Blink of an Eye Part 2

After this point, there will be a significant time jump in Blink of an Eye. That's why I'm counting it as Part 2. 

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Some characters will have grown up a little bit in age...

while others will have grown in character. 

Some will suffer as they grow...

while others will find glimpses of happiness...
even in these dark times.

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How I'm Doing Challenge Wise

As you know, Blink of an Eye is an apocalypse story. I have shown some of the restrictions in my own way throughout the story through the characters and how they have been affected. They will not be exactly like the rules of the challenge, as I have used the rules as a guideline to create the infrastructure of the society. The point of the challenge is to lift all restrictions and restore society. For now, most of the restrictions have been covered in the story, and are still there. Listed below is a summary of what this society is like at this point in the story, before I move on to Part 2.

• Hopelessness: Many people despair all the new laws that have taken shape, and everyone's life is difficult. 
• Business: All shopping is obsolete, and all shops have been looted dry. People have to make things for themselves if they want something, and homeless people squat in the empty retail buildings.
• Special Agent (Law Enforcement): The police and fire departments were shut down in the wake of the apocalypse as the military thought they would be better suited to handle the chaos of a nation in crisis. 
• Medical: Water is unsanitary and plumbing has been damaged, due to the severity of the chemical attack that poisoned the water supply, and corroded the pipes. The military has been trying to purify the water, and fix the pipes, but it is taking a long time. In the meantime, the military sends water to the people via their weekly ration shipment.
• Culinary: When the chemicals were exposed into the air, it made the natural ecosystem toxic. In my version of the story, the attack was not nuclear, so radiation is not a problem. Therefore, I permit microwaves in my story. Stoves however, remain useless because fresh food can no longer be grown due to the toxic environment. Weekly rations are sent to people in the form of pre-packaged microwave meals that are imported from unaffected nations.
• Evil: This restriction takes the form of tax collecting in my story. Once a month, tax collectors employed by the government, go door to door collecting a certain amount of tax from people based on the size of their paycheck. It is a very medieval practice.
• Military: Martial law was imposed on the nation. Since martial law is typically temporary, some citizens have become suspicious that it has lasted this long. Secret groups of resistance have been formed to do research into why martial law has not yet been lifted.
• Professional Sports: Since the microwave meals provide only the basic nutrition for people to survive, they have to put more effort in to building muscle and keeping themselves healthy. They have to come up with their own exercise routines daily or risk severe muscle deterioration.
• Journalism: Strict labor laws have been enforced. Breaks are no longer a standard during a work day. Employees may ask for breaks, but many of them don't even think that they can, so they forget. Pregnant women may no longer work once their boss finds out they are pregnant, usually once they start showing, and they do not receive maternity leave. Jobs are scarce, especially since so many things have been shut down in the wake of the apocalypse, so people try to keep the ones they have.
• Science: In my story, I do allow lighting. However, once the light bulbs burn out, people can only use oil lamps or torches because there are no stores to buy light bulbs. New technology research has been abandoned because people are focusing their efforts on trying to restore the basic things that matter in society, such as how to grow food again.
• Politics: The government is rebuilding houses next to Ground Zero now that the air has been purified, and is safe to breathe again. All new houses follow strict building rules, and they are very small and cookie-cutter like. They are only 64 square feet on the inside, and all the backyards are identical. It gives off a very creepy vibe... and for some reason the houses are also color coded.
• Master Painter: No one goes to recreational activities anymore, similar to the science restriction, people are focused on trying to restore society, so the extra stuff they used to do for fun has fallen to the wayside.
• Ghostly Encounter: The body count at Ground Zero was devastating. No one was given a proper burial because the funeral homes could not keep up with the amount of people needing to give their loved ones a funeral.
• Master Gardener: The chemicals affected the ecosystem, throwing it out of balance. Plants died as well as people, and the chemicals that got into the water supply seeped into the groundwater as well, making it so plants simply do not grow anymore. This ties into stoves being useless because fresh food doesn't grow anymore, nor does livestock, so there is no need to cook anything on a stove. Secret groups have also been doing research into how to get food to grow again.
• Symphonic (Music): People are depressed and they don't care how they look anymore, they are more focused on survival. Salons have long since been shut down because they could no longer order supplies from the stores, which had been looted. No one really wears makeup or dresses nicely. The government has started issuing uniforms of random colors to people working or living in a certain area... perhaps this has something to do with the color coded houses of the Political restriction... - this is where my spin on the rainbowcy stuff comes in.
• Thief: Crime is rampant now that the police department has been shut down. Crime lords rule the town, kidnap people, and get into gang wars with each other. People feel unsafe, which contributes to them not leaving their houses and obeying the curfew imposed by martial law. The crime lords pay plenty of people off to get what they want, and corruption infiltrates every part of society.
• Comforting Children: Not covered in the story yet
• Electric Rock (Music): There is nothing for children to do except hang around at home and try to entertain themselves. It's not safe for children outside, especially with crime being so prominent.
• Forensic Analyst: People's furniture is deteriorating because they can't buy new things. Mattresses become thin from years of use and couches become ratted as the fabric wears away. No one gets a good night's sleep anymore. The new houses being built in the Political restriction are not much better, as the government tried to save money, so even though they furnished all the new houses, the furniture is cheap.