Noah POV
The dead have been walking for several days, and while...disposing of the monsters in human skin was a struggle, we managed to clear out and secure the surrounding area with barricades of strategically "crashed" cars in key locations. The trick was making it look uninhabited while dissuading the dead from wandering into our part of the cul-de-sac. Luckily, Mia has been able to use her linked pet cat to map out the local area for places to set up barricades, kill zones and escape routes, which she marked on a surprisingly detailed map of our little area.
Meanwhile, Ella and Sam combed through social media, radio channels, and military broadcasts for helpful information on people's powers and what they had discovered. While people were frantic about sharing and gathering whatever information they had on online chatboards and social media, nothing was truly groundbreaking or useful. The best information we got was from the military broadcasts on the radio telling us where the local established safe zones were and that only dying directly to an undead would bring you back. Meaning we didn't have to worry about bites or scratches turning us. Other than that, they looked up as many wilderness survival tips and tricks as they could find, and while everyone joined in with trying to improve our now adaptive bodies and at least the minimal power training, only Ava, Jacob, and I were willing to face the dead and scavenge for resources.
Ava and I would follow Mia's cat through safe-ish areas and gather all the food, medicine and anything useful we could find. But nobody knew where Jacob went, and at least half of the stuff he found went into his chaotic workshop filled with scrap metal, what looked to be a DIY folding crossbows, deconstructed power stools and electrical scooters. But at least he brought back useful stuff from wherever it is he wanders off to, like the compact bow and arrows he gave to Ella.
'But I wish he were here helping with the construction more; these contingency plans were his idea.' I finish heaving up the last mattress against the green-painted wall, push the bookshelf in front of it, and begin filling it with looted books. After each row was completed, I wrapped it in tinfoil to complete the heavily insulated room that will hopefully help us against extreme cold. Taking a step back, I glanced at the wood stove with its chimney fused through the brick wall and added more scavenged wood from cut-up furniture to the growing pile next to it.
The whole building was insulated in one way or another; the floor above us was slowly being filled with cotton candy-looking loft insulation stripped from the neighbouring houses. While the altered garage conversion, the next room over, with a similar set-up to the living room, was designed to reduce sound leakage. It all worked in testing, I just wish someone would help set them up. The inventories made moving things easy, but putting them in place was a pain, and I'm sure looking at social media was helpful in its own way. I just don't think we need two people doing it all the time. I let out an annoyed groan and go back to tediously stacking the bookshelves.
Although I suppose all the manual labour helped with my training, it was certainly better than beating myself up to improve my crystal-like body's durability. The knives and hammer don't hurt nearly as much as they should, but they still make me flinch, and my skin crawls every time I inflict harm upon myself.
At least it gave Ella extra training with her healing abilities. Not that she needed it. On top of healing everyone's post-workout and spar injuries on a micro level, she also had to deal with Jacobs's almost suicidal rush to push and break his body as much as possible. Personally, I thought he was overcompensating for years of neglecting his body, but it was painful to watch him constantly brutalise himself with my own power training methods. Only he didn't have improved durability to stop the stabbings and cracked bones; all he could do was cry out in pain before doing it all again. His cries now blend with the roars of the dead that echo in my mind, keeping me up at night. I pause, filling the bookshelf, and shudder at the thought.
When I asked him why he did all of this, the burns, cuts, bruises, weighted armour and forced sleep deprivation, he just laughed and said "Do you think the Gods will make their own show boring?". I didn't understand what he meant, not really and who knows if he himself even understands why Ella has to repeatedly bring him back from the brink of death each day, but he gave me a reddish metal bracelet that burnt to the touch. I don't know where he got it from or why it hurt so much. He said it was good training if I wanted a weapon made from this "rose steel". While I was curious about what he meant and what he's been up to, I didn't want to wear the gaudy jewellery that hurt even through my thick skin, so I stuffed it into my inventory. I didn't see any of the others wearing or being offered any rose steel trinkets while they trained, so I let the matter drop and had pretty much forgotten about it.
Even if the others didn't train with a self-destructive drive, they still improved. Ava continues to practise her water manipulation and production by ensuring we have a large reserve of water for drinking, cleaning, and hygiene. She spends most of her free time improving the water's ability to hold and move other objects while increasing its pressure.
