From the ruins of destruction, he rises to build an empire of his own. As enemies fall and power grows, his journey transforms loss into dominance. A gripping short drama about ambition, revenge, and rising from ashes.
#ashestoempire #shortdrama #dramashort #englishdrama #revenge #comeback #power #empire #plotwist #shortseries
#ashestoempire #shortdrama #dramashort #englishdrama #revenge #comeback #power #empire #plotwist #shortseries
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Short filmTranscript
00:00When that rusty boning knife sliced open my wrist artery, I didn't even feel pain, just relief.
00:05Year 3 of the sportswear of Apocalypse tense locked in at 149 degrees Fahrenheit every single day.
00:08I was too flashy back then and my whole stash got raided on day one.
00:11Then my husband Blake and his ex Vanessa basically kept me as livestock.
00:14See, I have typo blood and in a world dying of dehydration, my blood was their fancy kombucha.
00:19Blake chubbed the warm liquid straight from my wrist, then slid the other half bowl to Nessa with those soft,
00:24loving eyes.
00:25Nessa, drink up. This is the last of it.
00:28Once you do, we'll have enough strength to get out of here.
00:30I just lay there on the cracked floor, watching these two parasites live their best lives off my blood.
00:34Last time around I was Blake's ride or die wife, sitting on dividends from two publicly traded companies.
00:38Yet somehow in the apocalypse I ranked below a stray dog.
00:40As my consciousness faded, I heard the scorching wind howling outside, like the universe was laughing at what a sucker
00:44I've been.
00:44Then I opened my eyes again, an AC vent hit me and I literally shivered.
00:47And instead of corpses, I was back at that same mahogany negotiating table.
00:51Blake slapped a divorce agreement in front of me, totally checked out.
00:54Ivy, don't push your luck.
00:56The Riverview penthouse goes to me.
00:57That dirt plot goes to you.
00:59Final offer.
01:00Keep it up, and Nessa's gonna lose her patience.
01:02I glanced at my phone.
01:03June 1st, 2026.
01:04Exactly one month before the sun became the Grim Reaper.
01:07I pushed down the rage boiling in my chest and took a good look at his so-called luxury penthouse.
01:10Priciest development in the city.
01:12Full glass curtain walls.
01:13Killer views.
01:14But in the apocalypse, it's just a 360-degree solar oven with zero blind spots.
01:17Anyone inside would be deep jerky within half a day.
01:20And that dirt plot Blake mentioned, an abandoned civil defense bunker way out in the suburban hills.
01:23Sure, nothing grew on top and people swore it was haunted, but underneath is 20 meters of solid underground space.
01:28I took a slow, deep breath.
01:29Pulled out my best.
01:30Completely losing it.
01:31Performance.
01:31Picked up the pen with a trembling hand.
01:33Fine, I'll sign.
01:34And done.
01:34I'm heading to the mountains to grow vegetables.
01:36And I never want to see either of you again.
01:38Lake and Nessa exchanged a look.
01:40Couldn't hide the glee.
01:42As far as they were concerned, I'd finally lost the plot.
01:44Trading a $27.4 million penthouse for a pile of dirt.
01:46The second I signed, Nessa swooped in with that fake sweet smile.
01:49Ivy, don't be mad at Blake.
01:50Sure, the plot's in the middle of nowhere.
01:52But hey, peace and quiet.
01:53Living solo could be really good for you.
01:54The sarcasm was practically dripping off her face.
01:57I didn't even look at her.
01:58Grabbed my face and walked.
01:59Stepped out of the law firm into noon sun.
02:00That felt like a personal attack on my eyeballs.
02:02Not this time.
02:03No more playing dumb.
02:04First order of business.
02:05Not shopping.
02:06Money.
02:07But I couldn't touch my main accounts.
02:08Blake was still watching every transaction.
02:10And that greedy man would've swooped in the second anything moved.
02:14So I drove straight to the biggest luxury resale shop in the city.
02:17My trunk was packed.
02:18Hermes bags, limited edition watches,
02:20and all the jewelry I used to treat like it was irreplaceable.
02:23The owner watched me dump tens of thousands of dollars worth of bags on his counter.
02:26Like I was tossing out trash and just...
02:27Mrs. Donovan, are you...
02:28I cut him off.
02:28Ice cold.
02:29Not a Donovan anymore.
02:30Cash for everything.
02:31No wire transfers.
02:32You can knock off 20%.
02:33But I walk out with the money within the hour.
02:35And you don't breathe a word.
02:37Smart guy.
02:38He flipped the sign and thought to counting.
02:39Two hours later I walked out with two black garbage bags that used to hold cat food.
02:43Now stuffed with $690,000 cash.
02:44Not a fortune.
02:45But for bulk basic supplies.
02:47More than enough.
02:48Skipped going home.
02:50Went straight to a rental place instead.
02:51And picked up a beat up, mud splattered minivan that had seen better decades.
02:54Ditched the heels.
02:55Threw on some $20 work boots and a pair of tough jeans.
02:58Looking at my bare face in the mirror.
03:00I finally felt safe for the first time.
03:01In the hell that's coming.
03:03Beauty is a liability.
03:04Blending in is the only armor that matters.
03:05Next up.
03:06Time to claim my fortress.
03:07That haunted garbage dump everyone rode off.
03:09Three hours of bumping down the dirt road.
03:11And we finally arrived at the base of a barren mountain.
03:14Desolate was an understatement.
03:15Weeds and rocks are everywhere.
03:17Halfway up the slopes at a rusty iron gate.
03:18The bunker entrance.
03:19I shoved open that heavy door.
03:21And got hit with a wave of mold from gas.
03:23Also rat.
03:24Lots of panicked rats.
03:25Inside was pitch black.
03:26Flooded.
03:27Trashed.
03:27With mystery spider webs covering every single corner.
03:29In normal times.
03:30You couldn't pay a homeless guy to sleep here.
03:32But to me.
03:33This was the arc.
03:34I flipped on my flashlight and pushed deeper.
03:36Dagging the whole way.
03:37Built in the 1960s.
03:38Reinforced concrete frame.
03:40Sitting 20 meters underground.
03:42At least 10 degrees cooler than outside.
03:44When the heat wave hits and surface tents spike to 158 degrees Fahrenheit.
03:47This place becomes a natural AC unit.
03:49Current condition though.
03:50Raw.
03:50Ventilation shafts completely blocked.
03:51All wiring dead.
03:52And the well I remembered from last time had zero water.
03:55Just dried up sludge.
03:56Turning this into a safe house met one hard rule.
03:57No contractors.
03:58Lake had connections everywhere.
03:59One piece of heavy machinery rolling into these hills and he'd know by lunch.
04:02I had to do this and style.
04:03One grain of sand at a time.
04:05I made a list.
04:06Clear the sludge.
04:06Reinforce the gate.
04:07Fix ventilation.
04:08Stoppile supplies.
04:09Every single item.
04:10Pure manual labor.
04:10First move.
04:11I drove the car inside.
04:12And shut the gate.
04:13Home for the next few days.
04:14That night I slept across the back seat.
04:16Eating stale bread that could have doubled as drywall.
04:17Then Blake's social media popped up on my phone.
04:19There he was.
04:19Him and Nessa.
04:20Wine glasses raged.
04:21Floor to ceiling windows behind them.
04:24Finally gave the love of my life a real home.
04:25I chewed my bread and laughed.
04:26Cold and quiet.
04:27Enjoy it.
04:27That giant window is gonna be your personal death trap.
04:31So you'll be on your knees.
04:32Begging for shade and a single drop of water.
04:34First thing next morning.
04:36Priority one.
04:37Water.
04:37The apocalypse doesn't kill you with heat.
04:39It kills you with thirst.
04:40Last life I watched people do the unthinkable for.
04:42Half a cup of mud water.
04:43Deep in the bunker sat in the abandoned mechanical well.
04:46I tied a rope around my waist.
04:47Clipped on a headlamp.
04:48And lowered myself down.
04:49Bottom of the well.
04:50Black sludge.
04:51Full stench.
04:52Wrath skeletons.
04:53The smell nearly evicted my last meal on the spot.
04:55No crew.
04:55No shortcuts.
04:56Just me and a tiny bucket doing sad little laps.
04:58Scoop mud.
04:59Climb up.
04:59Dump.
04:59Repeat.
04:59Three straight days.
05:00Humi shovel.
05:01Zero benefits.
05:02Black sludge from head to toe.
05:03Snap nails.
05:04Palms bubbling with blister.
05:05Every roll call felt like my arms were going to broke.
05:07But I couldn't stop.
05:08Because I still remembered what it felt like when your throat turns to dust and your blood
05:11goes thick.
05:12Fourth day.
05:13Just afternoon.
05:13One shovel strike.
05:14Dry and cold liquid exploded straight into my face.
05:17Groundwater.
05:18Muddy as hell.
05:19But alive.
05:20I sat at the bottom watching the water rise past my ankles.
05:23Cold soaking through skin all the way to bone.
05:25I spooked up two hands of groundwater and just lost it laughing.
05:27And then somewhere in the laughing, the crying showed up uninvited.
05:29This well was my ticket.
05:30My whole plan hinged on it.
05:32I climbed out and drove straight to the hardware.
05:34District.
05:35No rest.
05:35Get to every legit store.
05:37Beeline for the sketchy little shops on the city's outskirt.
05:39Needed the best submersible pump available.
05:41Plus bulk activated carbon.
05:42Quartz sand.
05:43And PP cotton filter cartridges.
05:44Spread the purchases.
05:45Across a dozen shops.
05:46To stay invisible.
05:47Pulled each one I was buying for a fish farm.
05:48Out in the sticks.
05:49On top of all that.
05:5050 giant plastic water storage tanks.
05:52The well was great.
05:53But groundwater drops in late stage heat events.
05:55So I needed three years worth stored up.
05:57Starting now.
05:58Water down.
05:58Next up.
05:59Not getting baked a lie.
06:00On the ground safe pool.
06:01But extreme surface heat conducts right down.
