The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Nicole’s view was too blurry to make anything out, so she pulled out her binoculars.

Two inflatable rafts came into focus. A handful of men and women stood on them, gripping wooden poles and metal rods, swinging again and again at a window ledge on the fifth floor.

On the ledge stood a soaked dog. Its teeth were bared, snarling, and it was barking like it was ready to tear them

apart.

“Come on, kill it! We’ll have meat tonight!”

The group was fired up, waving their weapons, laughing as they tried to corner it.

The dog dodged, slipping and scrambling, but it didn’t back down. It held its ground, fierce and desperate.

The disaster had hit without warning. No one had time to prepare. Food had been soaked and ruined. Plenty of people had already starved to death.

Now, even a skinny dog looked like a full meal.

It was meat. Who wouldn’t want it?

Their eyes gleamed, and they looked hungry enough to tear it apart alive.

Nicole hadn’t planned on getting involved.

The moment she saw the dog’s face, however, her whole body went cold.

Cola…!

She had named him herself.

Cola had been abandoned by his owner and sold off to an illegal slaughterhouse. Right before they killed him, he bit the owner and escaped.

With nowhere to go, he drifted around the college district, hanging near a few food stalls across from her complex. The shop owners always chased him off.

Back then, Nicole had been flipping dog food for money. Whenever she saw him, she would toss him a handful of kibble or a sausage.

A dog abandoned by its owner wasn’t all that different from a baby abandoned by its parents. The only difference was that humans had orphanages. Stray dogs got caught and put down.

At first, Cola had been wary. He kept his distance, only coming out to eat after she had walked far away.

Over time, he got used to her. He was still cautious and still keeping space, but sometimes, he would peek out from behind a tree, watching her quietly.

Later, when she got caught up chasing after Edward, she stopped coming around. The dog food business faded, and Cola slipped from her mind.

The next time she saw him was during the deep freeze.

Nicole didn’t know how Cola had survived. His fur was gone, his body covered in festering frostbite wounds. He was so thin that he looked as if he might collapse any second.

11/2

Chapter 57

+15 Brus

Even then, when she was being attacked, he rushed in without hesitation and tore into the attackers like a wild animal.

If he hadn’t, that baseball bat would’ve cracked her skull open.

To protect her, Cola was beaten to death. Even as he died, his jaws stayed locked on the man’s wrist.

Nicole lived, but he didn’t.

They cooked him and split him up.

After she came back, she searched for him more than once, but couldn’t find him anywhere.

It was ridiculous, really.

She gave Edward everything, and he just stood there, watching her get beaten to death. And yet, a stray dog she had fed a few times gave his life for her.

“Cola…”

Tears blurred Nicole’s vision. Without thinking, she gunned the motorboat forward.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify