- 6 hours ago
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Short filmTranscript
00:01When the rusty boning knife sliced through the artery in my wrist, I felt no pain.
00:05All I felt was relief.
00:06It was year three of the scorching apocalypse.
00:08Global temperatures had locked in at 150 Fahrenheit.
00:10Because I had been too open about my doomsday prepping, my supplies were looted on day one.
00:14After that, my husband Dorian and his childhood sweetheart Mila kept me like lives.
00:17I had a rare type O negative blood type.
00:19In a world drained completely of water, my blood had become their most luxurious drink.
00:23Dorian swallowed the warm blood drawn from my wrist.
00:25He handed the remaining half bowl to Mila.
00:27I was sitting at that familiar mahogany conference table.
00:29Dorian slammed a divorce cement down in front of me.
00:31His face twisted with impatience.
00:32Rhea, don't push your luck.
00:33I get the Riverview penthouse.
00:35You get that useless plot of land in the bunk docks.
00:36That's my final offer.
00:37If you keep dragging this out, Mila's gonna be upset.
00:38I glanced at the glowing screen of my phone.
00:40June 1, 2026.
00:41Exactly one month before the sun turned into death my throat.
00:44I thought about his prized wentwet house.
00:45The most expensive real estate in the city.
00:46All glass facade and panoramic in the apocalypse.
00:48A 360 degree solar oven.
00:50Anyone trapped inside would be roasted into jerky within half a day.
00:53And the useless plot of land he'd casually tossed at me.
00:55Fine, I'll sign.
00:56I'm just so tired.
00:58I'm going to the mountains to farm.
00:59I hope I never see you two bastards again the rest of my life.
01:01Dorian exchanged a quick, triumphant look with Mila, who sat right beside him.
01:05They couldn't hide the wild ecasy in their eyes.
01:07To them, a visit of divorce had driven Million Mansion for a pile of worthless dirt.
01:10The moment I sighed, fake sympathy all over her face.
01:13Don't blame Dorian, Rhea.
01:14That land might be remote, but it's peaceful.
01:17It'll be nice for you to live alone.
01:19I ignored her, stood up, grabbed the car keys, and walked out.
01:22Outside, the midday sun hit hard.
01:24Never again would I be this stupid.
01:26My first priority wasn't a shopping spree, it was cash.
01:29I couldn't touch my accounts.
01:31Dorian was watching.
01:32Any large transfer and he'd pounce.
01:34I drove straight to the city's largest luxury consignature.
01:36My trunk was packed with Hermes bags, watches, and jewelry.
01:40I dumped it all on the counter like garbage.
01:42The owner's eyes went wide.
01:44Mrs. Calloway?
01:45I don't use that last name anymore.
01:46I cut him off.
01:48Liquidate it all.
01:48Cash only.
01:49No wire transfers.
01:50You can lobot me by 20%, but I want the cash in hand within an hour and keep your mouth
01:54shut.
01:57Two hours later, I walked out with two black trash bags.
02:00Nearly $5 million in cash.
02:02Enough for what I needed.
02:03I rented a beat-up, mud-spattered Ford cargo van.
02:05Tossed my heels.
02:06Pulled on steel-toed boots and denim.
02:08I looked at my bare face in the rearview mirror.
02:10In the hell that was coming.
02:11Beauty was a sin.
02:12Being invisible was the only armor.
02:14Next stop.
02:15My fortress.
02:16The haunted dump.
02:17Everyone despised.
02:19Three hours of jarring dirt roads.
02:20The van stopped at the base of a barren mountain.
02:22Desolate.
02:22Weeds and jagged rocks everywhere.
02:24Halfway up the slope.
02:25A rusted iron gate.
02:26The bunker entrance.
02:26I pushed the heavy doors open.
02:28A wave of damp, musty air slapped my face.
02:30Followed by the sound of rats.
02:31Floors flooded with stagnant water and trash.
02:33Cobwebs in every corner.
02:35I turned on a heavy-duty flashlight and pressed on.
02:36Ignoring the overpowering stench.
02:38This facility was built in the 1960s.
02:40Main structure was solid.
02:41Reinforced concrete.
02:43Buried 60 feet underground.
02:44When global heat waves hit, it will become a natural refuge.
02:47I wrote a checklist.
02:48Clear the mud.
