First Class Through the Apocalypse

Chapter 008

Caleb Mercer swung the rusty iron axe with devastating force, the heavy metal blade biting deeply into the thick trunk of the towering tree. Thanks to the physical enhancement serum he had consumed earlier, a seemingly inexhaustible reservoir of explosive energy coursed through his veins, allowing him to chop at an unnatural, blistering pace.

With less than a minute remaining on his mental clock, the massive tree finally groaned and crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Caleb waved his hand dismissively, instantly storing the one hundred units of wood into his system storage. He let out a breath of relief, thankful that the timber broke down automatically, as he definitely would not have had the time to process it manually. With his task complete, he spun on his heels and sprinted madly toward the waiting train.

Back in the carriages, the female survivors were huddled together in a state of growing panic. Their hushed, anxious whispers filled the tense air.

One of the girls wrung her hands and muttered, "Why have Ms. Hale and the others not returned yet? The train is going to depart at any second."

Another girl nodded frantically. "You do not think they ran into some kind of terrible accident out there, do you?"

A taller girl immediately shot her a fierce glare. "That is impossible, so stop jinxing them. Caleb is the conductor, which means he will definitely bring Ms. Hale and Sophie back safely."

Despite the reassurances, the collective anxiety only continued to mount until someone suddenly pointed toward the distance. A girl shouted in sheer relief, alerting everyone that Sylvia Hale and Sophie were sprinting toward the carriages.

Hearing the commotion, the rest of the girls rushed toward the open doorway to wave them in. They screamed for their teacher to hurry up before the doors sealed shut.

Less than a dozen seconds later, Sylvia and Sophie scrambled aboard the train, immediately bending over and gasping for air. Their faces were flushed a deep crimson, clearly exhausted from the frantic, desperate sprint. Jenna Cole, one of the more empathetic girls in the group, quickly stepped forward to help wipe the sweat from their foreheads.

Jenna looked past the two women with a deeply confused expression and asked, "Ms. Hale, why are you two the only ones who came back? Where is Caleb?"

The question acted like a splash of cold water, instantly snapping the rest of the girls back to reality. A chorus of panicked voices erupted as they realized the conductor was completely missing from the group.

Stella Lane, a petite but exceptionally well-endowed girl, looked as if she were on the verge of sobbing. "Did he run into danger out there? If something happened to him, does that mean the rest of us are completely doomed?"

Her fears were entirely justified, considering the entire train was bound exclusively to Caleb. If he did not make it back, they would have absolutely no way to survive once the novice protection period ended in three days. Without a conductor to authorize train upgrades, these fragile metal walls would offer zero protection against the horrors of the survival game, let alone the impending deep-freeze apocalypse scheduled to hit in exactly one month.

Sylvia finally caught her breath and hurriedly raised her hands to calm the escalating panic. "Everyone needs to stop panicking. Caleb is right behind us, and he will catch up in just a moment."

The oppressive, terrifying atmosphere inside the carriage lifted almost instantly upon hearing those words. As long as they knew Caleb was safe, the heavy weight pressing down on their chests vanished.

A moment later, another girl pointed out the open door with a bright, joyous smile. "Look everyone, Caleb is coming!"

The surviving women practically climbed over each other to crowd around the entrance, their desperate cheers echoing out into the wilderness as they urged him to run faster before time ran out.

Far out in the distance, the sprinting Caleb felt his entire body stiffen as he locked eyes with the cheering crowd. He had grown somewhat accustomed to seeing everyone completely naked when they first boarded the train, but after being away for a few hours, the sudden reappearance of so much bare skin made his heart skip a massive beat. He cursed internally, wondering how any sane man was supposed to withstand such an overwhelming visual assault.

Despite his racing thoughts, Caleb did not dare slow his pace.

A mechanical notification chimed in his mind, announcing that the train was preparing to depart. A robotic voice coldly counted down from three to one, and the heavy metal doors began to slide shut.

The girls shrieked in absolute terror as they watched the gap closing, knowing Caleb was still outside. Sylvia screamed his name and threw her weight against the closing doors, desperately trying to pry them apart with her bare hands. However, her limited strength was entirely useless against the unstoppable hydraulic force of the carriages.

Just as the doors were about to seal shut completely, a white blur violently threw itself through the narrow gap.

Caleb collapsed onto the cold metal floor, his chest heaving violently as he gasped for air. It had been far too close for comfort, and he mentally swore to never push his luck to such an extreme limit ever again.

Before he could even process his surroundings, Jenna Cole threw herself onto the floor and pulled his head tightly against her chest. She sobbed uncontrollably, her tears falling onto his hair as she cried out about how terrified she had been and how she thought she would never see him again.

Caleb's vision went completely dark as his face was forcefully buried into the soft, bare flesh of her chest. The other girls were so overwhelmed by relief that they completely failed to notice his muffled struggles or his rapidly reddening face.

By the time Jenna finally pulled back to check on him, she realized Caleb had developed a severe nosebleed. Her face turned as red as a ripe apple, instantly flushing crimson all the way down to her neck. She scrambled to her feet and tried to flee from him, but given the confined space of the train carriage, there was nowhere for her to actually hide. Left with no other options, she awkwardly ducked behind Sylvia and Sophie, who were the only two women currently wearing any clothes.

The rest of the girls lowered their heads in deafening silence. They obviously understood exactly why Caleb was bleeding from his nose, knowing full well that a healthy young man could not possibly handle so much friction and exposure without reacting. However, knowing the cause did not make the situation any less incredibly awkward.

Caleb let out two dry, embarrassed coughs and casually wiped the blood from his nose using his sleeve. He silently thanked his lucky stars that he was at least fully clothed, because if they had seen the physical reaction happening below his waist, he would have died of pure embarrassment. The physical enhancement serum had already sent his internal body heat skyrocketing, and walking into a train full of naked women had pushed him entirely over the edge.

He did not even dare to lift his head, fully aware that aside from Sylvia, Sophie, and himself, every single person in the carriage was completely exposed. He genuinely had no idea where to look without crossing a line.

Without saying a word, Caleb reached into his system storage and pulled out two sets of basic clothing, holding them up toward the crowd.

The girls instinctively wanted to claim the garments, but their deeply ingrained sense of female modesty and politeness held them back. They all remained completely silent, each hoping someone else would speak up first, creating a tense standoff over just two pieces of clothing.

Seeing that no one was going to volunteer, Caleb let out a tired sigh and made the executive decision himself. He gestured toward the two most distracting figures in the room. "Since none of you want to claim them, Stella and Jenna can put these on first."

The former possessed an explosive, hourglass figure that was dangerously intoxicating, while the latter was not far behind in terms of sheer appeal. After giving it some serious thought, Caleb decided it was in his best interest to temporarily seal away his two biggest temptations.