Moving into the house was something I did quickly. People rushed around, trying to stock their homes for the war. I did the same. My house didn't have a T.V. nor did it have WI-Fi. I called to have them come out. Though they said with the war coming, they would send someone as soon as they could. Which did not give me confidence that they were gonna show. So I bought as much plants and books as I could. Even if it was a book I wasn't excited about, I could learn to love it if it bore enough to me.
With the plants, I felt better about having enough food to get by. I kept practicing my force field. Now I had moved up to testing for how long I could keep it up, and how many I could create at once. This kept me busy while I gathered things. I bought more than enough items to make the raised beds and the soil to put in them. A book on learning to compost that I was prepared to start. I Bought as many of the bargain bin books as I could. Hauling it all back to my new home. Having plastic chairs and soft pillows waiting for me. I didn't have the chance to get a bunch. Of furniture, but that didn't mean that I couldn't get comfortable. My bed was a blowup on with a memory foam top. It felt great to sleep on.
My only connection with what was happening on the news was the gossip I overheard. I listened to conversations that others had the moment I heard the war mentioned. The president was doing a lot of damage control, trying to stop the war from happening. Though by the looks of it, he doesn't have much to work with. China, Japan, and South Korea have fought. To no one's surprise, North Korea joined in trying to 'reclaim' South Korea. While the USA has joined no war just yet, it was getting ugly out there. Hearing that, I doubled down in my efforts to getting my home ready. I bought plants that were already grown. A makeshift greenhouse and the tarps that people put over their plants in winter to keep them warmer. I wondered if I should get chickens or not. Debating it, I went to a nearby farm and asked. They said 'if you have money to blow, do it' and not much else. With their less than excellent review, I didn't get any.
As time passed, fewer people were on the street. They were hiding away in their homes with their family. To go out, you had to make appointments with the owners of stores to buy things. My last trip out was to buy more books. The shelves I had were full, and I was still getting more. Though now they were mostly cookbooks, or how to books. I wanted to figure things out and not have to rely on my neighbors too much. The first time I noticed I hadn't left my home was four weeks later. Happily milling away in my garden and setting things up for the winter. I wondered how things were going with the war. I know I could look at my phone to tell, but I've set it aside. With all the evidence of the war being gone from my home, I would forget that it was a danger.
Reading became one of my favored pass times. I bought more yarn than I would ever need with all the tools I didn't know what I use them for. With the yarn, I tried to learn how to make a blanket and a few stuffed animals. The first of which was wonky, and some stitches were missed or doubled for no reason. But life moved on. Slow and steady.
When the alarm began screaming, it was early. The sun wasn't over the horizon but it had trickling sun light over the edge. With the siren blaring, I turned on the hand crank radio I had bought. It didn't matter what station I turned on, as they were all talking about the attack. There have tower, been several bombing happening around the USA, and other countries. Spain, and Thailand having the most casualty so far. With them also housing an entrance to the tower, many people fled to the tower.
"Both governments cannot give exact numbers of dead, and missing at this moment." The reporter said when static cut her off.
"WARNING WARNING THIS IS A MESSAGE FROM YOUR GOVERNMENT: IF YOU ARE IN THE FAIRLESSHILLS AREA PLEASE EVACUATE. AGAIN IF YOU ARE IN THE FAIRLESS HILL'S AREA PLEASE EVACUATE."
So the war began. Staying seated on my bed listening to the new reporter tell people about different safe houses and where to evacuate to. When a faint burning sensation pulled at my skin. Starting small but growing larger as the seconds passed. My ears hurt as a high pitch screaming filled the air. Scared, I used the Force field over the house and land. Burning started getting hotter as I waited for the crack in the force field. The screaming was loud but muffled once the force field was up. The seconds passed with the radio making static noise. Then nothing.
The burning was still there but now felt like a sunburn, while the screaming was gone as well. The only sound left in the room was the static radio. Taking a breath, I braced myself for looking out the window. My garden was fine, but the sky was not. The dull blue stood out agents the neon blue stings that wiped and waved across the sky.
"GET TO SAFETY. IF YOU ARE INSIDE STAY IN SIDE!" The static voice rang out. I could barely understand what the person was saying other than those words. They kept repeating those words over and over. Taking her advice, I Pulled the curtains closed and kept the force field up. Curling up in my bed, I tried to think of other things than what lay just outside my bed. It was a long while before my skin felt cool. The burning that was there no longer haunted me.
