Dying Light - Tennessee Gays Edition 1

The dorm’s third-floor windows watch as Charlie, Thomas, Maya, and Evan leave through a side entrance. They carry two charged UV lamps, Charlie’s toolbox, straps, and Maya’s marked route.

Priya, Daniel, Lauren, and Marcus remain behind to guard the water, barricades, and cleared rooms. Evan locks the side door softly before they cross into the bright campus paths.

Wind moves litter across the walkway. A campus shuttle sits crooked against a curb, its doors open, while a siren rises somewhere beyond Belmont’s buildings and abruptly cuts off.

The Agriculture building’s glass doors wait across the sunlit quad. One hangs open, and dark smears mark the lobby floor, while the roof access sign remains visible beyond the entrance.

Charlie starts picking his way across the quad, keeping to the open pavement and giving abandoned vehicles a wide berth. The toolbox stays tight against his leg.

Thomas follows close behind with one UV lamp, while Maya and Evan cover the sides of the approach. No infected move in the bright courtyards.

Charlie reaches the Agriculture building’s open glass doors. Inside, overturned planters and abandoned backpacks line the lobby, but no living survivor answers the group’s careful calls.

Charlie’s rule settles over the lobby. The four survivors immediately pair off, keeping the UV lamps visible and the open entrance behind them.

The pairs move into the building together. Charlie and Thomas enter the nearest grow-room corridor, while Maya and Evan head toward the marked roof-access hall, their footsteps controlled and close.

Charlie sweeps the grow room with the charged lamp and hammer, checking between hydroponic racks and beneath overturned trays. His compliment hangs quietly in the humid air.

Charlie’s first pass misses a low shape behind the nutrient tanks. Thomas catches the faint scrape of its fingers and raises the lamp before it can lunge.

The light floods the gap, driving a crouched Viral back into the shadowed aisle. Its retreat reveals a side service door and stacked battery crates marked for emergency irrigation.

The Volatile or Viral burns, while the Biter is repelled.

Thomas angles the UV lamp across the aisle. The Viral recoils as its exposed skin burns under the harsh violet light, losing its grip and collapsing behind the nutrient tanks.

Charlie and Thomas hold position until the infected stops moving. The grow room falls quiet except for dripping irrigation lines and the lamp’s faint electrical hum.

The service door opens into a compact maintenance room. Inside, the marked battery crates are intact, and a wall panel lists two additional charged portable UV lamps.

The Volatile or Viral burns, while the Biter is repelled.

Charlie grins and helps Thomas carry the intact battery crates from the maintenance room. The extra UV lamps are bundled securely, while the charged lamp keeps the grow-room corridor clear.

They move the equipment through the service door and toward the main entrance in careful trips. Charlie listens between each footstep, catching only dripping irrigation lines and distant building echoes.

At the lobby, sunlight spills across the tiled floor. Charlie sets the batteries beside the glass doors, then checks the entrance and listens for movement from the roof-access hall.

Evan appears with a coil of cable and a marked inventory sheet. Together, the teams stack the batteries, lamps, and wiring near the entrance, ready for the trip back.

Charlie shoulders a battery crate and grips the toolbox strap, while Thomas carries the bundled lamps. Maya and Evan divide the solar hardware and cable between them.

They leave through the glass entrance in a tight formation. Sunlight washes the quad, and the charged UV lamps remain ready at the front of the load.

Behind them, the grow room stays silent. The Viral remains down where the ultraviolet light burned it, unable to pursue or threaten the retreat.

The four reach the dorm’s side entrance with the complete haul. Priya, Daniel, Lauren, and Marcus help bring everything inside, and the new equipment joins the growing defensive stockpile.

Charlie flexes his arm and suppresses a laugh. The teasing lands lightly in the busy side entrance, between battery crates and coils of cable.

Thomas shifts the bundled lamps against his shoulder and gives Charlie an exaggeratedly thoughtful inspection. His grin makes the flirtation unmistakable.

Priya and Lauren carry the last cables past them, exchanging amused glances. Maya directs the batteries toward the window while Evan clears space near the stairwell.

Charlie’s blush deepens, but he smiles warmly and nods. He joins Thomas beside the window, setting the toolbox down among the batteries and coiled cable.

He unfolds his diagrams across an overturned crate, then sorts the solar leads, charge controller, clamps, and battery terminals into a careful working layout.

Following the diagrams, Charlie mounts the controller, connects the solar input, and secures the battery leads with insulated clamps. The arrangement is clean and stable.

Charlie checks each connection with his multimeter. The controller indicator illuminates, and the first battery begins accepting a charge from the recovered solar hardware.

With Thomas watching, Charlie makes a conspicuous show of bending over each charging station, sweeping his multimeter across the terminals while presenting an unmistakably playful view.

Thomas tries to sound professional, but his violet eyes track Charlie’s movements before snapping back to the controller. Maya notices and hides a grin behind the inventory sheet.

The multimeter confirms each connection is secure. Three batteries charge in sequence, while the spare UV lamps sit ready beside the window and the cables remain safely organized.

Charlie labels each battery clearly, marking charge status and intended use. He finishes the last one, then sends Thomas a quick, unmistakably playful wink.

The marker sputters dry after the final label, leaving its tip pale. The batteries are identified, but the remaining spare labels will need another marker.

Thomas leans closer to inspect the finished labels, his shoulder brushing Charlie’s as the controller begins charging the second battery. Outside, sunlight remains strong.

Charlie leans into Thomas’s shoulder instead of pulling away. The contact stays deliberate and warm, quietly making clear that Thomas’s touch is welcome.

Thomas’s grin softens. He leaves his shoulder against Charlie’s and lowers his voice, while the controller gives a sudden warning chirp.

Thomas glances down, then carefully reaches past Charlie to steady the cable without breaking their contact. The loose clamp has scraped insulation but remains usable.

Maya retrieves electrical tape while Evan resets the controller. Thomas stays close beside Charlie as the charging indicator returns, slower but steady.

Once the charging station is stable, Charlie calls everyone into the dorm room. The survivors gather around the batteries, notebook, and marked campus map.

Maya adds walkie-talkies, spare batteries, soap, wipes, wash basins, and privacy materials to the inventory. The meeting produces a clear priority list beside the charging station.

The room grows quieter. Maya writes medicine beneath communication and hygiene, while Evan shifts the campus map closer to the center of the group.

Maya circles the university health center, then marks pharmacies along the least exposed streets. Evan adds insulin storage supplies, glucose tablets, and spare testing equipment to the list.

Surprise remains visible on Charlie’s face as he looks around the room. His sincere thanks settles warmly over the group, making the medical plan feel personal rather than merely practical.

Thomas gives Charlie’s shoulder a gentle squeeze before returning to the map. Maya adds a bold circle around the health center, while Evan writes route options beneath it.