Chef in the Apocalypse

Kane swiftly returned to his base of operation, namely to the place where he drew up all of his civil design plans. Despite modern technology not being usable anymore, that was only limited to things that required electricity. Thankfully, Kane had always been a believer of keeping hard copies, as one of those old-timers.

He had been given a hard time on many occasions when he was seen drawing blueprints by hand. He would be called Dinosaur, amongst other names. There wasn’t any particular reason as to why he liked drawing by hand rather than drawing them on computer, perhaps it was just enjoyment.

Either way, before the Calamity descended, Kane would often draw blueprints for various siege equipment that were made popular in the middle ages. In fact, one of the main reasons he had gotten into engineering was thanks to his love for these long-outdated weapons.

He reached into a large filing cabinet and pulled out a large A3 sized blueprint and placed it on his desk, staring at it with shining eyes. It was a large ballista, with the schematics and measurements all drawn out.

If Jayce had been here to see the blueprint, he would instantly recognize it as the same ballistae that were sitting upon the city gates of Bastion in his previous life. However, they were made with reinforced steel which was probably a modified version of the one in Kane’s hands right now.

Looking a few more times to ensure everything looked correct, Kane took his blueprint and left his office, on his way to find some helping hands. Although he only had 3 days, the Ballista was a tried and tested weapon in the middle ages, meaning as long as he provided the right materials and built it accordingly, there should be enough time to make 2. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Speaking of weaponry, Kane was not sure if the Ballista would have a great effect, so he was not about to put all of his eggs in one basket. The city had used some modern weapons against monsters before to some good effect, however the amount of weapons were limited.

Being on the Asian continent, they did not have the right to personally own firearms, nor was there a large amount of them present. Further restrictions were brought in by the United Nations in the year 2030, confiscating hundreds of thousands of weapons in Asia alone.

It was safe to say that in hindsight this was a poor decision, likely increasing the death toll during the Apocalypse significantly. However that no longer mattered, the old government agencies were now dead in name and functionality.

Therefore, Kane also had some ideas to implement while his people worked on creating the parts for his Ballistae. Thankfully, Bastion was well positioned with only direction to be attacked in, limiting the amount of monsters they would have to face at a time.

Kane wasted no time. He knew that preparations needed to be swift and efficient to stand a chance against the impending Beast Tide. With the blueprints in hand, he sought out the most skilled hands in town for the task at hand.

Spotting a group of individuals with a reputation for their craftsmanship, Kane approached them and handed over the detailed plans for the ballistae. His voice held a sense of urgency as he addressed them, "Listen up, I need two sets of materials on this blueprint ready by dawn tomorrow, if it’s not enough time then I’m afraid you’ll have to work through the night. It’s for the safety of Bastion, for all of us. Lives depend on it."

The group of craftsmen nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. They looked down at the blueprint with interest, instantly recognizing the design. After a brief overview they nodded in response, giving their guarantee. "We’ll do our best, sir." The 40-something year old man responded with respect.

"Very good." Kane said, pleased with the response.

As Kane moved on to find more hands to help with the preparations, he spotted Colin in the distance, carrying a massive stone with apparent ease. Kane couldn’t help but be impressed by the man’s strength, and he approached him with a friendly grin.

"Colin," Kane called out, catching the big guy’s attention, "I could use your strength with something I’ve got planned. Ever been a fan of traps?"

Colin’s face lit up with enthusiasm, and he replied with a wide grin, "Kane! Traps? Sure, but only the ones that can kill a shitload of monsters."

Kane chuckled, nodding in agreement. "Well, you’re in luck then. Follow me; we’ve got some preparations to make."

The two had unexpectedly bonded over the past few months, which confused a few people. It seemed like an odd pairing, one really tall muscle-brain and a short man in a suit. The relationship was like that between a star wrestler and his manager.

After a few more back and forths, Kane led Colin to a place near the City walls with a smile on his face. "See this? Do you think you can get enough of this out onto the plains?" asked Kane.

Colin’s eyes widened for a moment before a hint of understanding flashed in his eyes. "Hehe, don’t you worry yourself old man. Even if I’ve got to take 200 trips, I’ll get all of it out there." But after a moment he said, "But if you can get me a cart, or something to drag it’ll be a lot quicker."

The reason he hesitated was because he forgot that Jayce wasn’t here for a moment. Whenever his Leader was around, he would receive a hell of a lot of stats just by being near him thanks to his skill. Therefore he had gotten a little too used to those buffs it seemed.

Kane, who had no idea of Colin’s thoughts, just assumed he was trying to be practical, which suited him just fine. He nodded and replied, "Sure, we’ve got some semi-trailers that should still be intact. Will they work?"

"Yep, tell me where they are and I’ll drag them here." He said with a wink.

With that, Colin began his greatest workout ever since becoming a guardian. The workout was so harsh that he had to stop a few times to find Lianna to heal him up.

Unfortunately, Kane was not there to view the proceedings as he was busy planning his next set of diabolical traps for the incoming Beast Tide. Over the next 3 days, it seemed that he was the one who was working the hardest. Not only had the 2 Ballistae been assembled, he had also succeeded in placing countless traps in front of their city.

Colin was another one who had not stopped working since his conversation with Kane. He had lost count of how many trips he had taken with the semi-trailer. Not only did he have to load and unload the cargo by himself, he also had to ferry the damn thing alone.

That was not to say that there had been no offers to help, it was just that he always refused. From Colin’s point of view, he had no other useful talents to contribute to either rebuilding, or fixing things, therefore he did not want to pull anyone away from their own jobs.

As he began to unload yet another one of his payloads, he heard some noises towards the end of the plains. His ears perked up and he swiftly moved his eyes towards the sound. 3 days had passed which was the minimum amount of time he had approximated for the Beast Tide to arrive, however Jayce and Zane had yet to return from the forest.

He had great faith in his Leader, therefore he did not think that Jayce would perish while searching for survivors, that end would be too cruel. His eyes strained, seeing 2 shadows running towards his direction. They were too far to make out completely, but Colin’s heart began to beat a little faster in anticipation.

However as the pair got closer, disappointment gripped his heart. The stature of the man was too different from Jayce’s, and he was accompanied by a woman. "Damnit." he muttered under his breath.

Remembering all the traps that had been set up prior, Colin panicked for a moment. He quickly jumped on top of the semi-trailer and waved his arms, "STOP RIGHT THERE!"

Heath and Macie who had finally found the city that Jayce spoke about, saw the peculiar scene in front of them and seemed to be a little confused. Before Heath could continue to run, Macie pulled his arm and forced him to a stop. "Let’s wait here" she said calmly.

Colin let out a sigh of relief, happy that his warning had been heeded. He skillfully dismounted the semi-trailer and made his way over to the pair, carefully dodging the traps that had been set up along the way.

After a few minutes of careful navigation, the big man finally made it close enough to see their guests. A large man with a similar stature to himself with a clean shaven appearance, and an exotic looking woman with beautiful golden hair and kind brown eyes stared back at him.