Survival

Zoning out on the bed, looking up to the ceiling. A loud bell ringing alerted me.

"Alright, time to have our first class. Lunch." Oliver joked, just waking up from his sleep. Laughing.

Out of our beds, we walked out. Around us, fellow students also stood outside their doors.

"Alright, now it's lunch. Follow me."

Behind the man we descended deeper into the corridor, where there were no more rooms for people to stay in. Replacing the walls were windows. With a wide view of the city from here.

Passed the windows, in front of us were doors. Above the doors is a sign, it read "Cafeteria"

Inside, a large room full of tables and chairs. Another door was situated at the right side of the cafeteria. A sign above with "Subjects" on it.

I sat in a random seat, my 2 other friends sitting beside me.

After everyone sat down, trays descended from the ceiling, held by robotic arms . On them, food such as meat, bread, corn, peas, and water. Completed with a fork and spoon sitting in the middle of the trays. The arms went back upwards after delivering the trays. The ceiling closing up, back to how it looked earlier. We started eating, chowing down on the delicious food. With an otherworldly taste.

"This is far better than the normal rations we got as kids, I'll tell you that." Josh said.

We kept feasting on our lunch, devouring it. Stuff like this was rare to eat, since vegetables and bread were far easier to produce.

We finished our foods on the trays, burping or just waiting for the next thing to do.

The arms went down again, taking the empty trays back up. leaving the table empty, one by one the arms visited the other tables after ours.

"Alright, it's 3 now. Each day will have one subject. For today it's survival. I will lead you to the subjects, hallway where all subject rooms are situated in."

We all followed the man through the other door. On the other side of the door, a hallway with other doors like the corridor earlier. Signs hung on the doors, but only one sign was lit up in a blue tint. Survival. The steel door opened upwards, letting us go inside.

The classroom was giant, with a large screen covering the entire wall in front of the classroom. Seats arranged in rows, descending down. At the very bottom was a small podium and a table next to it.

"Alright, take your seats. You will have a teacher for this survivals class, you will have another trainer for survival. I will head outside and return once class is over to bring all of you back to your quarters to sleep for tomorrow. The trainer exits the classroom. i sat in a chair, Oliver and Josh sitting next to me. On the small table of my seat, lied a small tablet, emitting a blue tint on it's screen and showing tabs on the side, with small texts on each. The topmost tab read "1st survival lesson" to "5th survival lesson."

"Hope we can all be in the same explorer group, instead of getting separated." Oliver said to us.

"What happens if we aren't though?"

"Well i guess we'll just run away from our group to reunite." Oliver sarcastically replied, chuckling after he spoke.

The lights dimmed, except for the lights above the podium. A man walked up on the podium, clearing his throat. Attached to the side of his head is some sort of ear muff. With a microphone connected to it, located at the front of his mouth.

"This will be the first lesson we have today. Normally we have the whole day for each subject. Since it's our first class and it's 3 right now. The class will end at 7 to compensate." The teacher announced.

I expected sighs because of this change in schedule, but nobody went against him, the room staying silent not even the slightest groan of frustration, everyone just stayed silent.

"For our first subject, the uniform of an explorer." The screen shows a picture of a man, one with the armband of the explorers, his entire outfit was brown, like camouflage, the boots as well colored in the same paint of brown. His face, covered with a gas mask. With a hood concealing the top of his head. On the ground next to him is the backpack, with a plasma rifle resting on the bag, but attached to it is a rolled sleeping bag. On his waist, 3 satchels of varying sizes, on the right side is a holstered pistol. In his arm is the insignia, now colored black with white lining.

"To survive the toxic acrid cold environment of the outside, we must wear special gas masks. Ones that produce oxygen constantly from carbon dioxide. Like mini trees, carbon dioxide when exhaled into the mask will become refined. The mask fans contain a small storage unit of water, a heating system, and micro machinery to begin a cycle of artificial photosynthesis, if the fans are still fully operational with no damage, they can offer an infinite supply of oxygen. The outfit itself provides protection against the elements, with camouflage of brown in case of danger. To battle against the cold, your attire and gear contain heating systems as well as layered protection for extra measure as recent news from explorer groups explains, that temperature has been getting colder and colder."

The teacher pulls out a gas mask, one wired with 2 small tanks.

"The air is toxic and will kill you in a short time after the mask comes off, due to this the gas mask has an integrated food system, using a tube on both tanks, the user may drink and eat while moving, when they are empty, simply" The teacher twists the tank, removing it from the wire connecting it. "And twist the new one in, and of course, don't eat or drink while doing this or you're gonna have a mouthful of toxic air." The teacher twisted the tank back into place, yanking it after.

The screen shifts to another picture, one showing the bag and it's contents.

"The bag contains all the essentials each and every one of you will need to survive on the outside, from food capsules, water canisters, extra mask, a self powered flashlight, tracker in case you get lost, extra fans in case the mask fans take too much damage, radio, temperature reader, and a mapping system tablet to document any points of interest." The screen picture changes into another, this time into a picture showing the brown lands, hills and a mountain in sight.

"The land itself must also be taken into consideration, you may also use them as landmarks for the team in the event you can no longer find or contact the last city. Although not proven, abandoned buildings from the past may still be present. Either it wasn't destroyed or the mud and dirt did not consume it yet. These abandoned structures have great importance as they yield any objects of the past, ones that may improve our lives even in this state." With a quick explanation the picture changes, now showing a team of explorers in their full gear.

"There are multiple teams you can be dispatched to, these are heading at all 4 directions, you will be randomly dispatched to any teams depending on how many explorers they have left. As a team you are to stay close at all times. At no point will you leave the team, be it because of curiosity or any other reason. Each explorer will have a designated task for the group although special classes will be given by the group commander, the rest of the explorers have other tasks to uphold if needed, these tasks may be a guard, navigator, radio operator who will keep contact with the city at once the opportunity comes up, if not then they will only keep the comms of the group, or the supply carrier who will carry more ration capsules and extra equipment than the normal explorer."

Looking at the teacher, he pulls out a sleeping bag, unrolled colored maroon.

"These sleeping bags have integrated warming systems for the user, due to the lack of sunlight and any living thing, the environment will also be very cold. Like I said earlier though, you get extra protection from the heating system of your attire. In the event that the group has fully exhausted themselves, all explorers will huddle up together for warmth and to ensure nobody will be lost from the group. Guards will secure a circle around the sleeping bags, taking shifts to get sleep as well." The screen shifts to a black screen.

"And that concludes the things you must know about survival in the outside, use the tablets on your tables to recall the information of our subject as well as the other subjects, another thing to know about our subject, you can bring the tablets while exploring in case you forget things, so bring them with you before leaving. Dismissed." Standing up, I wait for my 2 other friends grabbing the tablet, all ready to leave we exit out with the other students. Outside, the trainer from earlier stood waiting for us.

We head through the cafeteria into the corridor of our quarters, entering back inside our room, we immediately jump inside our beds, i place the tablet next to my pillow away from the ledge. Relaxing from the class. The window outside no longer had light, it's nighttime.

"Well gang, we finished the first class good job." Josh congratulated.

"And now it's time for us to sleep, anyone seen the light switch?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah it's next to the door here, I'll turn it off." Josh replied, standing up reaching his hand to the light switch.

"Thanks man, goodnight lads." Oliver said.

The room became silent as we started sleeping, i close my eyes. Ready for the day tomorrow.