Hi guys! I've been working on this for so long, decided to just go ahead and post it ! First chapter is basically just to introduce y'all to the story and the backgrounds, I promise the next chapters will be better! It is a Bechloe story, but other PP characters are involved. Send me feedback here or on tumblr; lifeisbechloe. Hope you enjoy!

Beca sighs.

Standing in front of the mirror, she feels disgust at what this day is doing to her. A bright, yellow dress with matching high heels and her long, auburn hair up in a bun, she knows she wouldn't look like this if today were any other day.

But today is the day she's being chosen. Or as Beca Mitchell herself calls it, being screwed.

Two weeks ago she found out she was chosen, screwed, when an Official and the city major visited her at work and told her she was one of the ten people who were chosen to go to The Rebuild program. Chosen. The word alone makes Beca's skin crawl, because she's not chosen. She is screwed. Chosen means she could say no. Screwed means exactly what it is. She's being forced to go there against her will. And even though Beca Mitchell takes order from no one, the memory of a young, stubborn man being decapitated on the Town Square when she was eleven haunts her to this day. She knows whenever there's an Official involved, saying no is not an option. That's why she's screwed.

She fixes her dress one last time before walking away from the mirror and into the living room. The walls in the room are mostly grey and cold, Beca is just glad it's empty as she makes her way to the stairs. Forty-four steps and then she's out of the bunker and onto fast ground. She takes her time getting her fixed up bike out of the bushes as she heads down to the Town Square where the event is planned for tonight. Her bike is rusted and makes ticking sounds every time her wheel has spun a lap, but it's a luxury almost no other has in this town.

Beca used old parts at the factory where she works to make the bike; it sure took her a week and several bruises before she got it right, but now she has been riding the thing for at least two years.

As Beca approaches the Town Square, she hides her bike behind a tree and slowly the brunette makes her way over to the event. She's in no rush to get there, even though it sounds like they have already begun. Beca doesn't care. It's bad enough they're making her come here, dressed like this, do whatever the hell she's supposed to do at The Rebuild program. They will not force her to come on time.

Beca moves down a few rows, passing people she's known all her life, but the girl keeps her eyes focused on the ground. She's not in the mood to greet people and ask about the days they've had. She knows how their days have been. She knows, because everything in this town is always the same. A thought pops into Beca's head that she's glad she can do something different for a change, but she shuts it out. Being chosen for The Rebuild is not something to be happy about.

Beca stops halfway through the square and places herself next to where she's expected to walk towards the stage in a bit. They've laid down a carpet and Beca can't help but chuckle at how cliché that is. Her eyes search the crowd and within seconds she finds her father. He's standing almost at the front, just like every year. Usually she stands next to him, hearing him go on and on about what the world was like before the Apocalypse. Beca just turned seven when the outbreak happened, she remembers small parts of what the world was like back then; like how the buildings were above ground and how tall they stood. She remembers going on vacation and her mom handing her a few coins to exchange for something Beca wanted. She choose ice cream. She knows it's something to eat, but what it is, what it looks like and what it tastes like, Beca has forgotten.

This year, Beca had lied to him saying she had to work. It's a good thing he's got his back towards her, because one look at her and her father would have known instantly. Because Beca doesn't wear dresses, like she does today. She wanted to tell her father as soon as the Official and the major had left her workspace, but their words echoed in her head. She was not allowed to tell anyone she was chosen, screwed, for The Rebuild. She remembers all the times she watched the so called reaping; a woman or man of elite picks a name at random and that's the person that's going to The Rebuild. Beca wonders if there are even real names in the bowl where, this year, a woman picks a card from.

Beca doesn't even try to listen when the woman with grey hair and a fancy dress on the stage explains the rules once again, as they do every year. How after the zombie apocalypse, other nations bombed what was then The United States of America in order to prevent their own country from the quick spreading infection. Unsuccessfully, Beca remembers from her history teacher, because more than three quarters of the world's population was fallen either due to the infection or the various anti-viruses that were tested on humans. One was found eventually. If they hadn't, Beca guesses there wouldn't be anyone left.

