Surviving the Apocalypse

Tour

When they finished eating lunch, people from each of the other Camps joined the residents going back to work, just so they could get an idea of what they meant when every member provided some task to the Camp every day. The three leaders with Hanna walked into the kitchens where 50 people were hard at work cleaning up lunch and beginning the preparation for dinner. They had 1,200 pounds of fresh meat alone being butchered right there in the kitchen, not to mention the crates of vegetables from the greenhouses or the dozen other things that was being readied for cooking in a few hours time. None of it the pot stews that a lot of the Camps had been creating with whatever canned vegetables they could find. Here the even had 300 pounds of freshly harvested potatoes that would be used for the evening meal.

“Do we want to know what it takes to have this kind of luxury right now?” Sebastian asked as he saw them cutting a half of a cow and a full pig right there in the massive kitchen.

“The hard work of about 200 people, every day. 15 of them with plant abilities that help the growing process for some of our more difficult crops. The fields are used for grain, rice, potatoes and several others that will be ready in a few weeks time. Those take the work of another 50, not including the people for the goats, cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, turkeys, fish and a few other odd and ends. Just for food production and processing, probably 500 people in total every day.” Hanna said leading them to the pens where the very animals she had mentioned were being cared for and culled when necessary.

“Whoa.” Brian said as they saw the hundreds of each kind of animal. The cows even being milked twice a day. Each one of them producing 15 gallons of milk for things like butter and cheese that made life in the apocalypse bearable. “Any chance we could trade for some fresh meat?” he asked making Hanna chuckle.

“I am sure we have some surplus we would be willing to part with.” She conceded as she knew full well they had 50 steer waiting to be harvested at that very moment and would have another 20 within a few weeks. Not to mention the turkeys, chickens and rabbits that were starting to overwhelm their ability to use in just the Camp.

By the time they returned to the dining tent for dinner, Hanna had shown the leaders a large part of the exterior Camp, the awe of it all surprising them at every turn when they walked into one of the larger greenhouses and saw that it was 200,000 square feet of vertical growing systems that produced tomatoes and peppers in just this one building. There were 49 other greenhouses the same size that produced nearly every type of fruit, berry and vegetable one could imagine. They had even planted an orchard from the trees they had found in several nurseries, the trees enhanced by the quest system that Hanna shared with all of them as the same reward they had earned.

The other guests that had gone to see the actual work of the departments they would try and replicate in their own Camps excited about what they had been shown and taught in just one afternoon. The conversations between them were thrilled, each of them taking turns telling the others what they saw during their separate demonstrations of what made up Camp Hope. Nearly 3,500 people coming together to work towards a better future than what they currently had. All of their labor producing tangible benefits to the entire Camp, each person making a difference as they didn’t do the same things as everyone else.

When dinner was over and they walked over to the arena area where they did combat training, the guests were amazed that even kids as young as 4 had their own class and were learning the basics of how to fight. By the time they reached adult hood, they would be fighting machines that would be able to survive the hellscape that the world had become. Each member of the Camp learning in their proficiency group, the first hour spent learning new techniques before they spent the second sparring. There were 5 rings, the shift in the atmosphere making it apparent this was a nightly ritual. The matches being announced for each of the 5 rings according to the ranking system they had set up. Even the group of 6 year olds had matches according to the rules of combat appropriate for each level, none of them allowed to seriously harm each other as it wasn’t the point of it. The competition was fierce, but it was all done to get better.

“What are the rules?” Sebastian asked as they watched the first set of matches.

“Depends on the opponent and the type of match. Some are hand to hand only, no weapons or abilities. Others are training weapons only, no abilities or striking with hands or feet. Others are abilities only and others are free for all. The goal is to score hits, submission or to force your opponent from the ring. Each match is at most 5 minutes, no intent to injure or kill.” She told them with a smile as they were all surprised that despite the rules, they were full on fights.

“This is how you train?” one of the guards from Camp Fury asked amazed.

“Every single day, give us a couple weeks and this entire area will be enclosed for the winter so we don’t lose time.” Hanna said as they enjoyed the bouts that always ended with the contestants leaving the ring as friends, even if they were sporting new black eyes or bruises that would take days to heal if left to their own devices. Each one however was required to go to the medics who were on sight for evaluation and treatment, some of their nurses and doctors having varying degrees of healing abilities.

“Do your people know how to have fun and relax?” Sebastian asked amazed.

Lucas laughed as he walked over after his evaluation from his match. “This fun, and most of us enjoy the relaxation our jobs give us. Most of us requested our specific assignments because it is what we enjoy doing, not because it is expected of us. The benefits are more than enough, and we always have the ability to take a day off and use our wages to purchase what we need for those days.”

They watched until the training ended, plenty of daylight still left for the residents to do the very relaxation that they had been wondering about, many of them chatting with coffee and pastries that the cooks always prepared for snacks after the intense training they did. Hanna led the Councils to the conference room, all of them surprised when they entered the bunker itself, the top level clearly the main administration area for the entire Camp.

