NOVGO.NET Chapter 48 Stranded V
Chapter 48: Chapter 48 Stranded V
One good news was that the water was rushing despite humanity falling, seems like the water hasn’t been cut off completely.
Under the shower, Luna’s hands slowly ran across her body, washing away the dirt that had clung to her skin for what felt like forever. The warm water cascaded over her shoulders before flowing down her chest and lower abdomen, carrying away the grime from the long, exhausting journey.
Her eyes wandered toward the small basket of cosmetics sitting neatly in one corner of the bathroom, causing the corner of her lips to twitch.
Could it be that the owner of this room was a woman?
The room definitely gave off a feminine aesthetic, but something told her that wasn’t the whole story. It could still belong to a man with good taste. Either way, she found herself curious.
Whoever owned this place had survived the beginning of the apocalypse.
That alone was enough to make her want to meet them.
Returning to her shower, Luna finally had the opportunity to think about the one thing that had been bothering her ever since they escaped the death zone.
Her system.
What would her life be without it?
How was she supposed to continue stockpiling supplies now?
She wasn’t even close to being done.
If another military bunker appeared before her, filled with food, medicine, fuel, and every other useful provision, she’d gladly rob the place clean without a second thought.
But without her system...
Without the limitless storage space...
How exactly was she supposed to do that?
The only reason she wasn’t completely devastated was because her limitless bag hadn’t disappeared together with the system.
If it had vanished as well...
She honestly didn’t know what she would’ve done.
Just imagining it sent chills down her spine.
This wasn’t fair.
How could they take away her biggest cheat when she had entered the most dangerous phase of the apocalypse?
Now she couldn’t predict anything.
She couldn’t prepare the way she normally did.
And when someone couldn’t predict what was coming...
There was nothing more terrifying than that.
No...
There had to be a reason.
Maybe the system hadn’t disappeared completely.
Perhaps it had simply gone dormant.
That made far more sense.
Maybe there was a task she needed to complete before it could reactivate.
Yes...
That had to be it.
It was the only explanation that sounded logical.
Still...
What exactly caused it to shut down in the first place?
That question refused to leave her mind.
Her thoughts drifted back to the place they had just arrived at.
She was grateful they hadn’t encountered any monsters after entering the building, but instead of reassuring her, the silence made her even more uneasy.
It was too quiet.
Far too quiet.
After everything they had gone through just to escape the death zone, ending up somewhere this peaceful didn’t feel natural.
Something was wrong.
Her instincts screamed at her not to let her guard down.
If it were only her, she would’ve suggested leaving immediately.
She preferred dangers she could see over silence that hid something unknown.
Unfortunately...
That wasn’t possible.
She had seen the exhaustion written all over the boys’ faces.
Their bodies had reached their limits after continuously using their powers throughout the day.
Speaking of powers...
Why had theirs disappeared too?
Another mystery.
One she fully intended to uncover.
There was no way she had risked her life, traveled all the way into that cursed death zone, and rescued the very people she came for, only for them to lose the abilities that made them so powerful.
She refused to accept that outcome.
Eventually, Luna finished bathing.
Feeling refreshed for the first time in days, she changed into a clean oversized shirt that reached her thighs before putting on a pair of loose long pants and simple slippers.
After drying her hair with a towel, she finally stepped out of the bathroom.
The boys were still awake.
Well...
Almost all of them.
Kai had already fallen asleep with his mouth hanging wide open.
She grimaced.
How gross.
"You ladies really take forever inside the bathroom."
Ethan’s voice came from the couch where he remained seated.
He clearly had no intention of bathing anytime soon.
There was only one couch in the room, and he wasn’t about to risk losing it.
Luna ignored his complaint as she walked toward the mirror, opening one of the cosmetic containers before calmly applying a few products to her face.
"I’m not about to look like a lunatic who escaped from an asylum just because the world is ending."
She shot him a sideways glance.
"And aren’t you going to bathe? You smell like a dead rat."
The words struck Ethan so perfectly that he actually swallowed hard.
No comeback.
Not a single one.
After finishing up, Luna brushed through her damp hair before letting out a satisfied sigh.
"Much better."
She walked over to the food she’d arranged earlier.
Picking up a loaf of bread, she removed a slice before opening one of the sardine cans.
As she quietly ate, her attention drifted toward the window.
She carefully observed the outside world, searching for anything she might have overlooked earlier.
Nothing.
Only the same chilling silence greeted her.
The only sounds she could hear were the occasional movements coming from inside the room.
Beyond the building stretched endless dry land that looked more like a lifeless desert than the flooded world they had crossed before reaching this place.
The scenery was haunting.
Bones...
Skulls...
Countless remains were scattered across the ground as though an entire civilization had perished there.
Luna’s eyes slowly widened.
Wait...
Something else caught her attention.
Far in the distance...
A faint glow flickered across the barren land like burning embers.
"Guys..."
Her voice instantly became serious.
"Come over here."
The others looked up.
"Are you all seeing that?"
The urgency in her tone immediately woke Kai from his sleep.
The four men hurried toward the window and pressed closer to the glass.
Adrian narrowed his eyes before looking upward.
Realization dawned on his face.
"It’s a comet."
He pointed toward the sky.
"One already crashed... and I think more are coming."
Luna’s face immediately stiffened.
Her breathing slowed.
The answer hit her like a bolt of lightning.
The comet.
What if that strange energy released from its impact had spread across the planet?
What if it was responsible for disrupting her system...
And the boys’ powers as well?
If that were true...
Then maybe once they moved far enough away from this place...
Everything would return.
Before anyone could continue the discussion—
Footsteps.
A sound echoed through the corridor outside.
Everyone froze.
At first, they sounded completely human.
Slow...
Steady...
Almost natural.
But as they drew closer to the room, the rhythm gradually changed.
Each step became heavier.
Sharper.
Wrong.
The sound no longer resembled human footsteps.
It had transformed into something foreign...
Something unnatural.
Something dangerous.
The footsteps stopped directly outside their door.
The room fell into absolute silence.
Every pair of eyes instinctively turned toward Luna.
Nobody dared breathe too loudly.
One after another, the men quietly reached for their guns.
Without exchanging a single word, they moved around Luna, forming a protective circle while keeping their weapons trained on the entrance.
Outside...
The footsteps resumed.
Slowly.
They passed the room.
Only for them to stop again a few moments later.
It was almost as if whatever was outside had forgotten something...
Or perhaps...
It was deliberately toying with them.
A scratching noise suddenly echoed against the wooden door.
Long...
Slow...
Patient.
Like sharp claws lazily dragging across the surface.
Nobody moved.
Nobody even blinked.
Then—
BOOM!
A violent thud slammed against the door.
The entire room shook.
Another one followed.
BOOM!
The walls trembled violently.
Dust rained down from the ceiling.
Yet the strangest part wasn’t the force behind the attack.
There was no roar.
No growl.
No snarl.
Only those horrifying, deliberate thuds that continued striking the door over and over again, making the entire room quake with every impact.
"Fuck..."
Rowan tightened his grip around his gun.
"What the hell can hit a door that hard?"
His expression darkened.
"Don’t tell me those motherfuckers found us again."
No one answered.
The only thing filling the room now was the relentless pounding from the other side of the door.