Chapter 2 - 2018
The PURGE
The great catastrophe occurs. 95% of humanity dies within a few weeks. A small settlement survives around the Föne airstrip. As military units clash for control of the area, infected roam the forests and the civilians just try to survive. The world is a grim, dark and very unforgiving place.
The second wave – year 2018
"Human nature is an interesting thing. No matter how high we think we stand above the animal kingdom; in the end, we are just monkeys with guns. Bent on destroying one another…
The winter was harsh and long with lots of snow. Not much was done besides trying to survive the weather. But as spring came not only nature turned up the heat…"
The war
The conflict between The Bear Tribe and STF was now more personal than ever, a conflict about revenge and survival. STF came out of hiding having recovered from last year’s heavy losses and went on the offense, hitting the Bears wherever they went. With a lightning strike they hit as far as the enemy headquarters and struck a decisive blow to their organization.
In the end it turned in to a bloody trench war where STF dominated a lot of the terrain. The STF held a firm grip on the eastern and central parts of the area, giving them an edge by controlling the fuel station. But the bears kept control of their radar station enabling them to spot aerial craft from afar.
With the help of The Wolf Tribe a mobile SAM-site was smuggled in to the area. At first seized by the Russian defectors from The Bears it was later sized by the STF but then lost to Bear hands. In a final bloody push, The Bears managed to put the SAM-site in position to keep enemy air support away from the area.
The losses were heavy on both sides and the factions had a hard time recovering to the same strength. The long war and the lack of ammunition, food or medical supplies started to take its toll. Besides the losses from the war there was also a more sinister enemy now starting to claim lives of the military, the infected. A lot of observations was made of infected being able to ambush and overwhelm small military groups which was something that hadn’t happened that frequently before.
Not all losses were due to military engagements or death. Having heard rumors about a ballistic missile hitting Alingsås both STF and Bears started to wonder if their own Russian members had a hidden agenda and something to do with the attack. The accusations and questioning led to the defection of Russian and Baltic troops from both sides, joining with the Gopnik’s from the settlement and with what was rumored to be the help of Stanislav himself…
Amid all the killing and chaos there still were traces of humanity and military professionalism as the leaders of the two factions met on the airfield and agreed to a peace treaty in the settlement. Letting it be a beacon of hope, at least when it came to the military conflict... Little did they know it was bound for a much crueler fate.
There was also an agreement to respect each other’s territory and not make claim on the opposing factions land. But everything in between is still a no man’s land and peace is far from an option there. The treaty also spoke about a temporary alliance between the factions if the need should arise due to the rumors that someone was spreading the infection and made a bigger threat to the area.
TRUE SONS OF RODINA – The Russian enclave
Rumors about Russian infiltration in the area and connection to the attack on Alingsås created mistrust towards the Russian members of Bear Tribe. Those members who chose to leave BT and together with other surviving Russians and people of Slavic origins proclaimed a new enclave in the area. With the help of the secretive Stanislav a connection between the motherland and the Russians in the area was established. A consequence of this was that a group of Russians made their way to Föne as it was was considered to be a more stable sanctuary than the current stage of the motherland.
THE LOCALS
Tallbaksgården
The farm, known as “Tallbaksgården”, attracted many people from far and wide. Tveskägg, Brothers Grimsby and others showed their devoutness. In return, Gwen offered shelter and food. She also supplied the settlement with the important food, that is all to scare in the area. One survivor was heard to say "It felt so good just to see the chickens. It felt like life was normal again."
The new zone
A new zone was discovered, mainly after research from Kiwi, fixers and other researchers. Many now denotes this zone as "the new zone" or "the radioactive zone". The radio was also a success that increased security in the area, which in turn increased the number of civilians living in Föne. Fixers found mutations in the old zone and managed to build an extremely costly but functioning zombie repellent. They set up the prototype at the bar and a few other places. The bar became a cantina, a free zone from violence and infections, the only safe place for several miles.
The Church
The church traveled around spreading the word of their faith to anyone who listened. No one could miss them on their bikes riding around. They had to endure to see their holy symbol defiled at many times during the game. Many refer to the mess of the religious symbol as "the War of Faith". To prevent this from happening again they started to assemble a religious building to consolidate their faith.
