As much as you're not keen on sharing, you're less keen on the idea of being shoved in an experimental shelter. Sounds like they didn't work all the bugs out of the system, and it's filled with hi-tech equipment? God help you if something broke down. You wouldn't know how to fix it. At least if you're with other people, there's bound to be people with different skills to compliment each other.

Of course everyone could just be incompetent like they usually are.

You're not going to dwell on it too much, you'll take the safer choice; maybe it won't be so bad.

"Okay I'll take a room in the Community Shelter."
"Wonderful sir! You won't regret this decision! Now I'll need to know some vital information about yourself before I can direct you to our nearest Community shelter in your area where upon you shall pay the automatic teller just inside the foyer of it so that the main door can open and you will be able to enter your new residence during Armageddon! Okay let's start with your name sir."

You give out your name, address and such. It's all pretty routine stuff until the questions get more personal.

"Have you ever committed a felony sir?"
"No."
"Do you have a history of mental illness sir?"
"No."
"Are you a drug addict or smoke sir?"
"No."
"Are you handicapped in anyway sir?"
"No."
"Do you believe in God sir?"
"Huh? Uh…sure I guess."
"Hmmm…okay…" the voice says a bit disapprovingly. "Do you have any physical diseases or suffered from any in the past sir?"
"No."
"Do you have AIDS or any other STDs sir?"
"What the hell? I just told you I don't have any diseases! Sexual or otherwise!"
"Are you sterile sir?"
"What?!"
"I said are you shooting blanks sir?"
"What difference does that make?"
"Please sir, just answer the question."
"(Sigh) No. As far as I know, I'm packing a loaded fucking weapon. I know because I had to take an overly thorough physical for work recently."
"Wonderful sir! Okay are you a homosexual or ever had homosexual feelings?"
"WHAT THE FUCK?! NO!!"
"Sir, I told you before don't take that tone with me."
"Well you're asking me a lot of fucking personal questions! Why do you need to know all this shit?"
"Sir, as I said, we are a family orientated business, we aren't just a money motivated corporation, we are interested in the survival and well being of the human race. The human race can't thrive if people don't meet the necessary…requirements. How can civilization be re-built if children aren't being born? I mean would you want to live in a society built by drug addicted mentally ill homosexual criminals? That's the reason the world is ending now, because people have turned away from a righteous way of living!"
"Look I'd live in a fucking society with transsexual midgets if it'll get me to the fucking shelter already!"
"Hmmm, well despite that comment, your non-committal answer on the belief in God, and your overall anti-social tone, you do qualify for one of our rooms in the Community Shelter in your area. I can only hope some of the other more sociable residents rub off on you, and cause a change in your personality. I'll give you the location of the shelter sir."

You are given the location of the Community Shelter which you are surprised to find out is closer then you think, it shouldn't take too long for you drive there. You are then given the price, which is pretty steep, but you can afford it. Besides if the world is ending it's not like you're really going to need money anymore. Which makes you wonder why GZS is in business at all. What's the point of going to the trouble of building bomb shelters for Armageddon if all the profit they make is most likely going to be useless in the aftermath?

Oh well that's not your concern, you're just glad you passed the damn interrogation and got into the shelter. Of course now you're subjected to some last minute rules.

"Okay sir, you are now in the system and registered. You may move into the Shelter at anytime as long you pay the fee required to the automatic teller as previously described to you. If you don't pay, you can't get in obviously. Cash, check, or debit card are acceptable. NO Credit Cards will be accepted! Now then some rules. You do not have to bring anything with you, but it is recommended that you do bring your own clothing if you wish to wear something different as the days go by. Food and drinkable liquids are acceptable, but not necessary. Do not bring in private medical supplies or repair equipment, the shelter has been stocked with those items, we do not want people bringing in potential weapons or illegal drugs. Speaking of which, DO NOT attempt to bring in any kind of weapon! Guns and knives are strictly prohibited! Attempting to bring in either one will result in non-admittance of the shelter! Same goes for drugs of any kind. Alcohol is frowned upon, but accepted. There WILL be a machine to scan you before you're allowed to enter, so do not think you will be able to sneak anything in! Now then I trust our transaction has ended. If you have anymore questions please contact our customer service line. Good day sir, may your first child be a masculine one and thank you for choosing Ground Zero Survival!"

