The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 728

Nicole nodded. "Alright, but try to come by soon. We'll probably head back out scavenging once we've rested for a bit, and I don't want you making the trip for nothing."

"Okay," Marcus said flatly.

Nicole gave him their address. Neither of them bothered with small talk or sentimental goodbyes. They simply went their separate ways.

Marcus watched the truck disappear into the distance.

After everything he had been through over the years, he thought he had already hit rock bottom. He thought things couldn't possibly get worse.

Apparently, they could.

What a miserable life!

Back home, Nicole and her family showered, cleaned up, and sat down to a good meal. They had eaten well enough while they were away, but nothing compared to eating at home.

Once everyone finished, Poppy cleared the dishes and started on the housework.

Nicole took a sip of juice and said to Zeph, "When the Robinsons' guest house got crushed by the satellite, Marcus gave us a lot of medicine as payment. It was at least twice as much as he needed to give us.

"I think some of it was gratitude, but he was probably also trying to stay on good terms with us.

"He's in pretty rough shape now. I'm thinking about giving the extra medicine back to him. What do you think?"

The Robinsons had evacuated in a hurry. Aside from Marcus, the rest of the family was probably in Jazenville, so there wasn't much they could do for him right now.

After the volcanic eruption, sandstorm, heavy rain, and landslides, Marcus had probably been through hell, too.

With what he could do, he probably wouldn't qualify for the military. And after growing up rich and privileged, swallowing his pride and doing hard labor just to earn enough food to survive probably wasn't an option either.

That left scavenging, which was even worse. Every trip meant putting his life on the line.

He used to be the son of the richest man in the city, surrounded by beautiful women, flying on private planes, cruising on yachts, and spending money without a second thought.

Now, he looked like he had been living on the streets.

The difference was hard to ignore.

Even Zeph, who rarely cared much about outsiders, couldn't help feeling a little sorry for Marcus after seeing how far he had fallen.

Nicole didn't ask what had happened. She just grabbed another bowl and set a place for him.

Poppy knew better than to let an outsider see how well stocked they were, so she made a pot of plain noodles with barely any oil and very little salt.

She even used chipped bowls.

Marcus had felt uneasy on the way over, embarrassed by how far he had fallen. When he saw Nicole and Zeph looking just as worn down, he immediately felt better.

If even those two, who always seemed able to handle anything, had ended up like this, then maybe he wasn't doing quite as badly as he thought.

His mood lifted at once. He grabbed a bowl, piled it high with noodles, and dug in like he hadn't eaten in days.

Cola watched from the side, clearly unhappy that Marcus was eating so much of what he considered his food.

He let out a sharp bark, then looked toward the door as if expecting Dumbo to appear. It had been a while since he had seen his little buddy.

Unfortunately, Marcus had no idea what he was barking about.