02:49Reinforce the doors.
02:50Install ventilation filters.
02:52Hoard supplies.
02:52Every single task.
02:54Bruelling physical labor.
02:55I drove the van straight into the tunnel and locked the iron gates behind me.
02:59This was my home now.
03:00That night, I slept across the back seats, gnawing on stale bread.
03:03My phone buzzed.
03:04A social media post from Dorian.
03:06The photo showed him and Mila clinking wine glasses against the backdrop of massive floor-to-ceiling
03:10windows and dazzling city lights.
03:12The caption, finally, I've given my beloved a home.
03:14I couldn't help but smile slightly.
03:16Show off while you can.
03:17Those beautiful glass windows are going to become your death row.
03:20Soon enough, you'll be on your knees begging for an inch of shade and a single drop of water.
03:23In my past life, I witnessed people trading their own children for half a bottle of muddy water.
03:27Deep within the bunker, I found an abandoned mechanical well.
03:30I tied a thick rope around my waist, strapped on a headlamp, and slowly recuted down the
03:33shaft.
03:34The bottom was filled with rancid black sludge and the bones of dead rats.
03:37The suffocating stench almost made me gag.
03:39No help.
03:40No one around.
03:41I scooped the mud into a small bucket.
03:43Climbed back up.
03:44Dumped it.
03:44Started over.
03:45For three straight days, I worked like a coal miner.
03:47Caked in black grime.
03:48Nails cracked off.
03:49Blisters tore open and bled on my palms.
03:51Every time I pulled that rope, my arms screamed.
03:53But I didn't dare stop.
03:54I clearly remembered what it felt like, so thirsty that my throat was smoking.
03:57And my blood ran thick.
03:58By noon on the fourth day, I thrust my shovel down again.
04:01A stream of freezing liquid shot out and splashed my face.
04:03Ground water.
04:04Muddy, gritty, but flowing.
04:06Real water.
04:06I collapsed at the bottom of the well, watching the water slowly rise.
04:09The icy chills seep through my skin, straight to my bones.
04:11I scooped up a handful of dirty water, and laughed until I cried.
04:15With this well, I had the capital to survive the end of the world.
04:17I climbed out and drove straight to an industrial hardware district.
04:20Avoided the big stores.
04:21Hit only the small shops on the outskirts.
04:22I bought the finest subvermitule pumps available.
04:24Massive quantities of activated carbon, corn sand.
04:27Claimed I was a buyer for a rural fish farm.
04:28Groundwater levels the filtration gear.
04:30I bought 50 massive plummet once the scorching really hit.
04:32I needed to hoard at least a three-year supply.
04:34Right now.
04:35With water secured, the next step was insulation.
04:37Being underground kept things cool, but when surface tempers rose too high,
04:40heat would inevitably seep through the earth.
04:41I couldn't insulate inside in any obvious way.
04:43It was too conspicuous.
04:44So I chose the clumsy, but safest method.
04:46Internal film.
04:46I drove my beat-up van through wholesale dewbuilding insulation and aluminum foil bubble wrap.
04:50Cheap, light, but incredibly bulky.
04:51The van couldn't hold it all, so I made it trip after trip.
04:54For days, I worked like a tireless machine, hauling supplies by day, gluing panels to the
04:58walls by night.
04:59With no crew to help, I built my own scaffolding.
05:01Reaching the 15-foot ceilings was a nightmare.
05:03I fell twice, leaving my legs covered in ugly purple bruises.
05:07I went through hundreds of buckets of industrial adhesive.
05:09The chemicals burned through a layer of skin on my hands.
05:11But as I watched those damp, moldy walls disappear behind layers of gleaming silver foil, my chest
05:16swelled with pride.
05:17These weren't just walls.
05:18It was a shield against the reaper.
05:20External camouflage was even more critical.
05:22The bunker's air vents protruded halfway up the mountain.
05:24To hide them, I transplanted dead brush, thorny vines.
05:27I also dumped piles of repulsive trash near the main entrance.
05:29Rotting furniture, stinking clothes, broken glass.
05:32I wanted anyone passing by to take one look, cover their nose, and walk away.
05:37I bought the finest submersible pumps available.
05:39Massive quantities of activated carbon, quion sand.
05:41Get in my rural fish farm.
05:42Along water levels with filtration gear.
