Barry was originally an ordinary soldier of the National Army. After enlisting, he was sent to the battlefield in Iran. He was quickly promoted due to his outstanding performance. However, after being promoted, he soon faced a problem that greatly complicated things for him.
And that was because he had certain issues that were affecting his military career.
Saying that he had an aggressive personality was not enough—otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to stand out among a group of recruits at the beginning—but his temperament was somewhat stubborn, and his behavior was comparable to that of others.
But that behavior was ignored by the higher-ups, who only bothered to give him a few minor warnings. However, they needed soldiers at the time, so as long as Barry's behavior didn't endanger missions, it wasn't considered a problem.
A year after Barry was promoted, since he still couldn't integrate into his group, he began to go his own way. He didn't like the behavior of those people, so they simply promoted him again and sent him to a place where his abilities were truly needed.
The appointment letter stated that he had been transferred to a base north of Knoxville as the head of secret security.
In this way, he packed his belongings and left the military camp that had left him extremely disappointed, planning to regroup at the new base and turn it into a much more productive career.
The result of that?
It turned out that this place was some kind of warehouse…
More than 200 people were permanently sealed inside the base, and the outside world would resupply them every six months. At first glance, the facilities were quite complete.
Whether it was food, entertainment, or even a bar, there was nothing they lacked.
Seeing the current situation, Barry would have been an idiot if he didn't understand that he had been deceived. Obviously, he knew he had been transferred to a place where the old went to rot. But he was still young and unmarried. After two months of a quiet life there, he gradually got used to this lifestyle.
Everything was perfect—until the end of the world came, along with those rumors about a supposed rabies-like disease.
In fact, they were quite safe at first. After all, in closed mode, they had no contact with the outside world, and even the news took a long time to reach them.
Normally, such a secure place should not have ended up like this. But the question was, what went wrong?
What went wrong was the supply delivery.
The original semiannual supply was suddenly moved forward, even though they still had three months' worth of rations in storage. They did not expect to receive instructions from their superiors that a supply team would arrive within the next two days. This shipment would bring enough supplies to last them an entire year without problems.
Barry knew something was happening, but the rest of the people—including the senior executive of the base—didn't seem to take it seriously.
Two days later, the supply team arrived on time and brought with them another high-level order.
Barry's team was to defend the base. The supplies and remaining materials were enough to last for more than a year. During this time, the base had to remain secure without exception.
If things had gone according to plan, the base would not have become what it is now. But just as the supply team was about to leave, one of their members suddenly developed a high fever.
Their group knew each other well. Everyone was familiar with one another, so when they saw this soldier suddenly fall ill, they immediately helped him.
This man's name was Steve, and he was quite an extravagant guy. When he wasn't on duty, he would spend his time in bars and nightclubs near his camp.
This time, Barry learned that the soldier had gone out the night before. From what he said after returning, he kept talking about a girl who was quite beautiful.
As a result, the man who had been perfectly fine just a day earlier kept getting worse, and his temperature reached alarming levels. But due to orders, they had no choice but to leave him in the base to recover.
Barry and everyone at the base did not expect that because of this decision, most of them would die.
There was no need to go into too much detail about what happened next—it was nothing more than the fever of an infected person before turning into a walker. After he died inside the base, the infection quickly spread.
Barry hid alone in the warehouse and stayed there for more than a year and a half. Although he had no worries about food or clothing, the feeling of loneliness made life worse than death.
However, the warehouse area was very large, and the supplies were abundant enough for him to live there for many years. It could be said that if there were a woman, he could repopulate the base like Adam and Eve.
From Monday to Friday, he could move around the warehouse, and in a short time, he built something personal for himself in that place.
Since everything was so boring, he could only find things to do for himself.
As for why the base still had electricity, it was thanks to a hydroelectric plant not far away. It looked like a dam, but in fact there was a separate power generation system underneath it, which had been continuously supplying electricity to the base.
That was why the elevators and lighting still worked.
The temperature control equipment in the warehouse had always been effective, and the underground ventilation system also functioned normally. Otherwise, he would have already died.
Barry knew very well that he was lucky to have survived. Even though he was going crazy alone, he still did his best to keep himself going, hoping that someone would come someday.
There was still plenty of food in the warehouse, and there were air conditioners in the summer and quilts in the winter.
Bang Bang Bang Bang!
At that moment, the gunshots outside the door gradually awakened his numb nerves. Barry froze for a moment, then immediately got up and ran to the door, pressing his ear against it.
More and more clear gunshots could be heard, getting closer, accompanied by the dull sound of heavy objects hitting the ground. He knew very well that it was the sound of his former companions—now immortal monsters—falling after being killed.
"Oh shit!" Barry rubbed his knees after hitting the door, but his face was full of joy. It was obvious that someone had come. Whether they were there to rescue him or not, he finally had hope of getting out. As long as he could leave this place, who cared who was outside? Or whether they were even human?
"I'm here!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Barry frantically pounded on the warehouse door, producing dull thuds. But he soon realized that the gunfire outside was still ongoing, and the others probably couldn't hear him at all.
"Calm down, Barry. Stop, stop, damn it." Barry stood there trembling, feeling his teeth chatter, the sound echoing in his ears.
It wasn't fear—it was excitement!
Bang Bang!
After two shots, the outside finally fell silent.
Barry couldn't wait to slam the door again, shouting loudly—not so much a cry, but a release. In fact, he could open the door himself, but he couldn't be sure that it was completely safe outside, so he didn't dare to do it.
Bang, bang!
The warehouse door suddenly opened from the outside, and a group of people in uniforms covering every part of their bodies and faces appeared at the entrance.
"Don't move, stop!"
A burly white man stepped forward and shoved Barry back into the room. Dozens of people rushed in behind him, surrounding the two of them.
"Don't shoot, I'm a soldier from here!" Barry raised his hands, indicating that he had no weapon, and the white man quickly searched him.
"Check him!"
A man who removed his helmet revealed an indifferent face and said, "Next, you will answer some questions. Do you understand, soldier?"
"Alright, yes sir!"