The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 457

Chapter 457

The spreading stain of blood in the water caught the other man’s attention, and he instinctively turned around.

A few seconds later, he dropped into the water with a loud splash.

The two girls lay half-drowned in the shallow pool, gasping for air. When they saw the body floating beside them, their faces drained of color. Their lips trembled, but no sound came out.

Only then did they look toward the bank. A figure stood there, fully armed, face hidden.

Nicole didn’t linger. She turned and headed back.

The girls snapped out of it, scrambling out of the water. They shook as they looked around for somewhere to hide.

By the time Nicole returned to the grove, Zeph had already finished dealing with the others.

The place was in chaos. The air inside was thick and foul. They searched quickly and found several pounds of mixed grain.

Nicole drew her blade and cut through the locks on two cellars.

The one on the left held about seven women. Their hair was disheveled, their clothes were in rags, and they sat motionless on the floor, their empty stares devoid of any life. 1

The one on the right held boys. Fear still lingered in their eyes. They hadn’t been here long.

As for the storage room, Zeph stopped Nicole from going in.

They didn’t stay. Nicole dumped the grain on the ground, and the two of them left with Cola.

“Wait.”

The two girls from the stream stepped forward, trembling, their eyes full of desperation. “Can you take us with you?”

“No.” Nicole lifted the crossbow slightly. “You’ve got hands and feet. Get out on your own.”

“But…” one of them said, voice shaking, “there are dangerous people everywhere. Please help us.”

“I’m human, not a savior,” Nicole said evenly. “I didn’t help you out of pity. I just didn’t like them. Keep pushing, and I’ll send you after them.”

The girls flinched, then turned to Zeph, their soaked clothes clinging to them, their expressions pleading.

Zeph said nothing. He turned and walked away.

Cola bared his teeth, restless.

With no response, the girls didn’t dare follow. One of them helped a younger boy to his feet. He was so frightened that he had lost control of himself. The siblings clung to each other, crying.

Another girl spotted the sack of grain on the ground and grabbed it. When she saw the people from the cellar beginning to come out, her face went pale, and she ran.

Nicole and Zeph didn’t take the same route back. They cut through another stretch of forest.

After crossing two ridges, they came upon an abandoned quarry.

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+15 8ghus

Nicole paused. “Do the villas in the new district have perimeter walls?”

Zeph had never lived in a villa, but he didn’t think so.

They probably didn’t even come with doors or windows. They were as bare-bones as a shell could be.

Without a fence, the place wouldn’t be safe. Thinking that, Nicole bent down and started gathering rocks.

The four of them spent another night at the quarry, then another full day collecting stones. By the time they were done, they had enough to build a yard wall at least ten feet high.

Several days later, they drove back to Oakhaven Gardens. The guard on duty grinned when he saw them.

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