Melissa had just finished her assignment, giving each of the leaders her copy of a price list, most of them a third of what Epsilon was charging for the same things. Because of their cattle and greenhouses however, there were clear improvements over what Camp Hope was offering in terms of quality. Gone were the canned vegetables, replaced with freshly harvested goods that they would be able to preserve themselves. Meats, eggs, cheese, milk, cream, butter. Just to name a few of the food items that was firmly on their list, cheaper than what Epsilon charged for miscellaneous food. Most of it canned and preserves items the scavenged from the same city the other Camps did as well. The most expensive item being the pork and beef at 150 crystals per ton.

“This is pricing for the fresh fruits, vegetables and meats we saw today, correct?” Sebastian asked Melissa.

“Unless indicated by a preservation technique like some of the freeze dried berries, correct.” She told them.

“You did see what Camp Epsilon was charging for canned items didn’t you?” Brian asked as surprised as anyone else.

“That is the difference between the ethos Camp Epsilon and Camp Hope operate by. They are attempting to improve themselves at maximum gain for them while extracting the maximum cost from others. We however aren’t attempting to be so ridiculous about that, and I feel bad even charging what we have to. But as you aren’t members of our Camp we do need to profit off of it somewhat.” She told them as they looked at her surprised.

“You are turning a profit at these prices?” he asked as she shrugged.

“20 percent is standard for most industries.” Melissa said shrugging as Hanna chuckled.

“Our residents purchase items like what you have in front of you at the cost of our points system that even has conversions for Crystals provided from their kills outside of the Camp. For those like Pamela and Dr. Nicole who don’t leave the Camp but provide critical services, they can purchase they Evojuice they need to improve their abilities. As allies we won’t give you the resident cost, but we also won’t charge you an asshole tax either. Any Camp that trades or does business will be charged that asshole tax, thus paying prices comparable to what Epsilon is charging. But as we don’t want them to benefit from their trade schemes either, our prices will still be discounted from theirs, we aren’t complete monsters.” Hanna told them making them laugh as they had worked with other Camps located near them that didn’t want to risk alienating the group that claimed only they could support the other Camps.

“I heard a motto a lot of times while in your Camp today, I was wondering if you could explain it to us. Help us help you. What exactly does that mean?” Lyndsey Morrison asked from Camp Fury.

“For our residents, we have that very motto. Help us help you. As individuals, there isn’t a lot we can do alone to ensure our survival out there. Alone, we can’t even ensure safety at all times. So it takes many people doing mundane tasks that make it possible for a large group to survive. This Camp operates under the assumption that if you spend 8 hours a day providing service to the Camp, you are helping the Camp survive. In doing so, you are helping us help you. Me personally, I do long term tactics and strategy to ensure the people here have what they need from out there to survive here.

“I however couldn’t grow a bean to save my life, or milk a cow if it was the only source of liquid I have available. Pamela however has an amazing ability to make things grow, so her tasks center around growing food that feeds me to get her the fertilizer she needs. Food that feeds Benjamin over there who guards the walls and kills any zombies that come close, so Nicole can provide medical care to any injuries. And on and on until together, we have enough people helping the Camp that everyone gets exactly what they need. This trade for example, we need Heart Crystals in order to expand our Evojuice production so more people can benefit from it. We cannot harvest them all ourselves, as we just don’t have the manpower available to harvest more than a few hundred per day. That list represents what we are willing to trade with you, to help us get those crystals so we can turn around and help you. Does that make sense?” Hanna asked her as they all nodded.

They had seen how one person doing construction to make life better in the Camp could snowball because every person there did something different that helped everyone else. In turn, it did in fact help themselves.

“So essentially what you are saying, is you have made an economy of sorts based on points that you pay each person to perform their task. Say growing crops or guarding the wall, how do you determine how much each task is worth? How do you assign value to the items like the meat you are selling for less than what another Camp was charging for canned corn?” Victor Hughes from Camp Delta asked as he compared the two price lists.

“By the manpower required to grow it, complexity of the task and risk associated with that task. Our students face the least risk and provide the least direct benefit to the Camp at this time, so therefore make the least amount of 7 points per day. They are taught in cycles, each age learning different things and given different responsibilities. Beginners that are generally age 4-7 help in the greenhouses, or feeding the animals as part of their tasks. From their our construction crews get 15 points a day, Farmers get 12, while someone like Lt. Colonel Smith ears 32 points per day as the Scavenger Commander. Everything is quantifiable, the prices on those lists are calculation of what those items are worth on factors far beyond what one would consider normal from before the apocalypse.” Melissa explained as simply as possible as she had already reduced the cost of the Evojuice for them to just 5 Crystals per dose, considering they only cost one to make.

“So this isn’t charity?” Sebastian asked.

“No, we don’t give anything to anyone out of the goodness of our hearts. A few people tried to freeload off of the kindness of those who work, they were kindly invited to remove their heads from their ass and contribute, or remove themselves from the Camp period.” Hanna told them. “Our motto is more than just words. Help us help you, or get the f**k out of our way. There is no middle ground where the world is concerned.”

All of them looked at each other, each of the Camp Councils knowing they needed to make that change themselves. It would drastically improve their Camps far quicker than anything else they could imagine.

“Is there somewhere that we could discuss a few things in private, even separate from the other Camps?” Damien asked knowing he wanted more details after discussing it with his own people.

“Certainly, we have a few conference rooms set up just for it. Noel, will you please show our guests to their conference rooms please. My Council will be here waiting for your return.” Hanna told them as they all got up and followed the 16 year old who had just joined the Administration as an assistant.