https://everythingspeakstome.com/files/original/40b60c28e75bd23c6ec313aa6deaa8ce.png 44c01c755560e764f3cf36852ceb55e2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource After The Rise ... Description An account of the resource Using elevations and water level projected on EyesOnTheRise.com, these speculative fictions explore the world that was Miami after sea levels rise 6 or more feet. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Administrator Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Please post your written submission in this field. The images you would like to include should be posted as attachments below. The world had turned completely upside down. That was the lifestyle that has dominated the globe for years now, and it is down to the fittest survivors and who would survive. It is either you get what you need and live, or you miss the opportunity and die at the hands of the enemy. This is the way that things have been ever since 2187, ever since that wretched undead hoard destroyed the place we call home and the people I love. But I adapted to this chaotic, messed up environment and I lived. And now I have a new set of friends and family, people that I have found to be reliable and trustworthy, and now we came together to survive and fight for what is right in a place where righteousness is a thing of the past. We call ourselves the Rogues. I’ve been a part of the clan for a while now, ever since me and my sister Diana Menendez have joined the Rogues, which was the best decision she and I have made since the day everything took a turn for the worse. And now, here we are, sitting at the top of their ranks with me as the leader and prospering in a world where there is hardly anything these days, particularly food and water, which are the most vital but scarce resources in this hostile environment. The main base is located in Miami, which has changed a lot in the past 13 years. Not only have the zombies reigned supreme, but climate change has also become significantly worse, with sea levels having risen to new heights than ever before, and the water can go up to your knees at the lowest or it can even go up to your neck at its peak. A new day has arrived, and I felt grateful that I got to see the sun rise. The first thing I would do is check up on Diana and say “Good morning”, and she would say “Good morning”, back. Then, once we were done getting ready, then we would make our way towards the headquarters in Miami. “Alright, ladies and gents, “I said when I arrived, “today we are heading out to the abandoned Coral Reef Senior High School building, where there are resources waiting for us to get, and we are running short of fuel, ammo, water, and food.” “However, we will not be the only ones there,” Diana spoke, “the clans named the Diablos Negros, and the Flaming Skulls are also planning to take advantage of the opportunity that awaits, so it is up to us to strike first and secure the essentials.” Then, the third in command of the Rogues, Fabio Alvarez, stepped into the room and exclaimed, “Fortunately for us, we have the latest weapons in our arsenal: the X-5 Destroyer is so powerful that it can fire lasers that are lethal enough to drop a human dead in one shot. If you charge it for 5 seconds, you can collateral up to 12 zombies in one blast. If this is not enough, then we’ve also got our hands on AtlasTech’s most sophisticated and deadly drones, with technology so advanced that it can track people and zombies through walls and annihilate them using machine guns and missiles. “Alright soldiers, here is the plan”, I said. “We are going to strike at 8:00 PM with 2,000 soldiers. We will sneak in quietly and loot every single room and floor inside the building. If you encounter an enemy along the way, do not hesitate to fight and show no mercy. Then, once we secure the resources we need, Fabio and 4 squadrons of helicopters will arrive at the extraction point in the abandoned track in the back of the school and get us back to base.” Diana then stepped up and asked, “If there is anyone that does not want to take part in the raid, step out of the room right now.” Not a single person left. “Alright then, it is settled. Do what must be done, and good luck to all”. Then the mission started. On the way there, Diana asked me, “Are you sure this will work, Caleb?”. I responded “Yes, I planned this out for weeks now, and I have sent drones to scour the area. We are good to go.” The way I was leading the force brings back memories of what it was like being under the mentorship of Adam Garcia, a 32-year old man who taught me and Diana essential survival and leadership skills that was useful for not just the zombie apocalypse, but in any setting for that matter. He showed us how the faction system works and gave us a tour of the Rogues’ Miami base when we first joined. He also told us what AtlasTech is, and how it has been there for us since 2187. They gave us the resources and weapons we need to survive, and without them, we would not be here. The Rogues have touched down in the empty school, and soon enough, we are faced with the Diablos Negros and the Flaming Skulls, two of our biggest enemies. Like us, they have rose to prominence among the many factions that have formed, but unlike us, they will do anything to get what they want, even if they have to do it through manipulation, deception, and killing anyone that gets in their way. Their ruthlessness has become well known throughout Miami, and most people go into hiding whenever the wicked come out to play. But the Rogues are not most people, and