The woman continues to tell how the nation was in ruins and the part they're living in now, which used to be the east coast of The United States, is the only part that survived. Now, they call it The Five Cities, which Beca thinks is ridiculous. They're a town with less than two hundred citizens, and together with a few other small towns like theirs, they make The Second City. The Factory is closest to their town, Beca's glad for that, because some people have to walk for hours until they make it to work.

The woman moves on to the reasons behind The Rebuild; how a different group of people each year should eventually lead to the resurrection of the now dead land on the West coast. Beca knows the infection is no longer a threat, but because the land was also hit with nuclear bombs, the few humans and animals that survived grew extra limbs, a large amount of hair or something else that they shouldn't. Except for the mutants, Beca was told by her father that there was also zero to few water to find and no growth of plants, which is why the ground is useless.

A few months ago, it was announced that The Second City was going to be the one where the candidates were gonna be picked from this year. Beca remembers last year when it was The Fifth City. That's also called the Farmer's City. They grow and harvest as much as their soiled ground can take. From there on out, it goes to The First City where it gets divided between all five cities. Beca guesses that the reason for The Fifth being picked so many times to attend the program, lies in their knowledge of plants and seeds. That is the most important thing for the resurrection of land, Beca assumes. What is she gonna be of help there? All she knows is how to build stuff.

With her thoughts running wild, Beca had missed the first four names that were called out. She hears the fifth, but makes no attempt to look up to see the boy walking towards the stage under loud applause. Beca doesn't care about anyone else going there, she only cares about herself. And family. She's learnt early on in life that the people you care for and look after, will not do the same for you when you're in need of it.

"Beca Mitchell."

She looks up from the ground for the first time since her arrival and she's met with over fifty pair of eyes. Like she said, it's a small town and everyone knows everyone.

With no intend to rush, she makes her way over to the stage. It's obvious her slow pace is an act of rebelliousness against the program. When she makes it to stage, she finds her father's eyes instantly. His eyes look empty and Beca follows them as he scans her clothing. When their eyes meet, the girl shrugs and curls her lips into a weak smile, without words telling her father she's sorry she didn't tell him. He returns the smile evenly weak and Beca knows he understands.

Without intending to, Beca's eyes are following the last person to join the group. She's missed the calling of the girl's name, but there's something about her that feels familiar to Beca. Could it be the way her face is neutral, but she still seems happy? She gives out a certain vibe, a glow of sunshine surrounding her. Yes. Beca remembers the girl as always being happy, she wouldn't even have to smile for that. As the girl jumps on stage in her shiny, red dress, Beca notices the white sneakers she's got on underneath it. Now Beca is sure who this is as her face lets out a devious grin. She remembers the girl looking sweet and innocent, but deep down she was just as rebellious as Beca. She hated rules and people telling her what to do, but she also must've known not to mess with the Officials. Beca is jealous of the ingenious idea of the ginger's small and undisguised act of fight. As the applause dies out, Beca whispers the girl's name.

Chloe Beale.

The woman who has been doing the introductions leads the group of ten backstage, with a loud applause going on behind them. Beca follows last, just behind the redheaded girl she recognized earlier as Chloe Beale. They all receive a bag with the logo of The Second City on it as the grey-haired woman explains you can fill the bag with whatever you want to take with you, but no more than fits in it. It is mandatory to pack some clothes that keep you warm, as it's quite cold in The Rebuild area. Also, some personal things to remind yourself of home and water bottles are things most people pack. The woman also explains weapons are not allowed and Beca wonders why they would even need weapons. Surely, the mutants could kill you without hesitation, but they are only observers. Right? Only there to come up with new ideas to bring life there. And even if they'd have to visit the deceased land at some point, the Officials would offer some kind of protection. Right? Beca is lost in her thoughts once again as she notices something out of the corner of her left eye. For the second time today, her eyes find the ginger girl: Chloe Beale. Chloe seems to be scolded by an Official. They must've noticed her shoe choice as well and by the look on the man's face, they're not too thrilled with the rebellious act. Chloe is standing with her back towards Beca, but she can hear the sweetness in her voice. Beca wonders what the redheaded girl tells the Official. That she didn't know she couldn't pick some other shoes? That she's sorry? Truly, anything the girl says to the man is guaranteed for her getting away with it. Chloe Beale happens to have big, blue eyes, a bright smile and with use of her innocent voice, Chloe Beale represents honesty and innocence itself. But Beca knows this girl, and she knows Chloe has a bad side as well. A better side, as Beca calls it.

