All Chapters of The Apocalypse Survival Manual: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

After getting a kiss from his human, Cola got so excited that he spun in circles, looking as if he might pee any second.Not wanting to be left out, Poppy clung to Nicole's arm. "Nicole, it's really scary out there. Water everywhere, houses all flooded… But I wasn't scared!""Yeah, you did great."Nicole handed each of them a piece of candy as a reward, then went downstairs to help carry the firewood.The water tank was huge. The three men worked together to haul it up and set it on the roof.After putting away the motorboat and inflatable raft, Beatrice unzipped her backpack and pulled out a plastic bag.Inside was a snake and two wild rabbits."We went pretty far out," she said. "There's a hillside neighborhood with a bunch of houses, mostly flooded now. The water tank was Zeph's idea. We were gonna head back after grabbing it, but then Cola ran up the hill."Worried something might happen, they chased after Cola and found him locked in a fight with a snake. Zeph reacted fast

Everyone looked worn out except Zeph. Poppy still had tears clinging to her lashes, her face pale, as if she had just seen something terrible.No one spoke. The three men moved in sync, hauling the water tank.Nicole put away the boat and picked up a bundle of firewood, heading upstairs. Beatrice walked ahead of her, stumbling as if she might fall.Nicole's hands were full, so she leaned in and steadied Beatrice with her shoulder.They kept climbing. Something about Beatrice's steps was off. She was favoring one leg. Nicole even caught the faint smell of blood.Did something happen out there?There were eyes everywhere in the building. Now wasn't the time to show weakness. The moment people sensed the 18th floor slipping, they would swarm like starving dogs.They made it back up.Beatrice dropped the firewood in the hallway, her face tight with pain.Nicole helped her inside. "What happened?"There was a wound on Beatrice's calf. Blood had soaked through the bandage.It wasn

Both sides stayed on guard, worried about getting double-crossed. Out on the open floodwater, there was nowhere to hide, which made it the safest place to trade.Two hundred and two pounds of wild boar meat got them good rice in equal weight. They agreed to meet again at 7 p.m. that night for another trade.The three of them brought the rice back. Nicole had already packed everything they would need: a frying pan, salt, seasonings, and supplies to stay overnight.Worried about Beatrice holding the fort alone, Nicole had Hughie stay behind with her.As they came downstairs, Oliver was already waiting at the stairwell, a friendly smile on his face."Heading out again?" he said. "Looks like a lot of work. Why not let us help? We could haul everything back in one trip."They had followed earlier with a few rafts and still lost them.They went out every day, but came back with less and less. The team was getting frustrated, and Oliver kept getting compared to Nicole's group."It's j

It took two days, but all seven water tanks were finally installed.Hughie and Jeremy got three, while Nicole and Zeph each took two. Turn the faucet, and water came right out.Nicole still used water from her storage space, but she made a show of using the tanks every day.Before they knew it, the flooding had lasted two months. The second batch of hydroponic vegetables had already been planted. Snowy looked like she was pregnant again, and the first litter of rabbits had grown to over a pound each.Beatrice couldn't sit still. As soon as her injury improved, she started heading out again.Nicole, on the other hand, got lazier by the day. She turned down every outing and fully settled into staying in.Even Zeph, who used to run nonstop, slowed down. Aside from daily dog training, he spent about two hours sparring with Nicole, then moved on to cooking.He was excellent at almost everything. Cooking just wasn't one of them. With Nicole guiding him, his food improved, but "good"

In the end, with the dog jumping in to help, Nicole won.It wasn't exactly fair.Still, Zeph didn't get upset about being betrayed by the dog he trained. If anything, he just reached out and rubbed Cola's head. "Good. If anyone ever messes with her, you protect her."Cola had gone all out just now. Nicole frowned slightly. "Did it bite you?""No." Zeph glanced at the dog with approval. "Dogs can tell right from wrong better than people. Cola knows his limits."Nicole nodded. That made sense.Dogs could pick up on things people couldn't, such as the way someone felt, the intent behind their actions.Zeph didn't carry any real hostility, so Cola hadn't gone for him.Days passed.Nicole's progress was obvious.Beatrice heard she had been sparring with Zeph and pushed herself harder, too, dragging Jeremy and Hughie into daily training. You could hear them yelling all the time in their apartment.After taking enough hits, Jeremy toughened up, while Hughie's slim waist was long