Sam was still against the idea of killing anything and was against us going out to clear the undead threat in the local area, so when he did go out, it was to train his powers by scouting and trying to change others' senses. He could do it, given enough time, producing a weird feeling of energy entering your body and slowly altering how you perceived the world. This revelation let us take turns being his guinea pigs to develop better senses and learn how to fight off internal invasive energies, all the while helping him develop his abilities.
Mia mostly stuck to using her hive mind to map out the area and keep watch, allowing us to rest easier and know which areas haven't been looted yet. She also discovered she could glimpse inside people's minds while not completely taking over their thoughts and bodies, creating a controversial training opportunity that people were far less enthusiastic about. Nobody wanted their inner monologue and deepest secrets exposed, even if it could help hide them in the future.
I let out a long sigh and stepped back from the bookshelf. 'I don't know if that will even help, or if anything will...' I feel the forced smile on my face begin to drop, but I don't let the bad thoughts of our future take root. I hurriedly packed up and headed outside the designated insulation house to the small spiral of houses that hold Jacob's home and the various dwellings we had repurposed. I walk past the tinted windows and DIY awnings of the heat wave house towards the main storage building. Only to stop by the fused together black bins, which will hopefully act as a floating platform should the need arise, as I see our wayward scavenger.
He was walking with a slight limp and had the makings of a black eye forming around his right eye, but that was nothing new. What really drew my attention was the bird cage containing a live, colourful budgie with a yellow head. The sight caused my smile to become real, and no doubt it would bring one to Mia's face, even if some budgies were weak flyers, something about clipped wings and over-breeding. She had been after a bird for days, but they seemed to avoid this area and our traps like the plague for some reason. But with this addition, we could scout far and wide, allowing us to better prepare for whatever the events throw at us.
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Noticing my pause, he alters his path slightly so we can walk to the main house together, chattering about this and that before dropping off the cage and having a quick lunch of fried rice. Shortly after the meal, we split off again as I went to drop off the spare books and prepare my inventory for the coming unknown event. Meanwhile, Jacob started making holes in the doors and other key locations in case we were shrunken down before heading to his workshop to do who knows what.
Our busy schedules allowed the afternoon to pass as people did what they could before the wheels started, repacking inventories, sharpening weapons and putting on armour. I even saw Ella praying, although I couldn't say to whom. We didn't know when the event would start, only that it would happen at some point tomorrow, thanks to the last set event message, talking about a 10-week tutorial. But we decided to eat a meal together, as it may very well be our last.
Despite all our best efforts and preparations, I still can't help but feel nervous. It's hard not to, in less than 12 hours, the first random event will plunge us into unknown danger and chaos. Looking around the dining table, I can tell everyone feels the same fear of the unknown that I do, but don't want to ruin the atmosphere and morale. They have tells: Ava asking questions she already knows the answer to, Sam not being able to stop rubbing the back of his head, Mia biting her nails, Ella glazing at everyone with her blue eyes, darting around, and Jacob, fingers dancing around his own hands and his legs bouncing to a rhythm only he can hear.
Noticing my staring, he tilts his head in my direction, not dissimilar to a confused dog, before winking at me with a wide grin. I roll my eyes and return to the conversation, reviewing our plans for any of the prepared situations and promising to stick together. Finishing off the hastily cooked curry, we tidy up and get ready for an early bed so we can be ready for whatever tomorrow throws at us. That's if any of us could manage a wink of sleep. I yell out a quick goodnight, not commenting on Eva and Mia's voices coming from behind the same door, and head for the spare room. Deciding not to fully undress from my amour, I lay on the comfy bed, glad not to be the one on the sofa bed rotation, and tried to get some shut-eye.
But no matter how I tossed, turned, flipped the pillow, and counted sheep, I couldn't find sleep's sweet embrace through the panicked beating of my heart or anxious thoughts that muddled my brain. 'What would tomorrow bring? Would I die? Are my friends going to be ok? What if it's all for nothing?...' On and on it went, spiralling out of control until I was suddenly torn away from the self-torture and forced to look upon the dreaded wheel alert that abruptly filled my vision and ears.
