Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System novel Chapter 264

Due to them leaving shortly after arriving, Liam and the caravan made it back home just passed dinner time.

The sun was starting to set, and most of the settlement was outside, lounging or at the rec center, reading and playing games.

When Liam's RV pulled into the forest clearing, Rayne looked over with a puzzled expression. She was by the lake with Julian, checking out the water level, when she heard the noise from the RV.

"Oh, that's unexpected, Liam is back a lot earlier than scheduled", he said, looking over.

"Maybe something happened, let's go check it out", said Julian with a slight frown.

They walked over to the RV and quickly met with the two Alpha Team scouts who had serious expressions on their faces.

Noticing Julian, they quickly walked over, "Boss, we have something important to report!"

Julian immediately knew that something bad had happened, "Come, let's find Ian and you can explain".

As Julian walked away with the scouts, Rayne waited for Liam to get out so that he could explain what happened.

She waited by the door, peering in slightly when her eyes widened.

What's Jimmy's wife and daughter doing here?

A few moments later, Liam came out, almost bumping into Rayne.

"Oh! Sorry!" he said, taking a step back.

Rayne didn't mind and was too curious about what had happened.

"Liam, what happened? Why are you back so soon and with Jimmy's wife?" she asked.

Liam gave her a sad look, "I'll tell you in one second, but long story short, they're the only survivors of that base".

"What! How?!", Rayne gasped.

As much as she wanted to know the details, she knew that settling in the two women was more important. They both looked like they were suffering, and Rayne wanted them to feel as welcome as possible.

"Let's get them settled in first, " she said, waving at Kendra and Emily.

Kendra noticed Rayne and nodded, then walked out of the RV with her daughter.

The little girl was very quiet, but Rayne noticed that she did look around with slight curiosity.

"Welcome, let me help you get settled in. Then I can show you to the rec center where you can have some fun", said Rayne, smiling at the mother and daughter.

Kendra forced a smile while the little girl looked at her with vacant eyes. They followed Rayne to the guesthouse, where Noah would meet them later and assign them a permanent place to live.

They came empty-handed, so Rayne stopped by the warehouse to show Kendra where to find clothes and daily necessities.

"Here is the housing item warehouse. You can find anything from small furniture to clothing in here. Feel free to take anything you need", said Rayne, pointing to a few different shelves.

Kendra looked at the hundreds of thousands of items, neatly arranged on the shelves, with wide eyes.

"No wonder you were able to trade so many good things, you have so much stored up", said Kendra as she looked around.

They stepped outside and Rayne pointed to the next warehouse, "That one over there is dedicated to food and water. Feel free to take what you need, just be respectful of everyone else".

Rayne led the way, walking straight into the pasture. Some of the younger calves noticed her from a distance and ran over happily.

"Come and pet them, they love it when they get some head scratches like this", said Rayne as she gently patted the calf.

Emily walked over and gently reached out to place her hands on the calf in front of her. The calf was very happy and licked her hand, causing Emily to break out into her first smile.

Kendra watched the scene, trying to hold her tears back. As a mother, she wanted to see her daughter laugh and play, but after their experience, she wasn't sure if she would ever see her daughter smile.

They stayed in the pasture for almost an hour, playing with all of the cows. Fred even came over and let Emily feed some of the cows, earning her a few more licks from the happy cows.

-

After finishing up at the pasture, they walked over to the large chicken coop. It wasn't as big as the barn, but it still houses dozens of chickens.

This time, Emily walked over on her own, petting the friendly chickens around her. She finally seemed to be in her element, surrounded by the familiar animals.

"Mommy, look! Its Kiki!", she said, pointing at a spotted hen.

Kiki was one of the young chickens that they traded for last time Liam came up. It was one of Emily's favorites due to its distinct spotted pattern.

Kendra smiled, "Yes, Kiki has gotten a lot bigger. Look how happy she is in this coop".

While Emily was playing with the chickens, Kendra walked over to stand beside Rayne, "This place is truly wonderful. Thank you for taking the time to show us around".

"This is your new home now. I know that nothing will make what happened disappear from your life, but I hope that you can both find happiness here," said Rayne with a soft smile.