[A/N: Hello everyone.
It seems I didn't achieve my goal with the previous chapter, but I'll try to improve the narration to involve you more in the story.
Comment or donate Power Stones..]
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Friday, November 20, 2026, in the southern part of the city.
Morning.
In an industrial area south of the city, a group of men, aged 18 to 35, were moving many materials to a housing complex intended for workers at nearby factories.
This complex of houses had been built by various local companies as a strategy to attract long-term employees. They offered residential accommodation and reduced wages in exchange for stable jobs at their facilities, which allowed them to reduce costs and improve productivity. However, due to various legal issues, the factories were closed, and the inhabitants of these houses were evicted.
The group of men, led by Alex's friend David, has been secretly moving their families to these houses for over a week. At the same time, thanks to Alex, who obtained trucks from his former superior, they have been able to move a considerable number of materials and supplies.
David, who had been alerted by Alex over a week earlier, began preparing with the intention of rescuing as many of his friends as possible. At first, he found it difficult to convince them, managing to get only a few of his closest friends to support him, albeit reluctantly. However, when one of David's frightened friends called to report military activity in a park on the outskirts of the city, fear began to take hold.
From that moment on, everyone began working together to save their families. They followed David's suggestions and repaired what they could as best they could. Meanwhile, they tried to alert the others, but their warnings were ignored.
David's strategy was to create a safe area in this industrial zone, surrounded by sturdy walls built from stacked cars holding metal plates. He would also use the walls of nearby factories to form part of the perimeter, which would reduce the number of materials needed.
First, it would only cover a quarter of the residential area, as his friends and families would have enough space in this section, although as they assisted more people, they could expand to the rest of the available homes.
What no one knew was that David didn't intend to stay here for long. His desire was to leave in search of a place far from the big cities where he could settle and live peacefully. He knew, thanks to numerous movies, TV series, and books, that it was very likely that groups of looters would form in large cities, wiping out all groups, large or small, in those areas, and then seeking new victims.
David wanted to find a place where he could resist the massive hordes, welcome the refugees, and provide them with a safe place to live. Although he thought it was feasible to form a group in the cities, the first few days for those who remained unprepared in the city would be a real ordeal. "I wish I could have made people understand the risk that was coming", David reflected as he watched his friends and family begin moving their belongings to different homes.
Since David convinced his friends, they had been working at night to avoid attracting the attention of the real owners or the factories' creditors. During the day, they used their personal vehicles to transport supplies to hidden locations, and at night, they improved the houses to strengthen their defenses.
At that moment, they were moving the last of their belongings, taking advantage of the disorder the city had experienced since yesterday's demonstrations. Starting at 10:00 a.m., a group of people gathered again near the government office to demonstrate.
At first, everything was peaceful, but as the news began to report similar situations in other parts of the world, people began to feel alarmed. One group continued to rage against their leaders and their protest turned even more violent, while another tried its best to obtain supplies amid the chaos.
The protesters were driven by extremist activist groups seeking to destabilize the current government. Some groups were present in various parts of the city, especially in the center. However, the only areas that showed any stability were those surrounding the southwest area, where the military camp was located.
For David and his group, who were in the southern sector, these demonstrations went almost unnoticed, but they could clearly observe the consequences of the protests through social media broadcasts. They also noticed trucks and military vehicles constantly leaving the stadium camp in different directions.
They began to feel restless. Despite having many preparations in place, watching the chaos around them and how quickly things were deteriorating made them fear for their future and question whether they were ready enough.
"David, do you think the supplies we have will be enough to survive?", Edwin asked David, who was standing in front of multiple radios stacked on a shelf.
"I think we'll be fine for the first few days", David replied confidently, as he watched the television fearfully. "However, when this starts to feel like an apocalypse, we'll have to act accordingly in order to survive", David added with a hint of uncertainty.
"So, we'll have to kill people?", Edwin asked, frightened. "I don't think I can do that, David... You know I'm not a fan of fighting, much less blood", he added, barely able to form the words.
"I understand, Edwin. However, I want you to at least practice protecting yourself, so that when you need to defend yourself or your loved ones, you'll be able to do so", David commented empathetically.
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[A/N: I would be very hesitant to kill zombies in the early days, even though I knew it could cause a lot of problems.]
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"Hmm… I'll try, but I'm sure you can establish a foundation where I can help without having to go out and kill these creatures", Edwin replied confidently.
Edwin had watched David move around in search of supplies, even taking on a gang alongside Alex to obtain weapons. He was aware that David spent a lot of time planning, always carrying a journal with him where he jotted down new ideas.
"I hope I live up to their expectations", David commented as he took out his journal to record some details of the news.
"David, what do we do with what we don't have?", Edwin inquired as he adjusted different frequencies on the radio.
"Let's gather as much as we can from the nearby warehouses and then we'll move the rest when things calm down", David replied, writing in his journal. "Stop!", he suddenly shouted to Edwin.
