Surviving the Apocalypse

Revelations

Hanna hadn't said a word to anyone on the return to Camp Hope, her mind wandering about how in the hell her father had managed to get an ability months before the outbreak had occurred. Especially one as rare as a temporal reset ability. It hadn't even been whispered about the last time around, something she knew whoever possessed it would have bragged about. As soon as they returned, she went straight to her office without uttering a single word to everyone before she closed and locked the door.

Her computer was only in sleep mode, the AI monitoring everything as they had set up cameras and automated weapons on critical portions where the security walls still remained in case the zombies somehow managed to break through the perimeter defenses they were building. She woke it up and plugged the flashdrive in, the security prompt for the password making her smile as she remembered her father and how she would taunt him. The hint was Junebug, which she knew would make people not supposed to see it think the password was directly related to her. She typed in the nickname she had given her father, Crabbypants, which opened a file index showing that the entire 10 Terabyte drive was filled with data.

The video file pinned to the top was labeled start here, so she double clicked it to see her father's face fill the screen. She turned the speakers on just enough to hear what he would say, and pushed play.

'Hey Junebug, I am sorry it has to be this way. But if anyone suspects you know anything before the outbreak, my sacrifice will be for nothing. If you are seeing this, it means you actually survived, even though your uncle will never be able to rescue you from what you must do. I have seen it more times than I care to count, always trying to stop what has been set in motion. I however cannot complete the task, but can ensure you will be able to when the time is right.

'So first things first, the abilities you have seen actually aren't caused by the zombie virus itself. The strain of Covid it merged with has a genetic change that forces the mutation on certain people, which mutates their bodies to be able to do what they do. My first exposure gave me an extremely rare ability that resets me every time I am killed. The only way for me to actually die is to do it myself, with no thought of sacrificing me to save others. So by the time you see this, I will have been gone for months. I am sorry you will have to endure the loss, but it is the only way to ensure that humanity has a chance of survival.

'This flashdrive, is just the first key you will need to fully unlock what it is you need to know, as well as a guide to the rest of what I have spent years establishing. When the time is right and you have learned everything you need to stop this tragedy, use it. General Paxton cannot be allowed to do what he plans, his thinking clouded by the fact he underestimates what will happen. None of this is an accident, it was planned and executed by a group calling themselves Second Dawn. I have no idea how deep it actually goes, or who all is involved. Anyone who knows this information, is at great risk. Even after the collapse of the world as we know it they will have power. Their resources and manpower far greater than anything I could have prepared myself for. I can only hope that you have begun the work needed to give us a chance, if not your next time around you need to.' Marcus Storm said as he sighed looking at the camera again.

'I wish I could tell you everything in just this message, but it would be like keeping all of your eggs in one basket. All I can tell you is there are few people you can trust with what you learn, so keep your cards close to your chest, no matter who it is. Even Uncle Roman cannot know everything, as he is far too close to Paxton to keep this under his hat. I don't believe he is aware of just how corrupt the man is, or who he works with to ensure they would survive what will befall the rest of humanity. Good luck Junebug, we all need it.' he said before the screen went blank.

'Do you wish to download contents into personal system storage?' her system asked surprising her as she clicked yes. As soon as she did, the information flooded her mind, storing itself deep in the recesses of her brain. Despite the method, she knew every piece of information that he had kept in the drive, most of it relating to the virus' that had both made the zombies, and the one that caused the abilities.

She was amazed now as she looked at the slide comparing the originals to the combined virus, able to see how exactly they joined to make it the most dangerous virus ever to exist. Not only that, but she had clues as to where she would be able to find more of the clues he had left, scattered through the research labs he had overseen as the Government Supervisor for all of the classified research that 12 different companies conducted under their contracts. Each one independent of the others and completely unaware they had been used by General Kenneth Paxton. The file on him showed that he had the ability to sense when her father reset time, as well as his suspicion that he wouldn't be able to detect hers once he transferred the ability he had to her. It surprised her it was possible to do, making her smile as she realized even losing someone wouldn't mean losing their ability.

Hanna walked out of her office, using the comms system they had established to alert the Camp Council she needed them to assemble in the conference room as she pulled up the map and located the other 11 research labs in the city where the data was stored. Just as she finished they all walked in, Doctor Harrington looking at the map before his eyes went wide.

"What exactly are you planning?" he asked, his focus entirely on the map.

"Have a seat doctor, we will be discussing it shortly. As you are all aware, earlier today I met with a Lieutenant General that is actually the commander of Camp Epsilon. What you are not yet aware of is that he actually commands six different bases and that he is my Uncle." she said as there was a gasp around the table.

"Will we now fall under his jurisdiction?" Peter asked nervously.

"No." Hanna answered immediately. "What I am about to tell you, doesn't leave this room. Ever." she said before she went on to describe some of what her father's message had revealed. They all knew of part of her ability, but didn't know the full extent of it just as she hadn't before.

When she finished Peter was the first to respond. "So you are saying we might be able to prevent this outbreak from ever happening because of an ability your father passed down to you?" he asked suspiciously.

Hanna looked at him seriously. "If we manage to fit the pieces together and can force me to reset far enough before the apocalypse trigger, yes. I might be able to stop it. Once it happens though, none of you will remember anything that has happened in this loop." she told them all.

"What exactly is it we need to accomplish?" Harrington asked.

Hanna smiled as she looked at him. "You doctor, need to develop a vaccine that I can take with me so it can be deployed and administered on a large scale before the outbreak occurs. The rest of us will focus on the other objectives, first up. Securing the rest of what we need to know before we even attempt to reset the timeline. It is only suspected Paxton can't sense when I reset the timeline, but it isn't something that is known enough to rely on it."

"It will take years to clear enough of the zombies between us and these sites. Should we not develop better tactics for dealing with them in order to expedite this task?" Lucas asked as Captain of the Scavengers who would do most of the work.

"Either way it will take years and possibly decades for me to develop a vaccine for this. I say we take the time to do it right, losing as few people as possible." Doctor Harrington told them.

"We must act like we know none of what my father revealed, and we must not allow this information out. If it does, it will make our jobs much harder than what it needs to be. So the fact it will take years isn't something we need to be concerned with, as it will be years any way we look at it. Our main focus must remain survival, the goal to prevent this catastrophe from ever happening only solidified by how long we can manage to survive." Hanna told them.

"What is it going to take to prevent this? If a General is being moved like a pawn, how high does this Second Dawn's power go?" Pamela asked making them all think on it.

"It doesn't matter for now. I may not be a scientific genius, but you would need a lot more time than just a few weeks. How long until you can reset to months or even better years before it happens?" James asked.

"Only time will tell, that is why this mission will never be a priority. For now, we focus on survival while moving through the shadows towards our real goals, gathering the knowledge and tools we need to ensure that not only we survive, but that we prevent this horror from ever happening in the first place." Hanna answered as she stood. "So our plans must always have reasons outside of the fact that we are advancing those objectives."