He passed the time getting acquainted with the other patients in the cabin. He had been very shy at first, still shaken by the loss of his memory and the bizarre new surroundings he was in. To him, it felt as if he was in an altogether different world. All this talk about respawners bringing a new world order did not make sense at all. People who could not die, how was that even possible?
The two people inside his cabin were very friendly and made him feel a bit more comfortable. Cole was a middle-aged miner who had got injured on the job while Dave, who was an old farmer, had had a severe headache which was already beginning to subside.
"So, amnesia, eh?" said Cole. "I've seen a few people get amnesia even when they've not been touched. It's the madness outside that gets to them. Though you don't seem to be crazy."
"Of course he's not crazy," said Dave. "If he's forgotten everything then how can he still be crazy?"
"You really don't remember anything, eh? Not even the respawners?" asked the miner. "God, I wish I could forget them too. Nasty people, they are."
"I wouldn't call them people. They're monsters," said Dave. "Though don't worry. We're safe in the city from them. For now, at least."
"Can you describe them to me?" asked Michael. "How can they not die? What do they look like?"
"Ah, so full of curiosity," remarked Cole. "Reminds me of my children when they were young."
"Well, they don't look no different than you and I," explained the farmer. "But from the inside, they're pure evil. They're the vilest of the human race. They existed in the past but have been brought back to life."
"How is that even possible?"
"No one knows. You'd think in the 21st Century, the supposed Age of Information, someone would've been able to figure it out. But no, no one could explain how these people cheat death. We don't really care anymore either. We just try to survive."
"The only disadvantage that the respawners probably have is that they are confined to their zones. If they cross them, then they will just respawn back into their zones. But that means, every corner in the world is not free from their presence."
"What?" Michael was taken aback. "You mean there is a respawner in this city too?"
"Yes, there is a respawner in this zone," answered Cole. "But he's trapped. Some scientists figured a way out to trap him in this chamber or something called the RCC. It stands of Respawner Containment Chamber or something like that. They managed to trap him inside it after the destruction he was causing. I'm guessing you've probably seen the havoc down there. The Nazis have placed him in a secret, secure facility somewhere in the zone."
"Who are the Nazis?" Michael cut in.
"They rule over this city along with a few other cities right here in the US. They've also got a lot of control in Europe too along with alliances in South America. Their leader is Hitler who is the Chancellor of Germany and is one of the respawners. He's already rebuilding his empire in the form of the Fourth Reich," answered Cole.
"But he's got worthy opposition in the form of Joseph Stalin and the Nordic Rulers who are respawners too," said Dave. "Stalin controls most of the United States now after he managed to reunite the Soviet Union. Russia was already prepared for war since tensions were high between them and the US but it took Hitler time to settle the refugee crisis in Germany and Stalin with his Red Army did not hesitate in capitalizing. The US didn't even pose that big of a threat to them since they were hit by the toughest respawners with whom they were struggling to deal with."
Michael was confused. Nazis? Red Army? Stalin? Hitler?Who are these? They made no sense to him and Cole laughed at his confusion. "It's politics son. I won't expect you to understand it. But the main thing is the respawner is trapped in the zone. It's fairly safe to assume that the Reds have spies throughout the city but it seems they have failed to find the facility. Otherwise, they would have set the respawner free to destabilize the zone. They've done it before too when the US still controlled the city. Those were dark days…"
That's when Elena entered the cabin and gave them a warm smile. She had heard them talking about the last time the respawner had escaped. Those were dark days indeed… The respawner who had been trapped initially had escaped after the Reds had managed to infiltrate their facility and powered down the RCC. The respawner had escaped and managed to destroy the city again that the US had been trying to rebuild.
Elena remembered the destruction all too well. She had been in one of the city hospitals with her father when the respawner's onslaught had taken place. She remembered the cries and screams of the injured that were being swarmed inside and her father overwhelmed with the work, his eyes reddened and black circles forming under his eyes. She remembered the strong smell of coffee that the doctors and nurses in the hospital were consuming to stay alert. Miraculously, the respawner was trapped on the same day he escaped. The Nazi army came to the rescue from the south and managed to trap the respawner in the RCC. The US soldiers within the city did not attempt to stop the Nazis. They had had to face heavy losses with the respawner's outbreak and surrendered to the Nazis who had captured one of their first zones in the US. With the respawners giving them trouble and powerful enemies targeting the US, it didn't take long for the US government to disintegrate. The US's most powerful ally, Israel, were not able to save them since they had their own problems dealing with their own respawners and Hitler's Germany that were trying hard to destroy the hub of the Jews.
The Peak city had had a relatively peaceful time in recent years barring a weak bombing attempt from The Red Army which had been countered by the Nazis. The conflicts between the Red Army and Nazis usually occurred at the zones that were further north of the city which were closer to the Soviet Union-controlled zones. There was also the ill-treatment of black people within the city as well as the oppression and murders of the Jews alongside the city where they were forced to live in ghettoes and concentration camps which were in shocking condition. Within these places, they were treated like scum and often forced to survive. The Nazis had one of the largest concentrations camps below in Destroyed Denver. Even if a person had a third or fourth grandparent of Jewish descent they fit the criteria of being a Jew and hence, a second-class citizen in the eyes of the Nazis. The Nazis even brought in textbooks on racial education which taught young children that Jews were second-class citizens and animals. Often times, they were murdered in mass shootings or gassed in chambers if the concentration camp's capacity was being reached.