Rewrite the Apocalypse dream (by Dee Cari) novel Chapter 85

Chapter 85 Invested in their shared survival

Finished

While the men were debating security perimeters, Rachel came running back from a corridor, her face flushed with excitement. “Joanna, you have a massive, fully equipped gym down here! The training setups are incredible!”

Jolie, who had been standing quietly near Joanna, leaned in close. A sudden, practical realization hit her. “Boss, think about it. Why don’t we just pack up both of our real-world apartments completely and sleep in here? We can do all of our physical training in your space, have a lot more room to move around, and help Uncle Nate with the farming every day.”

Uncle Nate nodded vigorously, his rugged face beaming. “She’s right, Joanna. I would be more than happy to be fully in charge of the livestock and the crops. With a space like this, we could grow enough food to last a lifetime.”

Joanna stood in the center of the basement, thinking over the suggestion in quiet calculation for a long second. It was a brilliant tactical pivot.

“Yes,” Joanna said, a sharp, decisive smile breaking across her face. “That works perfectly. If we move our living quarters entirely inside the space, we eliminate the risk of getting caught off guard at night. Plus, if the real-world base gets compromised and we need to bug out quickly, we won’t lose a single item. We can just move out.”

They exited the villa to continue exploring the fields, and the group immediately scattered into the open air. Jolie and Rachel ran ahead, getting incredibly excited as they approached the orchard of vibrant fruit trees. They walked between the rows, pointing out heavy branches laden with apples, lemons, oranges, pears, and peaches, marveling at the fact that so many different fruits were flourishing simultaneously in the same perfect soil.

Further down the plot, Julian walked along the edge of the vegetable patches, looking over the thriving rows with a critical eye. He turned his head, arrogantly tilting his chin as he looked at Joanna. “Did you plant broccoli yet? And what about asparagus?”

Joanna pointed a few rows down, completely unfazed by his demanding tone. “The broccoli is right over there, but I actually forgot about the asparagus.”

A slightly petulant, disappointed expression crossed Julian’s handsome face. He crossed his arms and let out a soft huff. “Fine. I guess I’ll just have to get some tomorrow and plant them myself. We can’t survive the end of the world without proper greens.”

Joanna let out a helpless, amused sigh, shaking her head at his dramatic necessity for luxury vegetables. Beside her, Allen was practically drooling as he stared at the massive, golden fields of rice and wheat, and the sprawling mounds of the potato patch. “Carbs,” Allen whispered happily, a rare look of pure satisfaction on his face. “I am a total carbohydrate person. If the world is ending, at least I’m going out covered in starch.”

Nearby, Raven quietly reached into a thick bush and picked a few plump raspberries. She popped them into her mouth, chewing slowly before sighing happily at the incredible, burst of fresh flavor.

With the crops thoroughly inspected, they made their way toward the back pasture where the livestock pens were set up. Everyone began peppering Uncle Nate with rapid-fire questions about animal husbandry, asking how to manage the cattle, pigs, and chickens in this unique environment.

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Chapter 85 Invested in their shared survival

Finished

But as they drew closer to the main pen, Uncle Nate suddenly froze. He paused, his eyes locking onto a neat pile of familiar farm equipment, rusty tools, and stacked feed bags resting near the fence line. He blinked,

ocking from the pile back to Joanna. “Are those… from my place?”

Joanna offered a sheepish, slightly embarrassed smile, nodding quietly. She admitted that on the day Nate had loaded the severely injured Julian into the truck, she already knew the old man wouldn’t be returning to his isolated mountain home. The moment he turned away, she had used her pocket dimension to completely clean out his entire cabin and barn in a matter of a single minute, packing up his life before the

chaos hit.

Uncle Nate stood entirely still, deeply touched by her foresight. He walked over to the pile, his rough, weathered hands trembling slightly as he bent down. From the top of a packed crate, he picked up a small, wooden frame. It was a picture of a much younger version of himself, smiling broadly beside his wife on their wedding day, years before she had passed away.

A single, heavy tear escaped his eye, falling down his wrinkled cheek as he stared at the glass. The sheer intensity of the last few days-the rush, the virus, the looming apocalypse-seemed to fade into the background for just a moment.

“Thank you for this, Joanna,” Uncle Nate said, his voice quiet, thick with emotion as he clutched the frame to his chest. “Grabbing my pictures and everything I kept of my wife… it means more to me than you’ll ever know.”

Joanna walked over and gently patted him on the back, her throat tightening slightly. “No problem, Uncle Nate. You’re one of us now. Your history belongs here too.”

Taking a deep, stabilizing breath, Uncle Nate carefully placed the photo in a safe spot and wiped his face. instantly shifting back into his practical, rugged self. He pointed out across the livestock area, immediately detailing a few critical structural changes he wanted to make to the fencing and feeding troughs to better accommodate the animals.

Joanna agreed without hesitation, and right on cue, the rest of the group stepped forward, everyone eagerly offering to grab shovels and hammers to help him build whatever he needed. Seeing her entire team completely invested in their shared survival, working together like a real family, brought a radiant light and a profound sense of warmth to Joanna’s heart.

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