Surviving the Apocalypse

Research

It was well after lunch when Hanna and the rest of the Camp leadership gathered in the newly constructed conference room on the first floor of the mine that was quickly becoming their secure bunker. Half the construction teams were inside while the other half worked on buildings and houses outside of the bunker. James had done an excellent job of laying out the Camp that most people would spend the majority of their time in. Even though they would have units in the bunker as well, they weren't meant for long term use when they weren't under siege. Doctor Harrington had joined them, as his needs for a research station were paramount for what Hanna wanted him to do.

"Doctor Harrington, I think we need to discuss what exactly it is you know and have been researching." Hanna told him as he nodded and cleared his throat.

"6 years ago we first found the virus that reanimates dead tissue. It however was nothing like the version we are fighting now, as it took far longer to kill the infected, but far longer to fully reanimate them as well. It would take weeks to months to kill them, and then it would be nearly a month before they would rise as zombies. Most of the world had already dealt with the corpse of the infected before that, most of them cremating the remains as it is popular in that portion of the world. Our research was an effort to cure the disease, funded by 15 Nations as well as the World Health Organization.

"Because of the lethality, it was decided samples would be kept in a secure lab in China. 3 weeks ago, there was an explosion in that lab that released dozens of deadly viruses that could have caused an outbreak. Unfortunately we aren't anywhere close to a cure or even a vaccine. As it has now merged with another virus that could be considered a mutation of sorts, it is far deadlier than it was ever intended to be. As we all know now, it takes minutes to kill and minutes to raise the zombies. It is even capable of reanimating corpses that are not killed by the virus itself." he told them as they were all stunned as that lab explosion had been headline knees across the globe.

"What do you need in order to keep your research contained?" she asked him as they had kept the 4 zombie heads they had captured alive. They were currently in secured containment waiting for his guidelines on what needed to be built.

"The most important part is a negative pressure environment that has thermal safety guides in the air vent to sterilize and kill the virus before it can be released into the environment. The exact specifications are in the files on the server that was recovered." he answered her honestly.

Hanna nodded before she looked at him. "Does it matter where we set that up, or will it be required to be in your new laboratory building?" she asked him.

"No, it can be setup anywhere so long as we can access the files inside the lab." he replied shaking his head.

"Nicholas, how long to get it setup and accessible?" she asked as she had already unloaded it into the room with the rest of their servers.

"This one is a standalone system that needs its own infrastructure, we might be able to connect it to the primary server over time, but that would take some doing. For main access to it alone, I could have it done before dinner. Tying it into our current server will take several weeks." Nicholas answered.

Hanna nodded quickly. "Set it up for immediate access and do what you need to connect it to the mainframe. Doctor Harrington, as soon as you have the lab specifications ready, provide them to James to determine the best place to setup you lab. James, I expect a full workup within 3 days of you receiving them, work with Peter as I would prefer it be located somewhere inside the bunker if at all possible. We need that research to continue even if we are forced to take that action." she ordered as each of the men nodded as she saw that she still hadn't accepted all of the rewards from both quests. "Does anyone else have any issues we need to address?" she asked as Pamela nodded.

"We need to consider the education of the children we have here. What subjects, things like that." she said as they began discussing the topics.

By the time dinner was served in the dining hall outside, they had decided on a lot of the subjects the children would be taught, including science, math, technology as well as combat skills that they would need when they became adults and expected to assist in the fight against the zombies. None of them had wanted to force the children to shoulder the burden of what they would face from a young age, but they all knew it was what was necessary to ensure they would be able to thrive in the world they now lived.

True to his word Nicholas had left as soon as he had a chance, working quickly to get the new server online and accessible from multiple stations. He had assured her that the encryption was part of what was preventing general access, but he assured her that his team would make it a priority as they expanded the other servers to be able to c***k the encryption as quickly as possible. Especially since he had managed to clone it and could use the clone in order to bypass the security measures they had found already.