A few days passed like that. Checking the outside for any changes and wondering if I should leave the house. Looking for cracks in the force field. Though none showed from where I could see. Pulling the curtains closed, hoping to hide away for longer. Turning on the radio to listen to the static of different channels. When another message finally got through from the outside talking about radiation and bombs. That they hit other countries. Multiple countries nuked the countries with towers entrances. They only shot one nuke per country. While sending more regular bombs to other locations in that country to distract. People claimed that for an evil idea, it was a good one. The tower entrenches didn't take damage, but no one could get close to them now. The military personal guarding them would be dead too. After that news, I stayed in bed for a few more days.
While laying in bed I looked at my skills and what I could do. If I was stuck here until the radioactivity dispersed, then it was gonna take a long time. Though while looking at nuclear reneger, I found it has three stages. Alpha beta and omega. Beta and gamma are the most dangerous. While alpha can't penetrate skin. Though it's still dangerous to breathe in, if you wear a mask and goggles, then it won't be able to hurt you. I could save everyone.
I didn't have goggles, so I would have to improvise. Taking a couple of glass pecs I had from the greenhouse, I broke it into smaller pierces before gluing them into goggles. They were hard to see out of, but it was the best I could do for now. Stopping by a store while out was the only thing I could do. If I could even get that close. Looking at the air in my force field, I realized something. Could I even change the radiation into alpha on a large enough scale? The decay would make the radiation break down quicker.
Wrapping myself up to cover everything bit of skin before leaving the house. Heading towards the edge of my land where the force field should end. The plants have grown tall in the last few days, forcing me to shove my way through the plants. Some of which has thorns. I watched my arm getting close to a vine with a thorn, ready for it to cut my arm. Though the closer I got to the vine, the further the thorn shrunk away. That caught my attention. I reached out for the thorns. The vine didn't shrink away from me, but the thorns would bend if I press on them.
Taking a breath, I let go of the vine. It was probably just the skill of trying to bend to my will. It's not like I want to get hurt by the thorns. Continuing through the plants, I made it to the edge of the force field. Moving the plants out of the way, the world rolled out before me. Thankfully, we were far enough from the tower entrance that nothing looked destroyed other than windows and plants. The once green yards and fields were a sickly yellow.
Using my skill, I strained my eyes to see if it was working. There was no noticeable difference. So I kept using my skill again and an again. Nothing changed. My heart dropped as I looked out into the world. While I had made a safe place to ride out the war. I had done too good a job. Now stuck in here with no one and no way out. The only people that cared for me were near the tower. Crumpling to the floor, warm tears ran across my face.
When I returned to my home, I found my radio. The battery was dead, leaving me to have to wind it to create enough energy to revive it. Winding and winding. Once revived, I listened to the news reports. I heard the USA has declared war after all fifty states were hit. It was smaller bombs that targeted Capital city. With no sign of this war ending and the rage of all the death. There is an out cry from the citizens, only to find out that the USA isn't the only country that had bombs target their capital city. The bombs have come from different locations. While I was waiting in the silence, sleeping away. More bombs were being relived around the world.
There has to be something. Other than being stuck here in a glass cage, waiting to die. I didn't want to go out like that. I have skills. Surely there was something I could do. Taking my phone out, I researched about the previous nuclear bombs we dropped and what the areas look like today. While looking at how some places were overgrown but thriving with life, a new idea formed. There was a way to fix this. I just had to use that skill to the best of my ability. The areas were still heavily retroactive, but I could upgrade that skill and make it easier. I wanted to make it so that my neighbors could return to their homes and enjoy the land again. The only problem was that I couldn't measure how things were going. If I was making a large enough difference to the surrounding area. Not letting that stop me, I got to work gathering things I would need. I have a plan. All that's left it to put it in motion.
The next morning, I got to work. Forcing my way to the edge of the force field, I scattered the seeds I bought for the coming years. My heart pounding in my chest as I closed my eyes and focused. I created another force field around the closest house to me. From there, I used the decay to get rid of the radiation. Even if I just made it go from beta to alpha, that's all I needed. Decay was a weak skill only at level 1. That meant I was gonna be here all day decaying one molecule at a time until I could do more. Without another option, that's what I did. Sitting in the dirt, musing my skill to the best of my ability. Until the sun was almost gone.