Blackbeards
A new group came to Föne this year. They called themselves "Blackbeard". At the beginning of the year people didn't pay them much attention, but during the spring the group grew rapidly in numbers and in influence in Föne. They arranged fights in their fighting pit, much like the old gladiator games of Rome and threw some great parties. Much needed in the dull life of Föne.
The Embassy
The Embassy played a overall vital role in the struggles against the violence in the settlement. At times they were the only thing between total anarchy and order. Sir Charles was injured during an assassination attempt but survived. It is unclear what happened, and the embassy did not release any official information. And lets say that the police department had their work days filled. Something was always going on. Due to the struggles in the settlement and assassination attempt the Embassy moved their embassy to a new location to be able to focus on diplomacy again.
The Gopniks
The gopniks literally was all over the place. Anything not chained to something too heavy to move was considered fair game. This was one of the reasons to their rather good economy. Envious eyes gazed upon their clean Adidas gear and bellies filled with vodka, Smetana and salted cucumbers. Their typical gopnik hard bass music might for some have been a pain in the ass. The gopniks might have contributed to the survival of many people when they aligned with break out groups of Bear Tribe and STF to create a new faction. Together they tried to gather all the Russians in the area in one group.
Mr Jim, The Vipers and... sleeper agents?
The survivors at Föne noticed that a new actor had arrived, called Mr Jim. There are still a lot of rumors around this character, few that's been confirmed. Some say Mr Jim is the head of a nationwide organisation capitalizing on peoples misery, others say he is the new Messiah that will bring order to Föne. Something that is confirmed is that Mr Jim managed to appropriate almost all of the land that the village is built upon. How this will affect the life of the survivors is not yet known. Beside that Mr Jim seems to be the reason that the group "Vipers" are in the area. The exact connection between the Vipers and Mr Jim is a bit unclear.
It was also confirmed that a group of sleeper agents had been active in the area disrupting the fragile life of the settlement. The last sleeper agent alive was believed to have disabled the radio, blew up the fuel depot and spreading the virus in what was believed to be safe areas before leaving the area again. What other horrible things the sleeper agents have done the people will never know about.
The Health Authority and ER.
The Health Authority and the old ER merged together due to the close collaboration during the spring and summer of 2018. Together they played a vital role in the survival of mankind in Föne. The trauma team saved many lives physically and their psychologist saved a few minds. The Health Authority fought long and hard against the infection. At times they even showed such a devoutness to their task that they without hesitation killed members of their own group that had been exposed to the infection. Not all settlements left in Sweden can boost this type of expertise and courage.
SÄK and the local police
The Embassy created SÄK (local security force) from the remaining parts of Gardet in 2018 as they planned to expand their influence in the area. This did not go as well as planned and the Embassy discontinued their security force and replaced it with a close protection team and MI6. The former members of SÄK are now their own masters and can be found in the village as the local police force. They still believe in law and order and hope to make a good impact on the settlement. Their belief in law and order keeps them going no matter what. Even in situations when other civilians don't want them around.
Piranhas and other small groups
As usual the Piranhas could be found near or inside of the bar. With the competition of Blackbeards camp in 2018 they took a more violent role than before. The clashes between them, Blackbeard and the Embassy was brutal. Time and resources was not on their side which led to the Piranhas relocating and is no longer in the area.
Outcasts and Vigilantes had a hard time. They fought hard in the woods, attacking each others, military personnel and simple survivors that might have been at the wrong place and time. With different motives they tried to shape the area according to their will with violence as a tool. Not to successful though in the overall scheme of things.
Bill and Bull, also known as "hillbillys", were detained several times for alcohol abuse and negligence in traffic. Any penalties are unclear. Little is really known about these men, but they seem to be the archetype behind the word "hillbilly".
During the game the settlement also got french visitors. Some civilians say that it was bound to happen since the British have had an interest in the area for 2 years. The rivalry between the french and the British is as old as history itself.
The last night of the old settlement
The infected grew in numbers as the war in the area and the lack of cooperation within the settlement reached new heights. When everyone was busy fighting a wave of infected came out of what seamed like nowhere and struck everyone in the area. People died. People got infected. Everyone was running for their own lives not knowing who was friend and who was foe.
As the darkness set in and all you could hear in the village was screams and sirens. Was this the end of the old settlement? Maybe mankind wasn't supposed to live peacefully as neighbors? But with fear and suspicion from a distance... time will tell.
