The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 808

Chapter 808

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More screams rang out. Someone lost an arm to a single bite, then vanished beneath the surface.

The moon cast a faint light over the water. Screams pierced the darkness as creatures darted beneath the waves, tearing into flesh.

Blood spread through the sea. One person suffered a bite to the hand, another had a leg torn apart, and others went under and never resurfaced.

As one man thrashed for his life, his hand struck something solid. He ran his hand along the curved surface, and a passing flashlight beam revealed a large sphere.

It was an escape capsule.

Hope surged through him, and he pounded on the shell. “Help! Help!”

Nicole felt the blows, but they barely rocked the capsule. The curtains covered the windows, blocking the view in both directions.

The escape capsule was a considerable step down from the cruise ship. Still, the four of them were used to moving between vessels by now.

While the people outside fought for their lives in the ocean, they enjoyed hot meals and showers that left them clean and refreshed. Even in the cramped capsule, they lived in comfort.

Poppy smiled and slipped Cola a piece of rib meat.

When she woke the next morning, she was back in a soft, comfortable bed. She could even hear what sounded like seabirds.

Soft, bright sunlight streamed through the window, warming her face like a gentle hand. Poppy got up, changed, and hurried off to make breakfast.

The moment she opened the door, the seabirds perched on the deck took flight, their wings spread against the blue sky.

Poppy rarely saw birds other than crows, but now that she finally found some out at sea, Nicole warned her to keep her distance.

These seabirds ate mutated fish and developed mutations of their own, making them dangerous enough to attack people.

Nicole woke late, sore and weak all over.

Zeph lay on his side beside her, his arm draped around her waist. He nuzzled her neck. “Sleep a little longer. Poppy and Cola will handle breakfast.”

They stayed up enjoying themselves until well past midnight, and she could barely keep her eyes open.

Sometime after 9 a.m., Cola padded up to the door and pawed at it. “Woof!”

Breakfast was ready.

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Chapter 808

+15 Bonus

They got up and washed, then had breakfast. Nicole went back to the equipment manuals, but the dry, complicated material soon put her to sleep.

Zeph kept studying on his own, jotting down the key points so she could easily find what she needed later.

Toward evening, Cola ran over to alert them. “Woof! Woof!”

Zeph trained him to give two short barks whenever he spotted something. He and Poppy understood each other perfectly, and once again, she sent him to fetch them.

When Nicole reached the deck, she learned that Poppy spotted a submarine while scanning the ocean.

Poppy looked hopeful, whether because she missed their own people or simply wanted to see a familiar face for a change.

“Is it one of the submarines from the southern military base?” she asked.

It was too far away to tell. Only a snorkel poked above the surface.

At least the water here was deep enough for a submarine. Nicole could finally take theirs out for a spin.

Given the choice, though, she much preferred the spacious cruise ship to the cramped confines of a submarine beneath the waves.

But she rarely got to choose, and her luck never seemed to hold. Before sunset, the weather changed without warning.

The evening sun disappeared as though something snatched it from the sky, and dark clouds gathered on the horizon.

Nicole was reading in her room when she drifted off without realizing it.

Poppy knew when to give Zeph some space and only interrupted him when something needed his attention. She was in the kitchen, wearing an apron and making dinner. Cola was the only one left on deck, dozing.

By the time he sensed something was wrong, it was already too late.

He burst into a series of sharp, frantic barks.

“Woof! Woof! Woof!”

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