The Lazy Chronicles: Apartment of the Apocalypse-Chapter 85: The Road to Chaos

The morning broke with an unusual stillness around the factory, the kind of quiet that made Mallory instinctively wary. As she stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the compound, she scanned the surroundings. The defenses they had worked so hard to build were holding strong, but something about the atmosphere felt off.

"Good morning, fearless leader," Alex greeted her as he approached with a tray of slightly charred toast. "Don’t worry, this is totally edible. Probably."

"Thanks, Alex," Mallory said, accepting the toast. "Any strange activity last night?"

"Unless you count Greg snoring loud enough to scare off potential attackers, no," Alex replied, grinning.

Mallory smirked, but her unease didn’t fade. "Let’s gather the team. We need to plan today’s next steps."

---

By midmorning, the group was seated in their makeshift command room, a large table covered with maps, notes, and half-eaten snacks. Harper fiddled with one of the newly repaired radios, occasionally muttering curses under her breath when it crackled.

"First order of business," Mallory began, "we need to expand our scouting range. The more we know about the surrounding area, the better prepared we’ll be."

"I volunteer as tribute," Alex said, raising his hand dramatically.

"Absolutely not," Greg said without looking up from the map. "You’ll find a way to set yourself on fire."

"I resent that. I’m a tactical genius," Alex protested.

Harper snorted. "Tactically burning things down, maybe."

Before Alex could respond, Blinky let out a series of chirps, rolling across the table like a living stress ball.

"See?" Alex said, pointing at Blinky. "Even Blinky agrees with me."

Mallory pinched the bridge of her nose. "Focus, everyone. Alex, you’ll stay here and assist Harper with refining the radios. Greg, Ryder, and I will handle the scouting."

"Fine," Alex grumbled, crossing his arms. "But if you find anything cool, I want dibs."

---

The trio set out mid-afternoon, armed and ready. Mallory led the way, Greg scanning their surroundings while Ryder kept their rear secure. The plan was simple: map out potential supply caches and mark any new threats.

Their path took them deeper into the city’s ruins, where nature had begun reclaiming the land. Vines climbed the sides of crumbling buildings, and patches of wildflowers pushed through cracks in the asphalt.

"This place used to be a shopping district," Ryder said, pointing to a faded sign advertising sales from years past. "Crazy to think about how normal life was back then."

"Normal’s overrated," Greg said, though his tone was softer than usual.

Mallory stopped suddenly, raising a hand. "Do you hear that?"

They froze, straining to catch the faint sound of voices.

"Survivors?" Ryder asked, his grip tightening on his weapon.

"Possibly," Mallory said. "Let’s move carefully."

---

They followed the voices to an old theater, its marquee barely clinging to the facade. Inside, they found a small group of survivors arguing heatedly.

"We can’t stay here! It’s too dangerous!" one man shouted.

"And go where?" a woman countered. "Out there, we’ll die for sure."

Mallory stepped forward cautiously. "Excuse me," she said, making her presence known.

The group immediately turned, their weapons raised.

"We’re not here to fight," Mallory said, keeping her hands visible. "We’re just scouting the area."

One of the survivors, an older man with a weary expression, lowered his weapon first. "What do you want?"

"To help, if we can," Mallory said. "We’ve set up a safe zone nearby. If you’re willing to join us, we can offer shelter and resources."

The group exchanged hesitant glances.

"You expect us to trust you?" the woman asked, suspicion evident in her tone.

"No," Mallory admitted. "But you’re running out of options, and so are we. We’re stronger together."

After a tense silence, the older man nodded. "Alright. We’ll come with you."

---

Bringing the new group back to the factory was no easy task. The journey was fraught with obstacles: crumbling roads, lurking Shadows, and one particularly aggressive flock of mutated birds that seemed to take offense to their presence.

"Why do they hate us?" Ryder yelled as he swatted at a bird with the butt of his rifle.

"Maybe they don’t like your cologne!" Greg shouted back, firing a warning shot that scattered the flock.

When they finally reached the factory, Alex greeted them with his usual flair.

"Welcome to Casa de Chaos!" he announced, arms wide.

The newcomers looked skeptical, but Harper quickly took over, offering them water and directing them to the living quarters.

---

That evening, the factory buzzed with activity as everyone worked to integrate the new arrivals. The older man, whose name was Samuel, turned out to have valuable experience as a mechanic.

"Your defenses are decent," he told Mallory as he examined the perimeter, "but they could use some reinforcement."

Mallory nodded. "We’d appreciate any advice you can offer." freёnovelkiss-com

As Samuel got to work, Alex took it upon himself to "bond" with the other newcomers, which mostly involved him showing off his collection of oddities.

"And this," he said, holding up a jar filled with what looked like pickled eyeballs, "is the Eye of Insight. Found it in a bunker. Cool, right?"

The woman from the group, whose name was Eliza, raised an eyebrow. "You’re a strange man."

"Strange and charming," Alex said with a wink.

Eliza rolled her eyes. "Sure, let’s go with that."

---

Later that night, as the group gathered for a shared meal, Alex decided it was the perfect time for some levity.

"Alright, everyone," he said, standing on a chair. "It’s time for the first-ever Factory Follies Talent Show!"

Groans filled the room, but Alex ignored them.

"Come on! We need to lighten the mood. Who’s with me?"

To everyone’s surprise, Blinky slithered onto the table and began doing what could only be described as a wiggly dance.

The room erupted in laughter, and even Mallory found herself chuckling.

"Fine," she said. "But if this goes badly, it’s on you, Alex."

As the talent show unfolded, the night was filled with laughter and camaraderie. Ryder recited bad poetry, Greg reluctantly played a surprisingly heartfelt tune on a salvaged guitar, and Harper did an impression of Alex that left everyone in stitches.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