06:04Can't insulate the whole hillside.
06:06Way too obvious.
06:07So I went with the diamonds.
06:09Sneak his plan.
06:10Land inside.
06:10Drove the van to every building supply market nearby.
06:13And cleared out three shops of thermal wall.
06:15And full of bubble wrap.
06:16Cheap.
06:17Light.
06:17Takes out the space of a small country.
06:19Light maxed out fast.
06:20So I just kept making trips.
06:21Low space I was a machine.
06:22A very bruised machine.
06:24Horing by day.
06:25Setting foam on walls by night.
06:26No cool.
06:27Build my own scaffolding.
06:285 meter ceiling.
06:29Spell off twice.
06:30Likes were a modern art project of fooses.
06:33Hundreds of tops of industrial pieces.
06:34And so corroded they shed a full layer of skin.
06:36But watching those molding walls vanish on the silver foil.
06:38One sheet at a time.
06:40Was every blister.
06:41It's not just walls.
06:42It's a shield between me and the end of the world.
06:44Outside camouflage mattered even more.
06:46The ventilation shafts were halfway up the slope.
06:47To hide any signs someone lived here.
06:49I transplanted dead grass and scrub brush.
06:52Over every shaft opening.
06:53Then staged a premium garbage pile by the entrance.
06:56Busted furniture.
06:57Clothes that had given up on life.
06:58I need to make every passerby.
07:00Gag and walk faster.
07:02Because when it all hits the fan.
07:03Nobody's playing ice.
07:03Right?
07:04In the middle of all this.
07:05Nessa called.
07:06Ivy.
07:07Heard you've been collecting junk?
07:08Blake and I are worried, obviously.
07:10So we saved you a housewarming invite.
07:12You have to come.
07:14Blake laughed in the background.
07:16Actually don't.
07:17You'll track poverty all over the new floors.
07:19I looked at the tub of wet concrete in my hands.
07:21And kept it short.
07:22Congrats.
07:23Hope you have kids soon.
07:24You won't have long to enjoy it anyway.
07:26Two weeks left.
07:27Infrastructure done.
07:28Time to fill the pantry.
07:30Still had around 138k cash left.
07:32No supermarket runs.
07:33Those flagged the algorithm.
07:34Draw hundreds of miles to farming regions.
07:37I bought it straight from growers.
07:38H rice.
07:39Brown rice.
07:39A husk grain.
07:40Stuff city people won't touch.
07:41Cheap stores forever.
07:42Perfect.
07:43Cash only.
07:43200 tons per pound.
07:44Blend suspension.
07:45Formally larger than complete.
07:46Mond beans.
07:47Soy beans.
07:47Red beans.
07:48Not just food either.
07:49Sprout them when desperate.
07:51And boom.
07:52Vitamins.
07:52Beyond grains.
07:53Salt and sugar.
07:54Non-negotiable.
07:55A full metric ton of coarse salt.
07:56Spread across dozens of small shops.
07:57Extreme heat.
07:58Means constant sweating.
07:59No salt.
08:00Means electrolyte crash.
08:01Means dead.
08:02Meat.
08:02Skipped fresh entirely.
08:04Power hog.
08:05Hard to store.
08:06Went with thousands of canned one-she meat tins.
08:07And the saddest, densest compressed biscuits.
08:09Not optimizing for taste.
08:10Calories only.
08:11Every run was a full body workout.
08:13Did not sign up for.
08:1450 pound rice bags.
08:1520 at a time into the bunker.
08:16Shoulders.
08:17Raw.
08:18Scab.
08:18Raw again.
08:19But watching those empty shelves fill up.
08:20Bag by bag.
08:21Better than every Hermes.
08:23I ever owned.
08:24Laszlo done.
08:25I passed the pharmacy.
08:27Remembered Nessa losing it over a scratch last time.
08:30Then gilting Blake into cutting my flesh so she could heal.
08:32I walked in stone-faced.
08:33And cleared the shelf.
08:34I done.
08:34Antibiotics.
08:35Anti-inflammatories.
08:36Painkillers.
08:36All of it.
08:37Cashier stared.
08:38I didn't blink.
08:39Stalking a construction site.
08:40Walking out.
08:41Lightning scared the sky.
08:42Thunder.
08:43Low and wrong.
08:44Air gone thick and electric.
08:45The opening act had begun.
08:47Three days out.
08:48Weather Bureau slapped a red heat alert on everything.
08:51Experts on TV calling it a temporary El Mino.
08:53Just stay calm.
08:54Only I knew the temperature was never coming back down.
08:57Drove the van to the deepest part of the bunker.
09:00Pulled the battery.
09:01That thing was my backup storage unit now.
09:02On the final lockdown.
09:04Rubber steel plates over every side entrance.
09:06Left only the most hidden main door.
09:08Three layer defense on the main entry.
09:10Layer 1.
09:11The garbage pile out front.
09:12Layer 2.
09:12A door that looks wooden.
09:14Armored with bulletproof steel plate.
09:15Layer 3.
09:16The original half meter thick reinforced blast door that came with the place.
09:19Added a manual mechanical lock.
09:20No power needed.
09:21Brute force proof.
09:22Done.
09:23Checked every ventilation shaft.
09:25That's where the activated carbon earned its keep.
09:27Packed every duct with filter layers against outside toxins and airborne disease.
09:31Finally, fired up the modified diesel generator.
09:33Ran attached on the deep low pump.
09:35Hmm.
09:36Low mechanical growl.
09:37And clean groundwater started flowing into the tanks.
09:40Watch the gauge climb.
09:41Felt my shoulders drop for the first time in weeks.
09:43Powered off my phone.
09:44Pulled the SIM card.
09:45From this moment.
09:46Ivy Caldwell was officially off the grid.
09:48Coiled a pot of noodles.
09:50Two eggs on top.
09:51Ate every bite.
09:52Then, cash dash out on the moisture barrier mat.
09:53Listening to the wind pick up outside.
09:55Tomorrow the sun shows its teeth.
09:57And I'm ready.
09:59June 30th.
10:006 a.m.
10:01Shoe up in the cool morning.
10:02Outdoor temp.
10:02113 degrees Fahrenheit before breakfast.
10:04By noon.
10:05Surface temp hit 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
10:07Asphalt started melting.
10:08Roads turned into slow motion tar pits.
10:10Roadside trees yellowed.
10:11Curled.
10:12Then just caught fire.
10:14Ambulance sirens everywhere.
10:15Until the ambulance tires blew out.
10:1820 meters underground.
10:18I watched it all on my monitors.
10:20Solar cameras.
10:21Mountain peak.
10:22Very sneaky.
10:23The footage looked like someone slapped a red filter on reality itself.
10:27Even down here I felt a faint warmth.
10:30My thermostat said 79.
10:31I was in pajamas.
10:32Biting into a fresh radish I just pulled.
10:35Crisp.
10:35Juicy.
10:36Magnificent.
10:37That crunch.
10:37Priceless in the apocalypse.
10:39I audibly sighed with contentment.
10:40Pulled out the backup phone.
10:41Caught a weak satellite signal.
10:43Social media had fully lost the plot.
10:44Blake's feed was still updating.
10:46Different vibe though.
10:47Yesterday.
10:48Steak and wine.
10:49Today.
10:50Why is this AC so useless?
10:51Someone call the building manager.
10:52Photo attached.
10:52His prize four to ceiling windows.
10:54Now wallpapered in newspaper and bag sheets for shape.
10:56That all glass penthouse was now premium human easy bake oven.
10:59Even with curtains.
11:00Indoor tents had to be pushing 122 degrees Fahrenheit.
11:03I pictured Nessa's surgery enhanced face slowly warping in the heat.
11:05And felt absolutely nothing.
11:07A1.
11:07The main event hadn't even started.
11:09Day 3 of the heat.
11:10City power grid.
11:11Deceased.
11:12Transformers exploding all night.
11:14Honestly a great light show.
11:16No power meant no water pumps.
11:18For anyone living in a high rise.
11:20This was game over.
11:21Blake called 17 times.
11:22I powered up my old number and picked up.
11:25Baby.
11:25Where are you?
11:26Does that plot have water?
11:28Nessa shrieking in the background.
11:30I'm dying.
11:31I need water.
11:32Blake do something.
11:33I took a long slow sip of my ice cold mint water.
11:35I put on my best barely alive voice.
11:37I'm not doing great either.
11:39Rats everywhere.
11:39Hot.
11:39Smells terrible.
11:40So thirsty.
11:41Blake heard I was worse off and immediately pivoted.
11:43Useless.
11:44Should have kept the place.
11:45At least I could have sold it for water money.
11:47Click.
11:48Gone.
11:49On my monitor.
11:50I'm going to see the base.
11:50Of Blake's building.
11:51Have people smashing windows.
11:52And looting already.
11:53The penthouse kept them safe for now.
11:55But no elevator means climbing down 50 floors.
11:57Means dying of dehydration.
11:58I looked over at my hydroponic vegetable rack.
12:00Lettuce growing under the LED grow lights.
12:03Almost aggressively green.
12:04Auto drip system delivering nutrients every 10 minutes like clockwork.
12:07Drip.
12:07Down here in the quiet.
12:08That sound was basically a symphony.
12:10No rush.
12:10I'd wait.
12:11However long it took for them to go from people to monsters.
12:13Two weeks gone.
12:14Everything on the surface.
12:15Charcoal.
12:16The mountains in the distance had gone full grim reaper aesthetic.
12:19Except for my spot.
12:20I've been careful.
12:21Almost perfect.
12:21The ventilation shafts were covered in dead blood.
12:24All that underground moisture kept pumping up.
12:26And the supposedly dead weeds on top had gone.
12:28And sprouted back green.
12:29In the landscape of total black death.
12:31That tiny patch of green was basically a neon sign.
12:332pm.
12:34Security alert.
12:34A civilian drone flopping up from the base of the mount.
12:38Moving slow.
12:40Operator clearly running on view.
12:41The camera circled a few times.
