Apocalypse? So what I got a 5 year old to raise!

17

This base was the first one I encountered, and it was kinda near J city, so I decided to go ask, what's the worst that can happen?

Deciding to treat this as a direction stop, I unbuckled by seatbelt and stepped out of the car. I was dressed in a clean, dark green sundress with a tie around the waist finished in a bow with deep pockets on either side of my waist as well as a ribbon in a simular shade of green that I had used to tie my hair up into a high ponytail. Upon exiting my car, I locked the door and casually strolled towards the area that appeared to be the entrance. When I reached the wall, I realised that there was a young man sitting at a window nearby, it kinda reminded me of a toll booth. I decided he'd be the perfect person to ask for directions.

"Hi, do you happen to know where the base Caleb's been broadcasting from is and how to get there from here?" I asked with a kind smile as I walked towards the man.
"Caleb? Is he a friend of yours?" The young man replied, confused.
"Caleb is the name of the man broadcasting on station 12," I answered, thinking he didn't know who I meant, which isn't too surprising given its an unpopular station.
"I know, caleb, what I want to know is why you're looking for him?" The young man replied cautiously, which honestly surprised me.
"I just want to meet the man who's kept me sane since I left my son a week ago," I explained briefly, not wanting to explain my situation in detail.
"Oh, I'm sorry for your loss... Caleb is living in this base," the boy stuttered out in embarrassment.
"It's really OK, my son's not dead, he's just grown up, " I replied to comfort the boy who looked to be the same age as Danny.

Having established that this was the correct base, I decided to ask if their were any conditions for entry.

"Is there anything I need to do to come into his base them?" I asked, refocusing the man's attention.
"Oh, just the basic injury check and identification paperwork," the man answered as if snapping out of a stupor.
"I'll just drive my car over, then we can sort that out, ok?" I confirmed before as I went to get the car.
"Uh yeah, that's fine... Do you have a car?" The man answered before suddenly yelling out.
"Yes, is that a problem?" I asked, now confused myself.
"No, it's just uncommon since gasoline either rannout or expired everywhere, so not a lot of vehicles are still working," the man explained kinda dumbly.
"Oh, my cars, electric, " I answered quickly before turning to drive the car over.

It wasn't long before I'd drove the car over and was asked to fill in some paperwork. Nothing was unusual until the last page, which raised some questions.

"I'm sorry to be a bother, but what does this 'powers' box refer to?" I mused politely.
"It's for you to fill out whether you have awakened and now have any powers," the man responded with an unusual expression.
"Oh, so what would those powers include?" I asked, curious as to if my current ability to scare off and discipline zombies might count or if my superior physical fitness would be considered a power.
"Uh, the currently recognised powers are divided into 7 categories: fire, water, earth, air, space, mind, and physical reinforcement. Does that answer your question?" He asked after explaining powers briefly.
"What would you class being able to scare zombies away by yelling as?" I asked, unsure what I should be listing.
"Scaring... zombies... by yelling?" The man muttered with a wistful look on his face.
"Yeah," I answered completely seriously.
"Uh, I guess that would be mind..." the man muttered as his gaze drifted off, and his face was filled with confusion.
"Thanks," I replied before filling in the last blank box with just mind, I didn't want to completely reveal my hand since I know people are just as scary an enemy during apocalypses as the zombies, if not more.

Upon reading my form the man just sighed and asked me to continue to a small room where I met a young woman who checked me for any signs of injury before ticking some boxes on a sheet and posting it through a letter box on the wall. When I glanced over, I saw it was something about injuries and scars so I ignored it assuming it was just a standard form to confirm I'm not hurt and therefore have no risk of suddenly zombiefing inside the base.

Can't blame people for being warey. After all, it's a major issue and threat to human life, I'd assume.

After finishing the checks and paperwork, I was given a pink rubber band to wear on my wrist and let through the metal cocoon and into the base without issue, although the guard from the door gave me a strange look.

Having finally entered the base, I decided to park the car out of the way before strolling through the streets of ruined homes glancing at the remnants of signage that had been either neglected or stolen over the last few years, leaving it in a poor state now. A few minutes passed as I mindlessly purused the area when suddenly I was stopped by a group of men who looked a few years younger than me.

"Can I help you, sirs?" I asked with my usual polite smile.
"What are you doing here alone, cupcake?" The leader of the group asked  stepping too close for comfort, forcing me to smell his musty breath as he spoke.
"I'm looking for Caleb, who broadcasts on the radio," I said, still maintaining a proper polit smile, reminding me of the days when I worked customer service some years ago.
"You're looking for that weirdo?" Another of the men piped up in a horse voice that made me think he must smoke, which is impressive given circumstances.