As they all sat for dinner, Doctor Harrington was amazed at how many people were actually in the Camp now that most of them had gathered together for the meal. It wasn't anything like he had expected as over 500 people now called it home. Peter and James had found the perfect location for the lab, as one of the chambers on the third floor had a ventilation shaft that seemed to suck all the air up through it. As soon as they were able to put a breathable barrier between the lab and the rest of the bunker, it would be the perfect negative environment they needed for the research of the zombie virus. The top of it came out on top of the cliff, and installing an incinerator on the top of it would be a simple matter to ensure that no living thing would be able to escape it. She was amazed that it was twice the size he had requested when she learned that despite the 7 other scientists assisting him, they each had their own projects that ranged from weaponry to armor and everything in between as one of them even had extensive experience with unmanned automated systems.

Despite everyone liking the current setup, they had also finalized an economy within the Camp that was based off of a point system. It was similar to what her own system used for her store access, that she hadn't even fully explored as they decided on what each position would earn and what everything would cost the people who wished to purchase the items. The Scavengers would earn the most as they took the most risks, the guards second and each position below them would earn less. The lowest was the children as students who earned 5 points per day, their reward based on their grades as there would no longer be useless subjects like social studies and history was optional for those who wanted to learn of the world before it had fallen. Combat, physical fitness, strategy and tactics would be mandatory after age 12, including math, science and reading. It was designed to ensure they didn't lose their edge and would continue progressing.

After dinner was the first night that they began teaching everyone how to use handheld weapons including swords, maces, bows and other weapons that didn't make enough sound to attract zombies from more than a few dozen places away. Hanna smiled that even the kids wanted in on this action, as sparring against one another with wooden weapons was part of the training to improve their skills and abilities. By the time the sun went down, Hanna was satisfied that the day had been a total success, even if they hadn't gone back out after lunch to clear more of the city that they needed to secure.

The next morning started the same way it always did, this time every child over 12 joined in as Lucas beat her to stepping to the front.

"Today training will be a little different, as we have spent the last few days evaluating everyone's ability level. As such, we soldiers have decided to split the training into different levels, each of us taking a class. Please do not take your current assigned class as a reflection of your overall ability or worth to the Camp. This is nothing more than ensuring each person and group has the best opportunity to grow and learn. Students will be going with Hammond in the beginner class. If your name is called now, please join this group." Lucas said as Gregory Hammond began calling out names.

One by one they each called out the names assigned to their group, each one calling out fewer people as Hanna approved of each grouping of people and their abilities so far. Lucas' group had the least number in it, most of them the people who had volunteered as scavengers and had shown the most promise in combat.

This morning they were half an hour late to stop training, the grouping they had done taking that long to get everyone situated. As soon as she sat down for breakfast, Lucas joined her with a sheepish grin.

"Apologies if I over stepped this morning." he said making her laugh.

"You didn't though and it was an excellent idea. In fact, I am glad you did it. I wasn't sure how to do it without offending those that believe they should be higher positioned that what they actually are." she told him before taking a big bite of her eggs as he smiled.

"As I said, it isn't a reflection of their worth or their ability. It is just where they need to be for the type of training we are doing. As they progress in ability, they will move up in training class until they are in the top class with you and I. In fact if you would agree to teach a class when the time comes, we could make an elite class that trains as hard as you do." he said as she smiled.

"Well than, that gives me an idea as well. But it would be a class held in the evening after dinner and weapons training." she said with a smile. "To begin, all scavengers will take part so that we can get them trained even faster." she said as he groaned loudly making her laugh.

"Should have kept my big mouth shut." he said as they kept eating with everyone else in the Camp before they began their duties for the day.

Before they left that morning, Hanna took a few minutes to claim the rest of the rewards from her completed missions. The one that surprised her was the reward from securing the researchers and equipment from their lab, giving the Camp the ability to share abilities between squads and teams as well as the different positions that made the Camp function. As Camp leader, she was able to share one of her base abilities with everyone in the Camp, her Quest system the most obvious choice as it would give them the most benefit. What she hadn't realized when she selected it, was that it was also tied into her storage space ability that would also be shared with them. Unlike hers however, they would be restricted to the small space she started with until the could improve it.

The gasps through the Camp as it activated for everyone was a welcome sound, as they realized they would be able to earn points and other personal rewards from it as well.