Ted gazed into the interior of the home improvement store, his treasure sense going off heavily as he felt the various valuables in the building.

He also felt SIGNIFICANT reticence: something here was setting off his dangersense hard. Well, at least I'm prepared. Ted crept in, drawing his shotgun. If he was going to get into a fight against something big, better he did it with his best weaponry.

Stepping in, he noticed that, all around him were statues of people, in various poses, with horrified looking expressions on their face. Oh joy, thats not ominous at all.

Right. Best do this isle by isle.

First isle was mostly kitchen-ware and appliances. Beyond a few pots, pans, and knives, not much here that Ted was interested in. After all, an electric roaster wasn't much use when there was no electricity, and the school probably has something I can use as a cutting board.

Scavenging Rank Up! 10% XP to Scrounger level!

Nnnnnnnnneat. Ted continued on. Next isle...

Teds eyes widened. Looks like my postulation that they might have generators was correct. And oh, what great generators did they have. Gas powered, solar powered, Ted even spotted some of the things needed to build (very small) wind turbines!

Along with that were plenty of wiring materials, lighting, and other things. I'm.....going to need to make several trips. For now, lets stick to the generators: having electricity in the school would be nice.

Giggling, Ted began using his backpack to store the generators, grabbing a handful of smaller gas and battery generators and one of the much larger solar generators (and accompanying panels), thankful at his packs ability to be incredibly larger on the inside than the outside. Further, he grabbed some of the things required to wire the generators up into the schools electrical system.

Next isle was outdoor supplies. Plenty of fencing material and such, which Ted eagerly grabbed. School already has a gate, but its not exactly rated against horrible rat monsters.

He continued on, noting that his pack was starting to fill up. I just got here and I'm running out of space. Fancy that. Ted...supposed there were worse things in the world. While he was in the isle, he also picked up a shovel and other needed things to help install the extra fencing.

Next isle was when he saw it. A slumbering, massive, snakelike creature, with glittering emerald scales, its tail the size of Ted's body. And where the head would be...

Was a human torso, its skin an equally green color.

Right. Gorgon. Ted was familiar enough with greek myth: woman cursed by the gods into a horrible monster along with her sisters. That explains the statues, at least.

Ted briefly recalled that of the gorgons, only Medusa herself had been capable of turning people to stone. On the one hand, my sense of mythological accuracy is offended. On the other, the universe hates me.

Right. Avoid that isle. Hurry out. Ted was confident in his ability to fight horrible zombie creatures, but his skills weren't quite rated to deal with something that could turn him to stone if he glanced at it wrong.

Next isle was tools. Ted grabbed some welding supplies and a few other things to help fill out his repertoire of tools. After that, he made a hasty exit: he wasn't keen on staying around and becoming a sculpture.

Rope Climbing rank up! +1 STR!

Ted breathed in and out. Right. That had been SIGNIFICANTLY HARDER than when he had been climbing unencumbered. I regret barricading all the ground floor entrances.

After taking a moment to catch his breath, Ted took out the Solar generator (and panels) in his backpack and began setting it up, taking it out of the box (making sure to keep the instructions manual which he assumed he would need) hooking it to the battery generator. Right. Solar one'll charge the portable battery, which I can use in the workshop. I'll start trying to figure out a way to hook the panels into the schools electrical system tommorow.

After setting it up, Ted exited the roof and re-entered the school. Taking a moment to feed Tortoise, Ted visited the ground floor and began removing the barricades on one of the doors, exiting into the school lawn.

Okay. Lets fix up that fence! Should only take a few hours!

This was HELL.

Ted had thought exercise had been the devil. He was wrong. Yardwork was the devil. His muscles ached from digging, he was hot and sweaty from the heat of using the welder, and he was only half done.

Gained skill Digging! Gained skill Construction! Metal-Work rank up! 20% XP to Scrounger level!

Digging (Ubiquitous) Rank 1- The skill governing ability to rapidly dig and create holes.

Construction (Ubiquitous) Rank 1- The skill governing the ability to assemble and modify structures.

And worse, the fence was only partially reinforced: it would take Ted at least another few days of work before he finished it all.

Ted groaned.