05:43I bought steam massive vestimasplasting really hit.
05:45I needed to hoard at least a three-year supply.
05:47Right now, two weeks until the apocalypse.
05:49The infrastructure was done.
05:50Now it was time to fill the pantry.
05:52I still had a large chunk of cash left.
05:53I didn't go on a shopping spree at big supermarkets.
05:56That would trigger alerts.
05:56Instead, I drove hundreds of miles to rural counties and bought directly from farmers.
06:00All kinds of grain.
06:01Some even expired.
06:02Mung beans.
06:02You could eat them.
06:03And when things got desperate, you could sprout.
06:04During my final supply run, I passed a pharmacy.
06:07Forcing Dorian to cut my flesh to nourish her.
06:10My face hardened.
06:12I walked inside and bought their entire stock.
06:14Iodine.
06:15Anti-inflammatories.
06:17Antioidics.
06:18Painkillers.
06:18For the construction crew?
06:20I bought thousands of tins of spam and military-grade hard fill.
06:23I didn't care about gourmet.
06:24I only cared about calories.
06:25Every unloading trip pushed me to my limits.
06:27I have to carry 20 bags of grain at a time.
06:28The skin on my shoulders blistered, scabbed over, and tore open again.
06:31But watching those metal racks fill up, it gave me a high that a closet full of Berkey
06:34bags never could.
06:35During my final supply run, I passed a pharmacy, forcing Dorian to cut my flesh to nourish her.
06:41My face hardened.
06:42I walked inside and bought their entire stock.
06:45Iodine.
06:45Anti-inflammatories.
06:46Anti-optics.
06:48Painkillers.
06:48For the construction crew.
06:49For the construction crew.
06:51As I walked out with my receipts, lightning suddenly fractured the sky.
06:55I knew it.
06:56The overture had begun.
06:58Three days until the heat wave hit.
07:01Code red heat warning issued.
07:03TV experts babbled about El Nino.
07:05Told people not to panic.
07:06Only I knew the temperature wouldn't come back down.
07:09Ever.
07:09I parked the van in the deepest recess of the bunker.
07:13Disconnected the battery.
07:14Backup storage unit.
07:16Then, final lockdown.
07:17I welded the original side door shut with steel plates.
07:21One entrance left.
07:22The most hidden one.
07:23Three layers of defense.
07:25Line one.
07:25The camouflage trash pile.
07:27Line two.
07:28A fake wooden door lined with ballistic steel plate.
07:31Line three.
07:31The original 20-inch concrete blast door.
07:34I retrofitted the doors with manual mechanical locks on the blast door.
07:37No electronics.
07:38No vulnerability to the door.
07:39To power failure or brute force.
07:41I packed the ventilation shafts with dense activated carbon filters.
07:44Nothing from outside getting in.
07:45Then I fired up the diesel generator and ran the deep wire pump.
07:48A low rumble.
07:50Groundwater surged through PVC pipes and poured into the storage tanks.
07:54I watched the water meter spin.
07:55My heart settled for the first time in weeks.
07:58I powered down my phone.
07:59Snapped the SIM card in half.
08:01From this moment on, Ria had officially vanished from society.
08:04I cooked pasta and fried two eggs.
08:06Full stomach.
08:08I lay back on my moisture-proof mat and listened to the wind hit the mountain.
08:11Tomorrow, the sun would bear its fans.
08:13I was ready.
08:15June 30th.
08:166 a.m.
08:17It should have been a cool morning.
08:18But outdoor temp.
08:19113 degrees Fahrenheit.
08:22By noon, pavement hit 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
08:25Asphalt roads melted into black mire.
08:28Street trees wilted.
08:29Curled.
08:30Caught fire.
08:31Ambulance sirens wailed.
08:32Then went silent when the tires melted off the rims.
08:3560 feet underground.
08:37I watched it all on my monitors.
08:38Hidden solar cameras near the peak fed me a live feed.
08:41On the screens, the outside looked like footage shot through a blood-red filter.
08:45The air was warping.
08:46I could feel faint warmth even down here.
08:48But my thermometer held at 78 degrees Fahrenheit.
08:51I lounged in silk pajamas, holding a fresh white radish just pulled from the ground.
08:56It was juicy.
08:57That single bite made me sigh in pure contentment.
09:02I pulled up the satellite network on my backup phone.
