Extra's Guide To Surviving The Apocalypse

Chapter 97: Chapter 96: The Wrong Person to Find

The settlement was safer than the road. That was the only reason the Hales stayed. Nobody called it home. They didn’t know the people well enough to trust them, and the settlement’s leaders had made it clear that every family was expected to contribute if they wanted to remain behind the walls.

Henry accepted that without complaint. By the second morning, he was already inspecting one of the damaged buildings with the people responsible for repairs. Benjamin joined the supply team. Veronica stayed close to the family, helping wherever she could while quietly keeping track of Henry’s condition. For the first time in weeks, they had something resembling a routine.

Then Rose saw Iris.

It happened in the central courtyard. Iris had gone to collect water when she noticed the familiar group gathered near the administration building. Rose stood in the middle of them. People listened when she spoke. Some nodded. Others waited for her instructions.

Iris slowed without meaning to. Rose’s eyes found hers almost immediately. For one brief second, neither of them moved. Then Rose turned back to the people around her.

"We’re finished here."

The group began dispersing.

Iris continued toward the water station. She didn’t expect Rose to approach her.

She did.

"You shouldn’t come here alone."

Iris looked at her. "Why?"

Rose’s expression remained pleasant. "People are still talking about what happened before the outbreak."

There it was.

Iris almost laughed. "We’re in the middle of an apocalypse."

"And?"

Rose tilted her head. "People haven’t forgotten."

Iris tightened her grip around the empty container. "What exactly do you want me to do?"

"Nothing."

Rose smiled. "That’s the point."

Iris stared at her.

Rose stepped closer. "You have your family. Stay with them. Don’t involve yourself with my group."

"My group?"

"You know what I mean."

Iris did.

Rose’s voice remained soft enough that anyone watching would have assumed they were having an ordinary conversation. That was what made it worse.

"You don’t trust me."

"I don’t."

At least Rose was honest.

Iris looked past her toward the people waiting nearby. "And they know?"

"They know enough."

Iris’s jaw tightened. She wanted to say something. Instead, she picked up the water container and walked past her.

Rose didn’t stop her.

She didn’t need to.

By that evening, Iris understood exactly how much influence Rose had gained. A woman who had been friendly to Iris that morning suddenly avoided sitting near her during dinner. Two men stopped talking when she approached. Someone else quietly moved a box out of her way without looking at her.

Nobody openly confronted her. They simply kept their distance.

Iris returned to the Hale building before she could hear another whisper.

Benjamin was already there. He looked up from the papers spread across the table.

"You’ve been gone a while."

"I was getting water."

He studied her expression. "Rose?"

Iris didn’t answer.

Benjamin leaned back. "So it was."

She dropped the container beside the wall. "She told me to stay away from her group."

Benjamin’s expression hardened. "She doesn’t own the settlement."

"No."

"But everyone acts like she does."

Iris looked at him.

"She’s useful to them."

"So are we."

"Not in the same way."

Benjamin didn’t argue. He knew she was right. The settlement needed people who could fight. People who could lead. People who could bring in survivors. Rose had already built that reputation. The Hales were newcomers with dwindling resources and a complicated history. It wasn’t difficult to see which side people would choose.

Henry entered the room before Benjamin could say anything else.

"What happened?"

Benjamin glanced toward Iris. "Rose."

Henry’s expression changed slightly.

"Leave it."

Benjamin frowned. "Father..."

"We just got here." Henry placed a hand on the back of a chair. "We don’t know how long this settlement will last. We aren’t going to start a fight with the people keeping it together."

Benjamin looked dissatisfied, but he nodded.

Iris said nothing. She understood Henry’s reasoning. That didn’t make it easier.

The following days passed quickly.

Henry became involved in repairing the settlement’s damaged structures. His experience made him valuable almost immediately, and even people who didn’t know his name began seeking his opinion.

Benjamin found himself working alongside the people responsible for food and supplies. He learned where everything came from, how much was being distributed, and how much was being wasted.

Veronica spent her time helping with families who had young children and elderly survivors. She had always been good at caring for people. Even now, with grief weighing heavily on her, she couldn’t ignore someone who needed help.

Iris, however, remained on the outside.

Whenever she tried to help, someone would eventually find a reason to redirect her. It wasn’t always obvious. Sometimes they simply told her another person had already been assigned. Other times, Rose happened to arrive at exactly the right moment and take over.

Eventually, Iris stopped trying.

She stayed with her family. She trained when she could. She helped organize the things they had left. And she watched.

