Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System - Chapter 108

Chapter 108: Port City
Before Julian could have a chance to flare up in anger, Rayne walked over and smiled.

“Don’t worry about me, ma’am. I have taken hand-to-hand combat, self-defense, and even marksmanship courses. I assure you I can hold my own.”

The woman looked her over again and grunted, “Fine. If you insist, I won’t say anything else. Just don’t whine to me later,” the woman replied.

Rayne walked over and stood beside the fuming Julian. Noticing his fierce expression, she smiled and reached out to hold his hand.

“It’s okay, no need to get angry over something this small. Thank you, though,” she whispered to him.

Julian felt her soft, dainty hand hold his and immediately felt better. He took advantage of the situation and quickly adjusted his hand so that they were now holding hands with their fingers interlocked.

After the last person showed up, the woman turned to the group of five and made an announcement. “Okay, we’re all here. My name is Kia, and I’m the leader for today’s group. We received an SOS from an important scientist, and it’s our job to go and bring him back. The general location is a city about three hours away.”

“Do we know anything about this scientist?” Julian asked.

Kia turned to look at him. “I don’t know anything outside of him being a scientist and a middle-aged man.”

Julian expected this answer and nodded.

Kia led the group to the parking lot to get into one of the few remaining available vans that belonged to the base.

“Before we get in, I want to hear a general background on each of you. I don’t care about how many years of university you did or what bullshit degree you got. Tell me what skills you have that can help you from getting killed,” she stated before letting anyone into the van.

The first man to answer was a tall, burly man. “I’m Tyler, I used to be a small-time wrestler. I’m strong and know how to throw a punch.”

The next man was a shorter man with long black hair. “I’m Kenzo. I used to run a Judo gym with my father. I am also a fast runner.”

Next was Julian. “I’m Julian. I used to work as a bodyguard. I am strong and know how to use various weapons and combat techniques.”

When it was Rayne’s turn, she looked over and smiled. “Hi, I’m Rayne. I—”

“Yeah, pretty girl, you’ve taken self-defense,” interrupted Kia, pointing at the last guy.

Rayne took a step back and sighed inwardly, hoping that Kia would lighten up over the course of the trip. While she had patience, Rayne was worried that Julian would eventually explode and beat Kia up.

The last man was a rather skinny, creepy-looking man. “Heyo. I’m Percy, and I just got out of jail,” he smiled, showing a number of missing teeth. “You could say I have a lot of street smarts and life experience. I’m good at picking locks, stealing shit, and running away… yeah, lots of running away.”

Kia rolled her eyes at him. “Just don’t cause us any trouble, okay, Percy?”

Percy smiled. “I wouldn’t dream of it, ma’am!”

Kia stepped aside and let everyone get into the van, while getting into the driver’s seat herself.

Rayne chose to sit with Julian in the very back, while the others spread out in the middle seats. The van was a decent size, so there was plenty of room for everyone and even room for supplies if they found anything.

They drove for a few hours, realizing that the route would take longer than expected due to the many obstructions along the way. It was already approaching dinnertime, and most of the people took out their small rations of dried biscuits.

Rayne looked over at Julian, opening her backpack to pretend to take out food. She handed him a small bag of beef jerky and a bottle of water and took out a copy of the same for herself.

Percy leaned over, looking at the beef jerky in Rayne’s hands. “Wow, you guys are lucky! I haven’t had beef jerky since I was a young boy.”

Rayne noticed that he was the only one in the vehicle who wasn’t eating and figured he most likely didn’t have anything on him.

She reached into her backpack and pulled out another packet and wordlessly handed it over to Percy. While he boldly admitted to being a criminal, Rayne still felt that giving him a bite to eat wasn’t going to hurt anyone.

“Oh wow, thank you!” he smiled, showing his toothless grin and quickly went to open the packet.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. Everyone just kept to themselves, maintaining the silence.

They finally arrived in a small seaside city that Rayne had once visited in her youth. The proximity to the ocean made it a popular tourist destination in the summers.

“We’re here,” announced Kia as she parked the car.

As Rayne exited the van, she immediately felt the salty air of the ocean. Everyone gathered around the van, waiting for Kia to give out instructions.

“Well, there isn’t much more information I have to give you. We’re looking for a middle-aged man who’s a scientist. That’s all I know. So we’re going to split up into pairs and search the area. Prison boy, you’re with me,” she said.

Rayne quickly went over to stand by Julian, leaving Tyler and Kenzo to pair up. “Okay, we’ll meet here at sunset and continue in the morning. Feel free to loot while you’re out here and shout if you run into trouble,” Kia said, then dragged Percy along with her.

“Well, shall we go check out those buildings over there?” Julian pointed toward a small neighborhood by the coast.

“Mhm, let’s go,” answered Rayne, and they set off.

The first building they entered was a supermarket that was still relatively intact. Rayne assumed that if there were survivors, they would most likely live near a food source like this supermarket.

“Oh wow, why are there so many items still on the shelves? This is the most stocked store I’ve seen so far,” exclaimed Rayne.

“Hmm, it does seem rather unnatural that there are so many things still on the shelves. Even though this is a small port city, there should still be a good number of survivors,” agreed Julian.

They didn’t bother looting anything since Rayne already had everything and in much higher quality. Instead, they looked for signs of life.