Capítulo 22: AWOL DDR Camps

The drive back didn't take as long but we decided to stop by the apartment where Nathan used to live. It was because there was still some space left in the truck but if we filled it up with the items we'd get from the area close to where Derek's house was, we wouldn't be able to fit everything. With that said, we loaded the truck with essential items first but we did leave the ones we wouldn't have an immediate use for.

After that, we drove inside the compound and Lois couldn't believe our haul.

"Bro, why are you guys getting so many?"

"It only had been two days since it started and as far as we know, almost everyone that rushed to the camps left some items we could take for ourselves. I know it sounds bad but if we didn't do this now, someone else would've done it instead."

"I see… Can you look out for some handheld consoles for me?"

"Seriously?"

"Yep."

"Sure…"

After a while of unloading the supplies we took, we then returned to the gated house where we rescued Rio.

We found less food and water than usual though we found a few bottles of antibiotics and other types of medicine located in their medicine cabinets. We also found propane tanks in the kitchen along with a few bottles of alcohol placed neatly on a rack. After taking the essential items first, the group took back a dartboard and a portable basketball ring attached to a board.

I decided to let them load it up on the truck because those items could be used to pass the time. It was not like we would be digging deep with our nails just to finish our tasks because resting and chilling were also part of surviving. When we were about to leave, we found more kibble for Rio and a few toys that might've belonged to him.

I looked at the truck and only a quarter of it was full since we only took the essentials and some other items. It could also be attributed that the family packed most of their items before leaving and there were items inside the house that we could leave there for now and just take when the need arises.

Jared mentioned as he climbed on the back of the truck, "Bro, it would be nice if we could find a gun or two in some of the houses. The only things we could categorize as a weapon from some of the things we found are knives or some of the sporting equipment lying around…"

"It would be very lucky to even get so much as a revolver from this neighborhood. Well, we'll never know for sure but gun laws are strict in this country. But yeah, I wish we could find some either tucked away in a safe or just behind a headboard or something…"

"So how did you get those then?" Mark asked as he pointed at the guns on our person.

"This? Hmm~ Let's just say I did hard work to gain access to them—like studying the gun laws here and whatnot—so I could pass a few among the several tests required by the government. Passing those tests would grant you several licenses to acquire firearms much, much, easier. However, that could only do so much… you need to be a little… creative."

"Creative?"

"If I went for the honorable route, probably more than half of my money would be spent on taxes, fees, etc., so you need to know someone from the inside to bypass almost all of them. The easy way to do it is to grease their palms with money and if you'd compare the bribe to all of those fees involved, it was just a fraction… Oh, and there's also that way…"

"That way?"

"Well~ I can't exactly tell you—ah, what's the fucking point now? There are much easier—though much dangerous—ways if you want your money to be spent on what you want. There's a lot of cracks where a few things could fall through so you just need to find a way to have what you wanted fall through those cracks while everyone else is looking away."

"Wait, are you talking about smuggling—"

"Maybe?"

"You don't know what you're doing, Boss?"

"What I'm doing? No. I'm talking about purchasing firearms through illegal channels. Sure, some of the guns I have are probably smuggled but I'm just the buyer. However, buying firearms this way also had its challenges. You'd need to have your identity completely unravelable—leaving no trace or erasing your footprint after the transaction is over—while making sure the items that you'd receive are authentic."

"Damn, Boss… I didn't know you did that…"

"Has your perception of me changed?"

"I didn't mean to—"

"No worries, heh. Just remember that not everything is black or white. Good thing I invested in acquiring firearms early on or else we'd just be using melee weapons along with the improvised stuff. But yeah, in the end, everything revolved around money if you think about it."

Jared spoke up, "How about Oscar, bro? Surely he also stocked up on lots and lots of guns too!"

"Hah! Oscar? Let's just say that when he sold everything he owned in the US to move here, guns among other things weren't the ones he let go. In fact, he bought a lot more and exceeded his collection several times. One of the reasons that he took a lot of trips abroad is that he is stocking up on a lot of them and bringing them here. It was because even if we have guns available in this country, the collection and the variety is not as good if you compare it to what the world has to offer."

Jared's eyes lit up as he heard my reply. It seemed that he wanted to ask more questions but we arrived at the two gated areas right next to each other. They were secured by our own locks now so we had easy access.

We thoroughly searched the place and found a lot of food items that were preserved, perishable, and still alive which were the rabbits happily hopping around.

Kaley immediately took them and she tied a small ribbon to one whom she named Bugs. There were a total of 7 rabbits in the cage and I already had plans to make them grow in numbers first.

"Kaley, place them near the cans of food so it could be easily categorized later," I teased.

As soon as I said that, Kaley looked at me with a glare and a pout as she placed them away from where the food items were located. I just watched her let out a little bit of killing intent when I named the rest of the rabbits by the recipes I would cook them into.

With that said, we also found different amounts of rice still in their sacks or in their own dispensers. Though some of them had no labels, my workers and I could easily identify what kind they were because we were selling them in my stores.

Among the other items, we found two water containers that had plastic spigots attached to them. We took them because I also planned to have that same container for each room in my compound easily accessible.

We loaded the truck with the rest of the items we found and it was once again full of essential items plus items of comfort. After that, we locked the gates once more and we went back to the compound where Oscar was waiting for me.

