Surviving the Apocalypse

Clearing the warehouse

Hanna arrived with her entire team of people, 4 squads of 5 totaling 20 people fairly secure within the walls they had constructed around the research labs where they had retrieved the data with Camp Epsilon. They were the first ones there, all 4 of their SUVs hidden from plain view as they stood waiting for the others. The same 20 people that had come from Camp Epsilon the first time returned, this time their weaponry clearly reflecting the lesson they had learned the last time they had nearly died here.

Crystal walked right up to Hanna and shook her hand as the other 2 teams of 20 people each arrived in vehicles as well, all of the men and women already there watching as they arrived and exited the vehicle. There was only one more Camp set to arrive, their path following some of the same roads that Hanna and her team had used to get there. She was surprised they had made it through the gates at all as the man who was the apparent leader of that Camp approached.

"How exactly are women supposed to be able to help us in this mission?" he demanded looking at Hanna and Crystal specifically.

"I could ask the same about you? A dumb brute with a level 2 strength ability is of so little use that I don't see how you can contribute much. Especially since you aren't even properly equipped to deal with one zombie let alone an entire swarm of them." Hanna replied having brought extra weapons this time as he looked at her a little shocked she would say that.

His shock turned to a smile as he walked up to her and extended his hand, intending to show her just how strong he was. He hadn't expected her to take his hand and nearly crush it with brute force without even showing strain as he tried to figure out what was going on. "What the hell?" he asked as Crystal laughed at his predicament before Hanna squeezed just a little more before he dropped to a knee from the pain.

"Pathetic, to think you thought you could just bully your way over everyone to assert your dominance. Perhaps you should learn that not everything in this world is about brute strength, nor are you even the strongest if it were. For those of you who don't know me, I am Hanna Storm, leader of Camp Hope. This is Captain Lucas, commander of our Scavenger Squads." she said starting the process of the leaders of the Camps stepping forward, or in the case of Crystal the second in command.

"We all know why we are here, as supplies are extremely difficult to locate. When we parked the data we retrieved from here, we discovered a stocked warehouse full of emergency provisions that could be distributed in times of need. According to the manifest we found, there is over 10,000 tons of supplies. Each of the 5 Camps represented here have sent the same number of people to clear the zombies and recover the supplies. It will be an equal split between all 5 of our Camps, giving each of us 2,000 tons." Crystal told them.

"Any idea how many zombies we will be facing?" Zachary Thompson asked as he kept shaking the hand Hanna had crushed.

"Between 3 and 7 thousand." Hanna told them as her drones had clearly showed them the numbers. "Depends on route we take and how many have moved since our drones surveyed the area 2 days ago." The other 4 Camp leaders looked nervous as Hanna looked the squads over. She however had come more than prepared as she pulled 2 racks of Evojuice from her storage space and set them on the table that Crystal had erected. "Before you all freak out, Camp Hope has come prepared to even the odds just a bit. Anyone with an ability, come get a dose of Evojuice. It will boost your ability power and potentially increase your level as well."

Crystal and her team quickly took one each, drinking the fluid easily as they felt the rush of power from full doses that hadn't been slightly watered down. Crystal reached level 3, as the serum from Camp Epsilon had increased to 85 percent purity since their last encounter. "How sure are you of that number? We were only expecting a few hundred."

"3,000 is a suicidal number to begin with, you are trying to tell us there could be more than that?" William Donahue of another Camp asked her.

"Actually, it isn't suicidal as that number is the total we might encounter. Now Crystal, is this the building we need to get to and secure?" Hanna asked pulling out a map of the zone and pointing to the building in the center of it.

"It is, we will need to clear 2 blocks to get to it from the edge of the perimeter before we can secure the warehouse." Crystal said evenly.

Zachary looked at the map, seeing that there were several buildings on each of the blocks, some of them clearly apartments while others were actual factories. "Could we just secure a path through this road, erect a barrier like the ones surrounding this place and restrict the number of zombies we encounter?" he asked.

Lucas snorted as their people were focusing on other tasks while Scavenger team 1 performed this mission. "No, those people are involved with other important tasks right now."

Hanna looked at them all knowing why they would think that. "Even if we summoned a team to build those walls, we would still have to clear the zombies before they could do their work. Plus because of the size of these blocks, it would take at least 3 days for us to secure the immediate area around the warehouse from zombie attacks. Our best bet is to use stealth to bypass as many of the zombies as possible, killing only those we need to in order to achieve our objective. Speaking of which," she said looking right at Zachary. "I hope you have weapons other than those guns, all those will do is draw even more zombies in that we will have to kill."

Zachary snorted as he looked at her. "These guns have served us well so far, what is it you suggest we use?" he demanded arrogantly as Crystal shook her head before dozens of swords and knives appeared in crates from her storage space.

"Stealth, killing the zombies we must and leaving the majority of them alone. There is no way we can deal with that number of zombies using firearms that will attract everything within a mile radius." Hanna replied evenly.