The group is now handed the bags and the woman tells them to get back here tomorrow morning 6 a.m. sharp, which is when they'll leave for The Rebuild. Beca is given the bag with a 'BM' next to The Second City logo; a bald eagle, flying on its side. Every City's logo is a bald eagle, but they're all different. The First City has the prettiest; a close-up of the animal's head, showing his white feathers and bright, yellow mouth. Beca remembers her dad telling her the bald eagle used to be both the national bird and national animal of the former United States of America.

Together with her bag, Beca quickly makes her way out and after she's repossessed her hidden bike, she races off to her house as she's already feeling the damage the air brings to her lungs. People here in Second aren't allowed outside for too long a time in a row, because the air is dirty and if you breathe too much of the dark stained oxygen, you can get sick and maybe even die, who knows. No one's ever dared to be outside for that a long of a time.

When she arrives at the bunker, Beca's glad her dad isn't there yet. His new wife Melissa and twin sons however are. Beca sneaks to her room without them noticing and thinks to herself how selfish it is to get kids in a time like this. Kids who are being raised in a bunker, because we still fear other countries will attack us again. Kids who can't play outside, because they might put things in their mouths and we don't have the resources to test if our land is clean, nor do we have the medicine to treat them if they are in fact infected by something. The Third City is the research City; they have been making medicine since the beginning of it all, but Beca has no idea if they have succeeded into making anything. No one tells them about the other Cities, but Beca assumes if the medicines would work, they would go to First and be divided as well, just like everything else. Maybe it's naïve to think like that.

But for now, no medicines. Actually, there's a lot there isn't. The only thing they have here in Second is industry. They can make things, like these bunkers. And they have a lot of fear; which is probably the only thing they have in all five Cities. Fear. A lot of it. Fear for other countries. Fear for another infection swapping 80 per cent of the world's population. Fear for starvation. Fear for other Cities. Sometimes even fear for other people. Beca wonders if they didn't have to fear that much, maybe people would start to fear The Rebuild.

Beca wants to start packing her bag and get some rest, but her dad knocks on her door and asks for entrance to her room. She tells him to come in and without saying a word, he sits down on the bed next to her. His face is expressionless and his eyes are fixated on the wall in front of them. Beca wonders if it's the goodbye that's this hard on him.

"You know I'll be back soon, dad. I have no business there, they'll find that out soon enough."

Beca watches her dad's lips curl weakly before he tells her she's very smart. She tells him she's not smart enough to bring life back to dead land, to build things without the equipment they have here.

"There's a lot you don't know about The Rebuild, Beca."

Beca hears him sigh and she knows something else is up. Minutes go by, but she doesn't ask questions, though. Her father will tell her what he plans on telling her.

"Your mother.. She was chosen as well. It was the second year of The Rebuild and you were only ten."

"You told me she died." Beca says confused. Did she come back after the program and then die? Her dad never told her how she died, the grief was too hard for him back then, so Beca didn't ask.

"Five years after she left, a woman came to visit me. Said her name was Joan and she knew Carrie."

Beca listens how her dad explains who the woman was. She wasn't from one of the Cities; she was from where the elite lives. Beca always figured the elite and Officials lived in First, because that's where all the trading happens. First doesn't have a job to do like all the other Cities; industry, research and agriculture. If the elite doesn't live in First, what do the people in First actually do?

"She said their City is called The Main."

"What does this have to do with mom?" Beca is getting impatient with her dad's slow pace. He tells her The Rebuild isn't a program, it's a show. A show for the people in The Main, and Beca doesn't understand. A show? What kind of show is watching ten people trying to figure out how to rebuild the land?

"Do you remember the day I was fired from the factory, Beca? I lied when I said I stole equipment. I was working on a secret project in order of the Officials. We had to make cameras and screens so people could watch what happens where the cameras are placed. We did what we were told, no questions asked, of course."