"Kid, how about building a 2-layered fence instead of a single barricade? It would be better to do that first, right?"

"That sounds good, we could drill a hole to our wall and the other side so we could weld the chain-linked fence in it."

"Heh, I just asked you but we're already planning on doing it."

"The fuck did you ask me then? Heh, how about the catwalk? Are you guys done already?" I replied, shaking my head in amusement.

"The catwalk on the left side is done but the one on the right still needs a few beams to be placed to prevent it from wobbling. Oh right, the things you said that could hold the climbing ropes are also installed. We could finish the catwalk on the right side if we work on it till midnight."

"Hmm, just take some rest and finish it in the morning. We need people to have the energy for later."

"Okay, boys! You heard the man! Let's take a little breather!" Oscar yelled at the guys busy at work.

"Alright—"

"Oh, I still need people unloading the truck," I said as I scratched my head.

"Okay, boys! You heard the man! Chop! Chop!" Oscar yelled at the guys about to take a rest.

"WuT?!"

Almost all of them lost their footing for a second but they still helped us even if they just finished their shift. Rin was also present and continued her job and she was also in charge of where each item should be placed in the storage areas.

They didn't take as long but after a while, I looked at my watch and it read 4:00 PM.

At the same time as last time, Olivia came out running with Aya and exclaimed, "Guys! The President is having another broadcast!"

As soon as we heard that, we gathered in my living room and took our seats. We saw the president in the same getup but vigor had appeared on his face, unlike last time when we could detect a hint of stress.

[Philippines, this is your president speaking. We had a fucking hell of a day, didn't we? We stopped the emergency sirens this morning because we learned noise attracts these sons of bitches. We're slowly learning about them so we could fight back more effectively. Our situation here is much more favorable than the other countries because we had less land to cover and water separates us from the other countries which rely on their land borders.]

[Unfortunately, we have lost a lot of people from these two days. The first reason is this fucking virus and the other one is because of those fucking cowards that decided to save their fucking hide! I'm talking about my fucking soldiers that have gone AWOL. I hate to say this but a few DDR Camps are now unresponsive. They are either overrun or have been taken over by those fucking cowards that had the balls to call themselves soldiers. They are a fucking shame to their uniform and must be put down!]

After the president bellowed, he paused for a bit but he was furiously looking at the camera, almost telling the soldiers that had gone AWOL that he would fuck them up the moment he sees them. It took him a few moments to calm down but he continued.

[We have set up a fortress in Davao City and my soldiers and I are slowly taking it back from those biters. If you're not aware, Davao City is located in Mindanao, one of the island groups in our country. I would suggest the people that are close to join me in our fight or keep strong if you're far. The only means of transportation you could reach this place is through boats because we're still far from clearing the airports. Just a reminder, Luzon is the most infested because of the population density, followed by Mindanao, and lastly Visayas.]

[Even if I'm here, don't worry if you're in the other island groups. My soldiers from the other areas are still present and aside from erecting DDR Camps, they are also guarding our dams which are providing clean water or even electricity to select areas. However, in some areas where those dams are not located, power will be unavailable because we will start conserving our energy for communications. Our broadcasts will be aired for as long as we can, every day at 4:00 PM. The news reports will be looped until midnight so we encourage you to do your work while there is still light.]

[To those of you who have HAM Radios or Satellite Phones the frequency and the numbers we are using are displayed on the screen and we need information from all parts of the country. We are doing our best to overcome this situation but we also need help from everyone. Those that have sacrificed themselves for the cause will be honored by those who are left. This will be a hellish climb but we will need each other if we are to survive. That will be all for now, stay strong.]

The president gave a strong salute before the broadcast ended. After that, the news reports started to take over but we instinctively looked at each other. We were looking at each other solemnly and it was far from the look of fear and helplessness the others were wearing from the first broadcast. Each one of them was slowly adapting to the situation and was having the right mindset for this scenario.

"It sounds like despite what's happening, the government is still doing its best."

"I agree, I first thought that the president would be holed up in a bunker, waiting for everything to pass."

"Even if he's always assuring us, we're very far from where he is. He also said that Luzon is the most dangerous island group and we are in it. Not only that, we're in NCR, the most populated region."

"Yes, but we're at the edge, not the cities located in the center."

"He said that some of the soldiers have gone AWOL. Do you think the camp next to us is?"

"We're not sure yet so we shouldn't scare ourselves. However, if they are, most of those living there would have died already and we would've heard the gunshots."

"I mean, it would be dangerous being so close to them because of their weapons and all."

"I could confirm that's not the case. I've been frequenting the areas around our base and I've flown there a couple of times already. They seem to be friendly people and they're even waving at the drone when they see it flying around."

"Let's just hope we can be friends with them."

"Or we could offer allegiance so they wouldn't hurt us."

"The fuck are you talking about?!"

"Hey, I'm just being realistic here. You want to fight with actual soldiers?"

"You're too pessimistic, me? I'd rather go down in a fight."

"Guys, relax~ The soldiers here wouldn't do shit to us. Boss and Old Boss got it all under control. If anything, they should be offering allegiance to us. Heh, they don't know what's coming to them if they try to do some weird shit."