12:43It locked onto that little green patch.
12:46Then the drone dropped altitude.
12:48My stomach dropped with it.
12:49Busted.
12:50Not by Blake.
12:51By whatever survivors were still crawling around out there.
12:53Because in the apocalypse.
12:54Green means water below.
12:56Green means livable temperature.
12:57I watched the monitor.
12:58And reached under my pillow.
12:59Custom compound crossbow.
13:00Homemade.
13:01Very effective.
13:01If I couldn't hide it anymore.
13:02The next best option was permanent silence.
13:04On screen.
13:04The drone suddenly spun around and bolted back down the mountain.
13:07Which meant one thing.
13:09They were coming.
13:10All of them.
13:10For the only green thing left on earth.
13:11On the monitors.
13:12Two sketchy figures crept up from the mountain base.
13:15Local village deadbeats.
13:16One tall.
13:17One short.
13:17Carry machetes that had seen better days.
13:19Following the drone's GPS trail.
13:20Straight toward me.
13:21Planning to keep this jackpot all to themselves.
13:23I zoomed in on the camera.
13:24Got a good look at the naked greed in their eyes.
13:27Bro.
13:27What could even be out here?
13:29Shut up.
13:29The drone caught green grass.
13:30Glass means there's water down there.
13:32Water means we run this whole area.
13:34I sat in my climate controlled monitoring room.
13:37Ice cold coke in hand.
13:38Condensation drooping down the glass onto my fingers.
13:41Outside surface temp was pushing 131 degrees Fahrenheit.
13:43Every step they took was drawing down their life meter.
13:45I shook my head and set down the coke.
13:47In the apocalypse.
13:48Anyone who steps into my territory is a threat.
13:50Custom barred steel bolts.
13:51Can punch through a wild boar's skull.
13:53You came all this way.
13:53Might as well stay.
13:54Consider it a housewarming gift for my fortress.
13:56They finally dragged themselves halfway off the hill.
13:58And found the vent shaft I camouflaged under dead grass and trash.
14:00Bro.
14:01Air.
14:02Cold air.
14:03That chill creeping up from underground.
14:04Absolutely lethal temptation.
14:06They went feral on the iron grate.
14:07Practically trying to bend steel bars with their hands.
14:09I wasn't about to give them the chance.
14:11I was already posted behind the gun cord on the inside.
14:13Cross hairs lopped steady on the fat one's femoral artery.
14:16The bolt punched clean through his thigh.
14:18Tip coming out the other side.
14:19His screams sent a flock of half dead crows scattering.
14:22Before he even processed it, I reloaded.
14:24The second bolt went through his shoulder and pinned him to the scorching rock.
14:27They dropped.
14:28The blood evaporated off the ground almost instantly.
14:31Out here, wounded and immobile, is just a slower way of saying dead.
14:33I didn't finish them all.
14:34Just watched the monitors.
14:35Cold as ice.
14:35Track them from thrashing to steel to two dried out husks.
14:38That was my first lesson after coming back.
14:40Mercy for intruders is just cruelty to yourself.
14:423 a.m. is the coolest part of the day.
14:45And it's still 113 degrees Fahrenheit.
14:46I suited up in my anti-stab gear, grabbed an entrenching tool, and pushed open the heavy
14:49blast door.
14:50Both bodies had gone fully rigid.
14:52Yaking of that burnt, sour stench.
14:54No sympathy, not even a little.
14:55I grabbed them by the ankles, and dumped them into a deep ravine on the shaded side of the
14:57mountain.
14:58The heat and the scavengers would take care of the rest.
15:00Sushing them, I found the drone remote controller.
15:03The drone itself was a nice surprise, top shelf DJI.
15:06With that thing, I could cover a 5 kilometer radius around the base.
15:08Back inside, I wiped down the controller with alcohol.
15:11Crisis handled.
15:12But that flash of green had been way too visible, those two bodies though.
15:16Best warning sign, I could have put up.
15:17Done sorting flies outside, yet turned my attention back to the city.
15:19Through the back door I planted in their system months ago, I tapped into the security cameras
15:23of Blake's building.
15:24Day 7 without water or power.
15:25Through those massive floor-to-ceiling windows, the scene inside was raw.
15:28That so-called riverview luxury penthouse, all glass walls, had become a giant convection
15:31oven, not a single angle safe from direct sunlight all day long.
15:34Vanessa was slumped on the floor.
15:35Her once pampered skin caked in dried sweat.
15:37Her designer pajamas crusted over with a white layer of salt.
15:40And the filler in her face had warped from the heat.
15:42The vase on the table was knocked over.
15:44The stale water inside licked clean.
15:46Blake was hunched over an empty water bottle, trying to collect his own pee.
15:49Who hesitated, hands shaking.
15:51But the thirst had stripped away every last shred of dignity.
15:53This was the penthouse they took from me.
15:55It had become an actual hell on earth.
15:56I was watering the lettuce on my hydroponic rack, just enjoying the satisfying little drip
16:00of water.
16:01When the phone I'd silenced so nobody could bother me lit up.
16:03Two words on the screen.
16:04Blake Donovan.
16:05I took my sweet time washing my hands, dried them all, picked up, and hit speaker while I was at
16:09it.
16:09Ivy, Ivy please help me.
16:11Blake's voice was wrecked, like sandpaper dragged across concrete.
16:13I know, you have a way, you had to, have stopped water.
16:15We were married, doesn't that count, for anything?
16:17In the background, Vanessa's weak little sobs filtered through.
16:20Ivy, I was wrong, just one sip of, water please, I'll do anything for you after this.
16:23Listening to these two absolutely lose it.
16:25I felt nothing, just the clean, satisfying rush of a long overdue win.
16:28I picked up the scissors and snipped the dead leaf off the lettuce, and said, real casual.
16:31Oh, you're thirsty?
16:33Since you're that desperate.
16:34Remember that jade necklace you took from me?
16:36That was a family heirloom.
16:37If you two swallow it, I'll think about getting you a bottle of water.
16:40Silence on the other end, for a few seconds, like they genuinely couldn't process.
16:43I'd ask.
16:44I thought it was just trash talk.
16:46Turns out when survival's on the line, people will hit rock bottom fast.
16:49When through the phone, him a full-on brawl, and the woman screaming.
16:52Blake, are you insane?
16:54That's a rock, I'll choke.
16:55You'd swallow it.
16:56She said she'd give water.
16:57You want to die of thirst?
16:58You are the one who said you'd do anything.
17:00Then came the sound of something heavy hitting the floor, and Nessa shrieking like she was being
17:03strangled.
17:04Blake was actually pinning Nessa down, forcing her to swallow that cold, hard jade necklace.
17:08I watched the blurry shadows on the security feed, two people who once swore they'd love
17:10each other forever, now going at it like feral animals.
17:13So this is true love?
17:14One half bottle of water, and it's worth absolutely nothing.
17:17I got bored of the whole circus, and just hung up.
17:19I knew they weren't gonna die.
17:20The human survival instinct is a terrifying thing, and this was only the beginning.
17:23No water, no food, and they still had energy.
17:25To fight each other, meaning they weren't desperate enough yet.
17:27I'd wait until they were, drowning in their own mess, begging on their knees like the
17:30worms they were.
17:31Outside, the world, was basically a functioning hell.
17:34Surface temps had blown past 140 degrees Fahrenheit, but down near 20 meters underground.
17:38The thermostat read a cozy 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
17:40The ventilation system hummed at its lowest setting, just enough white noise to actually
17:44feel calming.
17:45To celebrate successfully flushing all two spies today, and to celebrate Blake finally showing
17:49his true colors, I decided I absolutely deserved a treat.
17:52I swung open the heavy sealed door of the cold storage, and the chill hit me instantly.
17:55Picked out a prime and man-grade Australian white uribeye, fought, then just a little
17:59flake sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper.
18:01Cast iron screaming hot, butter melting in.
18:03That sizzle echoing through the quiet dining room, like the Maillard reaction was personally
18:06healing my soul.
18:07The smell of seared beef hit the whole room.
18:08I took a 1982 Lafitte off the rack, let it breathe for 30 minutes, deep red swirling in
18:13the crystal glass.
18:14Warm amber mood gliding all around.
18:16I sliced into the perfectly seared, juicy beef, and put it in my mouth.
18:20The fat just melted on my tongue, and the satisfaction hit my whole body at once.
18:22Right now I wasn't just eating steak, I was.
18:25Having my dignity back.
18:26The contrast was everything.
18:27Chiu chaos outside, chiu shun level peace inside.
18:30And it locked in one belief for me.
18:31Nobody gets to wreck my life, not this time.
18:34You reach for my plate.
18:35I cut off your hand, no hesitation.
18:37Fat and satisfied, I patched into the spotty local network, to see just how far gone the
18:41outside world was.
18:42The residence group chat for Blake's building, had completely imploded.
18:45All that civilized, polite society energy, gone.
18:47Morals, laws, social contract, all of it, torched.
18:49Someone started organizing a so-called mutual aid squad, which was just a fancy name for
18:51an armed robbery crew.
18:52It targeted single women and elderly folks, and were openly discussing which doors were
18:54easiest to break into.
18:55And right there, in the latest member list, Blake's name, for survival, for self-preservation.
19:00This guy who used to walk around calling himself an elite, always preaching ethics,
19:02had finally ripped off the mask.
19:04Then someone in the chat dropped the bombshell.
19:05Blake, as his entry fee to the crew, had ratted out Mrs. Bennett next door, who lived alone.
19:08He told them she had two pieces of water her son had sent her, her lifeline.
19:11Reading through the chat logs, I felt physically sick.
19:13Mrs. Bennett had always been good to him, brought him fruit all the time.
19:16This was Blake.
19:17Last life he sold me out to Nessa for half a bottle of water.
19:20So selling out a neighbor, barely a warm-up.
19:22He wasn't human anymore.
19:23He was a pure monster.
19:25First thing the next morning I got back on, the Pachi local network,
19:27when saw Blake had posted something, and he hadn't blocked me.