That was something she had become very good at.

Watching.

One afternoon, Benjamin returned from the supply area with an unusual expression.

"We’re getting less."

Henry looked up. "Less what?"

"Food."

Veronica turned toward him. "Why?"

"More people arrived yesterday."

Benjamin placed a small notebook on the table. "The settlement is taking in more survivors, but the supply runs aren’t bringing in enough to match the increase."

Henry glanced through the notes. "How long?"

"At the current rate?"

Benjamin paused. "Not long."

Veronica’s face tightened. "We just arrived."

"I know."

Benjamin looked toward the window. "That’s why we need to decide whether we’re staying."

Henry closed the notebook.

"We stay for now."

Benjamin nodded.

Iris listened quietly. She remembered this part of the novel. The settlement had always looked stable from Rose’s perspective. But stability was an illusion. The more survivors arrived, the more pressure it placed on everyone.

The difference was that Rose had people willing to follow her.

The Hales had only each other.

And even that was becoming complicated.

A few days later, Rose called for another meeting. This time, Benjamin was invited.

Iris wasn’t.

Benjamin returned after sunset. He looked irritated.

"What happened?"

Iris asked.

"Nothing."

She raised an eyebrow.

He sighed. "Rose wants several families moved to the eastern section of the settlement."

"Why?"

"To make room for new arrivals."

Iris waited.

"And?"

"And our family is one of the families being moved."

Her expression changed. "Where?"

"The old storage buildings."

Henry immediately looked up.

"Those buildings aren’t properly reinforced."

"I know."

Benjamin dropped into a chair. "I told them that."

"What did Rose say?"

"She said the eastern section is temporary."

Veronica’s voice was quiet. "How temporary?"

Benjamin looked at her.

"She didn’t say."

Nobody spoke.

Iris remembered this.

The old storage buildings.

The novel had barely described them. At the time, they had seemed insignificant. Now Iris understood why she remembered them.

They were where the Hales had been separated from the central group.

It had been the beginning of something.

Not the end.

The beginning.

The next morning, the family moved. They carried what little they had left through the settlement while people watched. Iris noticed Rose standing near the administration building.

Their eyes met.

Rose smiled.

Iris didn’t return it.

Their new quarters were smaller and colder than the building they had occupied before.

Henry inspected the walls immediately.

"This place won’t hold against a serious attack."

Benjamin looked around. "Then we’ll reinforce it."

Henry nodded. "We will."

Veronica set their belongings down. For a moment, she simply stood there. Iris watched her. The woman looked exhausted. But she didn’t complain. She only looked at the others and said, "We’ll make it work."

Iris almost smiled.

The words sounded familiar.

Too familiar.

That evening, Benjamin returned from gathering materials with a few other survivors. He stopped when he saw Iris sitting outside.

"You should go inside."

"Why?"

"There’s a meeting."

"For who?"

"Rose’s group."

Iris looked at him. "And you’re going?"

"I have to."

She nodded.

Benjamin hesitated.

Then he said, "Don’t let her get inside your head."

Iris looked away.

"I’m not."

He gave her a long look before leaving.

Iris remained outside. The sun was beginning to disappear beyond the walls. For a moment, the settlement looked peaceful. People were returning to their buildings. Someone was carrying food across the courtyard. A guard changed positions at the gate. Children were being called inside.

It almost looked like the world hadn’t ended.

Then Iris saw Rose walking toward her.

Alone.

Rose stopped a few feet away.

"You’ve been quiet."

Iris looked at her.

"You told me to stay away."

"I did."

"Then why are you here?"

Rose smiled.

"Because I wanted to see something."

"What?"

"How long you’ll keep pretending you don’t understand."

Iris’s eyes narrowed.

"Understand what?"

Rose stepped closer.

"That things are different now."

Iris didn’t answer.

Rose’s voice softened.

"Before the apocalypse, you could hide behind your family."

Her gaze moved toward the building behind Iris.

"Here, that won’t always be enough."

Iris felt something cold settle in her chest.

Rose smiled once more.

Then she walked away.

Iris watched her disappear into the settlement.

She knew that smile.

She had seen it in the novel. It had always appeared before something went wrong.

Iris looked toward the darkening sky.

The memory had changed.

No.

She had changed it.

But Rose was still Rose.

And if there was one thing Iris had learned since returning to this world, it was that changing the story did not mean the people inside it had changed with her.

Some dangers were waiting for her exactly where she had left them.

She just had to be ready this time.

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