Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System-Chapter 196: Friend or Foe?

Mila walked alongside her husband, nervous about the kind of people they were about to encounter.

She said multiple prayers in her head as they entered the parking lot of the motel.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Brandon felt his wife’s nervousness and gently squeezed her hand. "It will be okay," he smiled.

Mila nodded back, feeling slightly better.

"I hope they’re not all sleeping. It would be bad to disturb their rest and aggravate them," she said, wondering which door they should knock on.

Brandon looked around. "Well, room number 1 is as good as any. Let’s start there."

They quietly walked over to the door. Brandon lifted his hand and knocked, holding his breath.

Inside the room, Rayne had just gotten changed into her pajamas when she heard a soft knock on the door.

Thinking it was Ella or Noah, she quickly put on her robe and walked over to open the door. But when she opened it, she was greeted by an unfamiliar man and woman.

They were roughly dressed in layers and looked very nervous. Rayne could see that they had been skipping meals for a long time by their sunken faces.

"Hello. How may I help you?" asked Rayne curiously.

Mila nudged Brandon’s arm, signaling him to do the talking.

Brandon cleared his throat. "Oh, um... Hello. We were passing by and were hoping we could spend the night here. We promise to be out first thing in the morning," he said nervously.

Rayne looked at them, feeling like they were decent people. "Hold on, let me ask the leader," she said, wanting to get Julian’s opinion before agreeing to anything.

After seeing them nod, she walked back inside her room and over to the bathroom.

"Julian, there are people at the door. They’re asking to stay the night. I want to let them, but I want your opinion first," she said through the door.

Inside the bathroom, Julian was drying himself off with a towel after taking a quick rinse in the shower. He had used a bucket of hot water that Rayne prepared for him instead of the freezing cold water from the pipes.

As soon as Rayne finished speaking, Julian came out of the bathroom fully dressed.

"Visitors, you say? Let’s meet them," he said, walking over to the door.

Rayne walked with him to the door to speak with the couple.

Julian looked at them closely and nodded in greeting. "So, what brings you here?" he asked cautiously. He had to be very careful that these weren’t spies sent by Damien to locate him.

Brandon greeted Julian. "We’ve come from a small town a few miles west of here. We lived there for the last few months, but recently all of our food and supplies ran out, so we’re on our way to the government base."

Mila felt relieved seeing Rayne and Julian. She felt that these people were cautious but understanding, and she ruled out the possibility that they were bandits.

Julian continued to ask specific questions until the topic of the government base came up.

"You guys said you’re on your way to the government base?" asked Rayne.

Mila nodded. "Yes, it’s our only option. The place we stayed at no longer has any supplies left. We even had to break down all of our furniture to keep the fires going."

Rayne and Julian listened to their story while paying attention to their body language. Julian nodded to Rayne, signaling that they could be trusted.

"So how many of you are there?" asked Rayne to get an idea of how large a room they needed. The only thing available here was the one room with the broken window or the main lobby/reception area.

"There’s twenty of us," answered Mila, slightly nervous. She knew that even asking for a place for the two of them was a big ask, not to mention twenty of them.

Rayne simply nodded and began to plan how she would set up the lobby area. "No problem. We have some supplies in the lobby area you can use while you stay there. Just give me a few minutes to move things around. Feel free to bring the rest over."

Mila’s face went from shock to elation! She couldn’t believe that they agreed so easily, even offering them supplies!

"Thank you so, so much!" said Brandon. He squeezed his wife’s hand, relaying his happiness through the small gesture.

"We will get everyone gathered and head right over!" said Mila, pulling Brandon back down the stairs.

Rayne smiled. "No problem. Meet me over by that door when you’re ready." She pointed to the door leading to the main lobby.

Brandon and Mila thanked them again and set off to meet up with the rest of the group. Meanwhile, Rayne and Julian made their way to the lobby to prepare a few beds.

"I’m going to stack a few mattresses here so that it seems like they’re extras we prepped beforehand. I’ll also place a few baskets of blankets," said Rayne before getting to work.

She quickly cleared out all of the chairs in the waiting room and made a big stack of twin-size mattresses. She would let them settle everything themselves, so she didn’t bother with the details.

Julian waited by the door, ensuring that nobody entered or saw Rayne using her system.

"They’re entering the parking lot now," he said, letting her know she only had a few minutes to finish.

Rayne quickly set the baskets of blankets and pillows down, then moved on to placing a pellet stove in the corner of the room.

"Okay, just placing one last basket of food and I’ll be finished," she said.

After finishing, she walked over to join Julian at the door.

Mila walked over. "Hi, this is all of us. Thank you again. You’re very kind for doing this." She continued to thank Rayne and Julian at every opportunity.

"Please come inside," said Rayne. "Sorry it’s not organized. This was a small stockpile room. Please feel free to use the mattresses, blankets, and everything else in the room. Over there is a basket of food as well if you need it."

Brandon and Mila walked inside and gasped at the sight. So many high-quality items. "Thank you so much! This is truly so generous."

Julian pointed at the pellet stove in the corner of the room. "It’s not set up, but please use it. The pellets are in the bag right next to it. While the temperatures have gotten warmer, it’s still freezing at night."

Rayne watched as the people entered, looking for anyone who could be suspicious, but ended up spotting Laura, who was being held by David.

"Is everything okay? Are you ill?" she asked, concerned.