19:30The photo was clearly posed for maximum impact.
19:32He was gripping a baseball bat with dark red stains on it.
19:34Two unopened cases of water sitting at his feet.
19:37His eyes had this unhinged, feral, look to them.
19:39Those were his trophies, from robbing Mrs. Bennett.
19:41Two cases of water paid for with one person's life.
19:42Word was that a sweet, gentle old woman had been shot down the stairs by Blake when she tried to
19:46fight back.
19:46Blake didn't have an ounce of guilt.
19:48He was actually proud of it.
19:49People were hitting him up as a tough guy, and someone even nominated him to be four-captain.
19:52Reading all that praise on the screen, I let out a cold laugh.
19:55Blake thought he'd become a warlord.
19:56He was just a short-sighted idiot.
19:58Two cases of water in this kind of heat.
20:00How long does that buy you?
20:01Three days.
20:02Five?
20:02In an apocalypse where productivity has hit absolute zero, burning through your stash is inevitable.
20:05And he was out here loudly showing off his violence and his supplies,
20:08basically lighting a torch in the middle of a pitch-black forest.
20:10His little power trip was just a dying flicker before the end.
20:13Tall poppies get cut those desperate people out.
20:15They would be at his door.
20:16I was about to close my laptop and hit the gym.
20:19When the pinned post on the local survival forum, caught my eye like a knife.
20:24The title was bold, red, and screaming.
20:27In the world where rats were starving.
20:29Ten boxes of instant noodles was basically a winning lottery ticket.
20:32I traced the poster's IP in about three seconds.
20:34And shocker, it was Blake's neighborhood.
20:36My stomach dropped, and something cold and sharp took its place.
20:39So they burned through those two stolen water cases.
20:41Or that glass greenhouse finally cooked them a lot.
20:44Blake suddenly remembered the worthless dirt plot he so generously dumped on.
20:48Last life he robbed me straight up.
20:50This time he got clever, using the internet and human greed as his weapon.
20:53The replies were already dripping with desperation and hunger.
20:56Classic Blake.
20:56Getting other people to do his dirty work.
20:58Trouble was coming.
20:59Big trouble.
21:00I stared at the screen, and a slow, ugly smile crept across my face.
21:02My fingers tapped the desk, quiet and steady.
21:04Oh, you wanna come?
21:05Come on then.
21:06You're walking into this with your eyes open.
21:07So don't cry when I turn this place into your graveyard.
21:09My trap grid has been sitting there, bored and hungry.
21:11Just waiting for some greedy idiots to feed it.
21:13The riots had totally spiraled out of control.
21:15With gunshots, explosions, and screaming stitching together a death soundtrack every night.
21:19Blake and Nessa finally figured out the glass penthouse wasn't livable anymore.
21:23They any longer.
21:24And you're either roasted or eaten by a mob.
21:26Through the last working traffic cam at the intersection, I caught their whole escape prep on camera.
21:30The Range Rover was packed to the roof.
21:33And Blake, genius that he is, threw in one spare gas can, but multiple cases of red wine in the
21:36trunk.
21:37Gotta keep the vibes right, even during the apocalypse.
21:39Nessa tossed Blake's entire box of books out one by one, and swapped them for a staff of limited edition
21:44Hermes bags, and a few oak couture gowns, that would cause heat stroke.
21:47She clearly thought this was a vacation.
21:49Or maybe she was already planning my funeral.
21:51Watching her kick those books off the car with a look of pure contempt, I actually laughed out loud.
21:55In this world a book can start a fire, wipe your ass, or block the wind.
21:59What a silk gown is literally only good as kindling.
22:02These two absolute idiots, even with a hundred reincarnations, couldn't fix the factory defect inside their skulls.
22:06Their escape went sideways faster than expected, not even 12 miles out.
22:10The tires blew on the melting asphalt.
22:12The road had literally liquefied.
22:14Ground temp hitting 176 degrees Fahrenheit, hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk.
22:17No jet, no spare, no one coming to help.
22:19They had to ditch the car and walk, through the scattered public cans still running.
22:22I watched the whole disaster unfold.
22:24Death race on above, tar pit below.
22:26Every single step was a full body effort, just to peel their shoes free.
22:30Soles literally smoking.
22:31The roadside was lined with heat mummified bodies, some still half alive.
22:34Moaning, reaching out like dry twigs, begging for help.
22:37Blake kept his eyes forward and dragged Nessa along, refusing to look.
22:40Nessa's pricey surgically enhanced face was already peeling under the UVA salt.
22:43Bright red and bubbling with blisters.
22:45She was sobbing, screaming she wanted to go home.
22:47And Blake, out of patience, slapped her hard.
22:50She bled from the lip.
22:51He said, shut up, or stay here and feed the dogs.
22:53A two-hour drive took them two full days on.
22:56Heading back down after setting the traps, I heard Faye whimpering from a patch of dead grass.
23:01Pushed to the side, found a massive Tibetan mastiff.
23:03Skin and bones, broken chains still around its neck.
23:06Fur rotting where the metal had dug in.
23:08Clearly dumped by owners who bailed.
23:10Barely alive, couldn't even lift its head.
23:12In a world where people eat each other, humans are scarier than any beast.
23:15Animals are way more loyal.
23:16Something in me cracked a little.
23:17I mixed a bowl of porridge with water and antibiotics and set it down.
23:20It lapped it up like its life depended on it.
23:22Tongue chasing every single grain of rice.
23:23Then actual tears rolled out of its eyes.
23:25Didn't expect that to be a whole rescue operation.
23:27Three days later, it stood up.
23:28Deal shaky.
23:29But that black coat had a shine to it now.
23:31And the build?
23:32Absolutely intimidating.
23:32It followed me everywhere.
23:34Totally devoted.
23:35Anyone who can near, you got a deep, slow growl from the chest.
23:37I named him Onyx.
23:38My first line of biological defense.
23:40His nose beats any security camera.
23:42His teeth beat any trap.
23:43In this apocalypse, he's the only one I trust to watch my back.
23:46Day 5.
23:47The air itself was basically on fire.
23:49Blake and Nessa finally showed up at the base of the mountain.
23:51Their designer outfits had become glorified rags.
23:54Kicked in dirt and dry blood.
23:55Lits cracked like old bark.
23:57Eyes completely vacant.
23:58But then, they looked up and spotted the bunker entrance.
24:01I'd disguised as a trash heap.
24:03And their eyes lit up like feral animals.
24:05They caught that, tiny leak of cool air drifting out.
24:08Ivy, Ivy, Blake.
24:10Scream.
24:10Flawing his way up on all fours.
24:12Fingers digging into the dirt.
24:14I'm your husband.
24:14I'm here for you.
24:15We're family.
24:16Open up.
24:16I need to talk to you.
24:18His voice bounced around the empty valley.
24:20Sharp and gross.
24:21He was testing me.
24:22Psyching himself up.
24:23Trying to pull rank using our old dynamic.
24:24I stood at my hidden lookout.
24:26Cold coconut water in hand.
24:27Straw in it and everything.
24:28Just watching them.
24:29Come to get me.
24:30More like.
24:30Come to take me.
24:31Out and steal my spot.
24:32Genuinely nauseating.
24:34They charged up the hill.
24:35Zero hesitation.
24:35Totally clueless about what was hiding in that dead grass.
24:37Nessa was first.
24:38Done with the heat.
24:39Done with running.
24:40She wanted first dits on that cool air.
24:42Snap.
24:43That crisp metallic click rang out across the hillside.
24:46Followed immediately by a blood-curdling scream.
24:48Ah.
24:49My leg.
24:49My leg is broken.
24:51Nessa hit the ground hard.
24:52Right leg locked in a giant bear trap.
24:54Rusted teeth sank straight to the bone.
24:56Blood everywhere instantly.
24:57She was riding in the dirt.
24:58Wound getting filthier by the second.
25:00Blake.
25:00Right behind her.
25:01Froze.
25:01His first move wasn't to help.
25:03It was to scramble backwards two steps.
25:05So he wouldn't be next.
25:06True love.
25:07Everybody.
25:08Real ride or die stuff.
25:09I picked up the mic.
25:10Connected to the external speakers.
25:11Voice ice cold across the valley.
25:13Private property.
25:13Trespassers get deleted.
25:14Take one more step forward.
25:15And the next trap won't catch your life.
25:17It'll catch your throat.
25:18I watched them freak out down there.
25:19It took a long sip of coconut water.
25:21Ice cold.
25:22Absolutely perfect.
25:23Only after checking there were no more traps.
25:25Did Blake finally stop.
25:26He looked at Nessa bleeding out.
25:27And rolling in paint.
25:28Then at the sealed iron door.
25:30And figured brute force wasn't gonna cut it.
25:31Then he dropped to his knees on the scorching gravel with a thud.
25:34And started kowtowing.
25:35Forehead hitting the ground until it bled.
25:37Mixing with sweat.
25:38Ivy.
25:38Babe.
25:39I know you're in there.
25:40We were married.
25:41That's gotta count for something.
25:42Even if I messed up.
25:43Nessa's innocent.
25:44She's just a helpless woman.
25:45Her leg is broken.
25:46She'll get infected and die without treatment.
25:47You've gotta have medicine in there.
25:48Please just open up and give us a little.
25:50Even just some water.
25:51Full tears.
25:51Full snot.
25:52Oscar worthy.
25:52Performance honestly.
25:53Like he was the victim and I was some cold blooded executioner.
25:56He was banking on guilt.
25:57Betting I.
25:58Still had feelings.
25:59Betting I'd go soft.
26:00Bad bet.
26:01Last life when they slit my wrist and drain me dry.
26:03Whatever conscience I had left drained out with it.
26:05I watched his little show with zero emotion.
26:07Just disgust.
26:07Oh.
26:08Now we're invoking marriage.
26:09When you were chugging my blood.
26:10Did you think of me as your wife then?
26:12When you left me on that balcony to die.
26:13Where was all that love?
