Surviving the Apocalypse

Supplies

That night she spent the entire time in her hotel room using her laptop to order all types of supplies from wholesalers across the city. She spared no expense as she order sometimes 10,000 tons of an item, planning to have it all either picked up by her crew or delivered to the warehouse across the bridge from the mine entrance. She also ordered the supplies to make a new enhanced barrier at the road entrance, a wall and gate that no amount of zombies would be able to breach when they gained powers and deployed defensive systems once the apocalypse began. She even hired a crew at an inflated price to make the wall within the next three weeks.

By the time she went to sleep her system had noted that she had completed a bunch of requirements for the quest, especially with equipment she purchased so they would be able to farm a large amount of land. She had even scheduled a well drilling rig to come out and install three separate industrial wells on her 2,000 acres of land, the system promising her that once the apocalypse began she would be in store for a large reward.

The next morning she went and did more shopping at an electronics warehouse, buying the security cameras, computers and server she knew she was going to need to run everything. While shopping she spotted something interesting, as she remembered how useful they had ended up being in the previous timeline. She purchased a dozen top of the line 3D printers, with every type of filament they produced for it so she would be able to print any parts they needed for any of the equipment they would have to service. Because of the large order they offered free delivery, which would take a few days because of the large scale of what she was purchasing overall.

Her next shop was a construction supply warehouse where she ordered just about every type of lumber they had in quantities that made the salesman helping her doubting whether she could afford it or not. When she swiped her card and it easily processed, he was stunned as he knew it would take at least 10 separate trucks to deliver everything she had just ordered in lumber, and my likely another 3 box trucks for the other equipment and supplies she ordered.

At noon she went to the mine and went inside, amazed that the entrance was setup as an office area already. She had come with a large beam flashlight and a lantern bright enough to illuminate a large area as she walked in and saw that it was setup with electric service already.

Just as she found the office area she heard someone calling in the entrance which made her come back out to find Peter waiting for her.

"Told you there was a lot of interesting things in here." he said with a smile as she nodded looking around.

Hanna nodded agreeing with him. "It looks like these offices are setup for electric service. What do we need to get them online?" she asked.

"Fuel for the generators or a connection to the electric grid." he said as she smiled.

"How much power generation would we need to run this facility?" she asked him.

"In full operation the facility uses about 2,000 kilowatts an hour. The generators on site produce 2,500 kilowatts but use a massive amount of diesel to do it. The tanks are empty, and can hold a million gallons which would last about a year." Peter told her remembering the specs of the operation he had run.

Hanna nodded as she had actually already order diesel and stabilized gasoline, as well as 250,000 gallons tanks to hold both of them. "Do we need an inspection on the tank before we fill it?" she asked him as he shrugged.

"We cleaned it properly at the shutdown and there weren't any issues then. I could inspect it again and verify the condition, but it would be expensive to order that much fuel." he said as she shrugged.

"We will also be adding a 250,000 gallon tank for diesel and one for gasoline as well within the next few weeks. I am also ordering a 15,000 kilowatt solar system that will be able to supplement the power we can generate here. So it will be a backup as we have trucks that use diesel as well. This isn't a project I am undertaking without a hope of success. It is one I am spending billions on, and a damn sure about every penny I spend." she told him as he nodded.

"What is the plan than?" he asked.

"What do we need to turn the excavated areas of this mine into an emergency bunker?" she asked as he looked at her stunned.

"Depends on how many people we are talking about. The current system can support about 300 people at a time, however I suggested upgrades to it to be able to support 3,000." Peter explained.

"Ok, could you design it to support more than that? I assume we will need to reinforce it to prevent caveins, as well as construct living quarters for anyone that takes refuge here." she asked him as he smiled.

"If we create secure shafts with the drilling equipment, we could set up a system that would be able to support 30,000 people. With the current areas, we could realistically make a self sustainable area for no more than 13,000 people." he said considering how much would have to be used for crops.

"Ok, what do we need for that?" she asked as he smiled.

"You aren't going to make this easy are you?" he asked her.

"If you want easy, I suggest you kiss your ass goodbye and wait at home for what is coming. If you want to survive, I only help those who will help themselves. You were one of the foremen here, I will most certainly tap that expertise to make every shaft and excavation in this mountain safe for habitation. Whatever it takes we will survive." she said seriously. "If you have a map, I would most certainly appreciate it."

