Then they'll be driving off to the game store pretty quickly.

... There are a lot more people confused, concerned, wandering the streets, now.

They pass a Bass Pro Shop with a hastily painted big white cloth banner strung on the roof.

APOCALYPSE SALE

"Ooh, that looks useful. Mind stopping here?"

He pulls a cheeky u-turn and speeds into the lot.

The place is in the process of having its windows boarded up. There are guys filling sandbags with the dirt and mulch from the planters. There's a cop car near the entrance, and a guy with a megaphone proclaiming "Fort Bass".

She walks up, impressed at the preparation. "Hell of a start on a fort y'all have here. Who should I talk to about the apocalypse sale?"

"Just walk right inside, miss! We're expecting monsters out the wazoo, and any human with a weapon's a win unless they're the worst of the worst. And if you want to join Fort Bass for the party, we'll sort you with deep discounts or free gear." He nods at her driver Mike, who's come up behind her. "If your friend is willing to make some quick runs, even better!"

"Thank you," Sable exclaims!

She turns to Mike, "Up to you. I'm going to be a few, at least. I'd encourage it, honestly. Keeping as much focus as you can on your car as the System activates feels intuitively like the way to get to keep it, if it's possible at all."

<This is exactly what we were planning to set up with Bettrys,> Maya interjects. <This is worth considering.>

Neo nods vigorously.

Sable nods thoughtfully. "I'm very interested. My bestie and I were planning to find someplace and fortify, along with our other friend if he wakes up in time for the phones to still be working, but... this might well be exactly the sort of thing we were aiming to build up to. Mind if I call her and invite her over too?"

"The more the merrier!"

"Yeah, let's go in and see what they want me to run for," Mike agrees. "Fam's on a military base- If anywhere's safe, that is, so I got a full tank and nowhere to be."

Mike heads inside. The center of the shop, near all the shelves that have been moved around, has a sort of command center where a guy in a manager's uniform is pacing around tables covered in papers with some aides of some sort around them. They're making a map and tallying up supplies on a big whiteboard.

She looks around thoughtfully.

<Looks like they're well-organized. This is worth joining,> Maya confirms.

Sable nods, pulls out her phone, and dials Bys.

Bettrys, or Bys to her friends, is breathing hard when she answers.

"Sable! I have- A U-haul full of construction shit. How are your preparations going?"

"Doing great, Bys. I've got canned foods, supplements, spices, rice, assorted hygiene stuff, and while I was on my way to you I found a Bass Pro Shop that's making a fort. They're stockpiling supplies and offering freebies and discounts for people who stay for the changeover."

"Kinda sounds like I should go there instead of the game store. I think I know the place, just by the highway? Oh, I've got a couple of- I've got a passenger, tagging along because I have half a plan, I guess. Have you heard from Theo?" (Bys just can't bring herself to call him Teddy. That's kind of a Sable thing.)

"Agreed, and no I haven't. I texted him, since that'll be waiting for him as long as his phone holds power, but he hasn't called yet. I accidentally recruited my Uber driver, he's going to be making runs for the crew here through the countdown. If we're switching our meeting location here, I'll send Teddy an update. Might just call him and wake him up, at this point."

"Okay. I'm gonna focus on driving. See you soon. God, this is gonna be a mess."

System Initializing

3 hours remaining.

Notice: You are near the edge of the Settlement of Tacoma. Monsters and Critters may spawn in your area when the Tutorial begins.

"Shit, do you see that one? Monsters, confirmed."

"Ink and Salt. Yep, confirmation 'cause we're near the edge of Tacoma. Drive safe, see you soon."

She hangs up.

Mike jogs past Sable with a grimace and a wave. "Pickin' up a doctor!"

"Good luck, Mike. Stay safe, see you when you get back."

She turns to the organizers. "My friend is coming with a truckload of construction supplies. We're changing our meetup to here. I'll inventory my supplies for y'all once I finish calling people."

And with that, she dials Teddy.

They're glad to hear it! Good initiative!

"I am awake, yes." Is the first thing he says after picking up. "Ugh. Why. Pain. Have you got it to say anything useful."

Her girls point out everything they've learned quickly, reminding her.

"Classes can be evolved with perk points, cross-class powers can be awarded for exceptional achievements, guns will still work, monsters are confirmed, and two questions got what looks like a 'this question is too complicated to answer while things are still booting up' if I'm reading its behavior correctly. Tech is failing. New meetup location, write it down now in case the phones go out," and she waits for him to get a pen and paper and then rattles off the address of the shop.

He yawns. Writes down the address. "I'm packing what I can and going to try to drive there. As soon as possible. ...Classes will be available depending on your personal experiences and aptitudes. Hmm."

"Useful. Looking forward to seeing you here. I was on my way to the game store and spotted this place, a Bass Pro Shop forting up and having an apocalypse sale, and decided to check it out. Anyway, take notes, learn what you can, drive safe. See you soon."

"Wait wait wait! Google Maps isn't working. Can you give me street directions, where is the place-"

"It's just off the five, in that little bitty shopping center where eightieth meets the five."

"The five? Okay, I remember it, I remember that little watchtower, yeah. Okay, see you soon."

There's a clatter in the background.