I've trained for six hours with Alex this week, most of the time exercising, talking or lying on the floor exhausted. Occasionally we get the knives out and stab the shelves stuffed with pillows, but not as much as we need to because eventually someone will notice all the missing and destroyed pillows. I've noticed that Alex has started to build up some muscle in his arms, which isn't difficult to spot considering that he used to be terrifyingly thin. We've decided that we can start fighting each other soon to help with our combat skills, trying our hardest not to actually hurt the other person.

It's a lot more fun to train with another person than I expected and I'm happy that I managed to make a friend. It's always been hard for me to make friends because I avoid conversations and would never talk to anyone other than Ruby's friends. It's made me realise that it might be a good idea to try and make friends with some more people, but I'm not too focused on that at the moment.

Thankfully, I've started to get used to not having coffee every morning, and instead, I just go and do some work if it's all gone. It's not as effective as caffeine, but it works. We do have coffee here at the hospital, but the adults drink most of it and we're only allowed to have what's left.

New people keep arriving at the hospital, usually a few every day, sometimes even more. It can sometimes get crowded in certain areas of the hospital, like the cafeteria and the break area, so most people file away to quieter areas. A lot of the people who arrive here look deathly ill and have to be taken to isolated rooms and even though it doesn't affect most people, I'm still curious about what's wrong with them.

Whenever I ask about it, I'm just told that they're not well, so I haven't bothered trying again. Something is being hidden from us, and I want to know what it is. Considering that I can't find any answers to my questions, all that's left for me to do is to try and ignore everything that's happening, but that becomes harder with every passing day.

I just hope it doesn't happen to me or Ruby, but if it's contagious, then we might not be able to prevent it. I always try and stay as far away as I can from anyone who coughs or sneezes, but that's mostly because I hate getting ill and would prefer to stay healthy, as anyone would.

Alex and I occasionally see each other in the cafeteria or in the corridor and exchange hellos, and Ruby has started to notice. She's asked me a few times if I like him or if I knew him before everything happened, and each time I tell her that we share job shifts and we became friends because of that. I don't think she believes me.

I agreed to meet up with Alex in the room after eating lunch so we could do some more training. We need to figure out what we'll do if something goes wrong. He suggested that we just run for our lives and try to escape, not thinking about anyone else except for us. But I would never leave Ruby behind, so that plan was abandoned. With that in mind, we know that we'll have to make a plan of how we would actually escape in case anything bad does happen, but it might take some time and there are a lot of things we need to consider, like what to take and other people.

I look down at my watch. 11:52 am; It's almost lunchtime. I grab my bag with my knife at the bottom and make my way down to the cafeteria. There are a lot fewer people here than I expected, considering how close it is to lunch. But then again, most people arrive halfway through, so it'd be weirder if it was full than if it was empty.

Alex is sitting on a circular table in the corner of the room, staring intensely at a piece of paper in his hand. He spots me and waves for me to join him, making room for my bag on the table. The hospital is rationing the food, so we normally only get half a bowl of soup and some crackers for every meal. But there must be a special occasion today, as the smell of sausages and gravy fills the room. The food isn't ready to serve yet, so all I can do is wait impatiently and sprint to the counter when it's ready.

"Lilly!" Ruby's voice echoes around the room, getting closer at an alarming rate. She wraps her arms around me from behind, almost pulling me off my chair, just like she did when we were kids. "I haven't seen you all day!" I don't know how long it took her to notice that I'm not sitting alone, but when she does her face lights up and she gasps. "Don't get any ideas, Ruby."

"Who's this?" She screeches, taking a seat at the table.

"I'm Alex, nice to meet you."

"How long have you known Lilly?"

"Not long. Maybe a week or two."

"You two look so cute together!"

I punch Ruby in the arm, ignoring her yelp. "I told you, don't get any ideas. We're just friends."

"Woah, you made a friend?" Her comment is slightly hurtful, no matter how true it is. Alex laughs at us and rises from his chair, calmly walking over to where the food is being served. Ruby and I sprint ahead of him, too excited at the thought having food other than soup.

The food tastes better than I expected, and I had very high expectations. Ruby and I shovel down our food, constantly commenting on how good it is as Alex eats his politely.

"I can tell that you two are close." Alex is staring at us like a proud parent. Ruby nods and hugs me, making me choke as I was still swallowing. She falls on the floor in fits of laughter while Alex rushes over to help. dislodging the food from my throat. I don't scold her because of how happy she is, ignoring the worried stares from everyone in the room. I practically pick her up from the floor and sit her back down. "I wouldn't wish for anyone else."