Well this was awkward, he thought, nodding to the student mentor he had been assigned to. Yes, Peter recognized him as one of the engineering students from the faculty. And yes, he also knew of the young man's poor attendance to his classes. But, at least he turned in his work on time, and did a pretty decent job about it. That was all in the past now, and for both their sakes, it would be better to pretend not to recognize him at all.

“You young people flatter me, thinking that I'm still fit enough for guard duty,” Peter joked dryly, to much contrived laughter.

“May I assure you that nothing will happen sir,” the student (who he knew as Desmond) shrugged, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “We're just going to patrol the areas for a bit, show you where the main guard posts are and the like. So you'd know where to go if something happens while you're at work at the generators.”

“Ah yes, the help was quite reassuring back then, thank you,” the older man nodded, motioning for them to get moving along. In another time, the walk would have been peppered with small talk, asking after the young man's student life, prospective jobs, and the like. Instead they would walk in silence, rounding the corner and stopping to greet the first station they passed by. Peter couldn't help but feel sorry for these students, who had an entire life and future ahead of them before the disaster struck. What they could have been, what they could have been doing, those questions weighed heavily on his mind though he knew the students were probably haunted by them. Instead here they were, being militarized and fighting for survival – and for what? What kind of society and future awaits them even if they lived on?

45 years was not a long time, but at least he got to experience many things and work at what he loved. And he was still doing that even now, to a certain degree, in much sadder circumstances.

It was important to keep morale up though, and Peter would be glad to notice that the guard stations they passed by greeted them with some enthusiasm. The restoration of electricity had done quite a lot to lift their spirits up, and keep themselves in reach of the possibility of rescue. They were fully able to send out S.O.S. signals with their current resources, but unless they could be sure that there was someone out there other than the undying and infected that could help them, they would have to be careful about attracting attention.

“Hm...” a low sound left his throat as he stared up ahead at the building. For some reason, the lights in the chemistry labs were off, and he was sure they had been working the day before. The generators were under 24 hour surveillance, so the problem probably shouldn't have come from there (also that that was his work at the generators, and he wasn't about to doubt himself just yet.) “This is going to be my problem sooner or later,” he sighed, motioning for Desmond to stop, “We should check it out, if you don't mind the detour.”

“Alright, but if we encounter any infected the order is to retreat,” he cautioned, “I hope you understand?” It was a little endearing how he would consider this old man's feelings, Peter mused, nodding in agreement as they set off towards the location.

Daylight illuminated the place enough for them to confidently walk the area. The chemistry labs were empty for now, as the plans for concocting flares and other combustibles were firmly put on hold by the student leaders. No sign of movement anywhere either.

A hollow clunking noise echoed through the corridor, alerting them to direction it came from immediately. Desmond had already raised his umbrella in defense, taking stance in front of the older man.

“You are able to run, I hope?” he asked the professor, who gave him a quick nod despite himself. “We will approach it very carefully, I will give the order to run if it is really the Undying or Infected we have encountered,” Desmond began the run down, “And we will inform the nearest guard post before heading straight back to the dormitories, I will need to report this to Corey for further action.”

“Understood.”

The tension in the air was thick as they moved down the corridor to where the noise was coming from. The clunking continued intermittently, too irregular to indicate some kind of stable movement, but it was still highly suspicious. As they approached eventually, the noise stopped altogether.

“Ugh how many times do I have to tell them,” Desmond grumbled, staring at the empty can of beer and the sweet wrappers on the ground. The culprit – a mere rodent, had darted away quickly as soon as it spotted them – right through a hold chewed out through the door...

… Leading to the power board. Peter heaved a long sigh, turning to look at Desmond balefully. “Looks like we still need to go back, the supplies are not on me at the moment.” Peter shifted uncomfortably where he stood. “And also to get some people to clear those rats, they could end up as dinner for someone brave enough I guess.”