Fatal | The Second Life I [COMPLETED]

Chapter 12: Departments

I holster my pistol, still not wanting to go without it. With all that's happened yesterday and today, I don't know when I'll be able to go without it. I leave the knife, though, and walk out of the room.

I walk down the hallway, hearing commotion downstairs. The hallway, however, was empty. I rush towards the stairway, hoping I didn't miss anything. I see Tori and co, and I sit down next to them.

"There you are." Catey says. "It'll start soon."

"Okay." I say, looking around. It was a room filled with kids and teens. It was a very odd scene. Something I had certainly never seen before, when it was total kids. No adults. Maybe there was more to this infection than I thought? No, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

"Hello." I hear, and I shift my head towards the front of the room. It's Kjrsten. "Well, now we are here. So I'm going to explain how this settlement will function."

"We have a total of 40 people. That isn't many, but It means that we won't have to use as many resources." She begins. "We are going to be divided into 5 Departments. Each person here will be in one of those departments. If we are to be a functioning place, we need everyone doing their part."

"The first Department is going to be The Department of Defense and Runners. This Department will consist of Defense: people who protect our community and are like the police. The runners will be the scavengers and scouts outside of the facility."

"The Culinary Department will consist of our cooks. This may sound mundane, but any person needs food. Working with them will be The Agriculture Department, which, as it sounds like, will specialize in cultivating Battery Park to provide us with food. They and the runners will get the food for the Culinary Department."

"The fourth Department is for Internal Affairs. They will be in charge of making sure the whole community runs smoothly. Included here is the Medical Staff, for when someone gets hurt. Our medical capability isn't very great right now."

"Our final department is called SPEC, and it is for special affairs such as working with Defense and the Runners, and if we find other survivors, diplomacy. This is the most physically demanding Department."

"I need you to visit me sometime before midnight and tell me which department you'll be joining. If you don't choose a department, you won't be able to stay." She says. "That's all. Any questions?"

No one asks any questions, and she dismisses us. We wait our turn to walk up the stairs, and back to our rooms. I flop down on the bed, bored. As disturbing as the outside world is, some people just wanted to do something.

     I was one of those people.

     Considering my awful cooking, the Culinary Department would be a train wreck for me. Although I wasn't very excited about what would be coming out of that kitchen. Food, yes. But good? Probably not. I wasn't experienced in farming at all. So that went down with Culinary.

     That left Internal, Defense, and SPEC. I had a feeling Internal would basically be management and planning, so I wouldn't do as much as the other two.

     Defense & Runner, or SPEC?

     In Defense, is basically be police. Li- like my dad. Where the fuck were they when I need them? I'm alone here. Totally alone.

     Fuck it. I have to go SPEC. If I have any chance of finding Evan and co, then that would be the best option. They are the ones with special missions and diplomacy. Kjrsten's right hand men. Just then someone knocks at my door.

     "Come in." I say, wiping away the moisture building up in my eyes. The door swings open, and Adam, Catey, and Tori walk in. "You bored?"

     "Yeah." Catey says. "And you seem to be, even with sleep."

     "Nah, nightmares!" Tori laughs. "You should've seen him sweat."

     "True story." I mutter, sitting in my chair. "So what department are you going into?"

     "So you're staying?" Adam asks.

     "Nowhere else to go, I guess." I say. "I'd need my friends to head back to Tulsa."

     "Fair enough." Tori admits. "I don't know, though. I want a job where I do something."

     "Same here." I say. "I'm doing SPEC."

     "I heard that one is going to be super hard to get in to." Tori says. "But if you want to try, go for it."

     "Me too." Catey says. "Hell, none of us want to be stuck in here all the time."

     "If you go, I want to come with you." Adam says. "If you get into SPEC, I want to be able to protect you."

     "Thank you." She says. "So it's settled? We're all going for SPEC?"

"I guess so." Tori says. "If I don't make it, I'm going for runner. Let's do this."

"Let's." I say, and we walk out of the room and down the hallway. I hoped we'd all make it. These were my only friends here. Of course I could make new ones, but these ones were really nice. If it wasn't for them...

Why would I be here?

I would probably be on top of that roof still. Not knowing the place I'm at or the city I'm stuck in. Maybe my friends would've found me... no, they still will. They'll find out where Battery Park is. I'm sure of it.

We make it to Kjrsten's room, and knock.

"Yes?"

"It's Ronnie. I made my decision."

"And that is?"

"I'm staying."

She opens the door. "Amazing. Come in, I'd like to talk with you guys."

We walk inside, and see that her room is largely the same as ours. That was a good sign. We sit in a couple chairs, and she sits on her bed.

"What's on your mind?" She asks.

"We're all going to try for SPEC." Tori states.

"Ooh." Kjrtsen says, leaning back in her chair. "All four of you, yes?"

"Yup." Adam says.

"Alright." She says. "Meet me here tomorrow at 9 in the morning."

"Cool." Catey says.

"Lykke til." Kjrsten says, clearly in some Nordic language. What it was, no clue. We walk out of the room, and back up to our rooms.

We all go to our own rooms this time, and I lay on the bed. If I made it tomorrow, I may be able to see my friends.