here is the excerpt of the chapter. the pods are a DDVRMMO program that lets them play games, learn things with an AI assistant, basically an escape from the hellscape they live in.
April 1st, 2071, ten years After Impact
Unknown Location, North American Continent
*Slap, Slap*
"Owww...it...hurts" the quiet voice said, her voice dripping in pain, tears rolling down her red cheeks where she was slapped.
"It is suppose to, now do as your told, else I will do it again. Don't test me you snotty face brat." A mans rough voice growled at her, pulling on her pony tail, his other hand raised again.
"Yes...yes father." She said, and he released her.
She flinched at the movement of his hands for a moment, then got back to work, clearing the dust away from their families land. She had barely any memories prior to the bunker she lived in for the last ten years with her family, and the ones she had were the only good ones. Other then when she and her sister were playing games in the pods anyways.
It wasn't always this bad, her fathers temper, but ever since they began to run low on food, he was growing even more irritable. It got worse when he ran out of alcohol. Now they were outside, and he was forcing them to clear the ground around the bunker so they could grow plants.
They all had used the pods to learn what they could about growing food, the program called 'The Akashic Records' teaching them everything they could learn about survival and farming. She thought she had learned quite a bit and was happy with her progress.
The problem was her body was small and weak. Despite being 15 years old already, the lack of proper nutrition and exercise for all those years left her exhausted after only a few minutes of work, barely clearing the space around her. Her sister was not much better, but the old man had focused his temper on her this time.
It wasn't like her father was doing nothing but watching them work, he was busy setting up some solar panels with her aunt, her pregnant belly saying she was due any day now. They were hoping to be able to completely shut the generators off soon, before they ran out of fuel. They were already rationing power to six hours a day, two in the morning, one at lunch, and three in the evening to use the pods.
There were batteries, but those were getting older, and used only for the air exchanger, a pump in the toilet, and some lighting. Any cooking, electronics, or the Pods, could only be used with the generator on.
She didn't understand how life had turned out this way, she just hoped that someday she would be rescued from this place somehow. She didn't want to live in this world, not the way it is. She would rather go back to the pod and live out whatever remained of this existence in there.
"Issie! Stop leaning on that shovel and get back to work before I smack you instead! I won't be as gentle as your father." Her mother said beside her, keeping her voice down so not to let the old man know his daughter was slacking off again minutes after getting slapped. She was generally a good mother, but took no nonsense from her daughters when it came to work.
"Yes mother." Isabella said, then started to shovel the dust again. Beside her, her twin sister Anna looked at her and nodded her head in sympathy, a single lock of her platinum blonde hair tied up in a bun coming free and brushing her face, her crystal blue eyes matching Isabella's own.
She buckled down then, and would try her best. It was either that or die, and despite her earlier thoughts, she wasn't ready for death yet.
She wished her uncle was still alive. Having him here would make the others less tense. She knew it.