"Go back to the previous frequency", David said with concern.
David realized that Edwin had missed one of the frequencies. On that one, he managed to pick up an important message. "Attack on the Hospital", said one of the voices, catching David's attention.
"Are you sure this is happening in a city to the north? … Over", asked one of the men on the frequency Edwin had found.
"Yes, a friend who works as a truck driver picked up the signal from the north… There, he heard that the military had set up camp at the hospital and the situation was getting complicated… Over."
"I don't think so… The military wouldn't attack civilians… Over."
"I assure you, that's what happened… Also, consider that there have been attacks by some groups in several small towns… Over."
"These are just rumors… Although I must admit the tension in the city is palpable… As you know, I live in the southwest, and the military has sent support to the officers guarding the hospital near my house… I think I heard gunshots recently, but that could just be my imagination… Over."
"See, I told you something strange is going on… My friend mentioned that there are alternate roads blocked by the military in the north and east of the country… It's almost like one of those disaster movies now… Something similar happened during the pandemic a few years ago… Over."
"Hmmm… I hope nothing's wrong", one of the men said as a new voice joined the transmission.
"This is Charlie Alpha 4, Echo Quebec Juliet… Excuse me for interrupting your communication, but I must remind you that the city's official repeater is used for information and signal testing… If you have private conversations, you should conduct them on private frequencies… Over", a new man interrupted, his voice serious.
David and Edwin looked at each other in amazement. The conversation they had both overheard turned out to be more revealing than they had thought. The situation was getting complicated, and not just in this area. They were already aware, through social media, that things on the planet were bad, but not to the point of blocking routes.
"I need you to continue searching frequencies like this to gather information... We won't limit ourselves to emergency frequencies... If necessary, ask for support from others", David told Edwin seriously. "Also, tell everyone that they must hurry with the final movements of their loved ones... We can't keep waiting", he said firmly.
"I will", Edwin replied as he went to find some people who could help him.
David gave the instruction, as he had noticed that the most widespread social media platforms were experiencing outages. He suspected this was an action nation were taking to try to control the chaos unfolding worldwide.
Although news portals continued to operate, there was a huge difference between news channels that showed what governments and their owners wanted to show, and social media, which, thanks to their "freedom", reflected the realities of everyone.
On the other hand, David also noticed that the telephone networks were beginning to fail. Although they were still operating erratically, he knew that service would soon collapse as well.
"Alex, why aren't you answering?", David wondered as he checked the time on the TV.
"If it's already 4:30 p.m., I can already assume that in a few hours they'll cut off the telephone service; the only thing that will be available will be the emergency numbers, and they'll probably stop too", David muttered as he rhythmically tapped the screen of his phone.
A few hours later.
"David, we're almost all here", one of his friends informed him as he entered the house David had set up as his base of operations.
"Who's missing?", David asked, visibly worried.
"Rose is missing. She went to find her mother, who refused to move, and... Well, she said she was on her way, but it seems there's congestion getting out of the city center, and many streets are blocked by the protests", he explained, showing slight concern for his friend's situation.
"Ugh... If she doesn't make it out of there in an hour, we'll go looking for her", David determined without hesitation. "Did she bring a radio?", David asked.
"Yes, she brought one... That's how we were able to communicate with her... The phone networks are down, but only in the city center", Edwin replied, checking his phone, which showed a 3G connection. "Although it looks like they'll fail soon too", he added, worried.
"Hmm... it's already 6 o'clock", David whispered, checking the time on his phone. "I think they'll be delayed a little over an hour. Inform everyone that communications will be by radio only", David reminded the man.
"I will", Edwin replied as he left the room.
A short while later, he returned to David's office with a worried expression. Before David could ask him why he looked that way, Edwin began adjusting one of the radios transmitting the firefighters' signal and changing the frequency.
"…I managed to escape from one of LyraGen's research centers due to a biological leak from test subjects… The center was immediately isolated, however, since some guards had come into contact with the virus, I was able to escape without any problems… Remember that the virus is spread through blood, so any contact with the fluids of those infected can infect anyone… Be cautious with bites from those infected, as the virus has intensified their basic instincts, so any living being that comes near them will be a potential victim they will attack", the man commented on the radio while David and Edwin exchanged worried glances.
"The only way to eliminate the infected is to completely paralyze their nervous system; removing their brain is the best solution… Stopping their spinal cord only immobilizes them, but does not kill them… These infected are no longer considered human; their biological activity is different from that of a normal human, and they also have limited organic functions… Finally, I want to remind you that the virus is in…" the man was saying when the transmission was suddenly interrupted.
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[A/N: CHAPTER COMPLETED
Thanks everyone for reading.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
David will be very involved in the story, so there will be some chapters dedicated to his group.
I was going to do a spin-off about him, but I'm not really interested.
Read my other novels
#VinlandKingdom: Race Against Time
#TheWalkingDead: Emily's Metamorphosis from Visions of Future Saga
You can find them on my profile.]