Approaching the settlement brought a rollercoaster of emotions.

First, there was a wave of much needed relief as they spotted the walled town. Some of the tension that had been building during the approach left Kobe's body and he closed his eyes, letting out a long sigh. The possibility that there would have been nothing, or worse, a horde of beasts, had been hanging over their heads the whole time. It would have thoroughly crushed what meager remains were left of their morale.

Not only was there a settlement, but it had walls that promised safety. The relief rippled through the group as some people cried out and fell to their knees, breaking out in tears. Nobody had it in themselves to laugh or even smile. The air quickly turned somber, happy tears blending into sad ones, as they thought of the ones that didn't make it.

They'd been so damn close. Just a single day's march.

As they got closer, confusion settled in. From afar, it hadn't looked like more than a small, walled town, but it was actually a sprawling settlement. A large shanty town was packed around the walls, thin lines of smoke rising from between tents and shoddy shacks. Kobe had expected to find perhaps a hundred people or so, but there had to be thousands here. How had they all gotten here so fast?

Finally, there was apprehension as they slowed their approach, having spotted men in US Army uniforms, some carrying pistols while others held bows or spears. Soldiers. That was unexpected, to say the least.

One of the soldiers called out for them to wait and Kobe took the opportunity to properly survey the settlement. The central town had proper walls, built from large, neatly cut black stones. They were thick enough to support battlements, with a few soldiers marching on top, to act as lookouts. Large, unadorned metal gates served as the only entrance to the town, with a large group of people seemingly being denied entrance by a squad of armed soldiers.

Much larger than the town itself was the camp that surrounded it. Kobe could see people wearing tattered clothes sitting in groups, some cooking on campfires. The town would be too small to fit all these people.

The camp was not shaped in a neat circle around the town, instead looking like an oval with most people spreading out over the grassland to the east. To the west, the grassland transitioned into a desert, which he remembered was a dark green zone, whereas to the south was the yellow they were walking out of. Everyone had wisely chosen to stay well clear of the grey stone of this cursed zone.

Something large caught his eye as it moved out from behind one of the town halls and he tensed, until he saw that it was just a machine. A closer look revealed that it was an excavator. Nothing high-tech, just a normal, old-world excavator, covered in yellow paint and moving on rollers.

He blinked as he saw people milling about, carrying around some sort of building material. Were they building housing units?

"Welcome to New Haven," the soldier said with the cold, business-like tone of an administrator. "Did you come all the way through this yellow zone?"

Dericka stepped forward, marking herself as the leader.

"We did."

The soldier's eyes passed over them, pausing briefly on weapons and armor.

"Did you, uh, see any action?"

"We did."

Her voice carried none of the usual cheer and Kobe felt her eyes looked dull and lifeless compared to how bright they were before. Of the adults, Dericka was clearly taking the loss the worst. Dmitriy's face was also downcast and he was unusually quiet, while Tasha had been frowning and muttering more than normal. He suspected that Dericka saw the deaths as some profound, personal failing. What had happened was horrible and it would stay with all of them for a long time. But the truth was, it was just bad luck.

The soldier looked them over again.

"You're twelve in total, is that right? Ten adults and two children?"

It was hard to hear those numbers spoken aloud and Kobe grit his teeth against a swell of grief and regret, noticing a few others looking away and grimacing. There had been nineteen of them going into that damn zone. Seven dead. If only they'd reacted faster. He wished now that they'd forced them to invest more in Stats. Gerald and Thelma at least had lived long lives, but Millie-

He shouldn't think that way. It wasn't helpful, and they needed to move forward.

"That's right," Dericka said quietly, voice cracking slightly. "Can you tell us a bit more about the situation here?"

"Well, normally I'd be telling you that the town's all full and you're welcome to join the camp if you respect the rules. But not a lot of people make it through that yellow. I don't think I've seen anyone come that way, to be honest with you", he paused, scratching his head.

"I can believe that," Dericka replied with a bitter grimace.

"Right… You know what, I'm going to have to take this to my superior, if you'll please be patient for a moment."

He hurried back in the direction of the town, leaving them to stand there and speculate. How had so many people reached this place before them? Had they simply started closer? Why did many look so destitute, when the MAFT should give them access to cheap goods?

It took long enough that some of their group were getting antsy, wanting to go and look for family. But before anyone could run off, the soldier returned with a man who looked to be in his late thirties, also in military uniform.

"Captain Garfield, serving under Major Russo who's in command of operations here. You are the Citrine Rank Party?"

As the man spoke, in a quick, no–nonsense manner, Kobe noticed a sizable gap between his front teeth. He also had an unfortunate face with an overly large forehead, not helped by his unkempt hair. Since he was clean shaven, which would require special effort in the post-Reset world, Kobe had to assume that he simply suffered from bad taste.

