Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.
Chapter 92: Something on the mountain

Chapter 92: Something on the mountain

"Woah!" Hades drew back.

Nimo blinked.

The other soldiers searched for what to say and discovered that they were speechless. Even the other billionaires were a little surprised. Sheldon was being a little too extreme. No cutting was necessary; money was also a currency being accepted.

"How high are you?" Cory asked Sheldon.

Sheldon blinked. He appeared confused, like he did not understand what he had just said. And yet, he doubled down. "What? He has said that he and his wife don’t like this woman which to me means that she is troublesome. Nobody likes trouble in such times."

"Speaking of the wife...." Kris raised his voice and moved his head from side to side as he tried to peek into the cars. "Where is the beautiful Sunshine? We could use some warmth and golden rays right about now?"

Nimo pretended to retch. "How original." she mumbled. Nimo had heard every Sunshine related joke in the book. It was the same for Sunshine, she had heard them all.

Hades rolled his eyes. "My wife’s warmth is meant for me and only me. And I swear to God, if you ever hit on her when you meet her, I will hit you."

Kris laughed smugly. "What? Are you scared that she will leave you for me? I am taller than you and richer than you. I also..."

"Shut up Kris." Hades jumped in. "And you are taller than me by half an inch. Don’t brag about it like you are some star basketball player."

Kris soured quickly for he had attempted to be a basketball player and failed. In the end, he bought a basketball ball team. All of his players had followed him to the base. He was not letting go of his investments even in the apocalypse.

"We are all richer than him." Sheldon mentioned.

Hades groaned. He really regretted having come over to taunt Jon. "It is the only advantage you have over me, and it is generational wealth."

"My half inch, don’t forget it." Kris straightened his back, standing taller than all the wealthy men there.

Hades smirked. "How do you like the view of the bold spot on Jon’s head?"

Nimo sighed tiredly. So, this was what Sunshine had warned her about: the toddler like feud/friendship between grown men with too much money and a need to best each other.

"For heaven’s sake! Quit with the chitchat and just pay the fee." Commander Grayson bellowed. "We need to move; the drone has caught sight of some movement heading up the mountain. It looks like someone, or something is heading towards one of our bases. I hate to be the bearer of scary news but anything that can move around in acid rain is bound to be extraordinary. The sooner we are all behind closed gates, the better."

Commander Grayson’s words sent them into a panic. The soldiers handed over the supplies. Jon’s men handed a medium sized box of cash to Hades. He did not count the money as he rushed back into the car. Jon was already screaming for his men to close the gates.

The cars sped back to the base with O’Toole shouting into the radio for the gates to be opened because they were not planning to wait outside on arrival. Everyone was tense on the journey back and they only breathed in relief when the gates were closed.

Sunshine was already in the watchtower, watching the footage that the drone had captured. Her eyes were searching for that someone or something that the commander had seen.

There were three possibilities: Superhuman, mutant beast from the mist, mutated animal from the forest.

All three were worrisome and Sunshine activated level two of the wall security measures.

"What are you?" She whispered.

****

Much like Fortress four, other shelters were also grappling with added difficulties caused by the acid rain. The prodigal Quinn’s and the survivors they came to Westbrook with had taken refuge in a large cave. The entrance was always covered with a stone to keep the rain out.

They had been given some wild vegetables, rice and a little water to live off of. The sole reason the Quinn’s and their group were offered shelter was because Damien managed to convince the village chief that he understood the impending catastrophes and how to withstand them. He was using the guidelines Sunshine wrote and also basing off the predictions made by Moon and Pastor Salem.

He also promised that after the acid rain stopped, he would bring supplies, especially food. Damien did not forget to mention that his cousin owned the biggest base on the mountain.

That was how they secured accommodation, but the cold was still punishing them, and they were sleeping on the hard ground. Living in a cave was not comfortable at all.

"The rain does not seem like it’s about to stop any time. Nora leaned into her husband hoping to feel his warmth, but he brushed her off.

Ambrosia covered her twins with another blanket. "I hope that the acid rain does not make it into the cave. We are lucky that it is high off the ground. But if the rain increases, I am afraid that the wind will blow it inside. We are waiting for death at this point"

Aven cursed Hades and Sunshine for the hundredth time, swearing to take his revenge on them. "At least they should have taken in the children after all they are innocent, what shall we do when the food runs out." His gaze roamed all over the hanging meat that had been left to dry, there was also dry carbohydrates like cassava and sweet potatoes.

They also had some a dried fruit. The supplies were very few compared to the number of people in the cave.

"The villagers are selfish. They clearly had more food but only gave use this much." Ambrosia spat out angrily.

"They have the advantage because we were in a rush. Wait for the acid rain to end, we will see who will be in charge of this place then." There was venom in Damien’s voice like he bore a grudge against the villagers.

And he did. He had been expecting them to allow their group into their houses, not throw them into a cave and toss them scraps.

Coughing for she almost chocked on a dried salted fish; Bridgette stared at Damien with eyes that struggled to understood what he meant. The man took the word selfish to a whole new level. "You cannot harm them. These people took mercy upon us and gave us shelter and food. Who is willing to do that much for strangers these days?"

This was why they should have stuck with their family. She regretted being influenced by Damien to abandon Hades and the rest of the Quinns.

"It is survival for the fittest. If we don’t take from them, we will starve and die." Aven pointed out.

Damien released a derisive laugh. "You do not understand the situation that we are in Bridgette, let those of us with the stone hearts plan for our survival. If you don’t have what it takes, just stand aside and do minor chores like cooking and taking care of the children."

He got together with Aven, and they embarked on planning how to turn the village into their own base even if it meant killing all the villagers.