Chapter 17
The national channel cut all other signals and broadcast the emergency notice on repeat.
[Wait for rescue! Wait for rescue! Wait for rescue!]
Hayley knew this scene all too well.
Back in her previous life, when the apocalypse first hit, the TV stations did the exact same thing.
At first, everyone trusted the announcements completely, thinking the crisis would be solved quickly.
But what they didn’t realize was that this was a catastrophic blow.
The zombie virus couldn’t be contained.
There was nothing anyone could do except lock down everything and kill every infected person, even those with just a scratch.
By the time the authorities reacted, the virus had already spread everywhere. Eventually, full-scale rescue was abandoned, leaving people to fend for themselves.
Later on, no warnings came at all.
Everyone was left to survive-or die-on their own.
All the country’s establishments had crumbled. By the time ordinary people realized what was happening, all their food and supplies were gone.
Nobody was coming to help.
And that was when they finally understood-the real apocalypse had begun.
Everyone had to figure out how to gather supplies for themselves.
Hayley had been lucky in her previous life. She had been at the hospital during the first outbreak, witnessing the mutations firsthand.
She saw how dangerous the virus was, and when she got home with Sue, she immediately made the Reids lock every door and window. No one was allowed out.
That luck let them survive the first wave.
Her neighborhood had screamed for three full days and nights. Any house that opened its door got wiped out.
Later, people started noticing a pattern: stay quiet, keep doors and windows locked, and you could survive temporarily.
While everyone else stayed huddled inside, Hayley went out to gather supplies.
At that point, the zombies weren’t as strong. Most people didn’t even realize what was happening, so
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Chophe
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they were too scared to move.
Hayley had been fully armed, wrapped from head to toe, and moved carefully to the neighborhood grocery store to scavenge supplies.
She made it back safely. However, the Reids didn’t want to open the door at first because they were worried Hayley might be infected.
It was only when Summer barked and drew more zombies toward them that they were convinced to finally let her in.
Once they saw Hayley had returned unharmed, carrying a huge pile of supplies, their attitudes flipped completely-they doted on her and followed her around like she was royalty.
Hayley treated them as her real family. A few scoldings, some soothing words, and she handed out supplies. She even gave them instructions for defending against zombies.
While everyone else was still too scared to act, Hayley took Philip and Bernard out several times to gather more resources for their home.
Other families had already run out of food. When they saw Hayley’s actions, they started copying her.
With that, the apocalypse entered its second stage: scavenging and fighting over supplies.
Soon, the neighborhood stores were emptied.
Throughout all of this, a lot more people died, but Hayley stayed careful and strong. She even fought off several neighbors who tried to take their supplies, protecting the Reids until rescue vehicles finally arrived.
Then came the third stage of the apocalypse: actual rescue.
Hayley learned from the radio that help was on the way, so she led her family to the rendezvous point.
At first, the Reids weren’t eager to go. They felt safe with Hayley around and thought staying home was fine.
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