Beca hears how the woman who claimed to have known her mother, Joan, told him they have screens on what they watch The Rebuild. That it's not a program at all, it's entertainment for the elite. Her father doesn't go into further detail; Beca's unsure if he doesn't know much about it, or if he knows too much about it.

But he's moved on again, telling her how he's sorry he quit his job, sorry Beca had to work from that day on to support his family. Beca understands he probably quit his job from being repulsive, thinking he had a part in his own wife's death. Although Beca still doesn't know how she died. And it's not like her dad could work somewhere else; the factory is all they have here. About five hundred people work there at the moment, because not everyone has to. Depending on how many hours you work, you receive a certain amount of food. So some wives stay home with the kids and the man works full days; making that many hours to be given enough food for three or four or however big your family was.

Then when Beca was the only one that could work in the family, she stopped going to school and took a job in the factory. She made as many hours as she could, sometimes 16 hours a day. You had to work more hours to earn baby nutrition, and the twins were only a few months old back then. Beca was never afraid to get her hands dirty, and besides, she'd rather work all day than be in between crying babies. She loves those two boys, though. She'd do anything for them.

"I won't stay gone like mom. I'll be back, okay?" Somehow, it was always Beca looking after her father. Comforting him. Taking care of him. And the family. Which is why she knows she'll be back. She'll come back as soon as she can, and they have some food stored. They should survive at least two months, and Beca will be back before that. All she has to do is pretend she doesn't know how to rebuild the land, and then they won't need her, even if it is for some sort of entertainment. If she'll just stay her boring, quiet, knowledge-less self, they have to send her home.

"Joan. She told me only one or two make it out of The Rebuild every year. The rest.." Her father takes a deep breath, but Beca already knows what he's about to say. "The rest dies, Bec."

Beca feels a lump forming in her throat and her eyes shrink in confusion. Instead of panicking, Beca does what she always does; analyze. The Rebuild. Dead land. Deserted. Empty. Mutants. Infections. When the woman said no weapons. No drinkable water. Screens. Cameras. Entertainment for the elite. Seeing only one girl come back from three years ago when Second was chosen. She looked broken. Empty eyes. Scars that never fade, no many how many years pass. Her thoughts run wild, unorganized and some repeated more than others, but one sticks out. One scares her more than any other. Dying.

It's stupid, really. Death never scared Beca. Beca's afraid of things that have a possibility of not-happening; like her losing her job in the factory and her family starving to death, that's what she fears. She fights that fear by arriving at her job early every day and working hard, following orders (even though she hates orders) and making a lot of hours to save up in case her worst fear becomes reality. But she was never afraid of something that will happen eventually. She always thought it was stupid when people fear death; everyone dies. Everyone. There is no exception, so why would you fear something that's bound to happen eventually? Fear something you can change, you can fight against. Don't fear the one thing you're sure of that will happen.

But now the word 'dying' repeats in her head and it's not so much that she's scared to die like this, but this is murder. She's scared, because she's being murdered and she's not sure what to do about it.

"If I could take your place in The Rebuild, I would, Bec."

But he can't. Beca knows he can't.

"Look, you're smart. You're good at reading every situation you're put into, I know you can do this."

She just sighs with a fake smile on her face. She has to reassure her dad once again. He has to know she'll be fine, even though she won't. "It's alright, dad. Thanks for telling me. I should start packing."

"Alright, I'll be just outside." Beca's dad knows her better than anyone. He knows how her brain works; she needs a few minutes to cope. Not just with the fact that her mother died in the place she's being send to, although that is a hard pill to swallow. But more so, she needs to figure out right now if she's got anything to ask him that would help her there. She can think of everything else later, right now she's got less than seven hours before she might never see him again and he might have some information that he doesn't know can help her. She just needs a few minutes to think about everything, that's why he leaves her alone.

"Thanks, dad." Beca doesn't even know what she's more grateful for; him leaving her to herself, or all the things he told her. Beca understands why he didn't tell her sooner. He had no reason to tell her. He only knows some woman claims his wife died there, and though that's probably true, he didn't know much more. Maybe she was infected, or there was an accident. Either way, she was killed by the elite who sent her there. But he doesn't know what happened, so what was he supposed to tell her? Beca couldn't blame him for that, and she doesn't.