That's it, all you have to do is get what stuff you want to take with you and move in, might as well do it now, no sense in waiting until you see the nuclear cloud. You wonder if you shouldn't try to "beat the system" by sneaking your weapon in though.

Ultimately you decide this is survival. You need every advantage you can get. You don't know what kind of people you're going to be stuck with, so you take your pistol with you and a few "non-lethal" supplies such as duct tape. You also you just pack some clothing, food and water. You then set off on your way.


After a couple days of driving you finally arrive at the location that you were given. It's in a fairly desolate place with a single solid metal structure with a door standing there. There's also a few other cars parked nearby, you obviously aren't the first one here. You park your van and enter the structure with the items you brought with you. You're in a small foyer with an elevator door and ATM like machine; you're guessing that's the automatic teller you were told about.

Before you start pressing buttons you need to figure out how you're going to get your pistol through the scanning process, because you can be sure if you fail something nasty will happen…

You just drop the pistol so it is not on your person

You figure you'll just drop you pistol and then after the scan you'll just grab it and head into the elevator. After doing this you type in your name and insert you debit card where upon it drains most of your account. The door you stepped through sudden shuts and a hum is heard.

"Now scanning for unauthorized items…Scanning…Scanning…Scanning... WEAPON LOCATED IN FOYER! ACCESS DENIED! GZS SECURITY FORCE HAS BEEN DEPLOYED!"

Your first reaction is to escape, but the front doors have auto locked and the elevator doors are definitely not open. Shooting the door won't do any good either; it's thick and solid steel. The only thing you can do is resign yourself to your fate. You pick up your pistol, slump into the corner of the foyer and wait, wondering what's going to come next.

Surprisingly you don't have to wait long; you soon hear movement and voices by the outside door followed by a click and the door opening.

"GET OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP AND LEAVE YOUR WEAPON INSIDE!"

Feeling a little nervous and scared you do exactly that. When you exit, suddenly a spray of bullets is fired from one of the GZS security guards. You're hit several times in the body and fall to the ground. Amazingly you're still alive, but you're in no condition to do anything except listen to the security guards argue.

"You goddamn asshole! That's the THIRD person you shot! I told you CAN'T fire on anyone unless they're holding a weapon! Fuck, we're gonna be buried in paper work because of you!"
"Yeah well he looked like he was going for one."
"He had his fucking hands up! (Sigh) Nevermind, is he dead?"
"No, he looks like he's still breathing…so uh what do we do? We never had one that survived before."
"Drop him off at the emergency room."
"Can't we just finish him off? It would be a hell of a lot easier."
"Maybe, but the GZS guidelines say that anyone who violates the policy agreement is subject to a lawsuit. He broke it, by trying to sneak in a weapon, I'm sure management or whoever is gonna want to sue his ass for all the remaining money and assets he owns. So keeping him alive is in GZS best interest. Hell, with their connections they'll probably figure out how to sue him for the hospital stay. Why do you think I got pissed off when you killed the others? You can't sue dead people!"
"Alright, alright get off my ass. Let's move him into the van before he bleeds to death."

At this point you fall unconscious. When you wake up you're lying in bed with a hose up your nose and several other tubing going into various places of your body. Apparently you have a private room though; GZS is probably adding that charge to your lawsuit as well. You're most likely going to be living in a cardboard box by the time you leave this place, but you don't really care at this point anymore.

As you slowly recover occasionally you're visited by some lawyer types who spout some legalese at you, but you're so zonked out on pain medication half the time and fading in and out of consciousness you can't even pay attention. You spend most of your conscious time in the hospital watching the TV in the corner of the room. The state of the world isn't getting any better.

Monday 8:00 AM

You groggily wake up and hear a loud continuous beeping noise. It's a test pattern on TV.

"…BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…"

This is it.

You manage to lift yourself off the bed as you hear commotion going on in the hallway. After turning off the TV you look out the window and see the city practically in chaos. This hospital room doesn't seem so bad now; at least you've gotten some peace. You also can't help but to laugh, GZS won't be able to get anymore money from you now.

You continue to stare out the window laughing and then gaze upward towards the sky.

You see a bright light and then nothing at all.