Weeks have passed as I kept working on securing the future for the people I cared for. It was now less than a week until the rain stopped, and about a week until the hailstorm that would follow, leading to a sudden cold snap that would kill another large portion of the population. I was getting close to bunkering down myself. I only needed to bring a few more buses, a few more boats, and a few more semi-truck trailers of materials back.

Most of the water receded, except for pockets of water in valleys or any low part of the land. For the next few years, there would still be the freshly created salt lakes as the land slowly reverted to normal. I listened to some music while I pulled into the car park with all the buses inside. White Rabbit was just about over as I pulled into the parking lot.

I sang along. “Remember! What the door mouse said! Feed your head! Feed your head!” As I pulled in, I noticed something. Someone was living here. Why did I think that? Because there were clear signs of breaking and entering on most of the cars at the bottom, and someone had started a cooking fire that still had cherry red charcoals coming from it.

Someone moved a few of the cars to make a barrier to attempt to hide that they were living here. I have half a mind to just ignore it and go on my way, but I was more than curious who had already adjusted to the apocalypse so well. Most people would be afraid to break and enter. 

Even if they were homeless before the flood happened, they wouldn’t vandalize all of the cars looking for the items necessary to survive. If they were homeless, they’d go window shopping first, and after breaking windows with food or valuables, they would flee at least to a different car park or somewhere else they were living before the storm.

I jumped out of the truck I was using and made my way through the car barrier to see a single car braced against the wall of the car park. Makeshift sheets of wood were placed up to stop the wind and rain from leaking through, making it a little more habitable. Buckets hang off the edge as they collect water for drinking. The smell wasn’t that bad, so I assumed they hadn’t been here for more than a week or two.

I looked inside the car and saw a girl sleeping in the back. She picked a car with a fold-out backseat, which looked more like a bed as she slept, covered in clothes because she didn’t have a blanket. She was beautiful from what I could see. She looked very similar to Kat Dennings, maybe a bit shorter hair, less wavy too, as she had it pulled back into a ponytail, most girls would let their hair free when they slept.

It made me think she was either extremely tired when she went to sleep, a bit airheaded to forget her hair was tied back, or she was skittish and prepared to run the moment she woke up. Seeing that she still had her shoes on, I knew it was the running part; she was most likely being chased by someone. I knocked on the window a few times before she finally woke up and screamed.

She screamed so loud that if the person who was looking for her was close by, they’d have definitely heard. I put my hands over my ears; it was that loud. I motioned for her to stop before I started screaming at her when she didn’t. “STOP! What the hell is wrong with you!”

Finally, she calmed down enough to see I wasn’t the person she was afraid of. “Damn you’re loud!” I rubbed my ear with my pinky as she at least looked sheepish for almost blowing my eardrums out. I cleared my throat as I asked. “So, do you need help? I know a police woman who can help you if you want.” She looked excited for a second before she became wary again.

“Why should I believe you?” I pulled out my phone and put it on speakerphone. Maria picked up right away. “What, I’m eating.” I got right into it. “Hey, what’s your father's rank in the police again? I can’t seem to remember, is he like a police commissioner, or do they have a different title for smaller groups?” 

She had a mouthful of something, and she finished chewing and swallowing before she answered. “The Chief of Police, is that all?” I smiled at the girl as I kept eye contact and answered Maria. “Yep, that’s all. Was just curious, bye. Oh wait! Your dad still needs help moving in? I have some room left, I can store some stuff to save them a few trips.”

“No, it should be all moved in. They made the mansion their base for now, and most of them moved their families in already. Love you, bye.” “Yep, ditto, love you too. No, you hang up. No, you hang up. I’m hanging up. Bye-bye.”

I teased her as I hung up. She was like a tsundere prickly cat. The more goofy I acted, the more she pushed away, but the more she secretly liked it as well. “Alright, so, you heard her. You want to tell me your story now?” 

I listened as she explained what happened to her, how she lived on campus at the local college, and how people invaded. She’s spent the last few days running from them as they chased her down, so the prisoners taking over the school happened in this timeline as well. There was just far fewer prisoners, it made it clear that the only way it was possible, is if the college boys also agreed to become scum as well.

I hadn’t heard anything about a gang being formed, but there were several huge differences compared to what happened in the original timeline. First, they had far more prisoners. Only a handful escaped while there were dozens in the original timeline. All of the prisoners were also armed. I would assume they wouldn’t work with the college boys then, they’d just kill them and take the girls for themselves.

It meant they were very likely to break apart if I killed their leaders, was it worth sparing their lives though? They outnumbered the prisoners over 5/1. It meant that, if there were any who disagreed, they’d have needed to be dealt with harshly; otherwise, the group would collapse. The prisoners might have forced the college boys who agreed to join them to kill the ones who didn’t.

That was the stick approach, but they also probably used the carrot to completely lock them into the gang that the prisoners were creating. They might have been given the college girls to play with. I sighed as I prepared to head that direction before heading home. “Alright, well. I’m dragging back another bus, do you want me to take you back first, or can you wait inside until I deal with those prisoners?”

She looked at me incredulously. “You’re going to go fight them by yourself instead of getting the police? Did you not hear how many I said there were? They’re armed as well.” I just reached over and put my hand on one of the vehicles she used to shield herself from prying eyes before I stored it. Her eyes widened in shock before I said. “Well, the world is changing… Speaking of which, do you want to unlock your power?”