09:05Social media was a war zone.
09:06Dorian was still posting.
09:08But his tone had violently shifted.
09:10Yesterday, steak and wine.
09:11Today, a panicked rant.
09:13What the hell is wrong with building management?
09:17AC is useless.
09:19Power's out.
09:21Is anyone fixing this?
09:23I pictured Nina's plastic-surgeried face warping and melting in the extreme heat.
09:28I felt absolutely nothing.
09:29This was only day one.
09:31The real show hadn't even started.
09:33Day three.
09:34The city's power grid collapsed entirely.
09:36Transformers blew across the skyline.
09:39A morbid fireworks display.
09:40No power, no water.
09:42For high-rise residents, that was a death sentence.
09:45Dorian called 17 times.
09:47I activated an old burner and answered.
09:50Ria!
09:51Where are you?
09:53Any water on that lot?
09:55So hot.
09:57Water.
09:58I took a slow sip of iced mint water.
10:00Then I dropped my voice into a raspy wheeze.
10:02I'm dying.
10:04So hot.
10:05So thirsty.
10:07Useless bitch!
10:09I knew I shouldn't have given you that land!
10:12I could have sold it for water!
10:15I pulled up a camera feed near his building.
10:18Mobs already smashing ground floor windows, looting everything.
10:21His penthouse was physically secure, for now.
10:23But without the elevator, descending in this heat meant death by dehydration.
10:27I looked at my hydroponic trays.
10:29Under purple LED lights, the lettuce was vibrant green.
10:32The drip irrigation system released one drop of nutrient solution every ten minutes.
10:36In the silence underground, it sounded like music.
10:38No rush.
10:39I had all the time in the world to watch them turn from humans into ghouls.
10:43Half a month passed.
10:44The surface was charcoal.
10:46Mountains in the distance.
10:47Black, smoldering tombs.
10:49Except for my spot.
10:51I had tried to hide it, but I had made one mistake.
10:54I'd covered the ventilation opening with dead grass.
10:57But the moisture venting up from underground turned that patch green again.
11:00Against a landscape of black ash.
11:022 p.m. perimeter alarm.
11:04A civilian drone wobbled up from the valley below.
11:07Erratic flight.
11:08The pilot was clearly running on fumes.
11:11The camera circled, then locked onto that green patch.
11:14It rapidly descended for a closer look.
11:16My stomach dropped.
11:17I was exposed.
11:18Not by Dorian.
11:19By scavengers.
11:20In the apocalypse, green meant one thing.
11:23Water.
11:24Underneath.
11:25I stared at the monitor and reached under my pillow.
11:28My hand wrapped around the cold grip of my compound crossbow.
11:31If I couldn't hide, I had to silence them.
11:33On screen, the drone suddenly jerked around and shot back down the mountain.
11:37I knew exactly what was coming.
11:39They'd swarm this hill like locusts.
11:42The most dangerous moment had arrived.
11:45Two figures materialized on my monitors at the mountain's base.
11:49They were local thugs.
11:50One tall, one short.
11:52They clutched rusted machetes and tracked the drone's GPS.
11:55They wanted this windfall for themselves.
11:57I tweaked the zoom.
11:59The raw greed in their eyes was crystal clear.
12:02Boss, you think there's anything in this dump?
12:04Shut up!
12:05The drone saw green grass.
12:07There's water down there.
12:08We get that, we're kings!
12:10I sat in the climate-controlled monitoring room, 20 meters underground, holding a glass of
12:14iced cola.
12:16Outside, it was 131 degrees Fahrenheit.
12:19With every step, they were burning their last drops of life.
12:22I loaded a barbed steel bolt into my crossbow, designed to pierce a boar's skull.
12:27They had taken the trouble to visit.
12:28They weren't leaving.
12:29My fortress needed a blood sacrifice anyway.
12:32They crawled their way up to the mid-mountain slope, and found the ventilation grate hidden
12:36beneath the trash.
12:40Boss!
12:40Wind!
12:41It's cold wind!
12:43The two men went farrow.
12:44They tore at the iron grate and tried to bend the steel rebar with their bare hands.
12:47I didn't give them a chance to break anything.
12:49I stood behind the firing port, just inside the ventilation shaft.
12:53The crosshairs of my skin locked firmly onto the fat one's femoral artery.
