Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System - Chapter 174

Chapter 174: Surveying the Land

It took them a little over four hours to arrive at the mountain that Rayne wanted to check out. They drove up as far as they could before the road ended, requiring them to walk the rest of the way.

Rayne looked at the treacherous walk ahead of them and dismissed the idea right away. It was too far up, and even in better weather conditions, they would need to make major adjustments to be able to get people up there safely.

“No, this isn’t going to work,” she said decisively. She was glad they came to check the area out first because this was initially her first-choice location.

Julian turned the car around and slowly made his way down the mountain path. As they drove down, Rayne looked out the window and spotted an interesting formation at the base of the mountain.

There was a large forest at the base of the mountain, but what was interesting was that the mountain came out in a crescent shape, almost circling the forest below.

“Julian! Look! That looks perfect!” Rayne called out, pointing at the window. Julian parked the car and looked down into the valley below.

He noticed the interesting formation as well as the small lake at the center of the forest. “Well, this is certainly a beautiful sight. Let’s see if we can get down there.”

They quickly got back into the car and drove down until they reached the forest. Julian parked the car on the side of the road and hopped out, while Rayne pulled out two snowmobiles from her system.

They drove into the forest, surveying the area as best as they could. When they made it to the lake, Rayne couldn’t help but gasp at how beautiful this area was.

“The biggest downside is that this place won’t have prebuilt electrical lines. We will need to rely on generators and solar power,” Rayne said.

Julian nodded. “True, but most of the other places you were looking at would have this same problem. Plus, look at Fred’s place for example. They were doing okay with just wood-burning stoves and candles.”

Rayne continued to look around, picturing how she would want to set everything up. She walked over to a giant tree and placed her hand on it. “I wonder if I’d be able to store something this tall,” she said while looking up at the top of the tree.

If she were able to store it, clearing out a good area wouldn’t be too difficult.

Julian walked over. “Why don’t you try it?” He wasn’t aware of the toll it could take or how many times she passed out storing large items in the past.

Rayne smiled and placed both hands on the tree trunk in front of her. Right before giving the mental command to store, she looked at Julian and quickly said, “If I pass out, don’t worry. I’ll wake up eventually.”

Before Julian could stop her, she closed her eyes and gave the mental command: store.

Much like she expected, the familiar yet long-forgotten pain came back, consuming her. She did her best to pull through, while Julian was doing his best to convince her to stop.

After hearing that she could pass out, he felt that it wasn’t worth it anymore! He would rather she gave him an axe so that he could chop it down himself.

If he wasn’t worried he could somehow damage her by pulling her away from the tree, he would have. All he could do was stand behind her, holding her in his arms.

He noticed the anguished expression on her face, making him regret suggesting she try storing it. After a few minutes of struggling, the tree vanished in front of him, while Rayne fell into his arms.

“Rayne!” he shouted, holding her up.

No matter how many times he called out to her, she wouldn’t wake up. If she hadn’t warned him about passing out, he would have lost his mind by now.

He lifted her into a princess carry and sat her down on the snowmobile so that she was leaning against him in front.

He carefully drove back through the forest and back to the parked SUV.

He wasn’t sure how long she would be out for, and it was freezing outside, so bringing her back to where he could turn on the car’s heating was his first priority.

He sat in the car with her for a few hours, constantly checking her pulse. These few hours were the most nerve-racking and stressful moments of his entire life.

Rayne finally woke up as it got dark, feeling like she was being cooked alive in an oven.

“Huh? Why is it so hot?” she asked, opening her eyes.

“Sweetheart! You’re finally awake!” Julian’s trembling voice called out. He pulled her over, hugging her as best he could inside of the car.

“Julian, I’m sweating. What happened?” she asked groggily. She felt sweaty and gross all over and didn’t know why.

Julian quickly lowered the heat in the car. He had turned it up to maximum because he couldn’t tell if she was cold or not.

His own anxiety made him feel cold, so he couldn’t tell that the heat in the car was that of a hot day on a tropical island.

“Sorry, I was so worried that you were cold, I ended up turning the heat in the car to the highest setting,” he quickly explained.

Rayne looked out the window and noticed that it was late. She turned to look at Julian, reassuring him that she was okay.

“I apologize for scaring you,” she placed her hand on his lap. “Let me get the RV out so I can shower, and we can rest for the night.”

She walked out of the car with Julian and quickly pulled out another luxury RV. This one was different than the previous one they used when they were in the north; it was slightly smaller in size, but the shower and bedroom were larger.

As soon as the RV appeared, Rayne jumped inside to start it so the water heater could turn on and the interior warm up.

Julian walked inside as well, keeping an eye on Rayne. The residual anxiety from earlier was slowly starting to go away, but he still wanted to ensure that she was truly okay.

It was only after Rayne came out of the shower with rosy cheeks that Julian finally felt like everything was okay.

“Your turn! I made sure to save some hot water for you this time,” she joked.

Julian pulled her into his arms as she got close, kissing her on the lips. The kiss conveyed his emotions, the love he had for her along with the fear he experienced after she passed out.

“I’m right here, babe,” Rayne whispered. She hugged him back, comforting him.

They stood like that for a few minutes until Rayne finally let go. “Go take a shower. I left you a change of clothes in the bathroom along with a fresh towel. The sooner you shower, the sooner we can cuddle in bed.”

Her words were very motivating, and Julian quickly left to take a shower. While waiting for him, Rayne made the bed and turned on the small space heater in the bedroom.

After Julian finished showering, he quickly made his way over to the bedroom and lay down beside Rayne.

They spent the evening cuddling and discussing the forest area as a potential future base location.