Surviving the Apocalypse

Camp Epsilon

Crystal led Hanna to the assembly grounds where the majority of the 7,000 residents of Camp Epsilon had gathered to hear why they had been summoned. Crystal stood at the podium where her father had last addressed these people before his death. The word that she had been selected by Lieutenant General Storm was no secret, as every one of them knew exactly who she was.

“Residents and soldiers of Camp Epsilon, today is the day that life in this Camp changes forever. Gone are the days where you can lay about complaining about what you don’t have, especially as that attitude will lead this Camp to destruction from within. No longer will those willing to work to improve this Camp carry the weight of those who are unwilling or unable to. From this day forward, each and every resident is expected to contribute to the betterment of this Camp.” Crystal told them as the murmurs began. “The only thing you are guaranteed here from this day forth, is protection from the zombies. If you don’t work, you will no longer receive shelter or food provided to you by the Camp and those who do contribute. For those who do, shelter, food and our new currency will be provided so you may buy the luxuries of life that we have access too. Assisting us in this new change is Colonel Hanna Storm of Camp Hope.” Crystal continued as the murmurs about who she was intensified.

“Yes, she is indeed the niece of General Storm, and expert in tactics and strategy from West Haven Military Academy.” Crystal told them naming the most prestigious military academy from the old world. “As such, there will be several new areas being arranged where we will focus our efforts. Each day every member of the Camp will be expected to contribute to whichever of these projects you wish, 12 hours worth of work earning you 3 meals, a bed and the safety of the Camp. They will be Scavenger Teams, Construction, Farming, Gardening and Security. Soldiers, you are expected to follow orders of the Commander placed in charge of your assigned section, assuming you do not volunteer for duty based on what you wish to do.

“All work will be tracked, along with your pay for that work. Should you not work and have no points available to cover your expenses for the day, that is your problem. This Camp will no longer feed or shelter anyone who doesn’t contribute to our success. The most you will be given is the security this Camp offers, and whatever you can scrounge for on your own.” Crystal said as the murmurs intensified. “Silence!” she yelled so loudly that every member of the gathering fell silent from the surprise of it.

“For months you have taken advantage of the fact that this Camp will not turn people away, that however is going to change as the new administration brings this Camp into a sustainable option for Survivors who want or need somewhere safe to call home. If you don’t want to contribute to the survival of humanity, there is the gate. Leave, for you will no longer be allowed to drag this Camp down because of your inability to work towards the common good of those who wish to survive at any cost.” She said scolding them bluntly as she pointed at the gate. None of them dared say a word about it, fearing that she would start making an example of people who opposed her. “Gone are the days where a position in the administration protects you from what is happening in this Camp, as the administrators will be expected to perform not just the work itself, but planning how the work will be done based on how many people you have available to you. Nor will powers alone be a factor, because our new allies in Camp Hope have come bearing the greatest of news. Even those without abilities can now work towards obtaining one, as we have learned how to harness the abilities from the zombies we kill, and can give them to people who will utilize them to make life in this Camp better.

“Look long and hard at what you want to do with your life from this point forward, as each and every resident will now also be expected to learn how to fight the zombies should the worst happen. Until every last one of them are dead, we will never be totally secure. If they manage to overwhelm our defenses, there will be no where safe any of us can flee to, so we must be willing and able to stand firm against the threat out there that wants nothing more than our death!” she said emphatically before a cheer ripped through the crowd as thousands of people decided this was exactly where they wanted to be. “We might be late to the game, but make no mistake, we will be playing not just to win. But for our right to exist! For the right to thrive the way we want and can in this hell that has been forced upon us!” she yelled proudly as they cheered again.

As Hanna stood there, her system recognized the new Alliance between Camp Hope and Camp Epsilon, her quest updating that it wanted 5,000 of their residents registered and contributing to the advancement of them all.

An hour later that effort was well underway, the Military commanders stepping up to be the first ones registered and assigned their duties based on their abilities or specific request to either guard the Camp of form the first actual Scavenger Squads that. Would actually go into the zombie infested city and retrieve the supplies they would need. Each person registered automatically being added to the AI system that Hanna shared with them to track duty assignments, hours worked each day and the number of points they would be given for their previous work performed.

One person Hanna hadn’t expected to see was one of her stepbrothers, the scar on his face making it apparent that they had been at the house when the fire bombs hit and incinerated the entire neighborhood in a matter of minutes. His glare at her apparent as he stepped over to her.

“You knew this was going to happen, didn’t you?!” he demanded angrily as she looked at him.

“That the greed you and your family showed after my father died would one day bite you in the ass? Damn straight I did. If you think knowing me is somehow going to help you, not a chance. Best advice you are going to get from me, make yourself useful here. You will never be welcome or accepted into my Camp.” She told Brandon bluntly remembering their betrayal in her past life that forced her first reset in the first place. She didn’t care that this timeline was different because of her changes, she would never forgive their cowardice that caused her death.

Brandon glared at her as he placed his hand on the scanner, the system taking a blood sample as well as his palm scan to register him in it, listing his skills as a business administrator with experience in construction. “What if I want to join one of the Scavenger Squads?” he demanded arrogantly making her smile knowing about his fire ability.

