Day Twenty-One - Carson's Trip to the Brothel

Today, things were looking better. The group was well-stocked with food and materials, and moods were the best they'd been in a long time. Things got even better when Carson was listening to the radio. Peacekeepers were coming, and they'd put an end to the war within the next few days. They just needed to survive those next few days.

Decisions had to be made. Peacekeepers may have been on their way, but the group needed to do their part. During their time here, they'd done many things, good and terrible, and it was time to make up for them. The military outpost and the brothel both needed to go. It was decided that Ender would take on the military, and Carson the brothel. Ender's erratic temper would be dangerous in a situation like the brothel, where innocent lives were being held hostage. Carson would be more rational, and less likely to get the prisoners killed. Whereas Ender was better with a gun, and would probably be able to hold her own against the soldiers. It was decided. Carson packed up and headed for the brothel.

Carson moved cautiously to the front of the brothel, where he was met by a trader. "Might as well make this quick," thought Carson. He pulled out his shotgun and shot the man straight in the chest. The man reeled back, lifting his own gun. Carson got another shot in, killing the man. As that one fell to the ground, another bandit burst in. Carson fired twice, downing him quickly. Two more came. The third one managed to hit Carson in the shoulder before he met his demise. The fourth hit him too, but Carson kept going until the four of them were dead.

It seemed as though no more were coming. Carson entered the house, walking through the hall. A fifth bandit appeared ahead of him. Carson turned, scurrying up the stairs as the man chased him. Carson was too quick. He managed to hide. As the man came rushing past, Carson lodged a knife messily into the back of his neck.

He'd done it. All five of them...dead. He still had one more thing to do, though. He searched the house, trying to find where they were keeping the women. He came to a locked door in the basement, and looked through the keyhole. There they were. God knows how long they'd been held for. Carson picked the lock and freed them. He gathered some supplies, particularly ammunition, before leaving behind him the carnage that had just ensued. Five heavily armed bandits, dead. And he'd come out with simply a scratch.

That was one stronghold down. Thanks to Carson, the group had now done their part to help out a few of their fellow refugees. Now, only one adversary remained, the ones who had been murdering and raping civilians as much as the bandits had: those assholes at the military outpost.

Day Nineteen

Thanks to Fedorekd's findings, the group was able to make some improvements to the cooker. They were now able to cook more using less fuel. Hopefully they'd be able to do the same for the heater. Food was beginning to run low, but at the moment, things were okay. Only cold. Very cold.

Flee went to the ruined villa where Ender had previously killed the couple. His priority was more materials, but he was on the lookout for food too. Unfortunately, he found no food, but the place had lots of materials.

Day Twenty

Carson had fallen sick, but they still had several bottles of pills. He'd be better in no time. The trader, Marko, came by again. Fedorekd used the jewellery he'd found to buy several cans of food. The group started thinking about the military outpost on the other side of town, and how they'd go about raiding it. They had also caught word of a brothel run by bandits, where several women had gone missing. They'd have to investigate that at some point.

Tonight, Ender's destination was the construction site again. Her priority was finding supplies, however she was also hoping to perform a small test. In the event that the snipers were still there, she'd say how she could fair against them, with her assault rifle and combat vest. Unfortunately, they weren't there, but they'd left their camps behind. Ender found a great amount of food. She gathered it all up and went back to the house.

Day Sixteen

While Fedorekd was away, Flee had gotten into an argument with the other group members, although they managed to calm him down. On the bright side, everyone's wounds were healing up, and they'd be back up to full strength very soon. Flee built a heater. It was getting cold, and winter was not going to be pleasant.

Flee went to a decrepit squat later. His priority was materials; they needed wood for the heater, as well as more materials to build things. The place was a wreck, which was no surprise. It was a wreck even before the war.

He found a decent amount of materials. Wood, spare parts, electronics. He'd have to come back again when he needed more. When he reached the other side of the building, he met a homeless person, who begged him for food. Unfortunately, Flee had no food on him, so he couldn't help.

Despite telling them that he had no food on him, the beggar continued to follow him as he scavenged materials. This was getting frustrating.

Flee took off all of a sudden, hoping to lose the beggar. He went upstairs, and found a grisly sight. A decomposing corpse sat on an armchair, in a room blocked off by iron bars. Flee studied the scene, but then he heard footsteps. The beggar knew where he was.

Flee decided to leave the place. He was carrying as much as he could, anyway. The beggar would probably die by the time he returned.

Day Fifteen - The Halfway Point

The group were beginning to question their place in society. Between them, they'd killed a total of fourteen people. People who had been just like them prior to the war, living normal lives. Were they any better than the humanitarian aid raiders, or the bandits at the church? Flee went as far as to call himself a "war criminal", and sat on the floor, refusing to move. Ender had to talk to him. Everyone needed a talking to.

Fedorekd went to an abandoned cottage. It was completely empty, and there was a decent amount of stuff there. As soon has he entered, he found a fridge filled to the brim with food and water. Upstairs, he used his crowbar to access a room containing medical supplies. He was surprised no one had claimed this stuff earlier. This stuff was easy, no murder required. Was it really necessary to kill people in order to survive?