The Endgame Chronicles (by Hugh White) novel Chapter 18

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Chapter 18

After all, the rescue convoys on the radio wouldn’t just head to people’s houses and get them, no matter where they were.

No, there was only one rescue route.

The broadcasts would just point out a few relatively safe areas and tell people to gather there. Then, the convoy would pick them up as it passed.

That plan sounded dangerous, and the Reids were especially resistant when they realized the rescue point was still pretty far away.

What if something happened on the way? Eleanor was old, and Sue was pregnant. What would happen to them?

Hayley, as usual, tried to reason with them. She explained that chasing temporary comfort wasn’t worth it. Only by getting to the rescue point could they truly be safe.

There would be government-issued food, a proper place for Sue to give birth, and safe housing for Eleanor.

Most importantly, Hayley guessed this rescue wouldn’t last forever. If they didn’t go now, they might not even be accepted later.

After a long discussion, the Reids finally agreed to follow her advice and leave with all their supplies.

In fact, Hayley’s prediction was spot-on.

They caught the very last-and only-rescue wave.

Later, the city’s full-scale rescue efforts were abandoned. There were too many zombies, and it was too chaotic- authorities could only save a single group and carve out a safe zone as a base.

That base became a gathering spot for humans to resist zombies. This was the next big stage of the apocalypse: civilization in bases.

Those who got in early were insanely lucky. They had free supplies and free housing. Anyone who entered later had to give up everything they had and find their own shelter.

The later you arrived, the worse it got.

You could say that Hayley had always been on the right path

However, the one mistake she made was treating the Reids like family. She poured her heart into looking out for them, only to get kicked out of the base to fight against zombies.

That was the moment Hayley finally woke up.

She realized she had to learn to love herself first. She had to grow up and never expect things that weren’t hers. The so-called “family” she had been clinging to had always been her own delusion.

Later, Hayley survived by sheer luck, crawling out of a mountain of corpses and blood. She ended up at another base, and her mindset underwent a complete transformation.

She no longer needed love or to be loved. She became utterly cold, fully embracing the rebellion in her bones.

She welcomed the fifth stage of the apocalypse-the era of the Gifted-and became the only captain without powers.

She stood her ground among the Gifted as a normal human and even led her squad to be consistently the best. Everyone knew it: if Hayley had any gifts, forget just the self-defense squad-she probably could have ruled the

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Chapter 10

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entire base. Her strength came from herself.

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