The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 921

Chapter 921

+20 BONUS

Chapter 921

For once, Nicole let herself have some fun. She brought out a pot of boiling water to try tossing it into the freezing air and watching it turn to snow.

She filled a ladle and flung the water away from her in a wide arc.

Unfortunately, Zeph couldn’t seem to get a decent picture. His timing was hopeless, and after several attempts, they still didn’t have a single good shot.

Nicole gave up on him as a photographer.

Poppy picked it up much faster. A few tries were all she needed to take pictures that looked almost professional.

For a while, the novelty kept them entertained. They slept late, played in the snow, and gathered around the stove to roast sweet potatoes. Sometimes, they passed the time with a game of cards.

On their ninth day in the frozen north, the storm finally let up.

An unbroken stretch of white surrounded them. Under its thick coating of ice, their container blended

into the landscape. From a distance, it was almost impossible to spot.

Before long, Poppy grew restless and decided to start another vegetable garden.

Nicole gave her seeds, but drew the line at eggs for hatching.

Poppy had a knack for keeping things alive. If she managed to hatch chickens or ducks, they would soon be sharing their home with a flock, and the whole place would smell like a barn. 1

She was spreading soil when Cola sprang to his feet. His ears went up, his gaze sharpened, and the fur along his back bristled.

Then he shot out the door.

Nicole froze for a second before running after him. “Cola!”

By the time she stepped outside, he was already over the hill.

She couldn’t understand what got into him. When he sensed danger, he usually warned them. He never just ran off without a sound.

Nicole, Zeph, and Poppy hurried to the top of the hill. A line of paw prints led away across the snow.

Nicole searched through her binoculars until she finally caught sight of him in the distance. He was running flat out, never once looking back.

Zeph scanned the area but saw nothing that explained it.

After so many days cooped up in the cold, Cola seemed to have lost all restraint. Yet he seemed perfectly happy these last few days.

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Chapter 921

Zeph made the call. “Poppy, stay here and keep watch. We’ll get Cola.”

With nothing but snow and ice for miles, Cola could easily get lost. There was no telling what else he might run into.

Nicole handed Poppy a weapon, then set off with Zeph in the direction Cola ran.

The snowfall stopped, but strong winds still swept loose snow across the ice.

Before long, his tracks disappeared. With no landmarks to guide them, they could easily lose their way,

too.

Nicole followed the direction she remembered him taking. Snow reached above her calves, and every step took effort.

The wind lashed her face. Even through her mask, breathing was uncomfortable, and soon, she was struggling to catch her breath.

After a while, she worried they were heading the wrong way.

She raised her binoculars and searched, but Cola was nowhere in sight.

Worry and anger churned inside her. After all those years of looking after him, he just took off. He was in serious trouble when she caught up with him.

They searched for more than an hour, dragging themselves through the snow until they could barely lift

their feet.

Zeph kept looking around. Suddenly, he pointed. “Over there!”

Something moved in the distance.

Nicole peered through her binoculars until she made out a brown shape bounding through the snow toward them.