Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System - Chapter 137

Chapter 137: Cold Snap
Julian kept driving until he found a secluded area right off the road. Turning to Rayne he yawned, “How do you feel about calling it here for the night? We can continue driving tomorrow morning”.

Rayne had long wanted to go to sleep so she quickly agreed.

They locked up the car and went up to the second floor to get some sleep.

Laying down, Rayne felt the surroundings fall into silence. The sounds of wolves howling sounded from the mountains.

A few hours later, she woke up abruptly, feeling a deep chill run through her body. Even Julian’s usually hot body felt cold.

“Julian! Wake up!”, she shook him, waking him up.

As soon as he woke up he realized something was wrong. “Why is it so cold? I’ve never felt this kind of chill before”, he said quickly.

Rayne pulled out a basic thermometer to check the temperature. “Oh my god! It’s -30 degrees C!”, she cried out.

While their country experienced colder winters, it usually stayed around -5 degrees C, so this cold snap was a new record.

Rayne quickly pulled out the clothes made from nanofibers from her system and handed a set to Julian.

“Here, put this on. It will help with regulating body temperature”, she said and quickly changed in front of Julian. The situation was dire so she didn’t have time to be shy.

Julian did the same and looked over to see her blue lips.

“If you hadn’t woken up, I don’t know if we would’ve made it until morning,” said Julian. He could see his breath as he spoke and pulled Rayne over to wrap himself around her.

Rayne sat in his embrace feeling slightly better. She could already feel the positive effects of the nanofiber clothing, bringing feeling back into her hands and feet.

She was scrolling through her system, trying to find a way to heat the room. She pulled out a mini electric space heater and a coal stove.

“Here, can you plug this in behind you? I’ll get this stove lit”, she said handing him the electric space heater.

She pulled out a small metal table that was just large enough to support the coal stove. She set up the exhaust pipe to go out of the small hatch that was in the ceiling so that the fumes could escape.

After insulating the rest of the hatch to prevent the cold air from flowing in she turned her attention to lighting the stove.

She pulled out a box of the best-quality anthracite coal and placed it into the stove. This coal was rated best for its high-temperature output while producing fewer fumes than standard coal.

The small bedroom finally felt a little warmer thanks to both heaters.

“We need to start the engine as quickly as possible. These cold temperatures can prevent the ignition from starting”, said Julian as he quickly got out of bed to head down to the driver’s cabin.

Sure enough, the engine choked a few times as Julian attempted to start it. Thankfully after a few more tries it finally worked and the RV came to life.

He ran back to the bedroom, wanting to escape the bitter cold as quickly as possible.

“Did it start?”, asked Rayne. She felt the cold air rush in as Julian opened the bedroom door to enter.

“Yes, only after a number of tries”, he said as he jumped under the many layers of fluffy blankets.

Rayne shifted over to cuddle with him and felt his icy body. He had only been gone for a few minutes but it felt like he was encased in an iceberg for years.

As they both huddled together in their warm bed fatigue finally washed over them, putting them to sleep once more.

—

Earlier at the government base.

Ella was eating her usual meal of dried biscuits and daydreaming about the meal she ate yesterday at Raynes.

“Mom, I want to stay the night at Rayne’s tonight!”, she announced. She wanted to use her flat iron as well as see if there were any delicious snacks at her friend’s place.

Her mother shook her head smiling. “They only just left earlier today. Are you sure you want to go over there already?”.

“Mom! They have electricity!”, urged Ella. She couldn’t understand why her parents didn’t seem to care about not having electricity.

Reginald walked into the room and saw the two of them chatting, “Hey Ella, I’m going to swing by the market to see what they have in stock, do you want to come with?”.

Ella quickly jumped in excitement, “Yes, I’ll go!”. Her cute antics made her mother burst out in laughter, “You guys go ahead, I’ll stay here and organize the paint supplies”.

Reginald and Ella quickly made their way over to the market and noticed a crowd of people looking at some newly added items with desire.

“Look, is that a coal stove?”, someone pointed through the chain link fence. The rest of the crowd burst out in soft discussion, talking amongst themselves to see if they could afford to buy it.

Reginald also noticed the coal stove and went up to the counter to inquire about its cost.

“The stove is going for 200 points due to it’s high demand. There are only 2 left”, said the shopkeeper.

Reginald felt that 200 was a huge price and fell into deep thought. While he was thinking, Ella was looking through the other items.

“Dad! Look, there are wool sweaters over here too”, she called him over. She recognized the brand of the sweater by the small dove embroidery on the sleeve.

“It’s even a high-end sweater!”, she exclaimed happily.

Reginald walked over to take a closer look and noticed the high-quality material. Nodding he said, “This is a good find, I’ll have to buy your mother one of these”.

Ella looked at him with puppy dog eyes, “What about me?”.

Reginald smiled at his daughter, “Don’t you have your own contribution points? You can buy it yourself”.

Ella pouted, feeling like she wasn’t even his biological daughter! He only had her mother in his heart!

After picking out their items they went over to the counter to purchase them. Ella was happy to find out that they had her exact size in the sweater that she wanted.

“That will be 20 points please”, said the shopkeeper. These sweaters were a hot ticket item today and only a handful were left.

Ella quickly paid and put on her new purchase. “It’s so warm!”, she said to her father, showing off her new item.

Reginald patted her on the head, “Looks great on you”. He then walked over to the counter and purchased the same sweater for him and his wife.

“Is there a wood burning stove for sale? I noticed the coal burning one, but coal can be tricky to get”, asked Reginald.

The shopkeeper shook her head, “Unfortunately the last wood burning stove was sold earlier today, I’m sorry”.

Reginald sighed but wasn’t too disappointed. He wanted to try out the electric space heater he brought back recently.

“You mentioned that you’re going to Rayne’s place today?”, he asked Ella.

“Yep! I want to! Why?”, she asked curiously. She didn’t think he would care if she went.

Reginald thought silently to himself for a minute, he didn’t feel comfortable leaving Ella alone in that apartment over night and he also wanted to test the space heaters…

“I’ll go with you tonight, actually let’s go as a family”, he said, not wanting to leave his precious wife alone.