Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System novel Chapter 109

They walked around the store until Rayne spotted a few tracks leading toward the back of the store.

"Hey, Julian, look. Whoever it was seems like they might have been injured. I can see wrappers from the bandages along the way," said Rayne, pointing at the ground.

"Good find. Let’s see how far we can follow them," smiled Julian. They followed the tracks to the loading area in the back of the supermarket and toward an apartment building that was still standing adjacent to the store.

When Rayne stepped inside the apartment building, she noticed that it appeared to be in relatively good shape. Even most of the windows were still intact. Rayne marveled at the architect’s skill in designing such a building that still stood straight, even after back-to-back natural disasters.

They walked inside, following the small blood trail on the ground until they reached the second floor.

"The trail ends here," frowned Rayne.

Julian looked around, searching for any additional clues as to where this injured person might have gone, but found none.

"Looks like we’ll be doing this the old-fashioned way. Let’s go door to door," he said, walking toward the first door.

He turned the handle, and surprisingly, the door swung open. "Oh, it’s open. Let’s take a look around," he said and stepped inside.

When Rayne stepped inside, she realized that this building must have been a luxury apartment building. Even though the exterior was made from red brick and had an old-time charm, the interior was spacious and well-decorated.

She walked around and admired the paintings and antiques displayed inside china cabinets and on shelves.

"I’m really surprised that most of these delicate items are still intact. I figured the first earthquake would have destroyed them all," she commented as she picked up an antique teacup. _{ƒreewebɳovel.com}

Julian walked over. "You have a good eye. If I’m not mistaken, that’s a Victorian-era teacup and would have been worth a fortune before this disaster."

Rayne’s eyes quickly lit up as she stored the teacup along with the other teapots, vases, and platters on display. She also stored the paintings and various pieces of furniture as they were all in very good shape, hoping to restore them one day.

She explored the rest of the apartment, storing anything she found novel or interesting, but did not find any signs of people living there.

"There’s even some food left in the cabinets. I’m surprised others haven’t moved in yet," said Julian from the kitchen.

Rayne had just finished storing a vintage jewelry box filled with pearls and precious gems and walked out of the bedroom.

"Yeah, everything seems very intact, nothing missing. I wonder where everyone is," she said, looking at the shelves full of food.

After they finished looking through that apartment, they checked the doors of other apartments, knocking on the ones that were locked in case people were inside.

After checking the whole second floor and finding no one, they went up to the third floor to continue searching.

Most of the doors were locked, but on the second-to-last door on that floor, someone answered after Rayne knocked.

A young man, between 18 and 20 years old, opened the door, cracking it open warily. "How can I help you?" he asked quietly.

"Oh! Hello! We’re looking for someone. Would you be able to help us?" asked Rayne, smiling.