Survival Bunker System Developer

Dejavu

It didn’t take very long for Helen to send Caleb an email with the lab report and test results of both rats and the dog that attacked him. All the animals in her lab were ghouls with varying degree of evolution from PXE22.

In summary, Caleb learned that PXE22 evolved in stages. Some people with stronger immune would be able to fight PXE22’s control and retain their intelligence like the rats that only attacked the hamster and not Caleb. PXE22 will alter the appetite of the infected creature and make it crave the flesh of living creatures. PXE22 spread itself by blood contact much like HIV and AIDS so Caleb had to be careful of that.

Caleb spent less time outdoors and more time indoors with the news channels reporting more deaths and animal attacking humans. The government was still finding out what was causing such a rabid behaviour in the animals when the first human ghoul attack was announced. Following that, countries from all over were reporting that they have ghouls in their cities attacking others.

Within a month, every country declared itself in a state of emergency and clamped down on outward bound flights. Cities were locked down and infected areas were quarantined. New York City was one of the cities in America with the worst number of infected victims. However, due to its population, the government wasn’t able to take action quickly.

Caleb watched from his window as his neighbours packed and fled one by one. Eventually, the only one still living in the apartment was him. Videos of cannibals eating their kin alive went viral and the panic forced the government to bring in the army.

“For today’s breaking news on Fox Live, we are watching millions of people fleeing from the city to the countryside after the alleged outbreak of a mysterious illness that causes humans to become cannibals. The government has yet to make a statement about what this illness is but experts are saying that it might be the end of the world-“

Caleb turned the television off and looked outside the window. During the last two days of chaos, many shops were looted. Caleb had also participated but for a different reason. He needed resources as much as possible. The gun shop, Target and Hospital were already converted into Special Bunkers. Caleb didn’t have enough resources to convert the power plant into a special bunker so he had to join the looting spree. At the same time, he was searching for the items in Helen’s list.

The docks were looking empty but nobody bothered about the mysterious disappearance of yachts and cruises. The world was consumed by panic over the unknown illness. The World Health Organisation made a list of symptoms observed and reported about the new plague spreading everywhere. The victims were called ghouls and the lack of knowledge about these ghouls made the government afraid of taking action. Hospitals were full of ghouls in a desperate attempt to save the patients. The government subsidised the cost of it but many hospitals reported having their doctors and nurses getting infected trying to treat the ghoul patients.

Caleb scrolled through the news forums. Right now, the world was stuck in a stalemate. The number of ghouls was increasing at an alarming rate with no cure or information about the strange illness. Doctors and nurses who try their best to save the ghouls find themselves losing hope when more of their comrades become infected.

“Death tolls have risen past one million in the United States of America and are expected to increase more in the next few days. All citizens are advised to remain indoors until further notice.”

Caleb closed his laptop and sighed. Even the president was panicking. Security details have increased and many citizens were evacuated from populated areas. However, that wasn’t good enough. The death tolls did not account for infected people. If Caleb took a look outside his window, he could easily see more ghouls than people roaming around. New York City was becoming overtaken by ghouls despite the police’s best efforts to keep everything under control.

It all started with the first m*********r in New York City involving several high-profiled tourists. Initially, the reporters wrote it off as a dramatic mad man going on a killing spree. However, as more and more similar cases surfaced, the media began speculating the end of the world. The disease was initially suspected as rabies but when a graphic film caught the human ghoul eating another human alive, the government could no longer remain silent. Orders were passed down to arrest any of those ‘mentally ill’ individuals for locking up.

The number of ghouls was simply more than what the police could handle and things started going downhill when the first security personnel was identified as a ghoul. Out of panic, people with guns started shooting and the humanitarians stirred the pot of trouble and added fuel to the fire.

Caleb didn’t know why Americans always turned towards protesting as a form of showing their discontent with changes when it was obviously a bad idea to gather in masses for certain situations. If they were protesting outside the White House due to unhappiness about the presidential election results, Caleb could understand. However, why did his countrymen think it was a great idea to gather outside the White House when ghouls were running about in their city? He couldn’t understand why some people didn’t listen to the government’s advice to remain indoors.

“I guess the only humans who will survive this apocalypse will be the ones strong enough and smart enough to hold out till the end. That’s going to mean about eighty percent of the population is either going to die or turn into ghouls. Aren’t you glad you’re a pampered cat and not a dumb human?” he scratched Jeremy under the chin lazily.

Honestly, Caleb didn’t care too much about the idiots running all over the city thinking that the ghoul apocalypse was simply a fun sport. Of course, many adrenaline-high teenagers were taking this as a chance to lash out on others regardless of if they were ghouls or humans. The shooting sprees and violent crimes have increased ever since the police announced that they were short-staffed. Many shop owners fled while they could and Brownsville was one of the more badly affected areas like how Caleb remembered it to be. The number of breaking and entering cases skyrocketed and nobody cared who did it. The survivors in the ghetto looted what they could and started creating ghoul bunkers with their resources simply because they weren’t able to leave the city.