With sweat from my brow, I muttered "Open," before looking at the screen.
Noa Sanders: Level 103
Nature's sugar baby: level 89
poison Resistance: level 64
Heat vision: 2
Healing Factor: 56
Force Field Generation: 26
Decay: 2
Feather steps: level 36
Lucky: 65
Aim:35
Investigate: 33
Silent Breath:45
I had gone up in level seance the last time I looked. Worried about what would happen if I used all my energy on this, I took breaks. Though looking at the skills I have, there were unlikely to be any issues. Though with how slowly the skills leveled outside of the tower, it would take a few days before I could make any progress. Force field was only that strong because I used it in the tower. This set back would not push me away just yet. 'If I make a smaller force field and clean it, then I could add that to my main force field. Then I could see my progress as until I could free another house.' I thought, looking at the house. The closest neighbor's house was at least 30ft away from me. That was only where the house began.
With the change in plans, I shrunk the second force field. Watching to see what happened, there was a heat from the other side of the force field. It was like being inside the car on a hot day. With the air conditioner going, it's not hot, but you could see the waves of heat outside. Without a second thought, I stood up and went home. I would have to work harder tomorrow.
So I when about my plan, working hard every day. Life became a simple scheduled; wake up, eat, water the plants, go to the edge, work on cleaning the air/land, go home, sleep, repeat. It was strange how this lifestyle became second nature to me as the days passed. I even got to make progress. When cleaning the air of the second field I stooped feeling anything happening. Taking the change, I opened the field into the main one. The surrounding air sucked into a new area, like a vacuum. Usually I would do these tasks with the radio on. They would still play music on some channels.
"Excuse me," clearing their throat, "Person living in the dead zone. Can you hear me?" a muffled voice from the radio said. Turning to the radio I had set down. My face scrunching in confusion. The music was back. I thought I was so lonely that I was hallucinating voices. The voice called out again, "Can you hear me? Person in the dead zone."
"Am I- are they talking to me?" I asked, looking at the radio. The problem was if they were talking to me, there was nothing I could do to talk back. The radio was one way… or at least I thought it was one way. I'm not sure how radios work.
"Oh, well, you can hear me," the voice said.
"What?" I asked again.
"Hello person living in the dead zone! My name is Amy Frost. I have a radio skill that allows me to hear things and talk through radio waves." The voice cheered.
"Hello, Amy. What can I do for you?" I asked, looking at the radio. Glad that I thought about wearing pants. I wouldn't have if I were more on my property. Didn't want any random pictures of me not wearing pants while cleaning up the waste.
"I'm glad you asked! I'm contacting you on behalf of the Association!" She cheered again.
"Okay?"
"We want to ask you how you survived and if it's a skill that others can use? When the bombings happened, many people ran into the towers and we want to make a way for them to safely leave them," she explained.
"It's a skill… well, multiple skills. I'm trying to clean up as much as I can but… I don't know if I'll be able to make it back at the tower before they come back. It's taken me almost a week to make it to my neighbors' lawn." I said back. The pressure in my chest causing me to rub my hands.
"Oh…." The radio returned to music. Disappointment and shame filled my lungs. My face burned along with my eyes. I know I wasn't much help, but I was trying my best.
Still, I waited for the radio to talk again. I continued my work, making sure not to face the radio, so she wouldn't see the hurt. I didn't want her or whoever the association was to look at me with any more disappointment than they already did. Though Amy didn't talk again that day or the next, or the one after that. Still, I made sure that the radio remained on while I worked so that if she or anyone else could talk to me. Before she talked to me, I was happy with my work and the plants. I didn't want or need to talk much, but I did, anyway. Now I just felt lonely and sad that the first person I had talked to in weeks was gone.
Another two weeks passed before I finally made it to my neighbor's front door. I cheered and hollered at the progress. The plants grew along with me to the front door. Making their yard covered in different food types. I opened the front door and looked in. The smile fell from my face.
They're at their front door were my neighbors. They smelled, and their bodies charred beyond recognition. Laying face down but reaching for the door. They were trying to escape. They tried to run.
