The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 686

The dust storm still showed no sign of ending, but at least Nicole could stay on her feet now. She looked out at the endless yellow haze, but even through her helmet, she couldn't see more than six feet ahead.

This was no ordinary dust storm.

Back in the storage space, Nicole grew even more uneasy. She had the storage space and was still struggling this badly. If Zeph was hurt, surviving out there would be even harder.

Poppy and Zeph both carried emergency kits, but Nicole had no idea whether the storm had torn them away. The kits held some medicine, crackers, and water, but not much.

Nicole sat on the couch and stared blankly at the holographic timer as the numbers ticked by. She set an alarm and went back outside every five hours.

The first day...

The second day...

It wasn't until the seventh day that the storm finally started to settle. Visibility improved to about 15 feet, and the wind wasn't nearly as violent, though yellow sand still whipped through the air.

The cut on Nicole's forehead had almost healed. The impact had strained the tendons in her wrist, which still hurt badly, but the swelling had gone down, and the bruising had started to fade.

The road had vanished beneath the sand. Vehicles had either been blown away or buried, and every step sank into the soft ground.

Nicole searched the surrounding area several times, but there was still no sign of Zeph, Poppy, or Cola.

The road to Halloway ran through the mountains, so Nicole headed for the nearest hills to get out of the wind. The mountains offered some shelter, and the blowing sand wasn't quite as bad there.

After making sure no one was around, Nicole took the Hummer back out and sat inside to wait.

Afraid she might miss them, she didn't return to the storage space. Instead, she stayed in the vehicle and kept watch.

Night fell, and at some point, she drifted off.

She dreamed on and off all night, sometimes hearing someone call her name right beside her ear. But every time she opened her eyes, there was still no one there.

If she had never met Cola or fallen in love with Zeph, she could have survived on her own. But now, being alone suddenly felt much harder.

She felt like she was getting sick again. Miserable and exhausted, Nicole curled up instinctively.

"Boss, I think there's a car over there."

So said Steven Marshall, a skinny guy in his early twenties.

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