Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System novel Chapter 69

The little girl took her time but eventually walked back to face Rayne, clutching the large chocolate bar in her hands.

"I’m Lily. Thank you for the chocolate," she kept her eyes locked on the chocolate bar in her hands.

Rayne smiled. "You’re welcome. Are you alone, Lily? Where are you living?" Rayne tried to appear as sweet and kind as possible, hoping not to frighten the little girl.

Lily shook her head. "No, I’m not alone. I live with Mommy and Grandpa... oh, and my brother too."

Rayne was happy to hear that at least the little girl wasn’t all alone. "Where are they? Why are you here alone?"

"They’re at home, well, Grandpa’s home. Our home is gone now," she said, looking sad. Before Rayne could ask, she continued, "Mommy’s leg is hurt, and Grandpa has a hard time walking, so I came out looking for food."

Rayne’s hands trembled slightly. She felt her heart break for Lily and her family. "Can you bring me to your mom? Maybe I can help her," she offered.

The little girl’s eyes lit up as she looked up at Rayne. "Really? You can help Mommy? I’ll take you there!" she said excitedly.

Rayne nodded and followed Lily outside. As she walked past Julian, he nodded at her, telling her she could go and that he would be close by in case anything were to happen.

Rayne followed the excited Lily a little further down the street and down into an alley. Thankfully, the building they entered was still mostly intact, with only some windows broken.

Lily led Rayne to a door on the second floor, knocking on it lightly.

"Mommy, it’s me," whispered Lily.

The door quietly opened, revealing a young boy, even younger than Lily. He was also covered in dust and looked on the thinner side.

"Lily! Who’s that?" he asked curiously.

"Lily? What’s going on?" a concerned woman’s voice rang from inside the apartment.

Lily walked in, holding her brother’s small hand. "Mommy, I found this kind lady who gave me a big chocolate! She said she can help you," she called out excitedly.

Rayne stepped into the apartment behind Lily. She noticed that the apartment was in rough shape but still livable. Some of the windows were boarded up to prevent the wind and rain from pouring inside.

There was a middle-aged woman lying on the couch. Her leg had a large glass shard poking out. She looked like she was in a lot of pain but appeared very wary of Rayne.

"Hello, I’m Rayne. I ran into Lily at the corner store just now and heard you might be in need of help," she greeted the woman.

The woman relaxed slightly, seeing that Rayne looked like a kind person. "Hello, please come in. Sorry, but we don’t have anything to offer you," she said calmly.

Rayne walked over and took a better look at her leg. It looked like the shard of glass was embedded very deep.