When no answer was forthcoming in the two seconds after he'd spoken, Captain Garfield felt the need to clarify, sounding impatient.

"Tier four. That means you've invested at least 400 Value in Stats and Abilities."

He was looking straight at Dmitriy as he said that, but Dericka cleared her throat.

"I suspect most of us would clear that benchmark. This is the second yellow zone that we've passed, though in the first we managed to avoid any fighting."

He frowned but nodded, eyes flicking back and forth between them, pausing longest on Kobe, Jim and Dmitriy.

"Walk with me," he said, promptly pivoting and heading back towards the walled town. They had to hurry to catch up.

"Captain Garfield, I expect you must be a very busy man, but if you could please slow down a touch? There are children with us," Dericka said.

Kobe didn't catch the man's expression, but he did slow his pace. He would have been more curt than that, not thinking to use the proper address, which may have gotten them off to a bad start. Even in this sorry state, Dericka still had great social instincts.

Still, they walked briskly through the camp, straight towards the gates. When Captain Garfield started to speak again, Kobe made sure to keep pace so he could listen in.

"More refugees are coming in every day and it will take time for more housing and defenses to be built. Your Party seems quite self-sufficient, which is good. Many people here are not. We have soldiers patrolling day and night, of course, protecting from beast attacks. But it takes a lot more to sustain a population like this. Which is why we ask for contributions. But even that they protest."

He paused as they squeezed through a small opening between two campsites, barking at the people to keep tents at least five feet apart.

"You will have several options, if you want to become part of this settlement. But first and foremost, I will encourage you to join the military. Under the visionary leadership of Major Russo, we are the one force that stands not just between people and beasts, but strives also to fight back against these invaders. We are constantly looking for ways to increase our strength and improve humanity's chances of survival. These responsibilities have us in need of more soldiers and staff."

Kobe thought some of those lines sounded rehearsed, and wondered how often he greeted incoming Parties like this.

There were shouts as they neared the gate, people being pushed aside by soldiers to make way for their party. Some people were yelling complaints and insults, asking why they were being let in before them. The captain did not slow down or address any of the complaints.

He'd expected to find a courtyard beyond the gate, but there was precious little unused space inside of the walls. All he could see were utilitarian barracks, packed together as close as possible without limiting mobility. Between the bare grey and black metal walls of the barracks were only thin alleyways, their doors facing to a central road, which led straight to what he assumed was the stationary MAFT.

The sleek chrome disk attached to a large central spike of the same material looked unique and futuristic, standing in contrast to the rest of the town. As he watched, a man with short blonde hair approached the device, then after a short pause something appeared onto the disk. It seemed to be a few bags of rice, which were quickly carried away by staff.

"Although I believe joining the military is the only right choice, other teams may also be in need of builders, or crafters, if any of you have the skill. It might be that the Supply Corps needs more hands as well. You'd have to check with the Quartermaster. None of those have privileges quite as good as army staff - most of the housing here is reserved for soldiers. You would be given anything you need, of course, including training and weapons."

He'd waited briefly for everyone to pass the gate, then continued down the main road for a bit before cutting down a few side streets, until he came to a stop in front of one of the many black barracks.

"This one should be free for the next two days. Do you have any questions?"

"Is there any communication with other settlements? Anything like a government?" Kobe asked.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

The Captain shook his head.

"We have some people on scouting missions as we speak, trying to establish contact with where other settlements might be. But I expect it will be a long time until anything like a government is restored. In the meantime, please rest assured that you're in good hands under the leadership of Major Russo," The Captain said with an artificial smile.

Kobe noticed him scratching the back of his hand, where there was an ugly scar. The man must have seen some action, but then, it would probably be hard to find anyone around here that hadn't been in.

With people tired and grieving, the interest in further conversation seemed low. After a few quick back and forth questions about where to find things and people, Captain Garfield was off.

"Okay… That was kind of overwhelming. I'm sure at this point most of you are eager to look around. Why don't we meet back here in a few hours and discuss how to proceed?" Dericka suggested.

There was some brief coordination to see who went where, and then they were off. Dericka would go around the campsites asking some questions, while Tasha wanted to check out the place where they did crafting and research.

Kobe, of course, decided to go to the one place that mattered most. The Supply Corps.

***

It took some more asking around and getting directions before he finally found the right barracks. From the outside, there was nothing to distinguish it from the other black boxes that made up the bulk of this town, but as soon as he opened the door, he was greeted by the sound of people running around and shouting. Once again, he wondered at the material these things were made of, to isolate the sound so well.

It was surprisingly spacious inside, though quite a bit of the space was taken up by crates and piles of items. A handful of people were moving back and forth, some checking boxes while others scribbled on papers. He had to actually walk up to someone and poke them before he could get further directions.

