The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 938

Chapter 938

+15 BONUS

Chapter 938

Alliance Base was running short of food and medicine, too.

Antoni’s people could put up a fight, but they were only human. None of them wanted to die, and now they had no ammunition left.

So they bluffed. They claimed to have a portable nuclear weapon and promised to use it if the Alliance tried to finish them off.

If they were going down, everyone else was going with them.

Their group had a reputation for making extreme threats, and the Alliance couldn’t be sure this one was

empty.

Sometimes, they backed down when an attack seemed certain. Other times, they struck when no one thought they would dare.

That unpredictability kept the Alliance cautious. Its leaders could keep provoking them, but cornering them was another matter.

Fighting broke out every few days, yet neither side was willing to risk a final confrontation.

Nicole’s household was small, but they had guns, medicine, and someone who knew how to treat injuries.

Antoni also hoped their backgrounds would count for something. Before the disasters, their communities traded with each other, and people moved between them for work and school.

There was enough shared history for him to believe they might be sympathetic.

Between that connection and the danger they all faced, Nicole and Zeph seemed like his best chance of finding allies.

“You don’t know what those people do,” he pleaded. “They torture prisoners. Worse things, too. And they still have plenty of guns. Once we’re gone, they’ll come for you. We need each other.”

Nicole answered calmly. “We appreciate the offer, but we look after ourselves. We’re not joining an

alliance.”

She trusted the people who stood beside her through life-threatening danger. A few conversations and trades weren’t enough to earn that trust.

Siding with the Braventonians would also make the Alliance her enemy. She had no intention of getting drawn into someone else’s conflict out of sympathy or a sense of shared history.

Besides, if Antoni wanted to talk about the past, his people had plenty to answer for, too.

In the past, the Braventonians courted more powerful neighbors and only sought other friends when those efforts failed. Nicole had little reason to believe those friendships ran deep.

1/3

Chapter 938

+15 BONUS

If her life was on the line, she would trust only the people closest to her.

She made that clear. They could trade and stay on friendly terms, but she wasn’t joining forces with anyone. The same answer would apply if the Alliance approached her.

After years living among people from her old community, Antoni understood her position.

His visit wasn’t just about medicine or an alliance. He also wanted to reach Nicole and Zeph before the

other side did.

He knew the people at Alliance Base. Sooner or later, they would set their sights on this household, too.

There was no point in pushing. Once Nicole and Zeph experienced that for themselves, he expected them to come looking for him.

They agreed to trade the next day, and Antoni left.

Nicole went inside to prepare the herbs. They were basic remedies for pain, fever, inflammation, and bleeding, all things people desperately needed now.

With groups such as the Westmerians among its members, the Alliance probably had plenty of weapons.

She decided their defenses needed more work. Another layer of ice around the container might offer

extra protection if anyone attacked.

While Nicole built up the coating, Zeph shoveled snow into a defensive berm about 50 yards from the