The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 81

Chapter 81

After getting a kiss from his human, Cola got so excited that he spun in circles, looking as if he might pee any second.

Not wanting to be left out, Poppy clung to Nicole’s arm. “Nicole, it’s really scary out there. Water everywhere, houses all flooded… But I wasn’t scared!”

“Yeah, you did great.”

Nicole handed each of them a piece of candy as a reward, then went downstairs to help carry the firewood.

The water tank was huge. The three men worked together to haul it up and set it on the roof.

After putting away the motorboat and inflatable raft, Beatrice unzipped her backpack and pulled out a plastic bag.

Inside was a snake and two wild rabbits.

“We went pretty far out,” she said. “There’s a hillside neighborhood with a bunch of houses, mostly flooded now. The water tank was Zeph’s idea. We were gonna head back after grabbing it, but then Cola ran up the hill.”

Worried something might happen, they chased after Cola and found him locked in a fight with a snake. Zeph reacted fast, bringing his shovel down and taking the snake’s head clean off.

A few pounds of meat just like that. Everyone was thrilled.

But Cola still didn’t want to leave.

They couldn’t drag him away, so they kept going farther up the hill while gathering firewood. That was when Cola found a rabbit burrow and started digging.

“Nicole, you seriously hit the jackpot,” Beatrice said. “That’s not a dog. He’s way more than that.”

Nicole smiled. “Cola’s been on his own for a long time. His survival instincts are way better than ours.”

Beatrice shook her head in disbelief. “I’ve never seen a dog this smart. He even climbed a tree. If Zeph hadn’t been there, we couldn’t have controlled him. He didn’t want to come back even after it got dark.”

Hunger sticks with you. A dog that’s known starvation doesn’t just hunt to eat. It wants to store as much as it can.

Thinking about the wild pig hunt from last time, it made sense. No way Cola would willingly leave food behind.

Nicole hadn’t gone out, but she had held things down at home. Still, Cola had done most of the hunting, so they decided to split everything evenly.

She didn’t want to take advantage of them, but Beatrice and the others refused.

“Cola’s part of the team,” Beatrice said. “No special treatment. He worked just as hard as we did. If you feel bad, you can cook, and we’ll help.”

In the end, Nicole didn’t take over the cooking. She stood off to the side, directing Zeph instead.

The snake was skinned and cleaned, then stewed in a pressure cooker. The rabbits were big, and Zeph made two dishes with it. Then, he made a plate of stir-fried greens and a pot of mixed grain rice.

Everyone ate until they were full, completely satisfied.

“Nicole, we’re thinking of heading back out tomorrow,” Jeremy said. “You coming?”

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Chapter 81

+15 8gnus

The people in those hillside houses had already evacuated, so food wasn’t likely. Even then, there was still plenty to take.

Most of the furniture was solid wood. They could break it down for firewood.

And the water tank worked great on the roof. They wanted to grab a couple more so each unit could have one, instead of relying on collecting rainwater from the balcony.

Zeph spoke up. “There were a lot of tanks out there. We should bring back as many as we can. Even if the rain stops, water service won’t come back right away. We need to store as much as possible.”

Jeremy and the others paused, then nodded.

Zeph and Nicole knew what they were doing. Following their lead was the safest move.

Nicole didn’t object. “Beatrice, one of us should stay behind. Who’s going?”

Beatrice had been cooped up too long. “I’ll go, but Cola’s coming with me.’

“Woof!” Cola chimed in.

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