Chapter 47 A Feast Amid the Ruins


    They cleared out everyst zombie in the area. Once the coast was clear, they nted Theresa’s g in the ground, officially iming the territory as hers. To their surprise, a number of vehicles nearby were still in decent shape-some of them even turned out to be heavy-duty delivery trucks.


    Without wasting a second, they patched up the engines and drove the trucks straight back to camp.


    “Theresa! We’ve got supplies!” someone yelled.


    The moment sheid eyes on the mountain of loot spilling out of the back, her face lit up. “Nice work,” she said, praising Kyle without hesitation. She even threw a rare look of approval at the rest of the team. “Everyone’s getting an extra serving of meat tonight!”


    “Hell yeah!”


    “I’m actually about to cry. I never thought I’d live to see the day Lady Scrooge grew a heart.”


    “Shut your d*mn mouth,” Theresa snapped, kicking Graham square in the leg. “You’re not eating tonight.”


    “No,e on! You’re not Lady Scrooge-you’re a queen, alright?”


    She gave a smug little snort. “Say it. Call me queen.”


    He paused, torn between pride and hunger. After a moment of painful hesitation, he finally gave in. “My queen.”


    ‘Knew you’d fold. Now, unload the trucks. No food till the job’s done.”


    Graham muttered under his breath, “Long live the queen… May she step on a Lego.”


    Theresa waved Kyle over to help her fetch the meat and vegetables. She had already decided-they’d be having braised pork belly with potatoes tonight. Once Kyle had everything in hand, he instinctively went o check on Lucas.


    By now, Lucas’ wounds had fully healed. His skin looked healthy again, the color had returned to his cheeks, and his breathing was steady. Kyle tried calling his name, but no matter what he did, the man wouldn’t wake.


    ‘There’s no head trauma, and no damage to his spine,” Theresa mentioned. “So, it’s probably not nerve- rted. But I won’t lie to you-there’s still a chance he may never wake up.”


    Kyle’s expression darkened. “Understood, Theresa.”


    He knew she’d already done everything in her power. She wasn’t a trained doctor. When she promised to save Lucas, all she had offered was to keep him alive-nothing more. Whatever happened from here on out, they still owed her.


    Carrying twenty pounds of pork and ten pounds of potatoes, he quietly left the room. Theresa gave Lucas onest nce, then turned and followed.


    As she stepped out, Lucas’ finger gave the slightest twitch.


    Outside, Graham and the others were buzzing like it was Christmas morning. They had all pitched in to unload the four massive delivery trucks.


    In total, there were over two thousand packages. Big ones, small ones-they sorted them all by size, spreading them across the open lot like some kind of apocalyptic yard sale.


    When Kyle came out with the ingredients, everyone rushed over to help. Some washed vegetables, some cleaned the pots, and others set up tables.


    Theresa, meanwhile, made a beeline for the mountain of boxes and started tearing them open. She called Kyle over to help her sort.


    By the time dinner was ready, they had nearly made it through the entire pile. They hadn’t felt this much joy from ripping open blind boxes in years.


    They uncovered over six hundred food items. Most were snacks-chips, cookies, cakes, all kinds of sweets, and dozens of kinds of soft drinks. Just the soda alone filled more than a dozen crates. With a rare sh of generosity, Theresa handed out one bottle to everyone on site.


    Of course, plenty of short-shelf-life foods had already spoiled-cold cuts, microwave meals, vacuum- packed meat. She tossed the bad ones aside without a second thought.


    There were also toiletries, personal care items, bedding, and a handful of… less appropriate goods. But Theresa didn’t discriminate. If something was still good and useful, she kept it.


    They even came across a surprising amount of cat and dog food. She never fed that stuff to Summer and the others-whatever she ate, they ate-but it was still a nice find. She set it aside, just in case.


    The clothing haul wasn’t bad either. Shoes, socks, jackets, and even several brand-new smartphones,ptops, and a fewrge appliances. These were real-deal blind boxes-and the thrill of opening them was unexpectedly addictive.


    Theresa was in an excellent mood by the time dinner rolled around. She sat down and joined the group for the meal.


    “What are you staring at me for?” she said. “My food, my rules.”


    “I thought you’d sneak off again to cook something fancy with Kyle.”


    “I’ll eat however the hell I want. It’s none of your d’mn business.” She grabbed her personal mini crockpot.


    Actually, everyone had one. Thank God she’d cleared out that appliance store at the mall—those little machines were a godsend. Around here, the cook made their own meals, then ate them.


    Theresa was the first to dig in. Shedled a generous helping of glossy pork belly and tender, braised


    potatoes over her steaming white rice. The savory sauce seeped into the grains, and the smell alone was enough to make mouths water all across the yard.