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September, 2017 - Five years later

"Those first six months were the longest. We had supplies and shelter but only a small portion of this bunker was available. No one would create such a place and not have some purpose for it. I worked long hours trying to break the code for that main terminal."

"When did you realize it was a lost cause?" says the man sitting across from you.

"Around year one, I learned enough of the code to access the main storage area, though this was still only a portion of the overall compound. Unknown to me, another group of survivors was using other wings of the great bunker, and my actions opened access for all of us. That initial meeting was tense but we soon agreed to join together for mutual benefit.

"Another side effect of opening the main storage area was to send out a beacon of sorts. In time, travelers found the bunker. Some we let in; others we turned away. Everyone worked hard and got along for the most part, and beyond chance bandit raids or random undead attacks, we lived in peace. We defined roles and work assignments, some helping to maintain our living quarters, some scouted the surrounding areas for threats, some acquired food and supplies from nearby towns."

"Sounds like a real fairy tale story," the man says. He flips to a new page of his notepad and sits back in his chair.

"We were living in peace and had enough food to survive. But we weren't without hardships. People still contracted sicknesses that we were ill-trained to treat. A few gangs of bandits harassed us for our resources. Weather and the elements forced us to use up food and supplies without the ability to venture far from the depot to replenish them."

"You mentioned illness. None among you were doctors?"

"My sister, Emma, was a huge help in that first year. She was a nurse before the outbreak, and I swear the virus targeted health care professionals first, because there was a severe lack of doctors and nurses for all the medical care we needed.

"Cracking the depot's code gave us access to a wealth of new information. Emma learned to use the diagnostic equipment and surgical technology to advance her own knowledge base. Before long, she was providing more than just urgent care. She was treating long-term health-related problems, prescribing medications, delivering babies, anything you can imagine. She was truly a healer. I'm proud of my sister."

"Is she still living here?"

"Yes, she runs our medical wing… or what's left of it."

The man holds up a cup of steaming liquid to his lips. A cough in the far corner draws your attention to the armed guard at the cell door.

"So, what else can I tell you? Well, there's Heather. I'd say leaving the Cathedral was hardest on her. She came to depend on that place, depend on her brother, Tom.

"Eventually, we left the Cathedral and with her brother gone and the lack of feeling secure, the extreme parts of her personality became even more potent, like sprinkling hot sauce on a spicy pepper. She became more sarcastic, more emotional, a bit devious and often mean-spirited. On the other side, she was unnaturally loyal, territorial, and daring. Once she locked me in a closet in a house we were scavenging just so she could clear the house of zombies on her own to prove her worth.

"It wasn't until she took over as leader of the group that the greatest change occurred in her. She became selfless and moral, fair and efficient. She got to know everyone in our extended family of survivors and utilized them in the best way possible. Some would say she was the best parts of her brother mixed with her own cunning, no-nonsense personality. I just know Heather always had it in her, and leaving the Cathedral took away the security blanket she had to lose before she could grow."