Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Apocalypse Survival Manual: Kabanata 421 - Kabanata 430

Nicole and Zeph packed up and moved farther from the fissure.Aftershocks were still a risk, so going back wasn't an option. They would spend the night out here.They found a spot a little over 100 yards from both the crack and the factory, clear of unstable structures, open enough to set up camp safely.Nicole pulled a compressed tent from her pack. With four of them, she had picked a larger model, one with two sleeping areas and a shared space in the middle so it wouldn't feel cramped.Zeph called Poppy over and walked her through setting up a tent in the field.Nicole headed to slightly higher ground and lifted her binoculars toward the city.The skyline was gone. Under the hard sun, dust hung in the air. The observation tower that once rose more than 3,000 feet high, the landmark that overlooked all of Westbridge, was gone.It vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.Ruins stretched as far as she could see. What had been a working city was now barely recognizab

Up close, Nicole and Zeph saw a boy, maybe ten, struggling to shift a section of collapsed wall. A woman lay pinned beneath it. The blood on her had dried, her body already stiff.At his age, he knew what that meant. He kept trying anyway, pushing at the broken slab with everything he had. He was skin and bones, too weak for the weight. His hands were scraped raw, but the wall didn't move.Zeph stepped in and helped lift the debris aside.As soon as it was clear, the boy grabbed at his mother, shaking her, trying to wake her. The girl rushed over, her voice already hoarse from crying.They called to her again and again, but she didn't move.Poppy's eyes filled. She tightened her grip on Zeph's hand.Nicole pulled the girl closer. "Do you have anyone else?"The girl shook her head. "My grandparents and my dad are gone."Nicole took out a bottle of water and handed it to her. The girl drank fast, gulping it down. "Thank you."She stopped halfway and passed the bottle to her brot

Seeing Nicole didn't answer right away, Alex added, "The rescue team is strictly voluntary. No one's forcing anyone."Nicole considered it. "At 140 degrees, even with protection, most people won't last more than a couple of hours in direct sun. How are you planning to run this?""We keep it voluntary, and we keep it safe," Alex said. "We'll bring shade canopies. People rest when they're tired. No pushing past limits just to save someone."He had already thought it through. "Anyone we pull out gets sent to the city's temporary shelters."Nicole hadn't expected such a rational response. He wanted to help, but not at the expense of everyone's safety."If people want to join, one person per household is enough. I wouldn't recommend sending more than that. We still need people here to keep watch."Then, he mentioned the well. It had collapsed.It was a good well, dug by an experienced well-digger. The damage wasn't catastrophic, but with aftershocks still possible, no one was willing

The movement was light, and the alarm didn't trigger.Nicole held still and listened. The footsteps sounded familiar.A moment later, Zeph came in with Cola. Both of them were covered in dust, and the smell of sweat clung to him."How'd it go?" Nicole handed him water to rinse off. "Find anyone?""Yeah. We pulled out more than ten." Zeph stripped off his dirt-streaked shirt, revealing the hard lines of his chest. "Alex set it up well. We've got mandatory breaks every hour."He nodded toward Cola. "He did most of the work. We only moved in when he picked up signs of someone alive. Otherwise, we'd have wasted time and energy."Nicole had already checked Cola the second he came in. He looked fine. The vest wasn't damaged, and his paws were intact.Zeph smiled. "He's smarter than he looks. Just does the search. Nothing extra."Nicole gave him a light smack. "Are you trying to say that he takes after us?""No. I'm saying he knows his job."She shot him a look. "You're getting sm

Sven might be sharp in business, but he had his own code, and he hadn't forgotten that Nicole had once saved his life. "Water's the hardest thing to come by right now. If you donate it under your own name, you could earn a lot of credits."Nicole smiled. "That's not really my style. I don't put my name on things like that."Sven, who preferred the exact opposite, went quiet.She let it sit for a beat, then added, "Relax, I'm kidding. If you want credits, we'll figure something else out. I just don't want trouble coming from this."She didn't circle around it. "If you need it, I'll provide the water. If you want to return the favor, keep an eye out for radiation suits.""Radiation suits?" Sven blinked, then looked at her more carefully. "We go way back. Did you hear something? Give me a heads-up so I can prepare, too."The more Sven thought about it, the more it fit. Nicole wasn't the type to take losses, but the things she had been stocking always felt a little off."You're re