When the World Ends, She Begins novel Chapter 45

Natalie turned around and saw Lucky again—her belly swollen from drinking too much spring water in the storage space.

She scooped him up. "You silly dog. Why do you always drink like crazy every time we go in there?"

Lucky looked dizzy, his tongue lolling to the side. But Natalie had seen this before, so she didn't panic. She set her down in her dog bed to let her rest it off.

Meanwhile, she pulled out her tablet and started searching for guides on planting herbs. She needed to decide what to grow first.

In the end, she chose echinacea.

Partly because she happened to find echinacea seeds during her supply runs. But mostly because, in her last life, right after the floods, when the heat waves came, a few outbreaks of plague-like sickness hit. And echinacea was exactly the herb that helped.

It cooled fevers, cleared infections, and soothed sore throats.

Back then, Natalie had to trade two whole bags of pasta for just half a box of echinacea powder.

She remembered the misery. No medicine at home. Burned with fever for a whole week. Her body is aching. Vomiting and diarrhea until she nearly died. She only survived because she was young and strong. Many others weren't so lucky. They survived the floods and the heat, only to die from sickness.

Echinacea took about six months to grow. If she planted now, it would be ready right around the dangerous season.

So she got to work.

Over the next few days, Natalie spent hours inside the storage space, setting up her herb garden. Lucky followed her in every time, racing to the spring and drinking like she was addicted.

Natalie rolled her eyes. She had sniffed the water carefully, but it smelled plain, nothing special. She'd never drink untested water herself, but Lucky loved it. Every single time, she guzzled until his belly ballooned.

If she left him outside, he would howled until his voice went hoarse. She didn't have the heart to keep refusing him, so she let him tag along.

At least the water hadn't made him sick. Maybe it had minerals that dogs needed. People said dogs could sense what was good for them—they'd even eat herbs when poisoned or sick. So maybe Lucky knew something she didn't.

Natalie stopped worrying about it and focused on her garden. She studied, experimented, and learned by doing.

While she worked hard, the atmosphere outside grew darker.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify