Desolation

Preparation

May 2024
New York
...
Mino woke up with a start, soaked in perspiration. His breathing was ragged as he recalled the nightmare he'd had. He sighed as he ran a tired hand through his jet black hair.

He got up from his bed and brushed his teeth and then took his bath. After he was done dressing up he left his room and locked the door. There was a meeting that day involving all the three divisions that included the individual teams under each division as well as their leaders.

The level above the control centre was where they usually had their meetings as well as their combat trainings and practices. Before the meeting started Mino made sure to supervise the ration distribution; the day's rations were lesser than usual. It was to be expected since the rations were only getting smaller each drop.

Mino had to believe they would pull out somehow, they had to. After getting the rations of canned meat with vegetables from the level below which held all the rations, Mino distributed it equally.

Every morning, there was always a headcount and proper record of each individual was taken; blood type, allergies and so on. So far, they had two pregnant women with them. They both had partners and that was both their first child.

Though the birth rate was strictly monitored, unplanned pregnancies still occured, albeit rarely because of the birth control.

Those children were allowed to live and grow, probably owing to the fact that the leaders understood all too well how precious life was since for the last few years the world had known nothing but death and sorrow. Children were still considered a good thing, people saw them as an emblem of hope in a time of despair.

After Mino was done supervising the distribution of the rations, he left for the second level.

The meeting would be what would decide their next course of action and if they had any chance of surviving the next few months.

|||••|||

When Mino got to the second level, he was able to locate his team, Team Alpha almost immediately. Jonas, Mark and Maria has spotted him from afar and both sides met each other halfway.

"Morning, boss." It was Maria that spoke. She had a grin on her lips, olive-green eyes glittering with mischief. She was wearing her signature slightly baggy khakis and crop top.

"Sup, Captain." It was Jonas this time that spoke and gave Mino a respectful nod, cigarette still in mouth.

"How ya doing, Ace?" Mark greeted playfully as he stood beside Mino and they all made their way to their Team's spot in front.

The place was no doubt crowded with all three divisions as well as their factions being present.

The Security Division had a total of six teams each which consisted of four people including the team leader. The Investigation Division had four teams which also consisted of four people. The Medical Division had five teams which consisted of four individuals as well.

Each of the three Divisions had a Chief Captain. Kennedy was the head of the Security Division. Susan, who used to be a Surgeon before the war was the Chief Captain of the Medical Division and Cain who used to be a cop was the Chief Captain of the Investigation Division.

All the Divisions were interconnected and often worked together but they never broke their rank.

The Chief Captains all stood at the front lines with the Captains of each team in their division and stood at attention.