“If that is how you wish to support the Camp, that is your choice and will be your first assignment. If you choose to change later, you will be permitted to do so.” She said evenly. “Where is Derrick and Coraline? Might as well register your entire family at once.”

“Derrick is in our tent unable to move yet because of the fire that destroyed the house. The b***h that was my worthless mother burned inside of it, so for the moment I am the only one capable of providing for him.” Brandon said before surprise that she threw a small box at him. Despite the surprise he caught it, slowly opening it.

“Apply the cream to the burns twice a day and make sure he takes those pills as well. Same time you apply the cream for three days. In fact, you can take him to the infirmary and give the medication to the nurses there. After that, whatever he regains is up to him and how stubborn he truly is. Don’t ever ask me for another thing. Next.” She called making a temporary entrance for Derrick that would give him a week to become useful again as her gift to them.

By the time the sun went down on Camp Epsilon, 5,200 residents had been added as residents of the Camp, each of them either assigned a position or specifically requesting one from the list they had available. 7 of the most experienced among them had been selected automatically as the initial leaders under the new command structure, all of it based off of Hanna’s Camp that was now the leading Camp among their Alliance, despite only having half the members. Their first task was the Construction workers, Crystal and Hanna working overtime to extract the powers from the Crystals Camp Epsilon had obtained. There were 21 Earth abilities in the supply, as well as the 10 people who were in the Camp that already possessed them.

36 people had requested the Earth ability when Hanna looked at Crystal with a smile. “For 10 Crystals each, I have the 15 other Earth Abilities your people will need in order to get a head start on your construction projects. For these 36 however, it will take 15 days before they are able to make the Earthmetal that will make it possible for the projects to work as designed. The other 10 will vary depending on how much they practice and how much Evojuice they have already received.”

Crystal nodded looking at her. “Done, that means we owe you what, 750 now?” Crystal asked looking at the small mountain of Crystals that they had in bags that would total several thousand.

“Yeah, but I assume you are going to want more food and perhaps equipment for your new scavengers as well.” Hanna said making Crystal laugh as she nodded.

“That armor your people wear would probably be a major asset to have for them. Besides, something is telling me that we should probably discuss mutual cooperation between our Camps before I decide on how to spend the excess Crystals we have. As for food, this bag has 1,000 crystals inside. That would mean a surplus payment of 250 crystals that you can decide how you wish to repay according to the food prices. A variety of meat and vegetables would be appreciated, as the Chef tells me it is going to take 500 pounds of vegetables, 300 pounds of grain and 50 pounds of meat each day to feed those who registered today. What do we do with those who refuse to believe we will leave them to survive on their own?” Crystal asked as Hanna smiled.

“As you said, only those who work or have points to spend will be given appropriate shelter and food. Your shanty town will become their new shelter, letting them survive however they can with what they have. We can even make it a separate walled off area so that those who do work have the increased safety from them, as well as proper shelter and food. That way the ones who don’t also cannot beg those that do work for their hard earned sustenance and supplies.” Hanna said noticing that the shanty structures occupied nearly 75 acres of land in a stretch that was already fenced off from the functional part of the Camp. “In fact, I have a task that will be well suited for the new Earth Ability users, and those that aren’t yet level 3.”

Crystal watched as she grabbed 2 boxes of the Evojuice before she led them to the fence on the border. “What are we doing?” she asked.

“First lesson in using your abilities for construction. This fence will act as the basic support for the new wall you will construct. Using your ability, I want you to focus on first covering the fence in Earth, and than hardening it into a solid structure that uses the fence as the core.” She said as the first one nodded and managed to turn a 10 foot section into an Earth wall that was a foot thick and the full 10 feet high. The razorwire stuck out of the top of it before Hanna handed him the first dose of Evojuice. She waited as the man drank it and recovered from the energy rush before she nodded. “Again.” She told him as he focused and turned another 20 foot section into a wall resembling the first one.

The woman behind him stepped up as he drank the second dose, her first attempt only managing a five foot section before she gasped in exhaustion before Hanna handed her a dose. The man trembled for a moment as his second dose caused his ability to level to 2, the exercise making them expand all of their energy as quickly as possible. With his new level he found it was much easier to make the fence like this, a now 50 foot section being formed in the exact same fashion before they got to the fence that connected this section to the main base.

When Hanna stepped up she placed her hand on the man’s shoulder and nodded. “You have done your part for the day. Watch this lesson and than relax.” She said making him nod in appreciation as he was utterly drained although not exhausted. “For the gates you will need at least a level 4 earth ability, which will allow you to draw only the metal parts of the earth from it. Unlike making Earthmetal which is essentially an earthen core with the minerals solidified into a cohesive metal alloy encasing it, this allows you to focus on just one type of the metal minerals in it to make pure metal. You will know the difference with practice when you get to level 3, even if you cannot do it yourself at that point.” She said as she raised her own hand and the weak chain link fence suddenly morphed into a full blown iron monstrosity that she had to enforce the hinges of to hold the weight of the new material as she anchored the other side into a new pillar she created using the pole as the guide that held it.