"Jobs? You'd be best off asking Jakob but he's running an errand. I mean, you could always try the Quartermaster. Her office is all the way over there, in the back to the left."

The way he said it made Kobe feel the man did not think that was a good idea.

"Anything I should know about this Quartermaster?"

"She's just, uhh… How should I put this. She can be really unpredictable at times. But you'll be fine. Probably."

That was not the most reassuring answer he could have gotten, but Kobe shrugged and headed for the Quartermaster's office anyway. He knocked twice, then opened the door when there was no answer.

The first thing he saw was two boots resting on a messy desk, soles facing towards him. A step closer revealed a small woman, sleeping with a half-smoked cigarette hanging out of her mouth. Her greasy black hair was tied back in a ponytail to reveal a face so full of puckered wrinkles, it almost looked like a pale raisin that was magically brought to life. She wore a khaki jumpsuit over a white t-shirt, the left strap dangling loose from her shoulder, nearly touching the rim of an empty whisky glass loosely held in her hand.

Kobe cleared his throat, but there was no reaction.

"Excuse me," he said, then repeated it louder when there was still no reaction.

When he spoke a third time, nearly at a shout, she jerked awake and threw the whisky glass straight at his head. He snatched it out of the air before it could hit him, confirming from the smell that there had indeed been whisky in there.

"Who are you? Why you in my office?" She barked. Her voice was somehow shrill, yet old and rough at the same time. She had a thick Asian accent.

"I'm very sorry to disturb you, Quartermaster…"

"Candy," she said after a short pause, eyeing him suspiciously. "Candy from Singapore."

Kobe blinked at the strange introduction, then cleared his throat and continued.

"Well, Quartermaster Candy-"

She interrupted him by waving her hand impatiently.

"Just Candy. What you want?" She spoke quickly and the words sounded stilted in combination with her accent that left out the t's.

"We just arrived a few hours ago. I was told by Captain Garfield that you might have some jobs. I was also hoping to learn a bit more about how supplies and access to the MAFT are managed." He clasped his hands behind his back, hoping that perhaps by hiding the evidence of her assault they could move on faster. Not that she seemed particularly bothered by it.

She moved her feet off the desk, leaning forward to take a closer look at him.

"Ooh? You want a job? So what can you do?" She grabbed a lighter, lit her cigarette again, then found the whisky bottle and took a swig.

"In my previous life, I worked as an engineer. I'm good with numbers and planning. I like to keep things organized-"

She blew out air, fluttering her lips dismissively.

"Pfft. Plaanneeer," she said in a sing-songy way, somehow making the idea sound ridiculous. "Everybody want to be planner. I've got plenty of planner, lah. What else? What's that?" She waved in the direction of his belt.

Kobe had to take a breath, feeling deeply annoyed that his hard-earned competence was so casually set aside.

"I use these as a weapon, to pass electrical current through-"

"Oooh, a fighter yah? What's your Tier?"

"I'm around Tier four. We came in through the yellow, uh, I mean, the Citrine zone as the Captain called it," he said, forcing himself to remain calm and polite.

She waved her hand dismissively.

"Fancy army talk. Citriiine, Cadmiuuum," she drew out the words again in a high voice, tilting her head left and right as she spoke. "I say yellow is yellow, lah."

Kobe was failing to get any kind of read on this woman, so he took his chance to get in a question.

"You were not part of the military then?"

She laughed at that.

"Nooo, of course not. I was just a tourist, lah, tourist. Traveling. But I landed in the same zone as Tony and his soldier boys. We start to work together. I'm good with numbers. Good at ordering people around," she shrugged, "so I became Quartermaster."

"Tony?"

"Major Tony Russo. The big boss. Anyway, so you can fight. Can you run?"

"Run? I'd say I'm quite fit, yes."

"Okay, okay, so maybe we can make a deal, yah. You want a drink?"

"I'm not sure I should, if we're going to talk business?" He said, lifting an eyebrow.

She tsked, shaking her head.

"You one of those? Apocalypse come, still can't enjoy their life? Every day can be your last, lah. Better enjoy while you can."

"...Fair point."

He sat down with a drink and she explained that they were in need of supply runners. There were too many Parties and squads of soldiers off on missions at any given time, for all of them to have sufficient supplies. Some would run into trouble, run out of arrows, need specific weapons or a Fixer Upper. They were looking for people that would be able to strike out and quickly deliver supplies to teams in need.

With her matter-of-fact communication style, the conversation only took a few minutes, when they were interrupted by a young, blonde-haired man walking in the office. There were dark bags underneath his blue eyes.

"Jaaakoob!" Candy cheered, jumping up from her chair to run over to him.

Kobe watched with some confusion as she gave the young man a hug, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder. Jakob did not seem to like it as much as Candy did.