The president ordered a lockdown on major cities to curb the spread of PXE22 which resulted in a lot of unhappiness. The rich used their money to exchange for a ticket out while the poor were doomed to remain in the ghoul infested areas for better or for worse. Caleb received an offer to leave the city but he refused to send a reply. Instead, he gave his ticket out of the city to Paul who declined. After persuading Paul to give that ticket to someone else, Paul accepted it gratefully and gave the offer to his granddaughter who was studying and working in New York.

Caleb looked at the date. Unlike the survivors in the city who had to go out and scavenge for food, the system developer could enjoy everything in the comfort of his bunker. Right now, he was waiting for the army to take action.

According to the news yesterday, the government was deploying a rescue team and a patrol team. The borders of New York and New Jersey will be heavily guarded and barricades will be set up. Shelters will be created for the refugees but Caleb knew it wouldn’t be enough.

Having said that, there was no mention in the news about when the rescue team and extra help will be deployed. Some of the senates who were pro-humanitarian and human right activists didn’t agree with the president’s idea of shooting ghouls on sight. They still believed that these ghouls were merely ill and should be treated like ill patients despite how deadly the unknown illness was. With that stalemate in the political arena, the people suffered and Caleb could only watch as humanity brought itself further to ruin.

Paul remained safe in his gun shop and was slightly surprised that his shop wasn’t being looted. For the first few days of the apocalypse, Caleb didn’t call Paul. He was too busy monitoring the situation. However, a week later, Paul called Caleb.

“Do you need a refill on your bullets? I got some and you should have it just in case. I know Windsor Terrace is a safer zone but one cannot be too sure. Also, I think I’m getting older. I keep finding food that I’ve eaten in my shop and guns that I sold replacing themselves even though the stock hasn’t arrived. Do you know of a doctor that isn’t a ghoul yet?”

Caleb laughed when he heard that. Paul can be hilarious at times and he was glad his old friend was doing well.

“Did you go out at all?”

Paul barked a short laugh. “Go out? I feel much safer in my gun shop. If any of those monsters come through, I’d blast their heads off. I thought there’ll be more customers seeing as we’re in a crisis right now but you’d be surprised by how few people come in. Right now, I’m willing to give anyone a gun and bullets if it means they’d live safer but not many people have dropped by so I thought I’ll check on you because I know you’re still in the city. How are things looking over at your side?”

Caleb looked out of the window. “I’ve been indoors working on something recently. Right now I’m waiting for the army to come in and exterminate the ghouls for us and clear the streets. They need to work on those survival shelters quickly too because there are still too many folks left behind in the ghettos.”

“I say Manhattan’s probably one of the safer places for now. Civilians are setting up shelters in the subway and I heard they’ve got a system going.”

Caleb walked over to his printed out map. “How many shelters do you know of? How many people are living in those shelters?”

Paul mumbled and counted. “Roughly about a hundred to two hundred people live in one subway station from what I heard. The last guy who purchased forty shotguns and a few boxes of ammunition came from one of those shelters. They travel using the subway tunnels so they are in contact with other bunkers. Food isn’t a real issue yet but water is.”

Caleb sighed when he heard that water was becoming a concern. He was facing a similar issue with water on his end. Although Caleb knew how to build a water treatment plant, it was simply too impossible for him to supply water throughout New York City using the water pipes. As of now, he didn’t even have enough resources to increase the capacity of the thirty basic bunkers he owned after converting all the important places into Special Bunkers.

According to his memory of the past, there were only two weeks until the government decide to intervene. During this time while the army still wasn’t in control, Caleb wanted to seize the opportunity to steal as many resources as he required. The most concerning issue was how he still didn’t have a water filtration system to supply the special bunkers and regular bunkers.

“Paul, would you trust me if I said you’d be alright if you didn’t leave your gun shop at all? In fact, you should stay here for the next few months until the apocalypse is over.”

Caleb knew that Paul was a patriotic person but he didn’t want his old friend to die a second time. Hence, Caleb manipulated the bunker setting to allow human customers in the shop but forbid Paul from leaving. So far, Paul hasn’t attempted to leave his gun shop so Caleb was thankful for that. However, he didn’t know how long he could keep his bunker secret from Paul.

“As if I could take my old bag of bones anywhere… I’m just happy my granddaughter is doing alright and away from the city. This place is a hell hole. Who would have known that in a month from the attack of a mad man this city would turn into a breeding ground for ghouls?”

Caleb agreed. Everything was following the old timeline and he anticipated that the government will pull in the big guns and forces by the end of next week. That gave him approximately one more month to work on his bunkers before the army pulled out. He aimed to provide shelter for those abandoned by the government but as of now, Caleb was lacking resources.

“Say, do you want anything in particular? I’m thinking of dropping by your shop for a refill of bullets in a few days. Most stalls aren’t open but I can try my luck at Target.”

Paul laughed. “Aye, Target has everything. How about some grilled chicken? I’m dying for a change in diet. I’ve been eating nothing but pasta and pies that I’m dying for a steak.”

Caleb laughed. “I’ll find whatever I can get my hands on. Thanks for calling. I’ll see you in a few days.”

“Sure thing, lad. I’ll prepare extras for you just in case.”

Caleb hung up quickly and looked at his map. He was ready for the next part of his plan.