He smiled as he signaled her into his old office that was still full of everything he had ever used. He pulled out a full map of the entire network of shafts and mines they had developed or discovered as natural caverns and voids in the rock. As she saw the scope of the shafts and caverns, she realized why it covered 2,000 acres. Hanna watched as he took a marker and indicated the area of the cave in that had trapped and killed the 63 miners 5 years earlier.

"Most of these are already secure, but if we are going to be building housing, crops and everything else we would need to make this a true bunker, we can design the construction to reinforce and distribute life support sufficiently. This is the unstable area that will need special attention as we excavate." he said indicating the cave in. "I think I have a way to do it with a new equipment design, but the machine itself costs $3 million." he said as she looked at an alert on her phone that the first stock sale had just processed as instructed and she had an additional $14 million to spend.

"How long to draw up a potential materials list. Remember we will need to buy or make concrete ourselves after society has collapsed, which means we will need premix or the materials themselves. You decide which method is better, as well as any equipment we need to secure the cave in so we can expand the size of the bunker." she asked him.

"3 days, if I can get these computers running." he said as they heard a truck pull into the mine lot and honk its horn dragging them outside.

The truck had the first of the two tanks she had ordered, a second truck pulling up beside it with the other as he looked at the crane they had to unload them. "Good thing I have my operators license still, but we are probably going to need fuel." he was saying as another truck pulled in that had a crane.

"No, I hired a maintenance company to come in and examine all the machinery. We aren't going to risk damaging anything." she said as they all got to work unloading the tanks exactly where she had wanted them.

Peter nodded as they watched the men do all of the work to set them properly within 90 minutes. He shook his head wondering how much it cost and just how much money she had to spend, as he knew materials alone for what he was about to plan was going to come close to $50 million. That was if he believed her and they could trade work for survival, which some of them were willing to entertain her on if the money she had promised was good.

As soon as they left she looked at him with a serious expression. "How many of your people are realistically willing to chance I might be right about what is going to happen?"

"I am not sure. Most of them want to come here and listen to what you have to say, but so far the likely number is 15." he told her as she nodded.

"How long until they arrive?" she asked him.

"They should start arriving any time now. I told them to be here in half an hour." he said as she dragged him back inside and had him explain the schematics to her.

When he got to the section that had several shafts that were colored blue, she seemed excited about how they were fed by a natural spring that filled all 6 of the ore shafts. They had pumped the water from each one while they were excavated, but after they had taken everything they could from that area they had left it. Each of the 6 shafts was 30 feet across and at least 300 feet deep with naturally flowing water that kept them full at all times. He even told her to pump one dry it required equipment for 200 gallons an hour minimum to keep it fully pumped out.

"Peter, everyone is ready." James sharp said using his own flashlight to come to where they were.

Hanna straightened as she followed the two men into the main entrance of the mine itself, 87 people standing there waiting to hear what she had to say. "Welcome everyone, to what is going to become known as Camp Hope. Right now it doesn't look like much, and most of you are wondering if I have lost my mind. I don't blame you for that, as what I am saying is going to happen seems so fantastical it is easier to believe it couldn't ever happen. So I am not going to spend my time convincing you that it will, what I will tell you is what I am going to do over the next 26 days to prepare for what I believe is coming. You are all wondering what is in it for you, so I will tell you now. I will give each person who assists me in my goals from now until the day I have said, $300 cash. All I ask is for 8 hours of your day, performing whatever task is required to turn this mine into the beginning of a Camp that we can improve upon.

"There will be a lot of construction work, a lot of transportation work as I have ordered tons of supplies that will be needed. We will have livestock, gardens, I am even planning a fish farm in the flooded shafts. Essentially we will have plenty of work for everyone who wants to assist, the money that each of you earns, will be able to be spent in any way you wish. Anyone who joins me and gives me lists of tools and equipment they believe will be necessary to make this Camp thrive once society as we know it collapses will receive a bonus. If nothing happens when I say it will, you are all welcome to go whichever way you wish, but you will all have a place here if it goes exactly the way I believe it will."