Hydrocalypse

New beginning

8 days since the detonation, shelter - The Centre

It's been a while since we talked. I've been up to a lot of stuff.
I tried contacting 2 of my friends - Twyla and NerdyChameleon. I did manage to establish a link with them and get them to my shelter, which was safer than what they had before. I think, that anything is safer than tents with tin can traps all around.

I also had some unwanted guests. Looters and foxes to be exact. Looters were armed and shot at me when I asked them to leave. So I shot back,  managed to take them down with a couple of rounds. Their aim was all over the place, so I didn't get hit.

Even more news! I went to explore the building further.
The kitchen was full of food. Nothing healthy, but enough for survival.
I also rigged up some traps. Since the building is a public space, there are many fire extinguishers. Some traps are meant to be concussive, disorienting and very loud, so I know somebody is coming. Another trap I found very useful was a bear trap with some meat. This one's very useful for getting some extra food. As one wise man once said, "Teach a man to fish and he'll never be hungry again". The foxes and other animals just keep on coming back.

Now that I told you about the past, it's time to continue with the story.

We decided to go on a journey and explore our surroundings. We packed some ammo, basic supplies like food and water and headed out.

NerdyChameleon was our backup. He had an SR-25 sniper rifle with a variable zoom scope and angled iron sights, just to be ready for closer range targets. It was also silenced, which made taking down hostile scavengers very easy. More on that later.

Twyla was a great all-rounder. She carried a very reliable HK417 assault rifle, capable of dishing out tons of damage to medium and long range targets. Its barrel was too long for close range engagements though, so she carried a 2nd weapon - the legendary Kriss Vector 45. ACP submachine gun. Have to admit, definitely a rare piece to see here in Czech Republic. Back in the day, the original ones didn't really catch many looks and stayed out there only for enthusiasts. However, modern revisions of the Vector polished many flaws of previous generations, so it's a sought-after platform.

We met 5 groups of scavengers. They managed to setup outposts already. In just 8 days. Damn.  All armed to the teeth. They were cruel people. Taking hostages, public executions, hanged women, raids. We saw it all.

Taking them down was dangerous, but thanks to our gear and NerdyChameleon being a great spotter and sniper, we took them all down. We tried to save as many hostages as possible, but we didn't manage save all of them. Many guards started killing innocent people when their lines started to get thinner and thinner.

Pretty much everyone in this new society is either a scavenger or a merchant. Everything is like back in the stone age, just with modern technologies and weapons. Old currencies are useless, cell network is down.

The only thing, that is still sort of working, is the TV. It is riddled with propaganda by the "boss" of the Wildlands. Nicknamed "Mooney" due to his acne, he's a murderous animal, capable of wiping out a village with gas just for fun. His power is enormous and his voice is freaking annoying.

One day, during a scavenging run, me and Twyla decided to check out an old, abandoned barn. We saw a flickering light above a kicked in doorway. 

On one hand, we were so happy to find out that it probably has running electricity, on the other, how could one explain the doorway? Why is it kicked in? Did somebody raid this place? Is it an ambush?
Even though we probably should've seen what happened coming from a mile away, we decided to go in.

Twyla was walking towards the doorway, I was right behind her, we both had our guns raised if somebody jumped us. Right when she stood by the doorway, she whispered to me:

"Just like the old days, isn't it?"
"Yeah, but this isn't like back in Chernobyl. We're shooting people. Not mutated animals."
"Oh come on. Don't tell me you're still naive and thinking they're people. Remember that last outpost we shot up. They literally gutted a girl for taking too long to bring some water. Those aren't people. Those are animals."
"Whatever you say, girl. I'm just hoping not everybody is like that."

After this nostalgic moment, I decided to go in. Checked in front of me, then the sides. "Psst, clear!" I whispered to her. The barn was already raided by somebody, just as we anticipated. But something wasn't adding up. There were crates of canned soup, AR-15 style rifles and some good ol' 5.56... Why would all this gear stay behind? Did we stumble upon a storage facility of Mr. Mooney? Are there more people like him? If so, what are their intentions? 

While talking to Twyla, I began trying to figure out what the fuck was going on. Too many questions on the table. And yet, even though I knew her since middle school, I was still anxious as hell and shy when talking to her. Talking to somebody you have a crush on without it being too obvious is just so so hard. Knowing her for so long helps, but it's just something about me not really talking to people a lot that's making me so uncomfortable. Well, when you get kicked while crying in the corner of the room, talking ain't that easy. You always subconsciously await when the person you're talking to is going to betray you with a knife in your back and exploit your trust in them. I hope I'll get through it one day. This shit's fucking tiring.

Right as we were discussing coming back here to loot the place, I had this weird feeling in my head. I felt as if I was being watched. At first, I thought it was because of her. If I was a bit more paranoid, it could've ended differently. I heard a bullet hit a sheet of metal right by Twyla's arm. That was close. Damn. We were in the crosshairs of a sniper who climbed onto a tree and watched us the whole time we scouted the place. There was no way we could've gotten out of there without getting rid of him first.

She decided to make a run for it and sprint to the other side of the barn. Her doing so gave me enough time to peek out from behind 2 barrels with oil and look for a muzzle flash when the sniper took his 2nd shot. I was quick to return fire with 3 shots from my M4. Hearing his body hit the ground and the whisper of the leaves on the tree as he was falling took a decent load off of my heart. It was all for nothing though, because as she was baiting out the shot, the shot actually hit its target this time. 

"You saw that? I got him!"
"Yeah, you ain't the only one ho got someone.."

Twyla got shot in her thigh. I tried my best to treat her wound with a bandage and some alcohol. Even though she cried out in pain as I drenched the wound, I wanted to make sure she's going to be okay. I told her to lay down while I contacted Chameleon. 

"Found a shed, got ambushed, all clear now, can you pick us up?"
"Why don't you just walk here? Not like you're that far, anyway."
"If we could both walk, I wouldn't ring up your lazy ass. You coming or what?"
"Well that changes everything. Okay. Let me get the ride and I'm on my way. Be there in 5."

I was impressed he got here in 4 minutes, not five. Takes some skill to navigate through a forested area, especially in a Raptor pickup truck. We convinced Twyla to lay down into the truck bed, because it was the only place where she could stretch rest out without bending like a gymnast. 

After a short trip back to the archeology centre, we checked the wound. Turns out she stopped bleeding and looked in good shape. Let's hope she'll be alright.

Before settling in for the night, I realized I have lost everything. Except for these 2 bastards that still have my back after all the shit we went through. My house is fucking gone. My family isn't contacting me, even though I didn't find them at the ruins of their house. Hopefully they were somewhere safe when all the stuff went down. At least we're not running out of supplies. Still got enough for a week for all of us. At least that's a good thing in this new beginning to the society.