Chapter 65: Farming
Ryan waited until they were all focused on him before continuing.
"We can check out the pylon for EGO after this. But it’s best we have this talk now."
He paused for a moment, letting it sink in, before continuing.
"I believe we all agree on leaving this place, right?"
He got silence and grumbled affirmations, which he promptly took as a yes, before adding.
"So what do we do then? We can’t just run into the storm blindly."
"And how do you plan on getting us out of here in the first place?"
Brandon asked from his perch by the wall. Ryan clapped his hands together before replying.
"Good question. That’s no issue at all, especially with that stabilization field. A radius of twenty meters easily reaches the kitchen exit and even covers some portion of the outside world. All we have to do is step out through the door and we will be out of the principal’s range."
"What if we don’t? What if his authority covers the school compound? Not just this building."
Ryan’s face froze, then he shook his head.
"It can’t. If it covered the school compound, then he wouldn’t have made it a violation to step out of the building. It’s not something you do when you could enforce laws outside."
Brandon didn’t seem completely convinced but wisely chose not to press any further. If the principal’s authority did in fact extend out of the building, then they’d be stuck here until they found a way to kill the disembodied being with a limited supply of food too.
Still, Miles leaned towards Ryan on this one. Even Maxwell and Jayce had been certain the pylon held the path out of the compound; this was that path. There had to be something backing their confidence.
Ryan continued.
"Right. Moving on. If we did step out of the building, where would we be heading? Normally, I’d be worried about whether we could even survive the storm out there in the first place. But this [Cold Resistance] should at least buy us some time out there."
He scanned all of them before asking.
"Any thoughts?"
"Lincoln."
"Lincoln."
Miles and Brandon both spoke at the same time. They glanced at each other with raised brows before looking to Ryan.
"You go first, Miles."
"There is a government shelter there. My sister’s heading for it. She told me about it last night. There are also three towns between here and the city, so we could stop between them for breaks."
He didn’t mention that Henry was in the nearest of these towns.
"There’s actually an evacuation?"
Ryan looked surprised and a bit hopeful at that. Unfortunately, Miles was quick to burst his bubble.
"No, a friend of a family friend is in the National Guard. He pulled some strings to get his unit to go all the way there. Then they went back. I doubt anyone will be coming this far out."
He just had to be in school when the apocalypse hit. It was the definition of bad luck.
Most efforts, he suspected, would be concentrated on the Lincoln-Omaha corridor. The area between the two cities was the most densely populated in the state.
Hell, the single largest military base in the state was based there. It was the best place for them to turtle in.
Ryan sighed.
"A shame then. But it’s good news at least; there’s still a place we can head to."
There was a mix of disappointment and relief in his voice.
Morgan’s family was there too.
He turned to Brandon with a questioning look.
"What about you, Brandon? Why Lincoln?"
"My family is there."
There was some relief on his usually sour face as well. If there was a government shelter there, then his family would at least be reasonably safe.
Ryan nodded.
"Oh, that makes sense. I also think it would be best if we could find a way to Lincoln. Is there anyone with a different place in mind?"
He looked to the others. Chloe shook her head, while Mia added:
"My brother is with the Guard too. I don’t know where he’s been deployed, but if it’s anywhere, it has to be in a safe zone."
"So that’s four of us then."
He looked to Sarah and Grimm. The freckled girl seemed surprised she even got a say here; she vigorously nodded, agreeing with Ryan.
Then Grimm spoke.
"I... I don’t think we should be in a hurry to leave just yet."
"What do you even mean by that?"
Brandon pressed before Ryan could even react. Grimm promptly ignored him, keeping his gaze on Ryan.
The former class rep considered it for a moment before asking.
"Why?"
"Because of the pylon. We have to level up while we can."
’He’s right.’
In his rush to meet up with Anna and Henry, he’d forgotten a very crucial fact. There would be even greater anomalies beyond the walls of the school.
If they had barely survived just this, how much better would they fare outside it?
Ryan still looked a bit confused, so Grimm explained even further.
"This isn’t the only pylon in the state. They’re probably distributed all over, yes, but those would be inactive. We would have to spend another 600 points activating them. That’s enough to level six skills at the very least, and that’s if we are even lucky enough to come across one in the first place."
The more he explained, the more the logic added up in Miles’s mind. By the end, he realized he had been truly shortsighted indeed.
’I’m no use to them if I’m dead. I have to think things through.’
He couldn’t let desperation cloud his judgment.
"That is... not wrong. Are you saying we should use this as a safe room, try hunting things to get points, then after leveling we leave?"
Grimm nodded. Ryan looked at him with a bit more respect in his eyes.
"It’s not a bad plan. All in favor?"
Ryan raised his hand, then Miles, and finally the rest slowly raised theirs as well. Even Brandon, still fuming at being ignored, raised his hand.
In the end, being cautious was best in this new world.
Ryan scratched his forehead before sitting down in resignation.
"So we can shelve planning for now, I guess. Let’s unlock our EGOs quickly, and see if there is still time to try anything else."
He turned to Miles.
"Let’s do it like last time."