The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 710

Looking at the four of them, all injured in one way or another, Nicole would be lying if she said she wasn't touched.

But she still couldn't tell them the truth.

Zeph's injuries were too serious. He needed the best care she could give him, and traveling over rough roads with Jeremy, Hughie, and the others would only make things harder on him.

"Thank you."

Nicole hugged all four of them.

"But you're all hurt or sick yourselves. You need to focus on recovering, not helping me search."

Hughie stared at her. "Are you saying we'd just slow you down?"

"Don't be ridiculous." Nicole rolled her eyes. "Look at yourselves. Those injuries need time to heal. If you go searching like this, you might not find anyone and just end up making yourselves worse."

Beatrice still wouldn't let it go. "We're friends. We don't have to keep track of who owes who. You and Zeph have helped us plenty. How are we supposed to sit here when he's missing?"

Nicole understood where they were coming from.

"I did get one lead while I was out searching. A group of survivors said they saw someone who looked a lot like Zeph heading west.

"I don't know if they were telling the truth, and I don't know why Zeph would've gone that way, but I want to take Poppy and check it out.

"I found a bicycle on the road, so I'll take her with me and see if we can catch up to Zeph and Cola. We'll move as fast as we can and turn back if we don't find anything.

"You guys need to focus on yourselves. Figure out whether you want to go with everyone else to Halloway, or find somewhere to rest and recover first."

Their car was gone, but luckily, Jeremy and Hughie managed to save the supplies. Beatrice and Diana also found some supplies in the cave, so they were still better off than most survivors.

Hughie's concussion still hadn't healed. If he stayed on his feet too long, he got dizzy and nauseous.

After more than ten days of this, all four of them were exhausted and weak. They really couldn't afford to push themselves any harder.

Still, knowing Nicole had been out searching everywhere for Zeph while they couldn't help when she needed them most weighed on them.

Nicole got on the bicycle with Poppy riding behind her and headed off.

Jeremy and the others stood on the hillside and watched until she disappeared from sight, each of them lost in thought.

Diana stood beside him. "Don't worry. Nicole knows how to survive. Wherever she ends up, she'll probably be better off than the rest of us."

Beatrice looked at the three injured people beside her. "Whatever happens next, we need to stay alive, too."

Hughie asked, "So do we find somewhere to recover first, or head straight to Halloway?"

"Let's find somewhere to rest for a while," Jeremy said after thinking it over. "Once we're doing a little better, we can head toward Halloway and keep looking for Zeph along the way."

The other three agreed. Carrying their supplies and supporting one another, they slowly made their way out.

Nicole was desperate to get back. She pedaled so fast that Poppy nearly bounced off the back of the bicycle.

Poppy held on through the rough ride before finally asking, "Nicole, where are we going?"