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 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 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 Twenty-Two

Carson got his wound patched up and had a well-earned rest. The trader came again. Fedorekd bought some food and materials in exchange for some of the group's spare guns. With some of the materials, he upgraded the workshop, so that they would be able to make some better items at some point, if necessary.

The military outpost was a no-go tonight; the route was blocked off by snow. Instead, Ender went to an abandoned gas station.

The place was a wreck, and she soon found the reason why no one had looted this place. The entrance was blocked by a pile of debris. Ender didn't bring a shovel with her, so she cleared it with her hands.

The interior was more unnerving than it should have been. It was dark, and odd, quiet sounds could be heard. Finding the source of these sounds, Ender was relieved to find out that it was just a pair of rats, scurrying about. Ender gathered up some food and all the materials she could, and went back home.

Day Twenty-Five - Finish the Fight

The group was having mixed responses towards Ender's death. Fedorekd was simply glad that it wasn't him. Carson thought about how much harder it would be scavenging without her, with there being less people to guard the house. And Flee blamed himself for her death, seeing it as their duty to protect each other. They only had a few days left until the peacekeepers came. All they had to do was hold out until they arrived.

Flee, overcome with guilt over his friend's death, made a risky decision. He made his way to the military outpost. He needed to confirm that Ender had indeed died there, and he also needed to avenge her death if so, and finish what she died doing.

The front half of the base was empty. The walls were covered in blood and bulletholes. There had clearly been a fight here. If this was Ender's work, she'd done well enough to push the soldiers back into the rear end of the base. Flee made his way through the mess hall, looking around for soldiers. He walked into the courtyard to find exactly what he was looking for. He was staring at Ender's mangled remains, along with her backpack. The bag was almost bursting. He took a look inside, and found a ridiculous amount of food and ammo. Ender had died trying to get this stuff back to the group, and from the looks of her corpse, her final stand hadn't been a fair fight. There were still living soldiers here.

Flee went over to the next building. He could hear movement on the floors above him. He quietly went up to the next floor and hid, waiting for someone to come down. Soon enough, two soldiers came down. They must have heard him, somehow, as they were looking for an intruder. Both stood directly in front of him, but they didn't spot him.

Flee until one of them left. When that happened, he drove his knife into the remaining soldier's head before stabbing him multiple times across the body in anger.

Now he had to get to the other one, which wasn't too hard. He went to the staircase at the back of the building, and spotted the soldier on the floor below him. He should be able to get a shot in. He aimed down at the soldier, who still hadn't spotted him, and pulled the trigger.

He checked the outpost for more soldiers, but didn't find anything. The entire underground section of the base was blocked off, so he couldn't find out if anyone was in there. However, the base had a wealth of supplies, too many for him to carry, so he left, intending to return and collect the rest later on.

Finally, Flee was at ease. Ender's killers were dead, and her supplies had made it to their destination. The next few days should be easy, or at least Flee hoped they would be easy.

Day Twenty-Six

Today was a rather easy day. The trader came by again, and Fedorekd traded a thermometer in exchange for some canned food.

In the evening, Carson went to the outpost. He too found Ender's corpse while he was there, and briefly paid his respects. In the second building, he found six cans of food. This was perfect. They now had more than enough food to survive the next three days or so, as long as no one raided them. Carson went to have a look at the basement. If the group wanted access to it, they'd need a saw to get through the bars. Where they could find one, they didn't know. Perhaps they could make one. Whatever was down there, it must have been valuable for the military. The group definitely wanted to know what it was. Maybe they wouldn't need it. Maybe the peacekeepers would come before they could find out.