26:14Watching them nearly dehydrate was fun.
26:16But I decided to upgrade the experience a little.
26:18I ran the pipe out through the top ventilation shaft.
26:21And aimed it right at their spot.
26:23Turned the valve.
26:23Crystal clear water can pour in doubt.
26:25A gorgeous shimmering curtain right in front of them.
26:27It hit the scorching rocks with a satisfying hiss.
26:30A little cloud of steam rising up instantly.
26:32The smell of wet earth drifting through the air.
26:34For two people basically mummifying alive.
26:36This wasn't torture.
26:37It was psychological slow death.
26:39Blake and Nessa's eyes went completely blank.
26:41Mouths open.
26:42Desperately lapping at muddy water off the ground.
26:43Nessa didn't even register her leg anymore.
26:46Dragging the trap behind her.
26:47Tongue pressed against burning rock.
26:49Chasing every last drop.
26:50I shut the valve.
26:51Water stopped.
26:52Dead silence.
26:53One song.
26:54My voice came.
26:54Through the speaker.
26:55Dripping with amusement.
26:57Both of them nodding frantically.
26:58Pure desperation in their eyes.
26:59Then let's play a game.
27:00Slap each other.
27:01Wow this slap wins a cup of water.
27:03Ready?
27:03Go.
27:04One second of silence.
27:05Just the hot wind.
27:07Smack.
27:07Blake didn't hesitate.
27:08Wound up his whole arm.
27:09And cracked Nessa clean across the face.
27:11Nessa hit the ground.
27:12Blood at the corner of her mouth.
27:13Totally stunned.
27:15The cheek swelling up in real time.
27:16You actually hit me.
27:17Nessa shrieked.
27:18All that love in her eyes.
27:20Curdling into pure venom.
27:21Crack.
27:21She clawed back.
27:22Nails dragging three deep bloody lines.
27:24Down Blake's face.
27:26You absolute bitch.
27:27If you hadn't thrown out my books.
27:28Would we even be in this mess?
27:29This is all on you.
27:30You're just useless.
27:31Couldn't find supplies to save your life.
27:33If I were you I'd just die already.
27:34They weren't at it.
27:35Every fit landing solid.
27:36Blake had the weight.
27:37Advantage.
27:38Pinned her down.
27:39And punched.
27:40Nessa went for the eyes.
27:41And bit his ear.
27:42I filmed the whole thing on my phone.
27:45Have a cup of water.
27:46And the great love story just dissolved.
27:47Every ugly thing underneath finally showing.
27:49Ten minutes later.
27:50They were both racked.
27:51Flat on the ground.
27:51Gasping.
27:51I kept my word and tossed something out the window.
27:54An expired bottle of medicated oil.
27:55Drink up.
27:56Clears the head right up.
27:57Good stuff.
27:58Don't waste.
27:58Blake picked up that rolling bottle.
28:00With shaking hands.
28:01Cracked it open.
28:02One sniff.
28:03And yeah.
28:04He knew.
28:04He looked up.
28:05Eyes gone cold and calculating.
28:07He'd been played.
28:08Didn't matter how much he begged or bled.
28:10That door was never opening.
28:11Rush it.
28:12He glanced at the bear trap.
28:13Still locked around Nessa's leg.
28:14Nope.
28:15Not that brave.
28:15So he pried the trap off with both hands.
28:17Face like a thundercloud.
28:18Ignored every scream.
28:20Grab Nessa.
28:21And lent the both of them back down to the base.
28:22There was an abandoned mine shack down there.
28:25Dark.
28:25Damp.
28:25Full of bat droppings.
28:26But just enough shade to not die instantly.
28:28They didn't leave.
28:29Blake stopped at the entrance.
28:30And looked back up at me.
28:31No more begging.
28:32Just cold.
28:33Calculating malice.
28:34He was waiting for an opening.
28:35Or backup.
28:36That look said he'd burn everything down.
28:38Just to take me with him.
28:39Classic.
28:39If he can't have it.
28:40Nobody can't.
28:40I knew this wasn't over.
28:41We were barely past the opening credits.
28:43Didn't care.
28:44In this fortress I built from scratch.
28:45I'm the final boss.
28:46You want to play?
28:47Let's go.
28:48I'll see how long you last.
28:49In a cave with no food and nothing but despair.
28:52I knew Blake couldn't be trusted.
28:53That look he gave wasn't just for show.
28:55Next evening.
28:56The infrared alarm tripped.
28:58On the monitors.
28:59A thick black smoke column rose from the base of the mountain.
29:01Cutting straight up into the still air.
29:03Signal fire.
29:04He was calling for backup.
29:05Sure enough.
29:06A crew showed up.
29:07Armed with machetes and shotguns.
29:09The one leading them had a scar across his face.
29:12Built like a wall.
29:13Eyes like a shark.
29:13Gnome raiders.
29:14The nastiest crew operating in the area.
29:16Blake leant out to meet them.
29:17Leg wound and all.
29:18Pointing up at my mountain.
29:20That gross little smile plastered on his face.
29:22One look at Scar's expression and you could fill in the pitch yourself.
29:24Supplies up there.
29:25Unlimited water.
29:26Lone woman living solo.
29:27Blake didn't hesitate for a second.
29:29Sold me out completely to settle the score.
29:31He wanted this place turned into a slaughterhouse.
29:32Me as the main event.
29:33Classic Blake.
29:35Honestly.
29:35When survival's on the line.
29:37Everyone else is expendable.
29:38This crew was different though.
29:39Not the average desperate stragglers.
29:40These guys came prepared.
29:41Scar was careful.
29:43Pulled a black waterproof bag from his pack.
29:44Heavy.
29:45Landed with a dull thud.
29:46From my stocking updates I knew immediately.
29:49Either homemade explosives.
29:50Or detonators.
29:52My stomach dropped.
29:53Pongs went cold.
29:54My blast door is solid.
29:56Could take a truck at full speed.
29:57But directional charges.
29:58Different story.
29:59An event with a real weak point.
30:00One detonation or a smoke funnel.
30:02In there and I'm cooked.
30:04Can't just sit here playing defense.
30:05That's a losing strategy.
30:06I watch them huddle at the base running their plan.
30:09Blake pointing around like a tour guide.
30:11Sketching out the vents.
30:12The entry points.
30:13All of it.
30:14I tighten my grip on the remote.
30:15Knuckles going white.
30:16Let me roll out the welcome back.
30:18Fine.
30:18You wanting so bad.
30:19This is my turf.
30:20My rules.
30:20Time to show them.
30:22That some doors aren't entrances.
30:23They're one way trip.
30:25Bold plan.
30:26Borderline insane.
30:28I suited up in full insulated gear.
30:30Strapped on the gas mask.
30:31Took a breath.
30:32And hit the remote myself.
30:34Here's grinding.
30:35The disguised trash heap door rolled open.
30:38And there in the buffer zone.
30:39Exactly what I'd staged.
30:41Need stacks of cardboard boxes.
30:42A few slashed rice.
30:44Bags still in white grain across the floor.
30:46In that golden hour light.
30:47It looked like the promised land.
30:49The boxes were packed with rocks for weight.
30:52The rice was moldy months ago.
30:54But from out there.
30:55That was hope.
30:56That was worth dying for.
30:58Once it was set.
30:58I slid back behind the second glass door.
31:00And watched through one way bulletproof glass.
31:02Meanwhile.
31:03I flicked on the corridor systems.
31:05For already soap and lubricant oil.
31:06Their wires on both walls now live at 380 volts.
31:10I live a welcome corridor.
31:11Direct express to the afterlife.
31:13The door's open.
31:14It's open.
31:15Must be a power failure.
31:16Systems down.
31:17Blake screamed.
31:18Voice cracking with excitement.
31:19Pointing at the supplies.
31:20Ice basically leaving his skull.
31:22Scar blinked.
31:23Then lit up completely.
31:24Last shred of caution dissolved by pure greed.
31:26Boys.
31:27God just handed us dinner.
31:28Move.
31:29Grab everything.
31:31Woman's mine.
31:31Supplies split even.
31:32The whole crew howled and charged up the hill.
31:35Blake was first.
31:36Limping on that wrecked leg and still leading the pack.
31:39He hit the corridor first.
31:40Hand almost reaching that stilled rice on the ground.
31:43Then his foot slipped.
31:44He went down hard.
31:45Completely lost it.
31:46And rolled all the way to the drainage pit at the end of the corridor.
31:49Pit I pre-dug.
31:50Bottom line with rusty irons.
31:52The scream was genuinely horrific.
31:54But it barely carried before the mob flooding in behind him drowned it out.
31:57The five raiders right behind Blake didn't fare much better.
32:01They piled up on the slick floor in a human heap.
32:04Weapons flying everywhere.
32:05Cursing.
32:06Scrambling to get up.
32:07Palms and bodies hitting the electrified walls and floor grid.
32:10That's when I calmly.
32:11Pulled the red switch.
32:13Biz sit.
32:14Blue arcs crackled through the narrow corridor.
32:16Bodies convulsing.
32:17Foaming.
32:18Eyes rolling back.
32:20Skin visibly blackening and charring by the second.
32:22Burnt hair and ozone filling the air.
32:24Industrial voltage.
32:25Not messing around.
32:26Scar at the back reacted fast.
32:28Slammed the brakes.
32:29Even grabbed the guy next to him as a human shield.
32:31Still caught the edge of the arc.
32:33Got launched backwards.
32:34Slammed into the ground outside.
32:36Hair standing straight up.
32:37Pull back.
32:37Now.
32:38It's a trap.
32:39Electric.
32:40He screamed in full panic.
32:41Crawling out on all fours.
32:43Scar made it out alive.
32:44But lost more than half his crew.
32:46Humiliation plus fear plus rage.
32:48Brain fully offline.
32:50Nessa.
32:50Leg wrecked.
32:51Was at last.
32:51Dragging herself along.
32:52Catching her breath against a rock.
32:54Scar grabbed her by the hair and yanked.
