edge, reopening a shallow cut across Charlie’s bandaged thumb. Maya cleans it and spends one small dressing while the completed knives remain secured.

Charlie spends the afternoon drilling the team through controlled draws, paired movement, spacing, and silent takedowns. Each new knife stays sheathed until its user has a clear target and retreat lane.

They rotate through the bows, slingshots, spear, mace, long blade, and tomahawk. Charlie corrects grips and footwork until every weapon can be used without breaking formation.

The team then runs Belmont’s freerunning course, climbing barriers, crossing narrow platforms, dropping safely, and recovering formation after each landing. Charlie sets the pace and completes every section cleanly.

The exceptional session produces an unexpected advantage: Rosa’s safer line reveals a usable maintenance passage beside the course, creating a concealed route between the workshop and the east courtyard.

The team accepts the order without hesitation. Weapons are secured, radios and charged lamps are inventoried, and the mission packs are staged near the workshop exit for a dawn departure.

Rosa guides the team toward the dorm showers while Evan locks the weapons cabinet. During cleanup, one bowstring snaps under stored tension, costing the team a spare string and delaying its replacement until morning.

By nightfall, the team has showered, eaten, and settled into assigned rooms. The maintenance passage, vehicle checklist, and downtown route remain prepared as Belmont quiets for the mission.

Charlie strips to his boxers and crawls into bed beside Thomas, settling with his head against Thomas’s chest. The room is quiet, and tomorrow’s packs wait beyond the door.

Thomas folds an arm around Charlie, keeping him close without disturbing his bandaged thumb. Outside, the refuge settles into its night watch while the mission preparations remain secure.

Thomas kisses Charlie’s hair and holds him beneath the covers. The room stays warm and undisturbed as Belmont waits for first light and the next step toward becoming their town.

Charlie looks up at Thomas, his bandaged thumb resting against the blanket. Tomorrow’s mission and the settlement map seem to press quietly at the edge of the room.

Thomas shifts carefully, giving Charlie his full attention while keeping his arm around him. The refuge remains quiet beyond their locked door.

Thomas listens without interrupting. His arm stays around Charlie, steady and warm, while the quiet refuge continues beyond their locked door.

Thomas squeezes Charlie’s shoulder carefully, acknowledging the danger without dismissing it. The future remains frightening, but the concern now has a place in their plans and someone committed to facing it with him.

Thomas stays quiet for a moment, looking toward the campus map beyond their room. The settlement’s vehicles are useful now, but every engine depends on supplies they cannot replenish indefinitely.

Thomas reaches for the notebook beside the bed and writes the headings: fuel, engines, batteries, bicycles, charging, and salvage. The transportation problem now has a place in Belmont’s long-term plan.

Charlie nods beneath the covers, then turns toward Thomas as the notebook rests open between them. The settlement’s future now includes threats beyond the infected.

Thomas writes hostile groups, Knoxville timeline, and Daniel’s mission across the page. He circles the deadline, then adds protected routes and a retreat plan beneath it.

Charlie leans across the notebook and kisses Thomas gently. When they part, the room remains quiet, the page still crowded with worries and plans.

Thomas closes the notebook halfway, leaving the priorities visible without letting them dominate the moment. His thumb brushes carefully over Charlie’s bandaged hand.

Thomas draws Charlie close beneath the covers. Beyond their locked door, the refuge keeps watch, while inside, the future feels a little less heavy.

Charlie shifts higher, braces one hand against Thomas’s chest, and kisses him deeply. His other kiss settles warmly against Thomas’s neck as he waits.

Thomas’s arms circle Charlie carefully, keeping his bandaged hand supported while he turns his head to meet the kiss at his neck.

Thomas kisses Charlie slowly, then rests his forehead against his. The notebook stays open beside them, but neither reaches for it as the room grows peaceful.

Charlie leans into Thomas’s hold and rests his head on Thomas’s shoulder. The notebook remains open beside them, forgotten for the moment.

Thomas presses a gentle kiss to Charlie’s hair and keeps him close. The refuge continues its night watch beyond the door, steady and secure.

For now, they remain together beneath the covers, letting the promise of rest and a shared future settle warmly between them.