LOGINNo matter how hardened a person became, they still needed other people.Through nine years of disasters, Nicole had killed to survive and fought both people and nature. Staying alive left little time for loneliness.But since leaving the military base, they had barely spoken to anyone else.Day after day, it was just the four of them, eating, sleeping, and sharing the same cramped space, with no end to the disasters in sight.They had plenty of food and water, vessels for every kind of escape, and her storage space to shelter them from even the worst disasters.Compared with most survivors, Nicole had it easy. Yet even that didn't seem to be enough.Perhaps she simply had too much time on her hands.She was grateful for everything they had, but a heaviness had settled over her that she couldn't shake.The days blurred together. She wasn't quite happy or sad. Sometimes, she struggled to see the point of any of it.As a doctor, she recognized the toll those years of relentless d
This time, the blue whale rubbed its head against the submarine instead of its rear end.The ancient virus had made it much less docile. It rubbed so hard that it seemed ready to scrape its own skin off.After another two or three hours, Nicole couldn't take it anymore. At this rate, she worried it would scrape the hull bare, too.The moment it left, she moved the submarine. She couldn't fight the whale off, but she could at least get out of its way.Nicole soon discovered just how little control she had out here. No matter where they went, the whale found them and went right back to scratching.Nicole had no idea how she had ended up with such a persistent nuisance.Poppy, meanwhile, was thrilled. She even named it Blue.Nicole put the girl's enthusiasm down to loneliness.Fortunately, Blue seemed content to use them as a scratching post.Life underwater did have its perks. Through the observation windows, they watched all kinds of sea creatures, from spider crabs to ocean su
Zeph was right. Dense clusters of whale barnacles covered the blue whale's body.The ancient virus had made the barnacles grow several times larger, causing the whale even more discomfort.Desperate for relief, the whale found the submarine too convenient to pass up. It kept rubbing against the hull, trying to scrape the barnacles off.With every pass, it pushed the submarine farther backward.The creature's persistence was becoming a nuisance.After more than half an hour of rocking, Nicole felt seasick. She closed the cover over the observation window and brought everyone, along with the submarine, into her storage space.Their time in the storage space was too precious to waste. After about ten minutes, she figured the whale was gone and returned them to the ocean.Less than five minutes later, the submarine started rocking again.The familiar motion left little doubt that the whale was back. It seemed determined to keep using their submarine.Nicole tried the same trick se
The morning sun rose above the horizon, casting a golden glow across the rippling water.Nicole stayed to admire the view until Cola barked below, signalling that Poppy was awake.She looked much better after a night's sleep. Zeph urged her to go up for some fresh air and see how beautiful the ocean was now that the storm had passed.Once they submerged, they wouldn't be able to come up whenever they wanted.Poppy climbed onto the deck and stared in wonder. She could hardly believe this was the same ocean she had seen yesterday.The submarine descended steadily until it reached a suitable depth.Neither Nicole nor Zeph wanted to explore just yet, so there was no reason to waste fuel moving around.They had barely uncovered the largest observation window when a shark came straight at them. Its huge jaws opened wide, exposing rows of sharp teeth.Poppy and Cola scrambled back several steps.Nicole smiled. "It's special glass. The sharks can't see you through it."The submarine
Luckily, Zeph hadn't taught Poppy much about natural disasters. Still, he cringed at his own explanation. "The currents around here are complicated. Another one probably pushed the storm away. We still need to be careful, though. It could come back, so we're staying in the escape capsule today."Nicole pulled some boxed meals from her bag. "Let's eat first. We need to keep our strength up."Poppy was smart, but she had led a sheltered life. Watching so many people go down with their ship, helpless against the storm, shook her so badly that she could barely eat.Natural disasters were merciless, and she had to learn to live with them.Zeph handed Poppy a cup of warm chamomile tea. "Try to get some rest."She drank it and closed her eyes, still holding tight to Zeph's hand.Late that night, she seemed to have a nightmare. She mumbled in her sleep, her body twitching as sweat beaded on her forehead.Nicole put the escape capsule away and moved everyone, including Poppy and Cola,
The kitchen grew dim. Poppy glanced up, always alert to changes around her, but nothing seemed wrong.Then she looked farther out and nearly dropped her spatula. She blinked, certain her eyes were playing tricks on her, but the sight remained.Cola's frantic barking jolted Nicole awake. She sat bolt upright, then raced outside with Zeph.From the deck, they saw enormous waves churning in the distance.Along the horizon, walls of water more than 100 feet high surged toward them, threatening to crush everything in their path. Yet the sea around their ship remained perfectly calm.A violent storm was bearing down on them.Clouds churned across the distant sky like spilled black ink, blotting out the light in seconds. Purple lightning ripped through them and struck the ocean with a deafening crack.Flash after flash lit the darkness. Green, blue, and purple bolts tangled across the sky, threatening to tear it apart, their brilliance outshining any fireworks display.Thunder crack
Nicole jolted, then immediately checked with her mind.The storage space was still there. The supplies were still there, too. She tested it; she thought of an item, and a coal briquette appeared in her hand.Sweeping the space again, she noticed the glowing timer had reset to zero.That was when
After paying the deposit, Nicole drove straight to the largest outdoor gear store downtown.The outdoor gear market was fiercely competitive. The store was in full clearance mode, shutting down with brutal discounts. Some items were marked down to 20% of the original price.Perfect timing.Nicole
"Ah!"Nicole Floyd jolted upright in bed, gasping. Sweat streamed down her forehead, her eyes unfocused and hollow.The sight in front of her cut through the haze in her mind.This was her old apartment, the one from before the apocalypse.Ding, ding…Text alerts kept chiming. She grabbed her p
Nicole didn't hesitate. She blocked Edward right away.Less than a minute later, her phone rang again. It was an unfamiliar number.She didn't need to guess; this was Edward's classmate or one of his friends.Given a second chance at life, Nicole had zero interest in being taken for a fool. She w