32:56Donked her in front of whatever was left of his guys.
32:58You think you can trap me?
33:00This is your great spot?
33:01My brothers are dead because of you.
33:03Boys.
33:03She's yours.
33:04Make it hurt.
33:05For the ones we lost.
33:06Nessa screamed.
33:07Fought back.
33:08Nothing working.
33:09Screaming Blake's name over and over.
33:10Against a bunch of guys.
33:12Who'd lost everything.
33:13She had zero leverage.
33:14I muted that feed.
33:15Just watched the scream.
33:16Cold.
33:16Meanwhile in the spike pit.
33:18Blake was in the corner.
33:19Hand clamped over his own mouth.
33:21Curled into a ball.
33:22Not making a sound.
33:23To survive.
33:23He threw Nessa away.
33:24Again.
33:25Again.
33:25The survivors weren't ready to quit.
33:27Too proud to walk away empty.
33:29It tried lighting.
33:30Wet grass and half burnt branches.
33:31Smoke rolling in.
33:32Their plan.
33:33Choke me out.
33:34My internal air circulation.
33:35System had been running for hours.
33:36Nice try.
33:36Night fell.
33:37I strapped on.
33:38Military IR night vision.
33:39Everything went that creepy glowing green.
33:41Reached into the cabinet for my personal collection of Molotov cocktails.
33:43Custom batch.
33:44High proof liquor.
33:45Gasoline.
33:45Dissolve phone.
33:46I climbed silently to the top hidden observation point.
33:49And watched through the firing slit.
33:50You guys love fire so much.
33:52Let me upgrade that for you.
33:53I zeroed in on the center of their little campfire huddle.
33:55And threw the first bottle hard.
33:57It cut a clean arc through the dark.
34:00Placked.
34:00Glass shattering into the silence.
34:02Like a gunshot.
34:04Apocalypse heat means everything.
34:05Around us was basically kindling.
34:07Where dry as a bone.
34:08Molotov cocktails with a perfect match.
34:09Fire swallowed their camp hole.
34:12Corpses and all.
34:13Fire.
34:14We're on fire.
34:15Some of them became human torches.
34:17Sprinting through the flames.
34:19Screaming.
34:20Slapping themselves.
34:21Just spreading it further.
34:22Scarfully ablaze.
34:23Something clicked.
34:24And he made a.
34:25Desperate run for the water pipe.
34:27He remembered the water.
34:28Only way out.
34:29Hands shaking.
34:30Twisted the valve open.
34:31Aimed it at himself.
34:32Praying it would put him out.
34:34What came out wasn't water.
34:35It was high octane gasoline.
34:37I pumped in under pressure.
34:38Boom.
34:39Fuel hits open flame.
34:40Instant flashover.
34:41Scar became a fireball.
34:43The explosion swallowed his scream whole.
34:45He hit the ground rolling.
34:47Went still slowly.
34:48Turned to char.
34:48Nothing left but the sound of fat crackling.
34:50The whole base of the mountain was a sea of fire.
34:52Lighting up the pitch black sky.
34:54The fire burned all night.
34:55Gying out just around dawn.
34:57Air thick with gasoline.
34:59Char.
35:00And dead body smell.
35:01Raiders.
35:02Gone.
35:02Nessa.
35:03Nowhere.
35:04I suited up in full heavy gear.
35:06Dry powder extinguisher in one hand.
35:07Long handle tongs in the other.
35:09Time to clean up.
35:10When I got to the spike pit.
35:12I noticed something.
35:13Moving under the pile of charred bodies.
35:15I raised an eyebrow.
35:16Nudged the top layer of crispy raiders aside.
35:19Blake.
35:19This cockroach actually survived.
35:21A puddle at the pit bottom broke his fall.
35:23Lucky him.
35:23Not a single patch of skin intact.
35:25One eye swollen to a slit.
35:27He heard my footsteps and forced his head up.
35:30Staring at me through that one cloudy eye.
35:32Making this low rattling noise in his throat.
35:33Nothing in that look but pure bottomless hatred.
35:36Ivy.
35:36I'm going to kill you.
35:38I didn't kill Blake.
35:39One clean cut.
35:40Way too easy.
35:40I dragged him out of a body pile.
35:42His red form leaving a dark green streak across the ground.
35:45Used the same heavy chain that used to hold onyx.
35:47Locked it around his neck.
35:48The cold metal making him flint.
35:50I set him up in the buffer zone.
35:52Between door one and the blast door.
35:54No sun.
35:55No rain.
35:55But also no exit.
35:57Every day.
35:58One bowl of sour slop.
35:59The occasional moldy bread crust.
36:00I needed him alive.
36:01Watching me eat well and thrive.
36:03Every second a reminder of.
36:05Exactly how badly he lost.
36:07Also.
36:07His face is.
36:08The best alarm system.
36:09Anyone dumb enough to break him gets.
36:11Him as their welcome gift first.
36:12Welcome to your new position.
36:14My guard dog.
36:14I patted his head.
36:15Turn and shut the blast door behind me.
36:17Sealing the light and every last bit of hope on my side.
36:19All those tid.
36:20And the apocalypse stopped pretending.
36:22Temps blew past anything humans were built for.
36:24Toppy out have 167 degrees Fahrenheit.
36:25Even cacti gave up and turned to ash.
36:27Asphalt didn't just melt.
36:29It started off gassing toxic black smoke.
36:31The indoor thermometer crept up past 82 degrees Fahrenheit.
36:35And then.
36:35The ground water started dropping.
36:37Miserably.
36:38Tabs running thinner.
36:40Pumps draining with that dry wine.
36:41I had to fire up the expensive closed loop water filtration system.
36:44Starting now.
36:45Shower water.
36:46Vegetable rinse water.
36:47All of it gets recycled.
36:48Every drop worth more than gold.
36:50Zero waste.
36:51Meanwhile.
36:52Gui Kao Sai hadn't had water in two days.
36:54On the monitor.
36:54I watched him flat on the concrete floor.
36:56Dehydration had stripped out whatever was left of his humanity.
36:59Body shaking.
37:00Blackened.
37:00Swollen tongue out.
37:01Licking his own urine off the ground.
37:03To stay alive.
37:04Even one more second.
37:05He'd let go of every last shred of dignity.
37:07And gone full animal.
37:08On top of the heat that could cook you.
37:10Plague showed up too.
37:11The city below was stacked with uncleared bodies.
37:14At these temperatures.
37:15With everything baking and evaporating.
37:16The whole city became one massive petri dish.
37:18Ancient and mutated viruses.
37:19And bacteria going absolutely wild.
37:21He stroked.
37:21Cholera.
37:22Plague.
37:23Death in every cubic inch of air.
37:24Even from kilometers away.
37:26That distinctive sweet rot stench of decomposing bodies.
37:29Drifted up the mountain on the hot wind.
37:31Seeping into every crack in the rock.
37:32One whiff.
37:33And your stomach turns itself inside out.
37:35I sealed every external vent immediately.
37:37Not a single gap left open.
37:39Then kicked on the backup internal oxygen loop.
37:41And the industrial grade air purifier at max setting.
37:43Ushinori humming.
37:44And the air inside went clean again.
37:46From here on out.
37:47This fortress is.
37:48A fully sealed independent ecosystem.
37:50Cut off from everything.
37:51Outside isn't just a heat apocalypse anymore.
37:53It's a bio one two.
37:54Anyone out there who dares pull.
37:56Off their mask for one breath.
37:57Gets those pathogens straight into their lungs.
37:59Slow and painful exit guaranteed.
38:00Just when I thought NASA was ash.
38:03She came back.
38:04But what showed up on the security feed.
38:05Was not a person.
38:07This was something that crawled out of how.
38:08Most of her skin had carbonized.
38:10Hair completely gone.
38:12She somehow survived the fire.
38:14And now ran truly on one setting.
38:16Hunt.
38:17She clawed her way back up.
38:18The mountain.
38:19And into the buffer zone.
38:20Those cloudy.
38:21Inside out eyes.
38:22Locked onto Blake.
38:24Chained in the corner.
38:25Pure starvation had wiped her mind clean.
38:27Just a low growl in her throat.
38:28She did a red mice.
38:30Her beloved.
38:30Just saw fresh meat.
38:32She lunged.
38:33Shockingly fast.
38:34And bit a chunk clean out of Blake's thigh.
38:36His scream punched straight through the blast door.
38:39Echoing underground.
38:40He stared at this reeking thing in front of him.
38:43Unable to connect her to that precious.
38:44Delicate girl he'd once put on a pedestal.
38:46He simply could not process it.
38:47I was parked in front of the security monitor.
38:49Fresh ground coffee in hand.
38:50Still steaming.
38:51Watching this horror show unfold.
38:52And I laughed.
38:54Like.
38:54Actually cried laughing.
38:55Karma's got incredible timing.
38:57Last life.
38:58I was their personal blood bag.
38:59Caged up.
39:00Kept alive just to fuel them.
39:02This life roles reversed.
39:03Blake became Nessa's meal.
39:05Getting mauled by the woman.
39:06You once would've died for.
39:08Watching Blake thrash on the ground.
39:09Trying to kick off a feral Nessa.
39:11Dark green fluids spreading across the floor.
39:13I set down my coffee.
39:14Walked over to the feeding slot in the inner door.
39:16Clank.
39:16I tossed in a rusty serrated boning knife.
39:19The one I used to use on expired meat.
39:21Want to live?
39:22I said.
39:22Through the interpump.
39:23That's flat.
39:24Zero warmth in my voice.
39:25Simple rules.
39:26Whoever kills the other one.
39:27Gets a cold can of coke.
39:29One can.
39:30Winner drinks.
39:31Both of them froze mid-struggle.
39:33They looked up at that dark little slot.
39:36And in their heads.
39:37That coke.
39:38Was the holiest thing on earth.
39:39Not a second of hesitation.
39:41Zero.
39:42Blake grabbed the boning knife off the ground.
39:44Didn't even flinch when the blade sliced his palm open.
