LOGINThere were three people in the well. They got all of them out.By then, the sky had gone gray, and the rain was coming down in sheets. People threw jackets over their heads and ran for home.Nicole picked up her bucket, about to lift it over her head, when someone caught her arm.An umbrella opened above her.It was Zeph."Let's go." The weather had turned unpredictable. No one knew if the rain might turn scalding. He pulled her along, angling the umbrella toward her without thinking. "Watch your step."They pushed through the downpour, moving as fast as they could.Poppy was waiting at the building entrance, Cola bouncing around her, tail wagging wildly.Nicole's eyes stung.In her last life, everything had been bleak. She had never imagined that this time, someone would come out into the storm to bring her back, and someone else would be waiting for her at home.Soaked through, she headed upstairs. Zeph grabbed clean clothes from the closet and draped a dry towel over her h
For the Harvest Festival, Alex went on the broadcast to wish everyone in the community a happy holiday.Nobody was under any illusions about their situation. Even so, the familiar holiday greeting brought back a small piece of the world they had lost.He even shared a short motivational message.It might not mean much to someone starving or on the brink of death, but most people had just received supplies from the authorities the day before and gathered enough hail for water. The sweet potatoes they had planted were also nearly ready to harvest.The timing wasn't bad.That was the skill of a psychologist. Nicole made a mental note to read more in that field.That night, the four of them marked the holiday in their own way.Nicole remembered they still had a few holiday treats tucked away in storage. It took some digging to find them. Pecan pie bars, fruitcake, sugar cookies, and powdered shortbread.She preferred the pecan bars. She took a couple of bites, then handed the rest
Zeph turned on the AC and laid Poppy on the bed.Cola paced beside her, whining under his breath, clearly uneasy."Poppy's hurt. Starting today, you're on watch. If anything's wrong, come get us."Cola immediately dragged his dog bed in from the living room and settled down next to her, refusing to leave.Poppy still needed close monitoring. Zeph stayed tense, forcing down a quick meal just to keep going. "Nicole, how bad are you hurt?""I'm fine," Nicole said. "Nothing's broken." She most likely only suffered soft tissue damage. The icing had already helped. A rub with liniment and a patch tomorrow would take care of the rest.Zeph frowned. "Let me see."They were already sharing a bed. Nicole didn't make a big deal out of it and pulled her shirt aside to show her shoulder."It's nothing. If anything, we should be glad we made it through another one."A tsunami, and now hail. What was next?It was late. Fatigue caught up with them. They took quick showers, set the AC to
Nicole mixed some medicine with water and carefully fed it to Poppy.She wasn't good with comfort, but she still said to Zeph, "Poppy's strong. She's not going anywhere."He didn't answer. He sat beside his sister, gently brushing his fingers over her cheek. "This is my fault. I didn't protect you."Nicole let out a small sigh.He had already done everything he could. No one could've predicted hailstones the size of fists falling out of a clear sky.In their last life, there hadn't been hail at all.He was human, not a god. There was no reason for him to take this on himself. In a world ruled by natural disasters, no one could truly protect anyone else."Poppy, wake up. You're the only family Zeph has left."Nicole could feel the weight pressing down on him. She set a hand on his shoulder. "You still have me. We'll get through this."Zeph tightened his grip on her hand. "Thank you for staying with me."Maybe it was the memory of how Poppy had died in his previous life. It h
This was how the apocalypse worked. One moment, people were lining up early to collect holiday supplies, thinking that with a little food and water, they could hold on a bit longer. The next, a natural disaster struck, and bodies dropped where they stood.The Harvest Festival was supposed to be a time for family reunions. Instead, they died on the eve of it.But when staying alive was already this hard, no one had the space to grieve.The more hail you gathered, the more days you might live.When you could barely keep yourself alive, who had the energy to care whether anyone else lived or died?Sometimes, death felt like a release."Help! He's got a gun!" someone in the crowd suddenly shouted. "There's someone here with a gun!"Zeph had just started to leave when the police and security patrol rushed in. "Stop right there."They closed in around the three of them, cutting off every exit. "Possession of a firearm is illegal."Zeph lifted the gun slightly. "What about a toy gu
Poppy sucked on a piece of hard candy, stubbornly keeping her eyes open, while saying to Zeph, "I miss Mom and Dad, but I don't want to leave you and Nicole."Zeph pulled her close. "Be good. Listen to Nicole and stay awake. Don't fall asleep."The pounding outside grew louder, kicks and fists slamming against the door. The people crowding the storage room wore twisted, vicious expressions, as if the ones inside were criminals they had every right to kill.Even with Zeph bracing the door with his body, it shuddered under the blows.A concussion patient couldn't take that much noise and jarring. At this rate, the door wouldn't hold.Nicole took Poppy from Zeph and set her down. Through the small window across from the door, she saw the ground outside buried under layers of hail. The stones were thinning now.Hailstorms usually lasted anywhere from a couple of minutes to half an hour.It had already been about 20 minutes. It would stop soon.The shouting outside grew harsher. The
Sven didn't bother dressing it up. "Along with the Ocean Star necklace from last time, Jake can add a piece of raw emerald. I can guarantee it's better than the one you got before."Medicine saved lives, but these drugs weren't as valuable as the vaccine. If Sven really put in the work, he could
The young man didn't die.The man beside him did. The bolt had gone straight through his heart. He was in his fifties and hadn't said a word the entire time, but Nicole had noticed the way the others kept glancing at him before making a move. The real leader had been easy to spot.Someone shoute
Nicole and Zeph had barely gotten any sleep after coming home when Sven showed up again.Nicole checked the time. It was a little after 5 a.m.By noon, more than 24 hours would have passed since Fred got hurt. Plenty of people had gone looking for the vaccine, but every lead had come up empty.Wi
Sven's voice came out of the darkness. "Nicole? Zeph?"Nicole and Zeph exchanged a look. What was he doing here at this hour?Poppy moved on instinct, hiding anything that couldn't be explained with impressive speed. Nicole swept the vegetables, chicken, pork, and the rest of the spread into her