The Compound (The Compound series book1)

  Clara. I watched Jake and his unit disappear around the corner before slowing my pace and heading in the direction of the rec room where my best friend would be. I grumbled to myself as I let our conversation play back through my head. Not that it was much of a conversation. The guy barely acknowledged that I existed.I hated that I was crazy about a guy who didn't feel the same way, even more than that, I hated the fact that everyone seemed to know about it, not that there was any chance of keeping something like that secret when we all lived in each others pockets. Everyone knew everything about everyone else, it was just the way of the world for those who called the Compound home.I groaned aloud as my thoughts turned back to Jake, I don't know exactly what it is about him that makes me lose my cool but somehow I couldn't manage one simple sentence without coming across as a love sick puppy. I was sur

  Clara. I was over the moon as I left A block. I already had orders, something to actively do, granted it was only moving my stuff into my newly assigned room with the other recruits but it was something, a step in the right direction.I forced my body towards the rec room, hoping that Matt would be there, it was still lunch time, so classes were out for a while yet and I couldn't wait to tell him.Every one of my muscles ached and my legs felt like jelly as I forced them to carry me along the familiar corridors but as tired as my body was, my mind was on over drive. This was it. My career. I was in the army. I smiled again, unable to keep it to myself any longer I picked up my pace.Matt was sat on one of the sofas in the rec room, what had once been a staff room, with his arm around Maddie and a smile of his own on his face. He saw me and excused himself, coming to my side just inside the rooms e

  ClaraDays turned into weeks and they all blurred together as my training took hold. The commander hadn't been wrong when he said I was being thrown into the deep end, I was definitely out of my depth the first couple of days, but a week in and I had gotten the hang of things, even if I did go to bed each night feeling as though I had been run over.It took a few days for my fellow recruits to accept me, they had expected me to lag behind and I did in the beginning, but I wasn't one to quit, or one to accept being second best. I pushed myself, harder than I ever had before. I cried, I sweat, I bled, I ate, I slept and I did it all over again.It was three weeks before I saw Matt again, the longest I had ever gone without him and I swear I was starting to have withdrawals, he too seemed overly eager to spend time with me, but we both knew and accepted that that wouldn't really be possible for a while, he had his traini

 Jake.“Six teams, six targets. Keep to ground, don't engage unless necessary, get what you can and get out. We are looking for medical supplies, lab equipment, anything you feel may be of value.” The chiefs voice rang out around the meeting room, a large table with a map separating him from us. “Team one.” He called and I watched the five guys and two girls step up to the table.“This is your target, deploy on readiness.” He stated handing them a sheet of paper and pointing to their destination on the map.“Team one is the only seven man team so the rest of you lucky guys and gals get to be responsible for the newbies, one per team.” He pointed to the wall where I knew that the five newbies were waiting for their orders.I don't know what the hell was wrong with me but I actually kind of hoped my team was assigned Clara. It was weird, unexplainable, She had drove me up the wall

  Clara.My heart pounded as I listened to the guys talking through the radios, their chatter somehow easing the shit storm of emotions that had gripped me when I pulled the trigger. It had been instinct, as soon as I saw the gun aimed in our direction I fired, not thinking, not caring. Then the blood had rushed through my veins so hard that nothing else mattered, all I could see were the dead, the infected, the danger. It kept me focused, alert so I wasn't knocking it but as soon as the danger had passed I was second guessing myself. I had shot someone. Killed them.I breathed hard, not someone, something. He wasn't human.“We're at the half way point.” Wheelers voice sounded, letting us know that we had another four hours before we would reach our target. Four hours of possible dangers. It was actually exhausting being so alert all the time. I let my eyes close for a second and took a deep breath. Even the