LOGINBack in the rooms, Poppy let Cola out to stretch his legs. Nicole brought out biscuits, scrambled eggs, and breakfast pastries for brunch. The three settled on the sofa to talk.Nicole felt hopeful. The disasters left civilization in ruins, but people were still determined to rebuild.Construction moved ahead at an impressive pace, researchers made steady progress, and soon, people would be growing food again. Everywhere she looked, there were signs of life returning.After everything Yorwyn endured through centuries of history, its people still found ways to carry on. She couldn't help admiring that.Poppy took a sip of her juice, then raised her hand. "I wanna apply for that gardening job."Nicole looked over in surprise. "You sure?"Poppy nodded. "I don't have much to do here. I'd like to give it a shot."Neither Poppy nor Zeph liked sitting around, and Poppy was never afraid of hard work. Years of growing food and caring for animals gave her plenty of experience.Nicole h
Only Platforms A and B were complete. Construction continued at full speed on the others, with survivors moving in as more housing areas became available.The sites were noisy, but proper safety precautions were in place.Nicole stared up at the enormous construction machines. "The base doesn't even have electricity yet. How much fuel do these things go through in a day?"Zeph studied the equipment. "The big ones never stop running. They're probably nuclear-powered, or I doubt they could keep them going this long. The smaller ones use fuel."That made sense to Nicole. She couldn't see exhaust stacks on any of the larger machines.The equipment dwarfed her. Looking up at it, she understood why Yorwyn's island-building projects once drew attention from around the world.Still, she couldn't understand why work on the island itself wasn't underway alongside the platforms. Building up the seabed first seemed like it would make platform construction easier.Even before the disasters,
Zeph wrapped his arms around Nicole. "Don't assume the worst. Commander Hunt could still be out there."She struggled to shake that habit. A harsh childhood and two lifetimes of disasters taught her to brace for the worst whenever something went wrong."He ran the military base. He must've known the government planned to rebuild. "It's been months, and people from bases all over the country have made it here. If he's alright, why isn't he here yet?"Ocean currents can carry you a long way off course. He might not have had any control over where he ended up. He could still make it here."Before she could blame herself, Zeph added, "Nicole, even if you'd asked him to come with us, he wouldn't have left."She couldn't argue with that.He was right. Arthur would've stayed.When he accepted command, he took on a responsibility he intended to see through. His country and the people in his care came first, even before his own life.If Nicole forced him to abandon them, he might neve
Life after the disasters was hard, but there were still good moments.Stella still had a sharp tongue, but she started looking out for Weasel, too.He suspected she saw too many men trading their wives for food and feared he might do the same.He could never do that to her.If they ever reached that point, he would sooner let Stella sell him than make her sell herself.The past ten years were a struggle, but he found people he could count on and caught a few lucky breaks. His children grew, and Stella grew kinder to him with every passing year.None of them expected things to get so much worse.After they buried their son at sea, he and Stella pushed through their grief for the sake of their remaining child, Lucas Nixon.They never returned to the lower compartment. Instead, the three of them found a corner elsewhere on the ship and stayed there.If they were going to die, they would face it together.The crew recognized a family still holding on to its humanity and allowed t
Once aboard, Weasel and Stella found a secluded corner and huddled there with both children close.The convoy struggled through storm after storm. Ships drifted off course or capsized, and people were swept overboard.Eventually, theirs was the only ship left.Food was scarce, few people had enough clothing to keep warm, and the passengers were crammed together. Illness soon spread.Some starved. Others died of disease or slowly lost their minds.Every day brought more deaths.At first, the crew gathered the bodies and took them away. But as hunger took hold, passengers began watching those close to death, staring for hours with a hunger that had nothing to do with concern.No one knew who made the first move. A sick passenger took their last breath, and someone rushed forward with a knife, cutting flesh from their thigh.Others quickly joined in.The family barely had time to register the death before people swarmed their loved one's body.By the time the noise brought the c
After Nicole and the rest finished the cooled food, Poppy wiped down the room, making sure no trace of its smell lingered on the furniture.Darkness settled quickly once the sun dipped below the horizon.A knock came at the door. Nicole hurriedly stowed the sofa bed, table, and the rest of the furniture in her storage space.Poppy caught on immediately. She crouched and spread blankets across the floor, making it look like they planned to sleep there.Nicole opened the door and nearly jumped out of her skin. The man outside looked so much like Gollum that she reached for her knife, barely stopping herself from slashing his throat."Nicole, it's me."Nicole stopped at the familiar voice. She stared, struggling to recognize Weasel in the face before her.He had always been thin, but now, he was little more than skin and bones. An unexpected glimpse of him in the dark could scare anyone half to death. Someone could easily lash out before realizing he meant no harm."What happene
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
Nicole never expected the new resident of 1801 to be the same young man who had helped her at the courier station.He looked mildly surprised, too. He nodded once at her, then went back to work.Up close, he was striking in a cold, sharp way. He was tall and lean, with broad shoulders and clean li
Two miles was nothing. The Hummer reached the entrance to the complex in just a few minutes.Nicole handed the man 400 dollars, thanking him for saving her and for ignoring traffic rules.His voice stayed cool. "No need. I was heading this way, anyway."Seeing he wouldn't take it, she didn't push
Just after midnight, the timer refreshed. One hundred thirty minutes remaining.That meant time could stack.Nicole nearly laughed out loud. Seconds mattered. During crucial moments, even a minute could mean the difference between living and dying.She decided that unless it was absolutely necess