"Hi Candy. I settled the matter with the builders, for now. We'll have to let food stocks run low so they can keep up the pace, until a few pending missions come in."

"Good boy, good boy," Candy said with a smile , patting his back appreciatively.

Jakob then turned to Kobe.

"I don't believe we've met?"

"That's Kobe. He's our new runner. Good fighter. He's got fancy electric wires, so you can give him the most dangerous runs," Candy said, grinning at Kobe. "Jakob is my assistant."

"I'm the First Supply Officer," Jakob said, giving him a sympathetic look. "Come, walk with me, I'll show you the ropes."

***

It was dusk when their group gathered again, sitting together in their barracks. To their pleasant surprise, it had separate rooms, though they were just big enough to hold a bed. Though the grief and regret were still fresh, the unseen level of comfort and privacy really helped to lift Kobe's spirits. It was starting to sink in that they'd made it, that all of their suffering had been worth something, at least.

From looking at everyone's faces, he was not the only one that felt relieved. Dericka was the odd one out, remaining unusually silent with that hollow look on her face. Her frown only deepened as Dmitriy announced that he would most likely become a soldier and Jim was considering the same.

"Where is Jim actually?" Kobe asked.

"He found his daughter," Dericka said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "They should be on their way here, actually. We have a few extra beds so it shouldn't be a problem for her to stay with us. For as long as we're allowed to stay here."

"Oh wow, that's great news! I'm happy for him. He really deserved it."

Dericka nodded but looked at the ground, and he could guess at her thoughts. The others had deserved it too, of course, to survive and finally spend some time in relative safety and comfort.

As everyone put their experiences of the settlement together, a story began to unfold. Major Russo and many of the soldiers here had come from the same base in Fort Hamilton. Quite a few had been teleported along with the pistols and other gear they'd had on them, which, along with their training, helped a great deal in getting through the zones quickly.

They had not only prioritized maps, but also used scouts and flares to more easily find each other as well as other groups of people. Once those army squads got here, they had not failed to recognize the strategic importance of the MAFT. There were apparently many starter zones around this one, though never adjacent to it. Some people only had to cross two or three zones to get there, none of them yellow. They had just been less lucky in their starting location.

"It seems that some different groups have formed, both in and around the town. Besides the soldiers, there are quite a lot of builders. They're led by a man called Joseph. I'll try to grab him for a conversation tomorrow," Dericka said. "Then there's what they call R&D, the crafters and researchers." She looked at Tasha, who nodded.

"Seems like mostly former scientists and engineers. We didn't manage to get in or speak to anyone in charge. I plan to try again later," Tasha said.

She looked frustrated, Kobe thought, already before they even arrived here. The woman had said something about her weird powers not working anymore. He hadn't been in the right mindset to ask further.

"Then there's the Supply Corps," Kobe continued. "Led by a very… colorful lady, by the name of Candy. They promised me access to the MAFT if I do some supply runs for them."

"I also noticed that there's a rapidly growing congregation. It does seem like the circumstances are right, for people to turn to religion. I heard the name Gabriel repeated a couple times, I think he's a priest. I'll try to find out more tomorrow," Dericka said.

There was a pause, then Dericka cleared her throat, speaking more carefully.

"I feel like there's something going on and I haven't been able to put my finger on it. The lack of access to the MAFT and the importance of the soldiers can be explained, but… When I asked people about Major Russo, it always felt like there was something they weren't saying. Almost as if they were afraid," she paused again, shaking her head. "Anyway, it might just be my imagination. I don't want to alarm you."

Not long after that, they all decided to get some rest. That night, despite his exhaustion, Kobe was not quick to fall asleep. He could hear the muted sobs of the girls through the thin walls of his sleeping cubicle. Although Elza had swore to raise them both as her own, one of them had just lost her mother.

They hadn't even been able to properly bury the bodies. The zone with the dogs was not an option, and they anyway wouldn't have had enough people to drag so many mangled corpses with them. Gerald, Thelma and Millie were now resting under a shallow pile of rocks, along with four of the other group, people whose names he hadn't even known.

He didn't feel guilt, really, believing that there was nothing more he could have done. There was plenty of regret, and some grief, but he hadn't really been close with any of them if he was being honest. Most of all, there was this pervasive sadness, like the world had lost some of its luster.

They'd had such a clear sense of purpose when coming here, almost like this place had been the shining beacon of a lighthouse. But now that they'd reached their goal and their options were laid out, it felt like that purpose was gone, and something was missing.

Tomorrow he'd get started, looking for the right areas to showcase his talents, finding the right people to impress. It was time to show what he was really made of, and if he had to start by making deliveries, that's what he would do.

They would have to work hard, he thought, to build something that was worth fighting for. He would do his part.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.