Dark Queen Of Apocalypse (by Morgan Hale) novel Chapter 191

Chapter 191

But gasoline was a different beast. It was absolutely vital for getting anywhere, and finding it was no easy task.

“In that case, there’s nothing left to discuss,” Hendrix said, his voice tight with anger.

He was about to storm off with his crew.

William looked anxious, ready to say something to stop them, but Chloe shot him a look that made him swallow his words.

William could only watch as they left and then stepped forward anxiously. “So what now?”

Chloe flashed him a confident smile. “Trading a pound of food for a liter of gas is already a bargain. Food’s like gold these days. They’ll come crawling back.”

“I’ve heard about the Highland Base before,” Chloe said. “The land there is pretty barren, and except for some oil fields, hardly anyone lives there. You can forget about finding supermarkets or anything like that.”

William’s eyes widened as it all clicked.

“So you’re saying the Highland Base is totally out of supplies?” he asked.

Chloe nodded. “Otherwise, why would they drag all that gas all the way here to trade? Maybe no other base has enough stuff to swap for all their gasoline.”

Both groups split up, clearly unhappy with how things ended.

Back at the villa, Hendrix plopped down on the couch, his face stormy with anger.

“Unbelievable. They’re way too cocky,” he snapped.

Nina frowned and asked, “If we really have no other choice, should we just agree to their terms?”

Scarlet shot her a fierce glare. “Are you serious? We dragged this gas all the way here, burning through a mountain of supplies just to get it here. If we go back empty–handed, Captain will have our heads.”

Then Scarlet turned to Dustin. “You know the deputy chief, right?”

Dustin gave a wry smile and nodded. “Yeah, she’s a total badass. Back before she even had powers, she could solo a dozen zombies, no sweat…”

Dustin started telling stories about Chloe and all the wild things she’d done.

Eventually, Hendrix got in touch with the leader of Highland Base.

After days of back and forth, they finally agreed to trade a liter of gas for a pound of food.

Graham let out a hearty laugh and shook Hendrix’s hand. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

“Likewise,” Hendrix replied.

William was in high spirits too. “Hope we get to work together again soon.”

Hendrix shot Chloe a deep look and extended a heartfelt invitation.

“Captain Yates, you’re always welcome at the Highland Base,” he said.

He was openly trying to recruit her.

Chloe chuckled. “Thanks, but I’m not one for trouble.”

The powered humans from the Highland Base loaded up the food into big green trucks and then reinforced them with welded metal plates just to make sure no bandits tried anything funny on the road back.

As the Highland Base crew prepared to leave, the refugees finally couldn’t take it anymore.

They started pleading and demanding to go with them.

“This base is brutal. We want to go with you to the Highland Base,” someone shouted.

“Me too. Take me with you,” another cried out.

In an instant, chaos broke out as tens of thousands surged forward, desperate to join them.

Graham’s face was unreadable as he let out a long, weary sigh.

“You all have rights. You’re individuals,” Graham said flatly. “Go if you want, stay if you want. As long as they’re willing to take you along, it’s up to you.”

‘Bunch of freeloaders. I’m worn out from having to look after them,‘ Graham grumbled inwardly.

When Hendrix heard from the refugees that the Bluehaven Base actually handed out supplies to them every single day, his jaw dropped in disbelief.

Hendrix thought, ‘Damn, just how much stuff does the Bluehaven Base have? There must be like a hundred thousand refugees here, and they’re giving out supplies to every single one?

‘That’s gotta cost a fortune.

Hendrix planned hack at Chloe, raining an eyebrow. “Captain Yates, we’ll meet again.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify