A New Home

"Hello there," he greeted the group, his voice low and gruff.

The group looked up at him, their faces gaunt and wary.

"What do you want?" one of them asked, his tone defensive.

"I'm just passing by and was looking for a chat, some information, maybe."

"Information?" the man asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Yeah. What's going on in the city? What are the different factions doing? I'm new around here."

The man regarded him with suspicion, his gaze appraising. "You're not from around here, are you?"

"I'm from the other end of the city."

The man snorted. "Well, that's the least of your problems. The city is a mess right now, no one is in charge and everyone is fighting for control. It's chaos out there."

"You guys hungry?" John asked as he called his inventory, taking out some cans of food.

The group's eyes widened at the sight, and they eagerly grabbed the food from him.

"Thank you," one of them said, her voice cracking. "Food is scarce these days."

"I know," John replied, his tone sympathetic.

He watched as the group ate, their eyes darting around nervously. It was clear they were desperate, and he felt a pang of pity for them.

The group warmed up to him quickly as he shared stories about his own experiences in the apocalypse and listened intently to theirs. 

It was heartbreaking to hear about all that they had lost - family members, homes, livelihoods - but inspiring too see how they had banded together for support and protection against the harsh realities of this new world order. The campfire crackled merrily away, and John had made up his mind. 

These were the people he wanted by his side as he established his new shelter - they were strong, resilient, and above all else, united in their common goal of survival. With a sense of renewed purpose and a growing sense of community, John knew that together, they could make it through even the darkest days of this apocalyptic nightmare.

"Guys, what do you think about living inside a fortress?"

"That's impossible," one of the men replied.

"Nothing is impossible," John said.

One of the women scoffed. "You must be joking. A fortress? In this place?"

"It's possible," John said.

Another one of the men rolled his eyes. "We have no materials to build a fortress."

"Leave that to me," John grinned.

"How?" one of the women asked.

"I have a a little something, don't you worry about it. Will you come with me once the base is ready?"

"We don't know you," the leader said.

"My name is John."

"And why should we trust you?"

John smirked. "Because you're all fucked otherwise."

"I like him," the leader said, chuckling.

With that, John left the group, promising to return with good news. As he travelled through the city, the destruction around him grew worse and worse. He passed by the remains of buildings that had been reduced to rubble and debris, and the bodies of those who had not been so lucky.

He climbed up to the roof of a building and surveyed the area. It was quiet, but he could see movement in the distance. Monsters had begun to appear. More importantly, he found the location he was looking for, a factory surrounded by a metal fence.

As John stepped through the factory, the sound of his footsteps echoed throughout the empty space. The way they echoed sent a shiver down his spine. The air was thick with dust and the smell of rotting wood. The moonlight that streamed through the shattered windows illuminated the interior, revealing rows upon rows of machinery and equipment.

But it was a sound that made him freeze in his tracks - the faint whisper of voices coming from somewhere deeper within the factory. 

He pressed himself against the wall, trying to remain as invisible as possible as he peered around the corner cautiously. His heart sank when he saw them - two figures huddled together near a pile of rubble at the far end of the room. They moved with an unnatural grace, their eyes glowing brightly in the dim light. These were no ordinary humans; these were the Luminars.

They had their backs turned to him, whispering to each other.

"I can't believe you're going through with this," the man said.

"There's nothing else we can do. You heard what the others said. If we don't join them, we're dead."

"But it's not worth it! I'd rather die than be a slave to those monsters."

The woman shook her head. "I don't like it either, but it's better than being killed or turned into a monster."

"Wait," the man said, holding out his arm.

"What?"

"Do you hear that?"

The woman tilted her head, listening. "No, I don't hear anything."

"I swear I heard someone else here. We should go, before it comes back."

The woman's eyes widened. "What if it's them? What if they found us?"

"I hope not."

"Let's go," the man said, grabbing her hand.

"But-"

"Come on, we need to get out of here."

As quickly as they appeared, the Luminars vanished into the darkness beyond John's vision, leaving behind only the echoes of their whispered conversation and an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Shaking off the unsettling encounter, John forced himself to focus on the task at hand - finding a suitable location for his base and recruiting more survivors.

As John explored the abandoned factory, he couldn't help but feel a growing sense of excitement at the possibilities it presented for his base of operations. The sprawling space was perfect for housing his group and their supplies, and there seemed to be no signs of the Luminars or any other hostile creatures lurking within its shadowy depths. 

With renewed determination, John set about claiming this new territory as his own by deploying his portable base. The white sphere of energy materialized before him, its consuming light reflecting off the dusty machinery around them. As it absorbed everything in sight, a holographic interface projected directly into John's line of vision, detailing every resource being diverted towards their new home. 

"This is incredible," he murmured in awe as the doorway to their new base finally materialized, revealing an immaculate white hallway stretching out before him. Every surface gleamed with pristine whiteness, broken only by the stark contrast of a single black door set into one of the walls. 

Despite his initial excitement, John couldn't shake off the feeling that something about this place was eerily unsettling. The total absence of colour and sound made it feel more like a sterile labyrinth than a home. As he approached the lone black door, curiosity getting the better of him, John hesitated before reaching out to touch it - uncertainty gripping his heart as he wondered what secrets lay beyond this ominous threshold.

"Welcome home," a robotic voice echoed throughout the pristine white hallway, causing him to flinch in surprise. "Please select a room for personalisation."