LOGINThis was how the apocalypse worked. One moment, people were lining up early to collect holiday supplies, thinking that with a little food and water, they could hold on a bit longer. The next, a natural disaster struck, and bodies dropped where they stood.The Harvest Festival was supposed to be a time for family reunions. Instead, they died on the eve of it.But when staying alive was already this hard, no one had the space to grieve.The more hail you gathered, the more days you might live.When you could barely keep yourself alive, who had the energy to care whether anyone else lived or died?Sometimes, death felt like a release."Help! He's got a gun!" someone in the crowd suddenly shouted. "There's someone here with a gun!"Zeph had just started to leave when the police and security patrol rushed in. "Stop right there."They closed in around the three of them, cutting off every exit. "Possession of a firearm is illegal."Zeph lifted the gun slightly. "What about a toy gu
Poppy sucked on a piece of hard candy, stubbornly keeping her eyes open, while saying to Zeph, "I miss Mom and Dad, but I don't want to leave you and Nicole."Zeph pulled her close. "Be good. Listen to Nicole and stay awake. Don't fall asleep."The pounding outside grew louder, kicks and fists slamming against the door. The people crowding the storage room wore twisted, vicious expressions, as if the ones inside were criminals they had every right to kill.Even with Zeph bracing the door with his body, it shuddered under the blows.A concussion patient couldn't take that much noise and jarring. At this rate, the door wouldn't hold.Nicole took Poppy from Zeph and set her down. Through the small window across from the door, she saw the ground outside buried under layers of hail. The stones were thinning now.Hailstorms usually lasted anywhere from a couple of minutes to half an hour.It had already been about 20 minutes. It would stop soon.The shouting outside grew harsher. The
Nicole's shoulder throbbed so badly that she almost reached for it. That was when she saw blood streaming down Poppy's forehead.It had already run across her face."Poppy," Nicole said, her voice tightening. "Where are you hurt?"Poppy touched her forehead and pulled her hand back, her palm covered in blood. The impact had split the skin, and the pain was so sharp that she forgot to cry.Zeph had told her not to cry. Crying didn't help.Zeph turned back and froze, his pupils widening.Nicole ignored the pain in her shoulder, grabbed her pack, and pulled a medical kit from the storage space, pressing gauze to the wound.Pressure, antiseptic, bandage.Poppy swayed. "Zeph, I feel dizzy."Zeph pulled her into his arms. "Nicole, how bad is it?"Without proper equipment, Nicole couldn't be sure. If it was a concussion, rest might be enough. If there was internal bleeding or swelling, that was another matter.Seeing the panic in his face, she kept her voice steady. "It could be a
To prevent heatstroke, supplies were distributed in two time slots, from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.Zeph's group was assigned the morning slot, so they were up a little after 3 a.m. Nicole coaxed Cola with a piece of fried fish. "Watch the house. Wait for us to get back."Cola whined, then steadied himself and agreed.With packs on their backs and buckets in hand, the three of them reached the gate, where the rest of the group was already gathered, more than 70 people in total, including the elderly and children.They had been uneasy, but the moment they saw Zeph and Nicole, it was like a weight lifted from them.Alex did a roll call, confirmed everyone was there, and led them out. After two years in the apocalypse, no one made a fuss. Flashlights cut through the dark as they moved forward.No one complained. After all, Zeph had a vehicle, and he was walking right alongside them anyway.The community center was a distance away. By the time they arrived, it was
Sven had his people start loading the goods onto the truck. Nicole arranged to deliver the water the next night.Given their history, Sven agreed without hesitation. "I'll look into the iodine tablets, but they're not easy to find. It might take some time.""That's fine. I'll trade grain when you have them."The mention of grain gave Nicole another idea. "By the way, can you find grain seeds? Ones we can harvest and replant ourselves."She still had a few hundred pounds of hybrid rice seeds in storage. They might have research value. She didn't want to waste them."It's been two years," Sven said. "Those kinds of seeds are hard to find now. Even if you do find them, there's no guarantee they'll sprout."Nicole started the truck. "Do what you can."She drove off, stopped somewhere secluded, and stored the water tanks. The rest she took back to Oakhaven Gardens in plain sight.After delivering Sven's half truck of water, she stopped going out at night. It looked like she spent he
Alex looked genuinely pleased. "Nicole, we reached an agreement with the townspeople. We're sending people to teach them how to dig wells."If the two of them hadn't stepped in that day and shut down the aggression, there would have been no way to sit down and talk.After going back and forth, the townspeople finally believed Oakhaven Gardens was sincere about helping them.They had the upper hand, yet still chose to negotiate instead of escalating. Nicole couldn't help but respect that.Alex might come across as mild, but he knew how to think things through."That's good," Nicole said, then added, "Just be careful.""We wouldn't have gotten here this fast without your help."Nicole smiled. "You said it yourself, Captain Landon. Once we're here, we're on the same side. No need to be so formal."Back home, she told Zeph about it. He wasn't surprised. "Out here, strength decides everything. Someone like Alex, who chooses a different approach, is rare. It makes sense the towns
Two miles was nothing. The Hummer reached the entrance to the complex in just a few minutes.Nicole handed the man 400 dollars, thanking him for saving her and for ignoring traffic rules.His voice stayed cool. "No need. I was heading this way, anyway."Seeing he wouldn't take it, she didn't push
Just after midnight, the timer refreshed. One hundred thirty minutes remaining.That meant time could stack.Nicole nearly laughed out loud. Seconds mattered. During crucial moments, even a minute could mean the difference between living and dying.She decided that unless it was absolutely necess
Nicole jolted, then immediately checked with her mind.The storage space was still there. The supplies were still there, too. She tested it; she thought of an item, and a coal briquette appeared in her hand.Sweeping the space again, she noticed the glowing timer had reset to zero.That was when
After paying the deposit, Nicole drove straight to the largest outdoor gear store downtown.The outdoor gear market was fiercely competitive. The store was in full clearance mode, shutting down with brutal discounts. Some items were marked down to 20% of the original price.Perfect timing.Nicole







