The beacon

Bloop. Bloop. Bloop.

The pixel continued to emphasize its existence. Marcus had brought up his system map which showed all the locations of bunkers within the ten mile radius. The screen on which the light flashed had other dots too. A couple near the bottom of the screen seemed to match up with Marcus' map.

'Could this be a larger map of this world?' Marcus pondered. There were no visible contours or lines sketching out a country or potential borders. Still no clue as to where they were. The number of what Marcus now assumed to be bunker locations increased exponentially as they appeared closer to the flashing beacon.

"Could this be... the location of a city?" Tarik pondered aloud. Some turned to him with looks of wonder. Hope, fear and intrigue were mixed in with a few of them. Rowan had bust this secret open in some sought of drunken, emotional fit but this seemed to create all sorts of opportunities. Marcus realised he could either take charge of the situation or watch it devolve into chaos.

"Alright, listen up!" Everyone turned to him as he stepped in full view of the gathered crowd. "We've done well to set up this haven and prepare for winter. We have absolutely no reason to risk the security and the resources we've worked so hard to obtain." Marcus scanned all their faces for any looks of doubt or skepticism before continuing.

"But... we are too few in number. The system says we're a clan but I think 'tribe' is more appropriate of a word to describe us. There could be more people out there who need our help." Marcus sighed long to brace for the reaction to come.

"More importantly, we may need THEIR help," he clarified. "Zombies, a dragon, wolves in unsustainably large numbers! Whatever attacks us next won't be weak that's certain. We need to be prepared not only to survive but to build a world in which we needn't fear these mini cataclysms at all." Jessica stepped up before Marcus could continue.

"I think we all know where he's going with this," she began. "To ensure the safety of us and our home, we must find more survivors. Not only do we now have the location of every bunker that the system knows to exist but also the potential whereabouts of something big." She paused to give everyone else a second to catch up.

"Maybe it's the main base of whoever put together this survival program. The creator of the system. Or maybe it's just a much larger bunker that people from a city sheltered in during the collapse. Either way, it's important we find out. That's what you were getting at right?" She turned to Marcus giving him a small smile.

Marcus cleared his throat before replying with a quick yes. The bunker filled with chatter and anxious exchanges of making the trip. Marcus was about to bring them back to him but Jess got there first again. "I assume you have a plan that involves some sought of big team effort and courage?" Jess questioned with raised eyebrows and a wicked grin.

Giving her a smirk in return, Marcus responded with a renewed confidence. "Of course. However, this mission will not risk the lives of everyone here." Marcus laid out ideas explaining the plan to everyone for the remainder of the night.

He hadn't thought it out and needed to ask for everyone's input but it all came together eventually. They didn't plan on leaving early due to how long they'd already been up so the next day was spent resting and gathering supplies together for the journey. Tomorrow was more than a new day.

Soon, Marcus was trekking across the heathland once more. This time with his new travel companions: Jessica and Tarik.