39:46Nessa threw herself at his throat.
39:48Fingernails digging deep into his flesh.
39:50Thud.
39:51The dull sound of steel finding meat.
39:52Blake put everything he had left into driving the knife into Nessa's chest.
39:56Once.
39:57Twice.
39:57Three times.
39:58Dark green splattered across his face.
40:00But he did not stop.
40:01Not until Nessa went completely still.
40:02Those venom-filled eyes frozen open.
40:04Staring straight through him.
40:05Blake shoved the body off and crawled to the gate.
40:06Face soaked in blood.
40:07Those charred hands locked around the iron bars.
40:09Eyes blazing with something feral and unhinged.
40:12Coke.
40:12Give me the coke.
40:13I killed her.
40:14I won.
40:14I pulled out an open can.
40:16And right in front of him.
40:17Slowly poured it onto the concrete.
40:18Maybe three inches from the bars.
40:19Dark liquid bubbling on the ground.
40:21Sweet smell drifting up.
40:22Lick it clean.
40:23Blake pressed his face to the floor.
40:25Dust and dark green fluid and all.
40:27Frantically lapping up that gritty cola.
40:29Letting out the satisfied, broken whimper.
40:30That's when the old radio, nothing but static for weeks, crackled to life with a human voice.
40:36This is coalition government.
40:38Shelter number seven.
40:38All survivors, please note, proceed immediately to the west side of the city.
40:41Large underground shelter.
40:42We will provide food and water.
40:44So the government finally showed up.
40:45Two months into the apocalypse, they'd converted existing civil defense tunnels into one big shelter.
40:49But I knew exactly what that meant.
40:51I'd been to a place like that in my last life.
40:54Hundreds of thousands crammed together.
40:55Strict hierarchy.
40:56Resources locked up top.
40:58Regular people shoved into the bottom bunks.
41:00It was a slave camp with better branding.
41:01Easy to get in.
41:02Nearly impossible to leave.
41:03I turned off the radio without expression.
41:05Cutting off that very tempting voice.
41:07I had my own kingdom.
41:08I wasn't about to be anyone's bottom bunk.
41:10And I definitely wasn't taking handouts.
41:11A group of survivors passed by the mountain base.
41:13Loaded down.
41:14Half-star.
41:14Clothes basically dissolving off their bodies.
41:16Creely headed for the government shelter.
41:18After hearing the broadcast.
41:19A few of them spotted the Hind of Green up this slope.
41:22And got ideas.
41:23Armed with sticks and rocks.
41:25They crept up to the first gate.
41:27But the second they looked through the bars at what was inside.
41:30Every single one of them lost it.
41:31There was a creature covered in dark green fluid.
41:33Skin charred and rotting.
41:34Face down on the ground.
41:35Gnawing on a decomposing corpse.
41:37It heard them.
41:38Blake's head snapped up.
41:39That one eye blazing.
41:40A guttural growl rising from his chest.
41:42Monster.
41:43There's a monster eating people.
41:44Run.
41:45He screamed.
41:45Trith over each other.
41:46And fled down the mountain.
41:47Without looking back once.
41:49Blake's horror show just handled.
41:50A whole security threat for me.
41:52And that is his only.
41:53Remaining purpose.
41:54Scarecrow.
41:55Outside.
41:56People were starving.
41:57Treating kids for food like it was normal.
41:58Meanwhile my underground farm.
42:00Bathed in purple growl lights.
42:01Was hitting its first real harvest.
42:03Climate control.
42:03Custom nutrient solution.
42:05The whole set up.
42:06And the sweet potato song.
42:07The hydroponic racks were absolutely thriving.
42:09I pulled out my cotton gloves.
42:11And carefully dug out a pile of fist sized sweet potato.
42:13Red skin.
42:14Yellow flesh.
42:15Still damp with soil.
42:16Smelling like actual earth.
42:18Which I hadn't smelled in forever.
42:19In this apocalypse.
42:20This pile could start a 100% riot.
42:22That night I air fried two of them.
42:24Then slow cooked the thick sweet potato congee.
42:25I even tried fermenting the leftover.
42:27Start into a jar of homemade wine.
42:29Low proof.
42:30But actual grain alcohol.
42:32Peeled back the crispy skin to reveal soft steaming golden flesh inside.
42:35Caramel juice running down my fingers.
42:37One bite.
42:38Straight up sweet.
42:39That deep.
42:39Carb low dissatisfaction.
42:41Hitty in a way no synthetic food ever could.
42:43I mixed onyx a bowl with mashed sweet potato and canned wanchon meat.
42:46Fancy.
42:47One human.
42:47One dog.
42:48Deep underground.
42:48Listening to the wind.
42:49How outside.
42:51Lending our absolute best lives.
42:52Turns out heavy enough food.
42:54Doesn't fix to avoid eating a brain.
42:56Weeks of isolation.
42:57Zero human contact.
42:59No social media noise.
43:00Just silence so thick it had weight.
43:02I started feeling this deep bone level loneliness.
43:05Sometimes it hit harder than hunger.
43:07I catch myself talking to the mirror.
43:09Repeating random sentences over and over.
43:11Just to confirm I still could.
43:13I'd stare at the ceiling for hours.
43:14Completely zoned out.
43:16No idea if it was day or night.
43:17Mental health.
43:18I realized was just as critical as physical.
43:20If my mind went.
43:21The bunker meant nothing.
43:22I'd crack before the heat got me.
43:23So I forced myself onto a schedule.
43:26Two hours of working out every day.
43:28Full sweat.
43:29Dopamine versus depression.
43:30Round one.
43:31I dug out the box of books Blake had tossed away.
43:32Read every word out loud.
43:33One by one.
43:34I started talking to onyx like a person.
43:36Named every lettuce.
43:37Every potato.
43:39Little green grew a centimeter today.
43:40That's my boy.
43:41Onyx.
43:41This book is genuinely terrible.
43:43The author has never seen apocalypse in their life.
43:45I'm not just surviving.
43:46I'm staying sane while doing it.
43:48In this war against loneliness.
43:49I refuse to lose.
43:51Blake finally gave out.
43:52The burns alone had wrecked his body.
43:54Then the infected wounds.
43:56Then eating Nessa's rotten flesh.
43:57His fever spiked hard.
43:58He lay on the cold concrete in the buffer zone.
44:00Body convulsing every few minutes.
44:02Breathing barely there.
44:03Right before the end.
44:04He had a moment of clarity.
44:06He lifted his head toward the security camera on the inner door.
44:09One eye leaking cloudy tears.
44:11I thought he was going to confess.
44:12Apologize.
44:13He didn't.
44:13In that ragged, barely there voice.
44:15Wait.
44:16Ivy.
44:16I regret it.
44:17If only I hadn't.
44:18If I hadn't divorced you.
44:19Hadn't given you this land.
44:20This place would have been mine.
44:21I could have ruled this whole area.
44:22Had everyone kneeling at my feet.
44:23I would have been king.
44:24Even dying.
44:25His last thought isn't what he owed me.
44:27It was power.
44:28It was greed.
44:29What a pathetic, ridiculous, infuriating man.
44:31One last exhale.
44:32And his head dropped.
44:34Dead inside his own delusion.
44:36Done.
44:37Every shred of love and hate.
44:38Burned to nothing in the heat.
44:40No grief in my chest.
44:41Just the clean feeling of taking out the trash.
44:43Three days after Blake died.
44:44The sword of Damocles finally dropped.
44:47The big one hit right on schedule.
44:49Months of heat and drought.
44:50Had turned the whole city into one giant tinderbox.
44:53The air itself was basically lighter fluid.
44:55One spark.
44:56Maybe dry lightning.
44:57Maybe arson.
44:58Who knows.
44:59And it set off the most insane wildfire anyone had ever seen.
45:02The wind carried it at terrifying speed.
45:04Swallowing the surrounding mountains whole.
45:05On the security monitor.
45:06The pitch black sky.
45:07Had turned solid red.
45:09A sea of fire in every direction.
45:11Flames licking the clouds.
45:12My bunker became a lone island.
45:13In an endless ocean of fire.
45:15Flames went to town on the rock surface.
45:17The outer blast door glowed red hot.
45:19Groaning as the metal warped.
45:21Even through meters of concrete and rock.
45:23I could hear the trees exploding outside.
45:25The sound of a world burning alive.
45:27Blake's body.
45:27Along with the remains of every thug.
45:29Who'd come before him.
45:30Got swallowed up instantly.
45:31No crematorium needed.
45:32The fire would handle it.
45:33Clean and thorough.
45:34Ash to ash.
45:34The fire didn't just bring heat.
45:37The scarier part was it was eating all the oxygen.
45:40I'd sealed every vent in advance.
45:41But hours of intense burning.
45:43Had turned the whole area.
45:44Into a low pressure dead zone.
45:45The oxygen monitor started freaking out.
45:47Alarm blaring nonstop.
45:48Beep.
45:49Warning.
45:49Oxygen level below 18%.
45:51A heavy suffocating pressure hit me.
45:53Chest height.
45:53Couldn't get a full breath.
45:54Temples pounding.
45:55Dark spots creeping into my vision.
45:57Onyx had gone flat on the floor too.
45:59Tongue hanging out.
45:59Heaving hard with every breath.
46:01Eyes glassy and scared.
46:02Not messing around with this one.
46:04I cracked open the last five.
46:05Emergency oxygen canisters.
46:06Strapped a rick up mask onto Onyx.
46:08Hulled a heavy tank onto my own back.
46:10And we pushed deeper into the bunker.
46:12Back near the reservoir.
46:13High humidity.
46:15And the best air reserve in the whole plate.
46:17We huddled in the dark.
46:18Listening to the roar outside.
46:19A total coin flip.
46:20Either my oxygen runs out first.
46:21Or the fire burns itself out first.
46:24Every second.
46:25Felt like a year.
46:26Even with meters of rock and custom heat insulation panels.
46:29At several thousand degrees sustained.
46:32Heat finds a way.
46:33The thermometer inside.
