Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System novel Chapter 116

The middle-aged man cleared his throat and looked up at Julian and Rayne.

"My name is Michael. I’m a research scientist here," he quickly introduced himself.

"Are you the one who sent the rescue mission to the government base?" asked Rayne.

Michael’s eyes lit up. "Yes! That’s me! Are you the ones the base sent?"

Julian walked over. "Yes, we’re part of the scouting team in charge of finding you. But I’m curious as to why you’re the only one here? The rest of the lab seems deserted."

Michael looked down at the small fire pit he had made inside a metal bucket. "Some of us died during the earthquakes, while others fled. By the time the hurricane came, there were only a few of us left. That’s when they came..."

Julian looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"It was a small group of people. They came quickly and managed to kidnap my remaining colleagues in broad daylight. I was lucky because I decided to dig through the small supply closet, somehow managing to avoid detection," said Michael.

"After that incident, I tried leaving the lab, but I was greeted with a group of lions, so I holed up in here until I managed to get a radio working... which was how I managed to contact the government base."

Julian frowned upon hearing this. He somehow felt that the only person bold enough to kidnap scientists was Damien.

"You wouldn’t happen to be a chemist, would you?" asked Julian.

Michael shook his head. "No, I’m not. I specialize in plant science, but one of the people who was taken was a chemist, a really good one."

Rayne was saddened to hear this news but was even more disturbed by the kidnappings. She couldn’t believe that people would resort to something so inhumane.

"Well, is there anything you need to grab? We should head back soon."

---

At the government base:

Ella woke up and quickly ran to see if her father was back. She walked into the living room only to see her mother sitting on a fold-out chair with dark circles under her eyes.

"He didn’t come back?" asked Ella, doing her best not to worry.

Her mother looked over and quietly shook her head. She hadn’t slept all night and decided to sit in the living room the whole time. With every passing hour, her worry only got worse.

"Mom, give me the car keys. I’m going to look for him after stopping by the job office," said Ella with determination. If the base wasn’t going to look for him, she would go herself.

Her mother didn’t refute and quickly fished the car keys out of her coat pocket. "Here, please be careful, honey," she said quietly. The exhaustion was taking over her, causing her to slowly shut down.

"Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll be back soon. I’ll bring Dad home," said Ella, doing her best to stay positive.