Ready Player One Fanfiction: Zompocalypse.

Chapter Two: Operation is a GO

A/N: Thanks for waiting for my second chapter! Progress and planning for the third chapter is already in progress. Be sure to tell me what you think! I'd like to point out that this chapter is actually written different than all of my others one, and it took my months to figure it out. I'll leave that to you to see if you can tell.

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Samantha Cook wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her arm, then folded them as she leaned back to admire her handiwork. She was drenched in sweat, the night did no favors by baking her in its intense summer humidity. The worn leather operators chair of the construction crane vehicle she was working in had soaked a good portion, and felt cool if not a little gross.

Her eyes wandered up and down the frame of her latest efforts. A tall, minimalist concrete building with various jagged angles stood in front of her. It was spotlighted by crossing beams of heavy duty commercial lights. She smiled at the bright orange letters that read "GSS Ecological and Humanitarian Services."

The sound of a few construction vehicles were still humming about, the beeping of one in reverse echoed through the construction zone, which was fenced off for the safety of others as it was on the outlier of an urban city in France. She was among the few who were still on the worksite, the shift had ended hours ago before the sun had set.

Samantha had taken it upon herself to be directly involved in the construction of the seventh humanitarian building GSS had built this year. She hated being behind a desk, the thought of crunching numbers and delegating was completely not her forte. She preferred to be hands on with her efforts. As she sat there, her thoughts drifted to Halliday's hunt, and about how she heavily relied on herself to be the first to find the first and second egg. She didn't want to be involved, she needed to be involved.

As she began to reminisce, she thought of how she had come to lead the charge of GSS's world helping division. When Wade won the contest, he took a look at GSS's charitable efforts and found that while it existed, it was only for public perception. They gave money to charities here and there to stay in a good image, but did not have a dedicated department. So he made one, and appointed her as the director, since he knew how she would have spent her wealth if she had won the contest.

Once appointed, she had immediately gone to work on trying to make the world a better place, with her current efforts placing her in the middle of France, about 50 miles or so from Paris in the city of Sens. The city had been the victim of degrading electricity, water, and air quality so she poured all her time into improving the quality of life here. This effort unearthed many other issues and problems that plagued France, and their neighbors so she decided to build an operational center here.

An alert on her armband flashed propelling her from her thoughts. The sound of an electronic guitar striking a chord from Journey's 'Don't Stop Believing' song alerted her that Wade was trying to contact her. Looking down, his image was sporting a dorky winking face that warmed her heart.

"Connect." She spoke, and the projector in her armband dazzled to life on demand, shooting an image of Wade's face out a few feet from her suspended in mid-air. She felt a pang in her chest as her heart sunk a bit, recognizing the worried look he had on his face as he was walking briskly.

"Hey babe, whatsup?" She casually greeted him, her lips naturally curling into a smile. She would let him reveal his problems and not poke about it unless he wanted to.

"Hey Sam." He replied, the audio muting as he turned away from her and addressed something or someone. He turned back and the audio resumed. There was a split second where she heard a females voice, before the background cancellation software in his armband faded it to nothing.