The Spare's Second Chance in Apocalypse-Chapter 160: Ch : Volunteering Help- Part 4

The sun had long since set by the time Selene made her way back to the living quarters. The exhaustion from the day weighed heavily on her body, but her mind refused to rest.

The situation was worse than she had expected.

As she stepped inside, she found everyone waiting for her.

Zara was sitting on the couch with her legs crossed, absently playing with a small knife in her hands.

Orion was slumped against the wall, his eyes half-lidded with fatigue. Ethan stood with his arms crossed, looking visibly irritated as he turned toward her.

The moment she shut the door behind her, Zara spoke up.

"So? What did you find out?"

Selene let out a slow breath before answering.

"It’s bad. Worse than I thought. There’s a clear divide between the awakened and the non-awakened workers. And I don’t just mean in strength or ability. There’s outright discrimination happening."

She admitted.

Zara frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Selene moved toward the nearest chair and collapsed onto it, stretching her sore muscles before continuing.

"They make the non-awakened wait until the awakened have eaten before they’re allowed to get food. And by the time they do, there’s barely anything left," she explained.

Orion’s brows furrowed.

"That’s... ridiculous. We made sure there was enough food for everyone."

"Yeah, well, it doesn’t matter if people are hoarding it all before others get a chance to eat."

Selene muttered, rubbing her temple,

Zara’s expression darkened.

"So what now?"

"I need a few more days undercover. This isn’t just about food. I think there’s a whole system in place that favors the awakened. And if I’m right, then we have a serious problem on our hands."

Selene said firmly.

Before Zara could respond, Ethan scoffed.

"Right. And while you’re busy playing detective, you were completely out of it today."

He said, his voice laced with irritation.

Selene looked up at him, raising a brow.

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

"You were distracted the whole day. I don’t care if you’re trying to fix this discrimination problem—you’re running yourself into the ground, Selene. You barely slept last night, and today you looked like you were about to collapse at any second."

Ethan snapped.

Selene exhaled sharply, feeling her patience wear thin.

"There are more important things to worry about than my physical health right now."

Ethan’s jaw clenched.

"And what happens when you push yourself too far and collapse in the middle of all this?"

Before the conversation could spiral into an argument, Selene turned to Orion.

"Did anything happen with the barrier?"

She asked, changing the subject.

Orion sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"No one tried to tamper with it. But I did catch a few people trying to get into restricted areas."

Selene tensed.

"Who?"

"Workers. They acted like they were lost, but I didn’t buy it. I had them escorted out before they could do anything suspicious."

Orion answered.

Selene studied Orion’s exhausted expression. He looked like he’d been running around all day, making sure nothing went wrong.

Her fingers tapped lightly against the armrest of her chair.

"We can’t keep dumping all of this on you...or Ethan, for that matter. We need to start pulling our own weight."

She told him.

Ethan sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Then I’ll start looking for more... specialized helpers."

Selene knew what he meant. People with specific skills to help maintain order, manage security, and ensure that these issues were handled properly. It was something they should have done earlier.

Ethan turned back to her.

"And what about you?"

Selene straightened.

"I’m still going undercover. I’m not done yet. There’s more I need to see before we make any decisions."

She said without hesitation.

There was a brief silence before Zara spoke again.

"Just... be careful. I have a bad feeling about this."

She muttered.

Selene sighed but gave a small nod.

"Yeah. Me too."

She said.

______

The next day, Selene returned to the volunteer work, blending into the crowd as she had before.

However, the moment she stepped onto the site, she immediately noticed that something was off.

The usual chatter and background noise were muted, replaced by a heavy tension that clung to the air like a storm about to break.

People spoke in hushed voices, their movements stiff and uneasy.

Frowning, Selene approached a group of workers standing in a small circle, their expressions wary.

"What’s going on?"

She asked, keeping her voice casual.

One of the workers—a middle-aged man with weary eyes—glanced around before leaning closer.

"The awakeners are pissed today."

He muttered.

Selene raised a brow.

"Why?"

The man sighed.

"There’s an inspection happening later, and because of it, they’re being forced to share food with everyone—including the non-awakened."

For a moment, Selene thought she had misheard him.

"And that’s a bad thing? Doesn’t that mean things might start changing?"

She asked, lowering her voice.

Her words made the people around her tense. Another worker, a younger woman, quickly shook her head.

"No, it’s not a good thing. Because once the inspection is over, the awakened will take their anger out on us."

She whispered urgently.

Selene felt her stomach tighten.

"They’ll make sure to do it in a way that no one will see. Nothing obvious—no outright violence. Just... making life worse for us in ways no one can complain about."

The woman continued.

Selene clenched her fists.

Before she could press further, movement caught her eye.

A group of awakeners strode past them, their heavy boots crunching against the dirt. Their expressions were cold, their eyes sharp, filled with an unspoken warning.

One of them—a tall man with silver streaks in his dark hair—turned his head slightly, his gaze locking onto Selene’s.

His glare was sharp, filled with contempt, despite Selene having done nothing to provoke him.

The hostility was unmistakable.

Selene stayed still, pretending to look away, but she could feel the weight of their anger pressing against her.

This was only the beginning.