Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System novel Chapter 181

"I heard this place was originally built to be a resort. Maybe we’ll find some nice views around the mountainside," suggested Samantha.

Layla didn’t have any better options, so they followed Samantha’s plan. They had only taken a few steps when they heard some people mention a market.

"Have you heard? New items finally arrived at the market. I quickly bought these two packs of biscuits before they were sold out. Now we can eat for the upcoming week," said a middle-aged man by one of the barrel fires.

His wife smiled happily. "Really? You managed to get two packs this time?" She looked so happy that she could cry.

Layla looked at Samantha with a frown. She couldn’t believe there were people who got excited over a pack of biscuits, but one thing did grab their attention: the market.

"Let’s go check out this market. Maybe we can find a vintage designer bag," said Layla, pulling Samantha toward the main building.

They walked inside the renovated lobby of the resort, looking through the various signs for the different departments.

"Oh, look. They even have a housing department here," Samantha said, pointing to a sign above one of the doors.

Layla rolled her eyes. "I don’t know who would want to live in this run-down place. They can’t even afford to heat the inside of this lobby."

An elderly lady passing by overheard Layla’s comment. "Oh dear, if you’re looking for a place to warm up, the market upstairs has some heating," she smiled warmly at the two young ladies.

Layla looked away in disgust. "Ew, don’t talk to me. I don’t need your germs." She quickly grabbed Samantha’s arm again and dragged her up the stairs where the elderly woman had said the market was.

The elderly lady looked down at herself. Indeed, her clothes were ripped and dirty, making her look unkempt. She used to be a well-respected woman, but now she was nothing more than a simple woman trying to survive.

Upset by the rude remark, she hung her head low and made her way back to meet with the few family members she had left.

Layla couldn’t care less if her words upset the elderly woman; she only wanted to make it upstairs to see this ’market.’

As they entered, a sea of people crowded the room, trying to take advantage of the heat coming from the wood-burning stove as they ’shopped.

’"Ew, why does no one here shower or wash their clothes? So disgusting!" Layla called out, not caring if anyone heard her.

Of course, many people did hear her, but nobody bothered responding. Who here had access to washing machines? Even if they went down to the stream to wash their clothes, they’d freeze to death before anything got clean.

As the two girls made their way to the chain-link fence, Samantha frowned. "How does this place call itself a market? There’s nothing here."

Layla looked over and saw a few half-empty boxes of crackers and canned food. Other than that, most of the shelves were empty.

A young boy looked at the clean and pretty girls. "This is better than it’s been in weeks. Since the cold snap, there have only been empty shelves. Only recently did they start putting a bit of food and warm clothes on the shelves."