we will not hesitate to stand up to adversity and serve justice in a lawless world. Not long after we arrived, we are faced with Chris Ramirez, the leader of the Diablos Negros, with two bodyguards armed with M8 assault rifles and covered in tactical gear surrounding him. Chris was perhaps the most feared man in Miami, with pretty much everybody knowing about his violent personality, with his sadistic, treacherous ways so infamous that rumor has it that he would kill more than a dozen children if that is what he has to do, and what makes him stand out from other criminals is that he does not feel remorse, he enjoys every touch of bloodshed and terror he inflicts on others. “Well, well,” Chris remarked, “if it isn’t for Caleb and Diana Menendez, always standing in my way. So what are you going to do, take me to jail and lock me up?”. Diana responded by saying “This shall be the last time you interfere with us!”. Chris chuckled, “This is where it gets real fun. Guards, destroy them.” Chris then left for the 2nd floor and headed for the resources. Diana and I fought with all our might as the guards pinned us down. We were locked in a gunfight with some of the deadliest soldiers around, with the guards having pinpoint accuracy and the bloodlust of Chris. We were eventually able to take out the guards, but I got shot in the leg. Fortunately, Diana gave me a first aid kit, and I was back in shape. Soon enough, we encountered Chris again, and unsurprisingly, he was slaughtering our comrades left and right with sadistic glee. As we were securing what was left of the resources available in the empty building, Diana and Chris were in a duel, and I was with my remaining troops. Chris’s accuracy was so pinpoint that one of the bullets scraped Diana’s arm, causing a scar. But Diana was as smart as she is accurate: she threw a gas grenade, causing Chris to go coughing. “We will meet again! This is not the last you have seen of me, Menendez!” Just as when we were about to leave the abandoned school, a massive zombie hoard arrived, and we encountered zombies of various types: there was your regular, run of the mill zombie, and then there was the Electro Zombie, which can shoot lightning bolts of its eyes and hands, the Hounds, which were super aggressive zombie dogs that will attack any uninfected human they see, the Fire Zombie, which can burn through anything through its 25 million degree body and explodes into a pool of lava when defeated, and the Colossus, which gets super strong by eating other zombies, and boosting its abilities to the point where not even the X-5 Destroyer’s power up cannot do anything to it, and it can combine the abilities of the Electro and Fire Zombies together, along with flight, super speed, nigh-invulnerability, strength that allows it to shatter skyscrapers just by walking through them, and growing 200 feet tall. Therefore, the best way to stop the Colossus is to deprive it of its food supply, other zombies. We dispatched of the undead and annihilated the Colossus there. Soon enough, Fabio and his team arrived and we made it safely back to base. “So, how was the mission?”, Fabio asked. “We lost some soldiers, like around 600 due to the gangs and zombies, but we got what we need.” I spoke. “That’s amazing to hear, Caleb”, Fabio said, “Every bit of progress is enough to make us satisfied. Got to say, you and Diana have come a long way since we met years ago. It is crazy that at first, you two did not know how to use weapons, and now you two are some of the finest soldiers that a faction could ask for.” “Thank you, Fabio”, I responded. “Without your advice, Diana and I would be dead by now. I am grateful to have help from someone like you, ever since Adam died at the hands of the Diablos Negros. How about a toast?”. “Sure, why not?” Fabio said. I grabbed 2 cups of wine and exclaimed “To Adam and the Rogues!”. “To Adam and the Rogues!”, Fabio exclaimed, and we both drank. “Take care, Caleb!”, he said. “You too!”, I said and left the base. When I met up with Diana in our house, I asked her how she was feeling. She told me that she misses our parents ever since they died, taken by the undead horde, leaving us orphaned. “I am grateful that we survived, that we encountered wonderful people like Fabio and Adam. I miss Adam too, he taught us remarkably well and was a good teacher.” I responded by saying “I agree, it is a blessing from the Lord that we are able to not only survive but prosper.” Diana and I hugged each other good night, said our prayers and went to bed. As I slept, I remembered everything that happened from 2187 to now, in 2200. I remember witnessing our parents screaming at us to run. The last thing that I remember about Mom and Dad was seeing a Colossus biting the head off Mom and cutting Dad in half using its eye lasers. Then I remembered how my 14-year old self and Diana, who was 12 at the time, arrived in the abandoned Marlins Stadium, not knowing what to expect. Then, we were surrounded by the Chaos Watch, one of the deadliest gangs of the time. Just as they were about to open fire, Adam and the Rogues arrived and saved us. From there, the rest is history. 