46:35Declined fast and blew past 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
46:37Walls were hot to the touch.
46:38Air thick and scorching.
46:40Every breath felt like inhaling a hairdryer.
46:42I held every single ice block out of the cold storage.
46:44Piled them around the reservoir.
46:45Desperate DIY coolances.
46:47They melted embarrassingly fast.
46:48Water spreading across the floor.
46:49I was soaked head to toe.
46:51I couldn't tell if it was sweat or melt water.
46:53Running on empty.
46:54A straight up endurance race against death.
46:56I wiped Onyx down to keep his tab manageable.
46:57While keeping my eyes locked on the thermometer.
46:59If it climbed any higher.
47:00The electronics and circuit systems would start shutting down.
47:03And then I'd be blind and deaf.
47:04Buried alive in an underground cough.
47:06But panicking wasn't an option.
47:07I drank salted ice water.
47:08And forced myself to stay loved.
47:10Compared to everything outside.
47:11Getting tarbonized instantly.
47:12This was practically a spa day.
47:14Just had to outlast it.
47:15That's the whole game plan.
47:15Just when I thought I'd hit my limit.
47:17And was ready to play dead to save energy.
47:19The outer door took a massive hit.
47:24The whole bunker shook.
47:26Dozen chunks of rock running down from the ceiling.
47:28Monitors showed the giant mutant boar.
47:30Charred black all over.
47:32Skin peeling off in strips.
47:33The fire had driven it completely feral.
47:35And dying.
47:35It caught a whiff of cool air.
47:37Desperately hunting for.
47:38Somewhere to escape the flames.
47:39It smashed through the.
47:40Already wrecked decoy cover.
47:41And blew past the first door.
47:42Charging straight into the buffer zone.
47:43It headbutted Blake's carbonized skeleton clean across the room.
47:45Stomped it to powder.
47:46Then started going absolutely berserk on the blast door.
47:48That door was solid.
47:49But even it wasn't built for a dying monster running on pure rage.
47:52The flame let out a metallic shriek.
47:54Concrete cracking at the joint.
47:56That door cannot go down.
47:57If it breaks.
47:58The fire.
47:59The toxic air.
47:59The heat all flood in.
48:00Everything I've built means nothing.
48:02And both Onix and I are done.
48:04I dragged my oxygen deprived.
48:06Heat wrecked body off the floor.
48:08Made it to the firing port on the inner door.
48:09Through the observation window.
48:11I could see the boar's bloodshot eyes.
48:13The massive tusks.
48:14Face twisted in pure agony.
48:15I pulled out the tricked out.
48:16Heavy duty industrial nail gun.
48:18Loaded up the extended steel nails.
48:20Held it steady with both hands.
48:21You're for renovations.
48:22Now doing.
48:23Very different work.
48:24The boar was still going full send.
48:26Had no idea what was coming.
48:28Deep breath of oxygen.
48:29Held it.
48:30Aimed straight at the ice sock.
48:31One muffled shot echoed through the tight space.
48:34The nail punched clean through the eye.
48:36Straight into the brain.
48:38Central nervous system.
48:39Offline.
48:39The boar let out one horrible shriek.
48:41That massive body just collapsed.
48:42Leg spasming hard a few times.
48:44Then nothing.
48:45Crisis over.
48:45I slumped to the floor.
48:47Gulping oxygen through the mask.
48:49Sweat dripping off my face.
48:50Looking at that enormous carcass.
48:51I actually laughed.
48:52Almost killed me.
48:53But honest.
48:54Best parting gift nature could have sent.
48:56We're having barbie two tonight.
48:57The fire raged for three full days and nights.
48:59Like it had a personal grudge against everything.
49:01That ever existed.
49:02Oxygen reserves inside were nearly gone.
49:04I watched the pressured beige creeping toward the red.
49:07And just as I was about to risk cracking open the backup vent.
49:09A thunder clap hit like the sky was splitting in half.
49:11Boom.
49:13The whole on the ground structure shook.
49:14Then came the sound of heavy, relentless pattering.
49:17Rain.
49:17It was rain.
49:18Sure.
49:18I knew it was acid rain.
49:19Gross of as hell.
49:20But right now it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard.
49:22Water hit fire.
49:23And the whole mountain disappeared in white steam.
49:25It killed the blaze.
49:26Pulled the temperature.
49:26Back down from nightmare levels.
49:27The thermometer inside started a slow descent.
49:30And that red alarm light finally went dark.
49:32I collapsed on the floor and just held onyx.
49:34Tears coming whether I wanted them to or not.
49:36Made it.
49:37Beat death one more time.
49:38My home standing.
49:38Day after the rain stopped, temps dropped to around 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
49:42Still brutal, but survivable.
49:44I suited up in full acid rain gear, grabbed the detector, and cracked open that long sealed door.
49:49Hit immediately by a wall of burned.
49:51Chemical stank.
49:52Outside was pure scorched earth.
49:54Nothing left.
49:54Every tree reduced to black charcoal.
49:56Their rock where the mountains used to have a face.
49:58Blake.
49:59Nessa.
50:00The boar.
50:01All unrecognizable after the fire and acid rain.
50:04Officially part of the soil now.
50:05Didn't give them a second look.
50:06What caught my eye was a tiny flash of green in the rock cracks below.
50:09In the middle of all that black and nothing, one stubborn little weed was pushing through the ash.
50:14Droplets on its leaves catching the sunlight like tiny diamonds.
50:17Life finding a way.
50:18Also a pretty good omen.
50:19As long as the roots hold, fire and rain can't finish the job.
50:22Green will come back to this wasteland eventually.
50:24Sing goes for me.
50:25Knocked down.
50:26Repeatedly.
50:26Still here.
50:27Humans are that fast.
50:27It's honestly impressive.
50:28Once tents hit 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
50:30Survivors started crawling out from underground.
50:31I loaded up the modded off-roader.
50:33Through Onyx Inn.
50:34Headed down to the city.
50:35The thriving metropolis was now one massive ruin.
50:38Collapsed buildings.
50:38Burned out car skeletons.
50:40Shriveled bodies everywhere.
50:42Streets completely empty.
50:43Just wind moaning.
50:44True the wreckage.
50:45Going off memory.
50:46I found what used to be Blake's so-called luxury complex.
50:48That all-glass tower was now a blackened skeleton.
50:51Every pain shattered or melted.
50:52Frozen midrip.
50:52Like metal tears.
50:53Suck through the rubble for a while.
50:54Finally found the warp.
50:55Fire damaged safe.
50:56And inside.
50:57The half-gold.
50:57Bar Blake had fought to the nail for in the last life.
50:59And secretly stashed like a treasure.
51:00This time around.
51:00The gold had melted and re-solidified.
51:02Into a twisted lump.
51:03Looked like scrap metal.
51:05Coated in black ash.
51:06Holding that heavy little chunk.
51:07I couldn't help but laugh.
51:08He wrecked his life.
51:09Sold his soul.
51:10Betrayed everyone for this thing.
51:12Now it's just sitting quietly in the ashes.
51:14Worth less than a potato in my pocket.
51:16The apocalypse's greatest irony.
51:18And his.
51:18Most brutal punchline.
51:19Back on the mountain.
51:20The official shelter broadcast kept moving the recruitment pitch.
51:22Didn't move me an inch.
51:23I had crystal clear well water.
51:25More food than I could eat.
51:27A fortress.
51:28And most importantly.
51:30Total autonomy.
51:31But I couldn't sit on this gold mine alone.
51:33Used the surplus supplies as fate.
51:34And screened a few.
51:35Wonders passing through.
51:36The base of the mountain.
51:37Most had families in tow.
51:39On the size.
51:40Edges worn smooth by the apocalypse.
51:41I didn't need slaves.
51:43Revolt.
51:43I needed people with skin.
51:45In the game.
51:45I offered clean drinking water.
51:47And a daily ration of sweet potatoes and rice.
51:49Which to them.
51:50Was basically five star treatment.
51:51In exchange.
51:52They cleared farmland at the base.
51:54Patched up the fire damage out of defenses.
51:56And built greenhouse frame.
51:57I was the only.
51:58Authority here.
51:59The one who made the rules.
52:00They called me miss Caldwell.
52:01I spoke respect and genuine gratitude.
52:03Because here.
52:03Work equals food.
52:05And in a world full of starving people.
52:06That's basically a miracle.
52:08On this wasteland.
52:08I built my own.
52:10Micro civilization.
52:11No brute looting.
52:12No pointless killing.
52:13Just leverage.
52:14Resources.
52:15And the grip on what keeps people alive.
52:16I rules.
52:17My patch of order carted out of hell.
52:19And this patch.
52:19It belongs to ID Caldwell.
52:20The year.
52:212027.
52:21New year's day.
52:22First light of morning broke through the clouds.
52:23And hit the mountaintop.
52:25Yielding the whole wasteland in gold.
52:26I was in the rocking chair by the bunker entrance.
52:28Light blanket across my lap.
52:29Onyx was at my feet.
52:31Bigger than ever.
52:32Soaking up the sun.
52:33You're twitching now and then.
52:34Hot tea in hand.
52:35Steam curling up lazy and slow.
52:37I looked out at the valley below.
52:38Terraced green farmland.
52:39Where there used to be nothing.
52:40Workers moving through the rows.
52:41Their laughter and the sound of kids playing drifting up faintly.
52:44The world was still brutal.
52:46Still full of unknowns.
52:48Maybe a deep freeze next.
52:49Maybe earthquakes.
52:50But right now.
52:50I was alive.
52:51And doing it with dignity and on my own terms.
52:53Blake.
52:54Nessa.
52:54And every single person who'd ever come for me.
52:56All just us now.
52:58Swept away without a trace.
53:00And me.
53:01Ivy Caldwell.
53:02I made something of myself in the apocalypse.
53:04On the map full of dead.
53:05Grey silence.
53:06This mountain burns with the light of civilization and hope.
53:08And it doesn't go out.
53:09And it doesn't go out.
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