[Congratulations on surviving for this long! I, Jeremy, am very proud of you! But now isn't the time for pleasantries; now is the time we have all been waiting for! The spinning of the event wheel! So without further ado, let the fun begin and let the wheels spin!]
That's the last thing I see before my vision is replaced by a sickening swirl of colour that will determine whether or not I will survive the coming week.
Captain Alexander POV
The last few days have been a fucking nightmare. While I may have gotten an ability to manipulate the weather, it barely does anything, and the world has gone to shit. Most of the higher-ups died as soon as the first announcement happened, taking most of the chain of command with them, leaving us to scrounge up the pieces to try and make a semi-competent force. Which is hard enough to do without the undead and rioting, let alone when the fuckers have new chaotic powers based on a glorified roulette wheel.
In an attempt to regain order, the Lieutenant Colonel ordered the establishment of safe zones to keep the people from mass hysteria or adding to the number of undead. While a decent idea on paper, the new randomised power allows for crime to run unchecked, as we can't prove which one of these little shit stains tore apart the wall into the food storage, or find said food, as everyone has a personalised inventory. While other supply stores and a few trusted individuals' inventories host a large percentage of our recently gathered supplies, it still hit morale and our rations.
I knock on the table in annoyance and glare at the day's report neatly laid out and aligned parallel to the edge of my desk. Causing the last few days of food gathering to go to waste and for everyone else in the newly established safe zone to lose weeks of food was not a good look for me, so naturally, the other captains were not informed. However, one of the new freaks almost compromised the university's campus by throwing a hissy fit when their rations were lowered. If they wanted more food, they shouldn't have grown a god damn tail. What a fucking disgrace.
Typically, an "Anthropoid", or semi-human, is under more surveillance in case they exhibit the more violent nature of their mutant cousins. Something that is encouraged as directing the people's hate away from the now martial law and our enforced military presence allowed our citizens to be more…Malable. But this one managed to get close to the border and caused a fight that got the attention of the dead, and the dead are far less forgiving than the reprimand and further decrease in rations my men would have given. The idiot got himself killed and almost caused an outbreak within my safe zone, which almost caused more rioting, which would get the attention of more undead, which would cause more death and fear, which would cause more rioting.
On and on it would go. Luckily, my men and I were here to keep things under control. Even if the citizens were ungrateful and untrusting. 'Yet they still demand our protection and help,' I sigh, looking over the map, hoping to find a place with enough food for the safe zone, West of England camp, or WEC. The emergency lights powered by the diesel generator we brought were just enough to see the notes scribbled down on the map. A wood rapidly growing into a dangerous, ever-expanding forest filled with mutated plants and animals lay towards the northeast. While we could go hunting and gathering, there wouldn't be enough to feed the 10,000-plus people on campus.
It wouldn't be worth the risk. Especially with the mutated humans to the north, the twisted once humans were now more monsters of myth than the men and women they were before those blasted wheels. We've only spotted a few of them, but past encounters and reports from the Major told us they were hostile, favoured human flesh and extremely dangerous. They appear to lack empathy for their fellow man and exhibit multiple enhanced factors and/or abilities. Plus, the undead don't attack them unless provoked, leading them to gather large herds of the walking corpse creatures.
The northern mutated humans have been seen herding the undead into a large horde around a secondary school and a large superstore. We've witnessed a female of unknown age with wings for arms carry off survivors towards their base, never to be seen again. There have also been reports of a 2.5M male with a singular large eye lifting cars and taking them back to do who knows what. We tried watching them with drones, even the weird biomechanical things that pop out of Steve's pores, but they get caught in a localised blizzard or swarmed by monstrous flies.
'So the north is out of the question for now, and the West is open fields with nothing of note.' I looked at my watch to see that it was 4am on the day of the first Wheel event spin that was meant to happen, but I was used to not sleeping. 'Can't take away any more resources from the city's safe zone without being noticed, so the south is out of the question. Which leaves the east. Fewer fields with a few hotels and hospitals. That should give us enough of a surplus until the crops…'
[Congratulations on surviving for this long! I, Jeremy, am very proud of you! But now isn't the time for pleasantries; now is the time we have all been waiting for! The spinning of the event wheel! So without further ado, let the fun begin and let the wheels spin!]
"Fuck."
