Surviving the Apocalypse

New tasks

For two weeks Camp Hope followed their routine every day, no rest even on the weekends other than the one day the Scavengers took off to focus on their own training as they were definitely not getting as much as they were used too. They had expanded their clear zone to a square mile in every direction around the Camp, eliminating every single zombie who had been in the area. It was their day off of going outside the walls, despite the fact that nearly every day they found small pockets of survivors that were still hanging on despite the dangers. The Camp now had 750 people inside of it, all of them working inside the Camp on various things.

"Hanna, would it be possible to discuss a new position with you?" Jeremiah Whitehead asked her as she was relaxing after the morning training with the team of Scavengers. 2 more squads were ready to deploy now, all of them getting used to the new powers they could use as they went about their training.

"Of course Jeremiah, what is it?" she asked as he beamed.

"Well, some of us with Earth abilities have managed to reach level three, and the ability to manipulate metal has been achieved as well. In fact we have been focusing our efforts on being able to support the Camp, and we have found we can create walls that would be able to protect the areas we secure against invasion of more zombies." he told her as she leaned forward and looked at him a little surprised.

"That would be an amazing advantage, how many of you would be willing to form a special team to do that very thing around the currently secure area and extend it as needed?" she asked him.

He smiled as he looked at her. "There are 8 of us currently capable of making the Earthmetal walls, each of us willing to go out and secure our safe zone." he answered automatically.

Hanna nodded as she considered it, knowing it could be good training for the other two Scavenger Teams that weren't yet ready to clear the actual swarms they encountered as they pushed deeper into the city. "We will assign two squads for your protection, how many feet of walls can you construct?" she asked him.

"Each of us alone can construct roughly 300 feet of wall that is 10 foot high and 2 foot thick per day. What's more is we can also easily demolish it when it is no longer necessary for continued expansion." he informed her pleased with himself.

"Excellent, starting tomorrow I want all 8 of you to report to the Quartermaster for armor and weapons that you can use to protect yourself. You will be given pay increases to match the guards, as your risk level will be lower than what a true Scavenger faces. Be ready to begin tomorrow, we will have your assignment laid out by then." she said as she stood and sent a message to the Camp Council to meet her in the conference room in half an hour.

"Thank you Hanna, we will be ready." Jeremiah said before he left to go tell the others.

Half an hour later the rest of the Camp leaders entered the Conference Room, Doctor Harrington joining them for the first time as the head of research. They all saw the holographic map displayed above the table, their Camp colored in green with unsecured land in blue. Everything else was grayed out as they had yet to even see it let alone begin claiming it.

"Earlier I was informed a team of Earth Ability personnel have been practicing use of their ability in a way we had not considered yet. 8 of them have reached level 3 and learned they can manipulate earth and metal to make what they are calling an Earthmetal wall. They have requested to be allowed to go into the unsecured territory, and construct a 10 foot tall and 2 foot thick wall so we can properly secure the areas we clear of zombies." she said as all of them were surprised.

"That sounds like an excellent idea, but I hesitate to let them out of the secure area without a security escort." Lucas said as the Scavenger Captain who had been given a seat at their table.

Hanna nodded agreeing with him easily. "That is why I believe we should use Squads 5 and 6 to provide security while they construct the wall. Apparently each one of them can construct 300 feet of wall per day, which would mean they could secure our current perimeter in about a week. Soon we will be coming into the city core, where zombies are most likely to return to areas we have previously cleared. If we can secure these zones with walls that would prevent most zombies from re-entering after they are secured, it will make the Scavengers jobs much easier." she explained her current plan to them.

Each member looked at the map, the calculations already being displayed about how long it would take. "What kind of compensation would they receive? While the risk is greater than remaining inside the compound, it isn't as great as what the Scavengers take every day they venture forth to clear the zombies." Peter said pragmatically.

"Agreed, I suggest the same pay scale as guards, collection and transport teams. It will still be a risk, especially as they won't have the main force to protect them for the first week, and they would be assisting at the same time the collection and transport teams gather supplies and load the trucks." Hanna said.

"Miss Hanna, looking at your map here has brought a suggestion to mind that could benefit us greatly. Mason Nevaroux was assigned to me just days before the outbreak began, so most of his materials research is still at his former research lab located here." he said pointing at a building about 6 blocks from the edge of their current cleared zone. It was a massive complex that would be extremely difficult to clear all at once, even using their newly suppressed firearms. "If possible, it would improve our combat effectiveness significantly if we could secure not only his research, but his equipment and materials as well."

They all looked at it, all of them nervous that it led directly into the path of dense zombie numbers as a hospital was less than a block away from that research lab. One that had been used as a temporary morgue before the bodies could be burned.