She walks over to the bag while thinking what to pack. She starts off easy: clothes, obviously. But not too much. Two pair of her work trousers. One she'll wear, so one goes into the bag. Next up are shirts; she stuffs three black ones in the bag, lays one on the bed to wear tomorrow and her leather jacket, too. She grabs some underwear, socks, as well as two metal water bottles that she made herself in the factory, so they wouldn't have to spend money on the plastic cups that are way too overprized by the elite.

She paces her room. What else? She's got two of the three things that the grey-haired woman told them to pack; clothes and water bottles. Reading between the lines, Beca thinks they're only allowed those three things, which leaves her with personal items. She scans her room which doesn't contain much, let alone personal things. She's got a stuffed animal somewhere, but that's about the only thing that survived the apocalypse, and she's not taking that. There must be some way to get around the rules of the elite, Beca wonders as she walks out of her room. Immediately, she feels two pair of eyes following her movements and Beca wonders if Melissa knows anything about what's going on. But she doesn't bother asking; it's not important to her. She searches the living room, her mind deciding quickly on every item she sees whether it'd be useful or not. So far, it's all not.

"Hey, dad?" Beca's mind hadn't fully processed the idea yet, but her mouth already spoke out. "Do you still have that thing you built?" She doesn't wanna say 'weapon'. Just because she doesn't care if Melissa knows, doesn't mean her dad don't, either. She knows he will also understand 'that thing'.

"Yeah, it's uh- come with me."

He leads Beca into his room, across the hall from the twins' rooms; Beca's old room. They had to split it up when the boys started to become too big to sleep in their parents' room. Every bunker has two big rooms, because it is made for four people, maximum. But Beca and her dad built her own room, which you could say is 'outside' of their bunker. It took them months and sometimes Beca still feels the pain in her back from sleeping on the kitchen floor, but they got it done after long and hard months. It was the hardest thing Beca ever had to do; building a room underground. Looking back on it, she probably should have asked some people from work to help her out, but Beca Mitchell never asks for help.

"You sure you wanna take this with you?"

Her dad hands her the tool and Beca moves it around from one hand to another. From just a glance, it appears to be a small, metal box. Beca thinks that if she sticks some photographs on it, the Officials won't suspect a thing. It isn't just a box, you see. If you stick your nail into the upper side of it, you can slid it open and it unfolds. Inside are three screwdrivers and one small knife, all no bigger than the length of her hand. Beca knows the knife is too small to kill a mutant, but she can probably find something there to attach it to; maybe a large stick.

"Yes, I think this will do. Thanks, dad."

Beca throws the tool on her bed, together with the food she took from the kitchen on her way back to her room, first are potatoes and oranges. Both can last up to two weeks and don't need to be in a cooled area for that. Two glass cans of honey, because not only will it last for years, it's also good to treat wounds and burns with. Beca hopes she won't need it for that. She's also put some of her dad's old bourbon in a small, plastic bottle. She can use that to clean out infections or to kill some pain. She has to expect the worst, alcohol can help in worse case scenarios. Last, she grabbed a bag of rice and two cans of dried beans. Those two together contain all of the nine essential amino acids to support your body, and although the rice can get kind of heavy in the bag, Beca decides it's worth the pain it will bring to her back.

When she's put everything in there, the bag is already pretty stocked, but the girl thinks of one more thing she can take with her. She cuts off part of her wooden desk, and though it takes her all night to plane the wood and decorate it with some berries she squashed earlier, by the time morning arrives, it looks like, well, like a kid decorated a piece of wood. Beca wasn't quite the artist, but in this case it works in her advantage. She has to make the Officials believe this is a personal belonging, which is hopefully what they see in it. Beca holds it tightly in her right hand. The piece is no longer than 12 inches and it's also quite thin, but Beca knows, after hours of working it, that the wood is strong and if you hit someone in the right place with it, you can do some damage.

Two weapons. Beca hopes it's enough.