Sapphire was right, Dan did enjoy the thought of a warm shower and a working toilet. Doctor Carlton was leading him towards the back of the complex, through what looked like an old staff room area. Dan was taken into a backroom which the inside reassembled a locker room. The back wall was lined with sinks, toilet cubicles and shower stalls. Dan’s eyes widened at the thought of clean water.

"There is shampoo and soap inside the showers already. Just look in and you can pick your scent and everything. Towels are all hung up on the right. Also next to the sinks, there is a large hamper with razors and shaving cream. Help yourself." Carlton informed him, standing at the door, holding it open, "When you get out, there will be some new clothes and shoes for you to put on. Just leave the dirty ones where we can find them. We will check the sizes before switching them."

"Thank you." Dan nodded, "This whole thing seems too good to be true, It has solved almost everything."

"Well you better be thankful that Saffy found you when she did." Carlton replied, "Have a nice shower, Dan."

He left the room and Dan didn't waste any time in stripping off his dirty clothes. Dan didn't think they had been washed at all. Not since last summer when he had taken a dip in a river to cool off his body. After all this time, working water and clean clothes seem like a dream to Dan. He was wondering when he was going to wake up.

Leaving his clothes in a heap near the door, Dan made his way towards the showers and stepped into one of the private cubicles. He turned the knob that was sticking out of the metal pipe and water immediately began to flow out of it.

Like a wild animal, Dan pounced towards the flow of water like he had never seen such a delicious form of prey. Soothingly, the warm water ran down from his hair, over his shoulders and down towards the rest of his body. It was a relaxing feeling, with all the dirt and blood that had collected over time, his stress was running away with it, down the drain.

He reached over to grab some shampoo from the rack. Before he had gotten in, he had not checked the scent of the shampoo. Coconut and Vanilla was what was waiting for him, but he didn't complain. As he rubbed into his curls, he got a whiff of the flavouring. It smelt better than anything he had smelt in the past few years.

He rinsed that out of his hair before going for the body soap. This was a normal bottle of body wash that just smelt of cleanliness, which Dan was excited to use. His whole body had not smelt this good since his brother's wedding.

All good things eventually had to come to an end. So Dan turned off the water and exited the cubical. His eyes scanned the room for a second, and they landed on a rack of rolled up towels. The fluffiness was so satisfying to wrap around his body, not to mention the comfortable warmth of it.

Dan wrapped one around his waist and draped one over his shoulder before heading to the sinks. As he passed he grabbed out some shaving foam and a razor, then moving to stand in front of a mirror.

Over time, Dan's stubble had gotten dark and a little bit out of control. His chin was a shadow compared to the rest of his body and Dan was eager to get rid of it. Squirting the cream into his hands, he rubbed them together and smeared it onto his face. With a steady hand, Dan took the blades over his face and got rid of every last bit of facial hair he had.

Once he had done this, his body was bone dry. With the towel still wrapped around him and his used razor left to one side, he made his way back to the locker room area. To his surprise, he found a new outfit waiting for him.

His old clothes had gone, and left in their place was a brand new outfit, all still fitted with their tags. It was sort of similar to his other one.

Black jeans were folded over one hanger, over the top of them was a deep leather jacket to match. To go under that, a plain grey t-shirt. Looking at the T-shirt, it didn’t have the same sentimental effect that his shirt did. Of course, Dan appreciated the new clothes, however, he missed the memory that his button up shirt held.

On a bench just behind him, a pair of black steel cap boots sat, with fluffy looking socks. Next to those was a clean pair of boxers, that Dan was more than grateful to see.

Quickly he changed into his new attire, that fit him pretty well. It was all so much nicer smelling than his old ones. They felt more comfortable against his now clean skin too. He felt like a new person.

Dan exited the shower room and back out into the hallway. Waiting for him outside was the Doctor, who approached him with a warm smile.

"You smell a lot better." Carlton joked making Dan crack a smile, "Now, you must be starving. Dinner is being served as we speak."

Carlton led Dan back through the big complex. They passed the whole storage basin. Past the doors that lead to the hospital wing and out of the front door.

Dan found himself standing in what looked like a courtyard. One big table was in the middle, crowded with people he recognised and some he didn't. Other smaller tables were dotted around them, holding a lot of the workers Dan had never spoken to.

Surrounding them was a giant wall, about 10 foot high. Along the top were a few rows of barbed wire and what looked like shards of glass, cemented in a way that had the sharp edges pointing up. No one was climbing over those walls.

Pj began to walk forward towards the people and Dan followed. Everyone stopped what they were doing to greet him and also to stare at the odd new comer.

"Are you feeling better?" Jackson, second incharge, asked as soon as they approached, "You look a lot better."

"Yes, very much so. Thank you." Dan nodded.

Jackson smiled back at Dan. Next to Jackson, sitting dead in the centre of everyone, was Sapphire. She was scanning Dan's new clean attire, face emotionless.

She then pushed a bowl forward, towards Dan. Inside was a golden looking form of soup. He could see the steam coming from the top and his mouth watered just thinking about it.

"Sit, boy. Eat as much as you want. You'll be needing your strength for tomorrow." She ordered.

Dan followed his orders and sat down. He picked up the metal spoon that was resting inside the bowl, and took a small sip. The warmth of it felt like heaven in his throat. His stomach growled for more as soon as his first spoonful was gone.

"You've got a busy day tomorrow, Dan." Sapphire informed him, "if you're wanting to stay here, you're going to have to prove that you're going to be useful."

As Dan continued to fill his empty belly, he nodded, agreeing to whatever proposition she was making. He wanted to stay, of course he did. Dan knew he was safe here, and there was no second thought about leaving his cramped, damp tree house behind.

"First thing in the morning, you're going to be working on our farm and helping Katie." Sapphire nodded towards a woman that Dan had never met.

Sat two people down from him was a short haired woman, her hair was a light shade of blue and braided down into two braids. Her face was round and friendly looking.

"You will then return to have lunch here then you will meet Jackson and I to go out on a hunt. We will show you the traps and shortcuts we like to take." Sapphire continued to explain, "We will return and take our findings to the store room freezer. Then we eat once again and before you go to bed, Jackson is going to show you the ropes while on a lookout shift."

Dan finished off his soup as Sapphire was talking. Once his stomach was full and warm, he pushed the bowl aside and turned his attention back to the Chief.

"I'm more than happy to help this place as much as I can." Dan agreed.

"Great." The Chief answered without a smile, "Now Jackson will show you to your room."

At her command everyone left the table, jumping up from the wood and leaving the empty bowls behind.

"You get some sleep too, Jackson, I'll take watch tonight." She called after them, as she collected all the empty bowls.

Dan was more excited about the thought of having a soft bed to lay on and a shelter over his head as he slept soundly. He didn’t have to sleep with a knife clutched in his hands. He didn’t have to worry about falling out of his sleeping bag and most of all, he didn’t have to worry about surviving the night.