"That is a dangerous direction to go, especially with only 2 squads." James said as they all knew the reports from the Scavengers.

"Actually Squads 3 and 4 are ready to deploy with squads 1 and 2. In fact we could combine them into the first Scavenger team that we model all the rest off of as we get more people trained and ready." Lucas said as a matter of fact.

For over an hour they debated the idea before they came to the conclusion that it would be a worthwhile risk, but none of them had any idea how they would implement it. Hanna had remained silent before she looked at Nicholas.

"Do we have any air drones we could use to scout the area between our current cleared area and the research lab?" she asked him.

"We would have to have the Scavenger team deploy them when they arrive on site, our current battery capacity doesn't allow for a direct flight that would cover that range." he answered as Doctor Harrington smiled.

"If we can get the full server database from those labs, there are several projects that would be able to extend the range of our current drones. As I recall there are several prototypes in this building here, along with the materials Doctor Hansen would need for his own research." he said knowing that it would only increase the value of going there.

"Doctor, I agree it is a high priority mission, however you must realize that it will not be a task that is completed overnight. We would have 6 blocks to clear in order to secure a path to the lab itself, and than clearing it will likely be slow laborious work. We are likely looking at a month before we could reach it." she told him as the rest of the Council nodded.

"Time for this is not an issue ma'am, so long as we are able to retrieve the files and materials." Doctor Harrington replied evenly.

They all looked at the map as she zoomed in on it, the perfect solution presenting itself as each block in the city center had an alley between the rows of building where they would be able to erect the fence that would protect them from zombies entering the area once it was cleared.

"If we could use these alleys for the first security wall, it would allow us to travel freely in a secured zone, only needing to travel to the end of it before we lower the barrier wall before extending it once the next block is cleared. A month would be a good timeline." Lucas agreed.

"All in favor of the current plan?" Hanna asked as each of them approved it. Some of the buildings involved had supplies they needed as one of the blocks had a construction supply store on it that sold lumber and many other things they would be able to utilize. "Very well, James, how long until the basic buildings we agreed upon constructing will be finished?" she asked as it had been two weeks since the Apocalypse began.

"3 weeks with our current teams. The bunker interior should be completed inside of 3 months, where it will be able to support 3,000 people and cover levels 1-4. Level 5 will take 2 months in itself, but will expand capacity to 7,000." James said as the map shifted to display a closeup of the Camp itself.

"Peter, how long until level 6 is excavated and secured?" she asked quickly.

"The boring machine is about 70 percent of the way through the initial cave in, but we don't know if there has been any more beyond that as of yet. At current pace we will secure a new access tunnel to level 6 in 10 days. We have already prepared to encounter the corpses of our families as zombies and will end their suffering as quickly as possible." Peter answered with a long face.

Hanna nodded knowing it would be a huge risk. "Ensure you have at least 20 guards with firearms when you breach the area completely. We don't want to take any unnecessary risks getting into that level. Does any of the material removed so far have any ore in it?" she asked him.

"Yes ma'am, we have been moving it to processing, but have yet to actually process it. I estimate we have roughly 30 tons of refined metals once the ore is processed. Iron, silver, gold, paladium and tungsten are the most common, in that order. There is also titanium, tin and copper but they aren't likely to be more than a few pounds of each at this stage." he informed her.

Hanna nodded as she reviewed his projected numbers, not at all surprised by them as she still had the original reports from when she purchased it. "Do you still have the vein maps, or will we need to get new scans using the equipment we have?"

Peter smiled as he looked at her. "We still have the previous surveys and know where 4 good veins are. In fact once we have access, there should be several hundred tons of ore to process at the end of level 6. Once it is collected we will begin blasting down to create a 7th level that will be about 80 feet below level 6." he said as she shook her head.

"It may slow our collection rate down, but I don't want to use explosives to blast any more holes if it will weaken the integrity of the rest of the bunker. Safety is our biggest concern, and large blasting like that could impact the rest of the facility, correct?" she asked as he nodded.

"Yes ma'am, it could. We could however limit the amount of explosives used at once, the cave in was caused because of negligence and a blast that was twice the recommended amount. It was part of what led to the shutdown as every safety inspector advised against it."

"If we can contain the blasting area by decreasing the amount used, so long as it is reasonably safe they may be utilized. I want it known however that anything more than 10 sticks of dynamite at a time will require authorization and approval as well as full risk assessments and inspections afterward. At the first sign of impact to the rest of the bunker, they will be discontinued." she told him as he nodded.

"That is half of what we generally recommend, but with careful planning it should be just as effective." Peter said drawing their meeting to a close.