At the Governnt Base
A few days went by, and Rayne was now fully focused on developing her own base. From her observations over the past few days, the governnt base was not handling things well, and the situation was only getting worse.
She had already made a few trips to the market to 'sell looted items' just to stock the shelves a little bit. People were slowly starving, eating only once every other day.
Even those with contribution points had a hard ti filling their bellies, as there was nothing available to purchase.
Even after days of unrest, no one from the base's administration had co out to address any of the issues or try to pacify the residents.
Unrest was growing as quickly as the prices. People were getting desperate, and theft, along with other petty cris, spread throughout the base like wildfire.
Every day, Rayne could hear people crying, either from starvation or from their items being stolen. She knew that things could not continue this way and that this base was a ticking ti bomb.
She was currently sitting on the couch, surrounded by laptops and tablets, looking through many preloaded maps in search of an area where she could develop her base.
She had found a lot of inspiration from her trip to the north and her eting with Fred. Their small community was a good example of how adaptable humans could be when people band together.
She wished that the base she developed could inspire hope in the people who lived there.
As she continued to look through the various topographical maps, she found it difficult to choose a suitable location.
Every spot she considered had its own benefits, making the decision even more difficult.
"If I choose this mountainous area, it will have a good amount of natural defenses, but it lacks fertile land... and I really wanted to make farming plots and greenhouses in the future," Rayne mumbled to herself, lost in thought.
She circled another area that was similar to the forested area where Julian's bunker was built. This would provide a lot of natural resources and wildlife, as well as fertile soil once the trees were cleared.
She had a few different pinned locations—so were along the southern coast, while others were in the countryside, where established farms and ranches were located.
Julian ca back from eting with Noah and Ian and saw the frustrated look on Rayne's face.
"Still can't decide on a spot?" he laughed, walking over to her.
"No! There are so many things to consider! I just want soplace that's easy to defend and can work as a farm!" she cried out.
The clock was ticking, and the governnt base was only going downhill. There was also the looming threat of Damien's n discovering them here at any mont, so she felt very pressured to pick sothing as quickly as possible.
Only after she decided on a spot could she start looking for people to help her build it. All of these things took ti, sothing she felt she had very little of.
Julian lifted her and placed her to sit on his lap. "Don't stress it, babe, it will work out. Maybe we should go check so of these places out. It might help you make a choice."
Rayne took another look at the map where she had circled potential spots. Most of them were too far away, about a day's trip.
"That might really be a good idea. Shall we go now? I'm worried that taking our ti will co back to bite us in the future," she said, looking up at him.
"Sure, let's go. Just be sure to tell Ella you'll be leaving. I'm sure she's going to try coming over to see you again today," joked Julian.
Rayne rolled her eyes. "We both know she's coming to see Noah, not ." Ever since the day Ella ca over to ask about the details of Rayne's love-making experience, Ella had been visiting every single day.
Julian laughed. "I know, I know. Maybe I should ask Noah to move in here while we're gone. That way, when Ella cos over, she'll get what she wants."
Rayne nodded and thought about her best friend with Noah. They seed compatible, and Noah was a very responsible man. Maybe the two of them getting to know each other wouldn't be so bad.
After thinking it through, she nodded. "You know what? Let's go ahead and do that. You tell Noah to move in for a few days, while I'll change and prepare clean sheets and blankets for him."
With a new plan in place, Julian went next door to speak with Noah while Rayne got ready for their trip.
Twenty minutes later, everything was settled, and Julian t up with Rayne to head out. Noah did as Julian requested and moved next door to 'house sit' while Rayne and Julian were out.
The first place Rayne decided to visit was the mountain location. However, this ti, the mountain location was to the west of their location, not north where City R was.
According to the topographical maps she looked at earlier, there was a small plateau toward the top of the mountain.
They drove out of the base in Rayne's SUV, heading west toward the mountain range. It was still morning, so they had plenty of ti to make it there before it got dark.
Thankfully, there hadn't been any additional snow these past few days; otherwise, the trip would have been nearly impossible.
While Rayne's SUV handled itself really well in the snow, the trip was still slower due to it.
"Hey, let's attach a plow attachnt to the front of the SUV. This way, the road will be easier for us to maneuver, along with anyone else trying to get to/from the base," suggested Rayne.
"You have a plow attachnt?" asked Julian. He didn't think she did since she hadn't offered it when the snow fell initially.
Rayne nodded. "Yes, a few different kinds, in fact." She hadn't offered it earlier because they were using the RV, and Jonah was with them, and a plow attachnt was a strange thing to just keep on hand.
Julian pulled over and hopped out of the SUV with Rayne. They both made their way to the front of the SUV, where Rayne took out the plow attachnt.
Thankfully, the SUV ca with the proper hookups for the plow, making the installation process very simple.
After they finished, they climbed back inside the car and continued on their journey.
The plow made driving so much easier, except for the few tis they snagged a larger tree branch that was hidden beneath the snow.
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