The Endgame Chronicles (by Hugh White) novel Chapter 169

Chapter 169

Grain reserves were usually built far from populated areas, and this one was no exception.

The whole surrounding region was deserted, with not a single car in sight along the lonely highway.

Their convoy moved smoothly across the open road. When the sun dipped low and dusk began to swallow the sky, they finally saw them.

One massive cylindrical granary after another rose from the earth like giant steel towers.

The national grain reserve.

They had made it!

The moment everyone saw those enormous silos, excitement burst through the group.

They made it. They actually made it to the granary!

They were finally going to have real food.

Following Base K1’s lead, all the vehicles accelerated and rammed open the entrance gate, stopping before the ten huge cylindrical silos lined up in a row.

The grain reserve was fully mechanized. Normally, only ten workers managed the whole place, one per silo.

Other than that, no one lived here.

“We’re here!”

“This is the grain reserve! Think about how much food is in there!”

“Each silo holds 5,000 tons!”

“There are ten of them! That’s fifty thousand tons! Enough for every base combined to eat for a hundred years!”

“This is incredible!”

The remnants of human civilization were richer than anyone could imagine. Finding just one treasure like this could carry survivors through an impossible crisis.

Even though 99.99% of civilization’s treasures had vanished like shipwrecks swallowed by the deep sea, never to be found again, it was enough as long as one survived.

Alex and Liam ordered everyone out of the vehicles.

They swept the grounds around the silos first, checking for signs of life. Once they confirmed no one was around, they headed into the staff building.

It was silent and completely still.

None of the ten workers was there. Whether they had fled or turned into zombies was impossible to know.

After discussing the situation, Liam and Alex led everyone toward the first silo to inspect the grain.

They clicked on their flashlights and stepped inside.

The entire silo was filled to the top, a mountain of grain packed all the way up.

People gasped in pure relief.

Food. They finally had food!

However, their joy didn’t last long.

They entered the second silo, only to find the contents riddled with mold.

Months had passed since the apocalypse began. Without ventilation or rotation, massive grain piles easily rotted or caught fire.

Once the mold set in, the entire silo was ruined and became completely inedible.

The third silo was also moldy.

By the time they finished checking all ten enormous silos, the results were brutal.

More than half had rotted. One had spontaneously combusted, and one was soaked with moisture.

Another was infested with giant rats and grain weevils; a writhing, living carpet of pests.

Only two silos were fully intact: the very first one and the last one.

Just ten thousand tons remained.

Even so, ten thousand tons was still a blessing.

Everyone immediately agreed to start loading.

“I’ll explain the distribution again,” Alex said. “Base K1 and I each take 40%. We take ours first. The rest of you divide what’s left based on the percentages I calculated. Any objections?”

The members of the four small bases all nodded. Even if their share was barely 0.5% each, it was still a fortune.

They brought ten trucks per base. One trip wouldn’t be enough, so they would need two runs to carry it all. There was enough food to keep their bases fed for years.

“No problem!” the four small bases answered together.

“I’ll give you 200 tons from our share,” Liam said to Hayley.