Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System

As they made their way to the third floor, Julian immediately heard movement from one of the apartments on the left side of the building.

He held his hand out and signaled to Rayne to keep her eyes on that apartment.

They walked over slowly, arriving in front of the door where all of the sounds were coming from.

Just as Julian knocked on the door, another door opened from the end of the hall.

"Who are you? Why are you here?", an elderly man asked, walking over with a fierce expression.

Rayne leaned over to Julian and whispered, "Why are there so many elderly men out today. We keep running into them".

Julian looked at the old man and felt a strong energy coming from the old man.

"Sir, we're people from a small settlement outside of the city. We're here to ask about what happened here", said Julian.

He could tell that this old man was wise and could tell when someone was lying.

Just as the old man was about to ask them more questions the door Julian knocked on opened beside them.

"Mom! Why did you open the door!", another voice rang from inside.

At the entrance, an older woman with an astonished expression looked at Rayne and Julian.

"I thought it was our neighbor!", she yelled back inside.

Rayne peeked into the apartment and saw another woman about her age walk over. Her brow was tense as she looked at her mother with a complicated expression.

"Hi! I'm Rayne and this is Julian. We were just wondering about what happened here recently. We noticed a lot of unrest in the city", said Rayne, quickly introducing her and Julian.

The older woman smiled, "See Rachael, they're not bad people!"

Rachael looked over and shook her head. She didn't know how they'd been able to survive until now with her mother's lack of danger.

She looked over at Rayne and Julian, glad to see that she wasn't feeling the same sense of danger as when the 'government' people arrived a few days ago.

"What do you want to know? A lot has happened", she said.

Julian turned to face her, "We noticed that all of the unlocked apartments downstairs had signs of hurried packing. Where did everyone leave?"

The old man walked over and shook his head.

"Those people were stupid and believed in the blatant lies that man said", he said. Seeing Rayne's curious expression he recounted the events that happened and how everyone believed the man simply because he was dressed in a suit.

Rayne's eyes widened at the man's retelling. "So everyone simply got up and left with them? Just like that?!"

The elderly man, along with the mother-daughter pair nodded.

"We're the only ones who had enough brain cells to stay behind", the older woman said, boasting.

Rachael looked at her mother and released a deep sigh. How did I end up with such a ditsy mother?

After asking a few more questions about the men, who Rayne and Julian knew were Damien's men, Rayne turned to the three of them, "So what are your plans now? Do you plan to stay here?"

The old man was the first to shake his head, "No, staying here will only mean death. We don't know when those men will be back, and all of the supplies have been taken from the neighboring area."

Racheal agreed with him, "We still haven't come up with a solution, but we can't stay here."

Rayne looked over at Julian and saw him nod.

"If you guys would like, we can take you back to our settlement. Like I said, it's not in the city, but we have resources, even cows!", she offered excitedly.

The elderly man looked at Julian and then at Rayne with a deep look. After a few moments of silence he nodded, "Very well, I will come with you. Thank you for the offer."

Rachael was shocked! The old man who seemed like he didn't even trust them agreed to go with these new people.

The old man saw Rachael's conflicted expression, "I can tell that they are trustworthy. If you trust my judgment, then come with us. If not, then that's your own fate".

He turned to leave back to his apartment to begin packing. Rayne looked at Racheal and her mother, waiting to hear their decision.

"Are you sure you're not here to steal our items?", the mother asked suspiciously.

"Mom!", Rachael called out, embarrassed.

Rayne smiled, "While we understand your concerns, we promise that's not the case. In fact, we don't expect you to bring anything if you don't wish to."

Both women looked at her quietly until Rachael finally agreed. "Fine, we will also join you. Please give us some time to pack our things."

She then invited Rayne and Julian to sit inside their apartment while they packed.

-

Rayne was fanning herself with her hand. The heat up on the third floor was intense, and even with the slight breeze from the open window, she felt her body heat up.

"How did you manage to live up here on the third floor? It's so hot. The difference is noticeable from even the first floor", asked Rayne.

Rachael wiped the sweat from her face with a small hand towel. "Honestly, I'm not sure. We hung black-out curtains to block the sun from coming in during the day and mostly laid around."

Julian looked at the sink in the kitchen, "Do you have running water?"

"We did up until almost a week ago. Thankfully, we filled up many jugs and containers earlier, else we'd probably be dead already", said Rachael.

She walked over to the fridge and opened the door to reveal the many water jugs they had left.

Rayne felt that Rachael was very smart and forward-thinking to come up with the idea of filling containers with water while they still had running water.

-

Ten minutes later the old man walked over to Julian.

"Young man, help me carry some of my things down. While I may still be fit for my age, carrying so much is still difficult for me".

Julian and Rayne stood up and walked over to his apartment to help him carry his things.

As they walked inside they noticed the tidy, minimalistic apartment and a small stack of boxes in the living room.

"Normally, I'd ask that you take your shoes off, but since it's my last day here, don't bother", he laughed.

Rayne looked at the four boxes, "Is this all?", she asked, surprised.

"Yes, this is all that's important to me. I've had no food for over a week now if that's what you're wondering", he replied, looking directly at her.