All Chapters of The Apocalypse Survival Manual: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Two days later, the entire first floor was underwater.Nicole stood on the balcony and watched several people risk swimming out of the complex.This area sat a bit higher, so the current wasn't too fierce here. Outside the gates, however, was another story entirely. Whether those who swam out could make it back depended on luck.Beatrice messaged to say that they had decided to move over immediately. She and Hughie lived in Building 3, less than 200 feet from Nicole's building.Still uneasy, Nicole grabbed her binoculars and kept watch. About half an hour later, an inflatable raft appeared in the water.The raft was loaded with supplies. Hughie sat on it in a disposable rain poncho, paddling awkwardly. Beatrice was in the water, pulling the raft forward with brute force.Nicole grabbed a bag of trash and headed downstairs, planning to meet them on the second floor. When she reached the 12th floor, she ran straight into Mary coming out of 1202.Mary was wearing a polka-dot dress

There was no key for 1803. Nicole was about to look for tools to pry the door open when Hughie pulled a strange-looking single hook from his pocket and started fiddling with the lock.A few minutes later, it clicked open.Nicole broke out in a cold sweat. For a split second, her own two doors suddenly felt very unsafe.Beatrice laughed awkwardly. "We were worried we wouldn't be able to get in. He's been practicing at home for two days."Apartment 1803 had three bedrooms and a living room; it was roomy and well laid out. All the furniture was covered with cloth. When they lifted it, everything underneath was high-end. The owner probably wasn't short on money and never bothered renting it out.Breaking into someone else's home was illegal. Beatrice felt uneasy and talked it over with Hughie. "We're just staying temporarily. Let's not touch anything we don't need. When we leave, we'll put everything back the way it was."They picked the room with the least furniture and started cl

Nicole's breathing tightened. She grabbed the binoculars and focused.At the same time, in the same place, two tornadoes of nearly identical shape spun in opposite directions. Like massive shredders, they tore forward wildly. Trees were ripped out of the ground. Buildings folded in on themselves. Cars were flung skyward like toys. Even the floodwater was sucked upward in endless spirals.The two funnels rushed toward each other. Their high-speed currents looked like countless jagged saw blades, grinding everything in their path into nothing.Beatrice gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth.The tornadoes slammed together. As they collided, they twisted and merged, slicing straight through a skyscraper. The building cracked, shattered, and was swallowed whole.A tower more than 30 stories tall vanished in less than a minute.The fused tornado went berserk. Like a tantrum-throwing child, it smashed and flung everything around it, careless and brutal.Nicole had lived this long, b

Nicole knew Zeph was cold. She just hadn't expected violence, and toward a child at that.Judging by Poppy's reaction, this wasn't new. No wonder the girl ran over every day. She wasn't being clingy; she was hiding."Why does he hit you?" Nicole asked. It was their family business, but hurting a child crossed a line.Nicole didn't ask about Poppy's past. Still, Poppy's timid, flinching eyes and her instinctive need to please dragged up memories Nicole didn't want to revisit."Poppy," she asked gently, "is he your real brother?"That was why Nicole never pushed this child away."He's been teaching me how to fight," Poppy said, rubbing her bruised arm and smiling sweetly. "If I don't dodge fast enough, I get hit. Sometimes I fall, too."That was when Nicole realized Poppy had been training every day, for five hours at a time."I can show you," Poppy said eagerly.Before Nicole could answer, Poppy moved into an open space and took a stance.The shy, delicate little girl vani

That morning, Beatrice had listened at the stairwell for a long time.The night before, a girl who lived alone on a lower floor had her door pried open. She was assaulted by several men in turns.They wore masks, so no one knew who they were."You and Hughie need to be careful, too," Beatrice said quietly. "This floor isn't safe anymore."There had been noise the night before. Nicole wondered why Beatrice hadn't noticed. Then, she saw the marks on Beatrice's neck and understood immediately.The two had gone too hard and slept like the dead.With water, power, and gas all gone, there was nothing to pass the time. People exercised. A lot.When disasters kept coming one after another, surviving as an adult was already hard enough. Pregnancy would be a death sentence.Nicole felt awkward. She had no experience with this and didn't know how to bring it up.So she asked indirectly, "Beatrice, don't you have a competition next month?""Yeah." Beatrice sighed. "With this damn weather