Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System-Chapter 262: Aftermath

Jimmy's wife waited behind the bush until she was sure that everyone had left. They sat there for over an hour, listening to complete silence, before she lifted her sleeping daughter into her arms and carried her back to the barn.

Everything was eerily silent. All of the chickens were gone or dead, and there were no movements or chatter from the other residents.

The moment she stepped inside the barn, she smelled a nauseating scent that made her stomach turn.

Blood covered the walls and floors. There were corpses of dead chickens as well as men that she didn't recognize.

Thankfully, her daughter was sleeping soundly in her arms and didn't have to see such a horrifying sight.

She carefully walked through the barn until she saw a familiar figure in the corner.

"Jimmy!" she breathed.

Her chest felt like it was caving in on itself when she saw her husband's cold corpse on the ground. The only thing keeping her from falling to the ground was her daughter, who was in her arms.

Tears began to flow down her cheeks as she did her best to keep her trembling legs from buckling. She wanted to run over to him to see if her eyes were telling her the truth, to scream at the top of her lungs that the man she loved for many years was now gone.

Then the fear began to settle in. She looked around and noticed that beside the corpses nothing else was left. Even the bags of chicken feed were taken away.

"How are we going to survive now?" she whispered in a panic.

Her daughter stirred in her arms, kicking in her maternal instincts.

She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself first, and walked outside back to the stream. Carefully, she laid her daughter down on a small patch of green grass beneath a tree, trying not to wake her up.

The tears continued to flow down her face, leaving streaks along her cheeks. She walked over to the small stream that was almost fully dried up and scooped some water in her hands to drink.

"What am I to do now? Why are things like this? Life was just starting to look better".

Her mind snapped to Liam and his caravan.

"Maybe he will come again? Maybe I can ask him to take us away from here..."

She walked over to the small vegetable patch they had behind the barn and looked at all of the trampled vegetables.

"They didn't even spare this little plot", she whispered as she bent over to try and bury the remaining plants. After saving what she could, she looked up at the sky.

"I need to find a place to stay before she wakes up", she said, looking at her daughter.

She walked over to the small house that was attached to the side of the barn and looked inside. The place was a mess with all the cabinets and drawers open, with broken glass and trash thrown across the floor.

Nothing useful was left, even the blankets and pillows were taken away. She walked over to her bedroom and looked around.

Thankfully, the mattress was left behind, granting them at least a place to sleep. She bent over and began cleaning the floor as much as she could before her daughter woke up.

The whole time, tears continued to flow down her face as she thought about the horrifying scene that was inside the barn, just next door.

-

At the forest base, things were going very well.

The rec center was extremely popular and had many visitors daily. It quickly became the place where everyone went to spend their free time.

Rayne was inside, reading quietly beside Ella. freewēbnoveℓ.com

"I've been trying to convince my mother to do a painting class. I think it would be a lot of fun and give her a sense of purpose", whispered Ella.

"I think that's a great idea. Your mother's paintings were very popular, I remember", replied Rayne softly.

Ella was worried about her mother feeling like she wasn't contributing. She did her best to always help out where she could, but not all of her skills were applicable to their new lifestyle.

Now that the rec center opened, it provided the perfect environment for her to be able to run a small painting class.

"Help me convince her next time you come over", pleaded Ella, "She won't listen to me, but maybe she'll listen to you."

Rayne nodded, "Okay, I'll pitch the idea to her next time I see her. I think it would be fun".

She continued to read until Liam came over and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Can I speak with you outside for a moment?"

Rayne placed her book down and followed him out of the building. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to ask if it would be okay to continue running the caravan. I know things have gone on pause after we moved Fred's settlement down here, but now that things are settled, I want to go back to trading."

Rayne widened her eyes, "You're right! We should continue the trades. I was hoping to go out and find new settlements to trade with but got distracted."

Liam nodded, "It's been a while since I've visited the chicken base. According to my calculations, they should be running low on food and everyday items."

"Let's go find Julian and Noah. How early did you want to leave?" she asked, walking out to the warehouses to find Noah.

Liam followed behind her, "I was thinking tomorrow, if possible".

Rayne nodded, thinking about how to add supplies to his RV, "Okay. I think that should be fine".

They found Julian and Noah inside one of the warehouses, pulling out a solar panel to be installed in the Rec Center.

Rayne explained Liam's request and quickly got the approval of the two men.

"Yes, tomorrow should be fine. I'll go assign to members of Alpha Team to go with you. Just avoid driving through the city, there's been unrest there recently", warned Julian.