3 weeks have passed since the Coral Reef raid, and they have been uneventful for the most part, with zombies infiltrating our base only to get destroyed. But in the 4th week, things were taking another turn: Fabio and our intelligence agent named Mara informed us that the lack of resources made many survivors go to insanity, and chaos started within the factions, and a war seemed inevitable. The alliances that have helped us for so long are now at stake, and it is difficult to find who is trustworthy these days, as the Titans and Arrowheads, two of our biggest allies, are falling to the same chaos as well. Our partnerships with the Titans and the Arrowheads go way back, during the early days of life after humanity, back when Adam was in power. Adam told me that he came across the Arrowheads when they in a skirmish with the Chaos Watch. When things looked hopeless, Adam and his squad showed up and provided aid when the Arrowheads needed it the most. From there, the Rogues and the Arrowheads provided weapons, ammo, fuel, food, and water for each other. As for the Titans, they started off as a band of survivors who had no leadership or resources, struggling to stay together. I encountered them in the early years of my leadership, when I was dealing with Adam’s death, and they came to me for resources. I was not sure what to do, but Adam would want me to help others like he helped me, so I provided them the resources they needed, and they started off as members of the Rogues. Eventually, they wanted to start their own faction and called themselves the Titans, and an alliance was born. But that was years ago. Our alliances are falling apart, putting survivors at risk. “How is the situation looking out there?”, I asked, and Fabio responded, “Things are getting worse with every second that passes. Now, the factions that we once helped are on the brink of collapse, and those who cause violence and anarchy have more power than ever, making the majority of survivors turn to them for hope.” “Is there anything that we can do to help them?”, Diana asked, and Mara answered with, “The AtlasTech headquarters has the most resources in Miami. If we strike now, we can earn all the riches and technology in the world in the palm of our hands. However, the Flaming Skulls have arrived and is taking various AtlasTech members hostage, including the CEO, Dr. Nicholas Spectre. If we succeed, we will not only have the best technology in the world, but AtlasTech will be able to finish a vaccine they have been working on for years, one that will end the zombie apocalypse as we know it.”. Diana responded by saying, “What happens if we fail?”, and Fabio intervened by saying, “Then the Flaming Skulls will rule the world with an iron fist, and we will all die.” “The sooner we strike, the more likely we are to succeed, and if we are super lucky, find out about how this mess came to be.” Mara responded. “Caleb, I hope you paid attention to all of this. This is our chance to make things right, a shot at correcting everything that went wrong, and more importantly, AVENGE our parents!”, Diana told me. “No worries Diana,”, I responded, “I already have a plan.” Soon the briefing started. Only this time, it is not just any group of soldiers I’m talking to: this is an assembly of the Rogues’ finest soldiers, the elite of the elite, known as the Peacemakers. They consist of 350 elite soldiers who fought in the military before the apocalypse began, and they have undying loyalty to the Rogues. These soldiers went through the most brutal stages of military training, have lots of experience under their belts, and have accuracy that would make snipers jealous. “Alright, soldiers, here is the plan.” I said. “We will sneak into AtlasTech HQ through the vents, and we must be careful because there are guards everywhere. Our agents inside AtlasTech have told us that the resources and intel are located in the laboratory and data archives, so we will split into 2 teams, the first will go to the laboratory and the other team and I will go to the archives and get any documents that have information on how to stop the war and the zombies. Once we get what we need, then we will get our hands on some AtlasTech vehicles and make our way back to base. The time to strike is now.” The moment that we arrived, we met the Flaming Skulls, with Dr. Spectre being held at gunpoint. “Thank God, you’re here! If you rescue me, I will show you my latest technology and the vaccine I have been working on.”. One of the soldiers holding him at gunpoint said, “Go ahead and tell us instead of these jokers, or we will annihilate you and your scientists!”. Spectre yelled “I will never tell!”. “Very well then”, said the soldier, “another one bites the dust!”. And then, a gun went off. But it was not Spectre that got shot. We saw that the soldier had a massive hole in where his heart was. The soldier dropped to the ground, and we saw Diana standing there with an X-5 Destroyer in her hands. “I could not thank you enough”, Dr. Spectre told us, “I will show you what I have to offer once this madness is over!”, and then we went our separate ways. Diana and her team of Peacemakers had a relatively hard time with the Flaming Skulls because of their numbers, but they made it to the lab and got the vaccine. My squad and I, on the other hand, did not have it so easy. Once we made it to the archives, we came up against Dmitry Shostakov, also known as “The Juggernaut”, and the name come from the fact that he wears a heavy suit of armor and carries a deadly X-150 minigun, which can wipe out a squad of soldiers in seconds. “Caleb Menendez and the Peacemakers, I have been hearing a lot about you and your heroics. I admire your skills, but the legend ends here and now”, said the Juggernaut. “Shostakov, your time is up!”, said one of the Peacemakers behind me. The Juggernaut laughed, said, “This is where the fun begins!”, started up the minigun, and gunned down 25 of my men. I was enraged that my men were getting annihilated, and I made