Zachary picked one of the swords up as his eyes went wide, surprised that she had brought so many of them. "You expect us to kill zombies with these?" he asked incredulous.

Crystal drew her own sword from its scabbard and set it on the table. "Yes, we do. Some of us learned the hard way already that guns are not a weapon of choice when confronted with so many zombies. If that is an issue for any of you, feel free to leave now. You may bring your firearms in the event we become overrun, but using them will mean we have failed and will be retreating quickly as soon as the first shot is fired." she told him bluntly as the others who had nothing came up and collected their own sword.

Zachary looked at the two women and their squads, all of them bristling with weapons that made almost no sound when used. Some of them even carried bows and crossbows, making the point even more dramatic as he shook his head. "We will do this your way for now, but how are we going to get where we need to go relying just on these?" he asked doubtful.

Lucas stepped up to him with a smile. "You have abilities, use them. With your strength cutting the heads off of zombies should be an easy task. Just so you all are aware, our Camp has killed hundreds of zombies and cleared multiple city blocks without ever firing a shot. As well as constructed miles of these fences to protect the areas we have cleared."

William cleared his throat as he looked at them before looking at the vial in his hand. "What exactly is this?" he asked holding it up.

"Evojuice that is 99.8 percent pure, harvested from the Zombie Heart Crystals and purified to enhance our abilities." Hanna told him as his eyes went wide.

"They are perfectly safe, in fact when this is over Ms. Hanna, Camp Epsilon has 5,000 crystals we wish to trade for your doses. We would be willing to pay an additional 10,000 to learn the secret of achieving the purity levels you do." Crystal told her making Hanna nod.

"500 doses is easily done, after we return from this raid. It will however take a few days for us to process that many additional doses for you. Assuming we are successful here, any of the Camps present will be allowed to purchase these for 10 Crystals each." Hanna replied holding one up for the others to see before she popped the lid and swallowed it in one big gulp. The familiar rush of power filled her as she looked at them and they all repeated the process.

William and Zachary both had the same expression when they felt the surge of power fusing their bodies with strength that they didn't know was possible. Without another word both nodded that they were ready as Hanna led the way to the wall. Before their very eyes a 10 foot section of earthmetal fused into a solid metal gate that they would be able to open easily.

As soon as they did, a dozen zombies ran through the opening, her people cutting them down without hesitation as they took the lead to their objective.

2 hours later they were at the gates of the warehouse, wondering how they were going to get inside when Hanna raised her hand and crushed it into a fist. The gate crushing itself with a shriek of metal that wasn't as loud as they had feared, only a few zombies milling about inside the compound reacting to it. William swiftly cut the head of one charging him in half, the top of its skull clattering to the ground as he stood there surprised at how easy it had seemed. He knew they had killed nearly 300 zombies to get to this point, glad there were only a few dozen within the warehouse itself as the teams spread out as Hanna erected a new gate without the lock to keep the area secure while they did their work.

When they entered however Hanna saw the large zombie standing in the center of the warehouse, its hands burning away as the rest of the teams swallowed nervously. "The big guy is mine, everyone else clear the rest of them." she whispered as Zachary looked at her.

"He looks to be at least a level 2 fire ability, perhaps you should-" he went to say before she looked at him with a mischievous smile.

"Your concern is not needed. He may be a level 2, but he is nothing compared to me. Follow orders and kill the others." she said before she used her speed ability to rush the level 2 fire zombie as the rest of the teams watched.

Just as they feared a large tunnel of flames reached out at her like a flamethrower, the flames parting easily a few feet in front of her as she rushed the zombie. It was as surprised by it as they were when a bolt of lightning launched from her blade, striking it in the center of the chest where the heart would be. The c***k of the bold filled the building, the sound alerting every zombie inside that something wasn't right before a wall of flames erupted in the center, blocking the access of the zombies trying to rush her.

The other teams found themselves swarmed by the rest of the zombies, all of them battling for their lives as multitudes of powers were now being used to stem the flow of zombies as they killed them. Even after the battle outside the ring of flames concluded, Hanna was still using every bit of skill and ability she had to kill the zombie, that apparently had three abilities instead of just one.

It however was nothing compared to Hanna, just as she had said it wasn't. When she picked up the axle of a vehicle and used it as a spear, they all gasped in shock when it went straight through the zombies chest, the lone wheel on it pinning the zombie to a concrete pillar that supported the weight of the roof. They all watched in shock as she calmly walked over to it, using her sword to cut its arms off as it tried to strike her again before she cut the brain in half with a single stroke of her sword. It held for a brief moment before her strength overpowered its hardening ability, the weapon coming out covered in bloody grime that she wiped on its own clothing remnants before she jabbed a needle into its eye and collected the fluid.

"Bring the trucks." she said into her radio, as she had made a small corridor of her own fencing that wasn't nearly as robust as their security fencing. "Let's start an inventory and begin splitting this food, we really shouldn't remain here any longer than necessary." she said as everyone began doing exactly what she had said.