Looking back at all the work I did. I could have swept them up in my force field. I could have saved them. We would have worked together to regain the area. Sure I had to skills, but they had the actual skills. The ones you made with hard work and time. Just powers that were given to me. I didn't have to work for this, any of this. I didn't suffer to get this far. Wasted so much time trying my best. When I just kept failing. I walked away from the house, closing the door. Just a few steps away, just far enough that the house and neighbors couldn't see me. I failed.
I didn't work for the next few days. Just looked at the house, wondering what I should do next. If I should do anything or just wait for others to save me. If they would come for a waste of space like me. The plants were trying their best to grow taller and block out more of the world. Soon I thought that the total force field would be nothing but plants. "I can't help people, but I should try any make room for you to grow." I muttered, defeated. The plants seemed to like that idea as they stretched out of my way.
Without another purpose or plan for the day to day. I kept working on the cleaning. Working my way to the tower. As I moved closer to it, I felt things were going faster. I made more progress than the first few weeks. The power went out a week ago. Making it hard to get water. Though A new feature of the force field I didn't expect was that it didn't let things out either. Just yesterday it rained in my little dome. As I kept going without a plan. Taking the radio with me. Each new house I opened and found the occupants. I gave them a burial with a grave marker. Then pushed on to the next house.
When the radio came to life, I gasped. It was a new bulletin about the death of three major leaders. They were killed at the same time with a fast bullet. I listened a little longer. I couldn't do anything about that, nor did I want to at the moment. The people in charge were the ones that caused this to begin with. So I continued moving towards the towers.
The next morning, the new bulletin repeated with new leaders dead. For a moment, I thought it was repeating, as it was big news. But when they mentioned the deaths of leaders of two tower holding countries, I realized this wasn't the same news as yesterday. Someone was doing their best to change how things were going. I envied them while worrying about them making the change I wish I could. I thought I could make a difference with all the powers I was given.
The next few mornings were the same. Until they made a new broadcast "Attention everyone, My name is Lance. I'm in charge of the Association. I'm also the one that has killed the world leaders the last few days. What you don't know is that I have killed all world leaders. I will end this war," He spoke. His voice is firm. It felt like I could rely on him. Which was stupid when thinking about what he was doing. I opted to not listen to him and keep working. He spoke on the radio now and then with new updates. When I changed the channel, he would spoke on it in a distinct language. Which reminded me I still had the letter in my bag from the tower. I would have to look at it and try to decipher it. I wanted to gift it to Zhen Seong after I did so that I would have a reason to meet him again. Then I could introduce him to Bruna. With the way things are right now, I'm not sure that they have even lived through the bombs that have been dropped. Shaking my head, I tried to get rid of those thoughts. I would translate the letter once I clear a path to the tower. Then I would get to see Sargent Payton, who escaped into the tower before the bomb landed. I would get in contact with Zhen Seong and Bruna and we would get to eat and talk about what we've been up to. If I believe in this dream hard enough, maybe, just maybe, it would come true.
PING PING
"CONGRATULATIONS!! Now 24% of the eligible population have completed the towers tutorial or passed in another way! Only 1% to go before you get the first floor of the towers trial.
That being said, the floor you will receive will be the first trial that the 25% person gets as their first trial. Keep that in mind when you are running thru the tower."
With that pop up, the radio comes to life again.
"Mr. Sanders? Are you there?" Amy's voice questioned.
"Yes," I answered. Picking up the radio, I felt happy that I heard from Amy again. I couldn't believe how long it had been seance I last heard from her.
"Mr. Sanders, we need your help. Can you clear a path to the towers? We just need to make it so that people can enter them and get as many people to clear them as possible." She said. Looking at how far I had made it since we last talked. I made good progress, but I was still a long way away from the tower.
"I…" I began.
"Mr. Sanders. You might not know it, but the world is dying. Several nuclear bombs and a war full of sacrificing human lives have made it so the air is poisoning us. Our best scientist says we have three years at most before it gets dangerous for everyone. Please, even if you have to take your time. Even if it takes a while. Help us." She pleaded.
"I'll try my best. It might take a while but I will make a path. Once I get to the tower, I'll run back to open the path for you," I answered.