my move, but Dmitri was able to put bullets into my legs and chest, and I was out for a couple of seconds. “Come on, Menendez, I expected a challenge from you, but turns out, I was wrong.”, Dmitri exclaimed as he focused on my soldiers. With all of my strength, I pulled out my handgun, and I shot where he had his ammunition. It caught fire, and it made its way to the armor, causing it to explode, putting the Juggernaut down for good. My squad and I then got the documents and made it to the garage. There, we were surrounded by thousands of zombies. Just when all hope was lost, Dr. Spectre and his drones showed up and annihilated them. “I told you I will show you what I have to offer!”, he shouted. I lost consciousness, and I was asleep for the trip back home. When I woke up, Diana told me the Rogues and the Diablos Negros are the only factions left. We inspected a document named “Origins”, which outlined that the zombie apocalypse was caused by a virus discovered in 2187, the year it all began. “How did that virus get here?”, I asked. Diana said, “It turns out that the virus made its way into the ocean, right when sea levels were rising due to human activity and failure to care for the environment. It first came into contact with humans when people encountered a dying shark on the beach. When they tried to get the shark into the water, the shark bit them, turning them into zombies, and the zombies became difficult to stop, wiping out 95% of humanity.” “Why didn’t AtlasTech tell us, and why are there different zombies?”, I asked. Diana then proceeded to inspect a document called “Plan 66”. We were horrified as we discovered that AtlasTech created the virus, and many variations that made more numerous and deadlier zombies. “How did they get the funding for all of this, and why are there resources scattered throughout Miami?”. Diana told me, “The resources came from the bags of soldiers that died fighting the undead, as well as houses in which families were destroyed. And as for the funding…” “…. we stole money from governments across the globe!”, said Mara as she walked into the room. “Mara, you traitor!”, Diana shouted with rage, “how did you know this without telling us!?” “AtlasTech has already won, we destroyed our old competition, and now it is your turn to die!”, said Mara as a bunch of soldiers that once served us arrived to destroy us. I told Diana to look for Fabio and the rest of the Rogues, but no response. Then Peacemakers arrived, eliminating the sleeper agents. Mara shouted, “That was just the beginning! You have no idea what awaits you!” before blowing herself up in front of us. Then, we heard explosions in the base, and the zombies and Diablos Negros have infiltrated the base. Chris showed up healed and stronger than ever before. “I told you we will meet again!”, he shouted as a figure in a dark cloak and wearing a hockey mask arrived at his side. “Chris, show them what’s good!”, said the masked figure. “With pleasure!”, said Chris as he started firing his rifle at us. We were dodging bullets left and right, and Chris used his grenade launcher to nearly blow us up. Chris then pursued Diana with hatred in his eyes, pinned Diana to the ground, sliced her throat, and proceeded to attack me. His bloodlust would be his downfall: he became so distracted that he failed to notice Diana get up and shoot him in the heart, putting him down for good. “Hahaha!” laughed the masked figure, “Chris was just a lackey!”. “ So, Chris was not the leader?” I asked. “He was not the leader….. I am!”, said the masked figure as he revealed himself to be Fabio. “How could you do this…”, I asked, “after everything we’ve done for you?”. “You and your sister are too trusting, too blind to see the truth! AtlasTech will rule the world, make it a better place, and I will be by their side! It is such a shame you two won’t be around to see it.”, Fabio said as he pointed his assault rifle at Diana. “No!” I yelled, and Fabio had done the unthinkable. I rushed to her side, but there was no hint she was alive, dead in my arms. “You fool! It was your pitiful recklessness that got her killed, the same reason why Adam died! It is your fault, they would be disappointed with the failure you are!”, shouted Fabio. I remembered how I told Adam he should help the survivors being held hostage by the Diablos Negros that fateful afternoon, which he did, only for him to get shot by Chris. I looked at Fabio with rage. Without hesitation, I grabbed my Destroyer, and I blew off Fabio’s head clean off his body. A swarm of AtlasTech drones then surrounded me in, and just as they were about to fire, AtlasTech employees loyal to the Rogues arrived and blew them up. The Diablos Negros scattered and were annihilated by the Rogues, and we made quick work of the zombies. The battle was over. The next day, we got together and mourned the 4,000 who died on our side, including Diana. We saw to it that the Rogues would be rebuilt, stronger than ever. 2 weeks later, Dr. Spectre paid for his crimes in the form of a public execution. AtlasTech was gone for good, and we finished the vaccine, turning all the zombies back to normal. We then passed laws so effective that all crime and violence came to an end. The waters receded and the environment was restored, making the world a safe place to be. I can finally rest easy knowing my job is done and have some inner peace. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Survivor's Gambit Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jonathan Del Val Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 04/17/2023