Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System - Chapter 154

Chapter 154: Brought to Tears
The three of them were frozen in shock for a moment. Fred turned to look at one of the men. “Quickly, go back and get more people out here. Bring some of the carts!”

A few minutes later, the man returned with a whole group of people. Working together, they quickly transported all of the items from the store back to the farmhouse.

Everyone had joyful expressions as they looked at the large amount of food that was quickly piling up in the farmhouse’s food cellar.

After they finished clearing out the entire corner store, Fred led everyone to comb through town to see if there were any more supplies.

“Leader! The home goods store over there has many items!” yelled one of the residents.

Fred quickly made his way over with the rest of the group. As he entered, he could hardly believe it. There were shelves upon shelves of much-needed home goods.

“Hurry! Begin loading the carts to transport these items! Careful not to break anything!” Fred called out.

People quickly got to work, loading carts full of supplies and hauling them back to the farmhouse. From there, they would distribute the goods among themselves. There were more than enough supplies to go around, so everyone looked forward to using the new blankets and other items.

Fred finally made his way to the back of the store where the massive piles of clothes were. He stopped trying to think about where all these items had come from because no matter how much he racked his brain, no logical answer came to mind.

Most of the clothing was geared toward cold weather and was currently much needed. Most of the newcomers only had the clothes on their backs, so these clothes would really benefit them a lot.

Rita walked over and began sorting through the clothing, noticing the children’s clothes. There were a few new children that had come over with the refugees, and her heart broke seeing them dressed in dirty, torn clothing.

Now she would be able to dress them neatly and warmly. The shoes were also a huge hit, especially since they were mostly boots.

Before Fred had the chance to clear out the store, a young man from the community ran up to find him.

“Leader, you won’t believe it. We found generators in the hardware store!” he said, catching his breath.

“What! You’re joking, right?” Fred asked with shaking hands.

The thing that the community needed most right now was generators. They had plenty of fuel stocked up from the few local gas stations, but after their attempt to repair the last generator failed, they had lost hope of having one in the future.

Fred quickly ran over to the hardware store to see if it was true. As soon as he entered, his hands began to shake, and tears welled up in his eyes.

“God! Thank you!” he cried out.

His eyes took in the sight of various equipment, tools, gardening supplies, and generators. All of these items were priceless resources that could change their way of living for the better.

He went over to touch some of the tools to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. When his hand touched the first generator and felt the cold metal, he couldn’t hold it in any longer and broke down crying.

These generators could provide the much-needed electricity to run many of their farming and animal tools and equipment. They could heat the nursery to hatch more chicks, among many other things.

The few others who were in the hardware store with him also cried after seeing Fred’s emotional outburst.

A few minutes later, Fred finally turned to begin organizing the transportation of the goods out of the store.

That night, everyone on the ranch slept peacefully, under new warm blankets and with hope for the future.

—

At the bunker:

Ian and Noah were sitting at the dining room table, eating dinner while discussing the information that Deondre had come back with.

“There’s no doubt about it. Damien’s men were there and managed to catch Ivan and the rest off guard,” said Ian angrily.

Before Deondre set off to scout for information, Ian had remained hopeful that Ivan was still alive.

So when the news came back that they had all been found dead in their initial scouting positions, Ian felt frustrated, sad, and angry.

The members of Alpha Team were like family to him, and knowing that they were all wiped out pained him.

Noah listened to his brother as he presented the findings of the investigation. Although Noah usually handled the REN Corporation side of things for Julian, he had a sharp mind and a unique perspective.

“What bothers me about all of this is that Jess was never found. This really only leaves a few logical explanations for her absence,” he said quietly.

Ian didn’t need him to explain any further, as he understood the underlying message.

“You think Jess betrayed us?” Ian asked.

Noah placed his fork down and looked up at his older brother. “I’m not sure I want to go as far as saying that’s what I think. However, I do believe it’s an idea we need to entertain, as it poses great consequences.”

Ian quietly lowered his head to think for a moment. If Jess truly did betray them, that would mean this bunker was a ticking time bomb. She could easily disclose the whereabouts of the bunker, and they could get swarmed with Damien’s men at any moment.

Ian looked up at Noah with a sharp expression. “We need to start making plans to move out. This place is no longer safe.”

Noah stood up and sighed. “We also need to ensure nothing like this could happen in the future. I’ll send Julian a message to update him on what Deondre discovered, as well as our speculations.”

Ian continued to sit at the dinner table for a while longer.

“For fuck’s sake,” he finally yelled out, smashing his fist down on the table. If Jess truly did betray them, this oversight would be on him to take the blame. As the de facto leader of Alpha Team, Jess was technically his direct subordinate.