12:57The head instantly punched through his thigh.
12:59His agonizing scream scattered a flock of half-twenties.
13:02Before the second third could even process the spray of blood, I rapidly reloaded.
13:07My second bolt drove straight through his shoulder.
13:10They collapsed onto the ground.
13:11Their spilled blood instantly sizzled and evaporated on the scorching stone.
13:15I didn't bother giving them mercy shots.
13:17I just watched the monitors with cold detachment.
13:20Watched them struggle, slow down, and eventually bake into two dribbled husks.
13:24This was my first lesson in my second life.
13:26Mercy to invaders is cruelty to myself.
13:29Mercy ...
13:3213.3 AM
13:323 AM
13:33The coolest time of the day.
13:35The thermometer still read 113 degrees Fahrenheit.
13:39I strapped on a Kevlar-stab-proof vest.
13:41Grabbed a tactical fold and shovel and clamped open the heavy blast door.
13:46The two corpses were completely stiff and gave off a foul, burnt smell.
13:50Without the slightest pity, I dragged them by the legs into a deep, shaded ditch in the mountains.
13:55between the extreme heat and the local scavengers the bodies would vanish without a trace
14:00i did manage to loot the drone's remote controller off them the drone itself was a huge windfall
14:04this is some good stuff a high-end dji model with this my surveillance radius just expanded
14:11to three miles back in the safety of the bunker i meticulously sterilized the controller with
14:16rubbing alcohol that green space is way too noticeable but those bodies will speak for me
14:25with the local pests dealt with i turned my attention back to the city using a backdoor
14:30i'd planted months earlier i tapped into the security feed of dorian's luxury high-rise
14:35today was day seven of zero power and zero water through the feed of his massive living room i saw
14:41the horror inside mila was slumped on the floor her once flawless skin was slick with grime a thick
14:47crust of white salt had formed on her designer silk pajamas from dried sweat the hyaluronic acid
14:53fillers in her face had warped violently under the extreme heat making her look grotesque a
14:58decorative vase lay shattered on the floor they'd drunk all the water inside dorian was holding an
15:04empty evian bottle desperately trying to piss into it his hands shook violently he hesitated but the
15:11sheer agony of thirst forced him to abandon his dignity this was the mansion they stole for me
15:17now it was a literal purgatory just as i was watering my hydroponic lettuce the burner phone lit up
15:22dorian i took my time i washed my hands dried them on a clean towel then i answered and put
15:28him on speaker
15:29ria ria ria save me i know you hoarded water i'm your husband we used to love each other ria
15:37i was
15:38wrong just one sip i'll be your slave i'll do anything hearing their wails i felt nothing but
15:44the thrill of revenge you want water remember that jade necklace if you swallow it i'll consider giving
15:53you a bottle silence as if they hadn't quite processed the demand i thought i was making a
15:59vulgar joke and i underestimated what people become at the edge of survival the phone suddenly rang
16:05followed by fierce struggles and a woman's terrified scream darian are you insane this is stone i'll die
16:14swallow it now so she gives us water there was a crash and a body fell to the hardwood floor
16:22dorian
16:22pinned her to the ground and forced the jade necklace down her throat their shadows fighting
16:28on my blacked out monitor two people who once swore eternal love now fought bitterly over just half a
16:35bottle of water bored of this farce i hung up the phone knowing neither of them would die today
16:41and this is only the beginning they still have the strength to attack each other which means they
16:46are not desperate enough yet i will wait and watch them rot little by little until they become
16:52groveling worms begging on their knees the outside world was burning in hell surface temperature
16:57shattering 144 he inside my fortress 20 meters below the earth the thermostat displayed a perfect 75 for
17:04he i had turned the air filtration setting to celebrate successfully system down to a dispatching
17:08two raiders to toast dorian finally exposing his true colors i decided to treat myself i opened the heavy
17:13door a cloud of icy vapor rolled out i carefully selected an m9 grade australian wagyu ribeye
17:18once thawed and freshly cracked black pepper the cast iron skillet was smoking hot then i dropped in a
17:24pad of butter that glorious sound echoing in my quiet dining room was beautiful the aroma of the
17:29maillard reaction instantly filled the air i pulled a 1982 lafotte from the wine rack let it breathe for
17:3430 minutes and poured it into a crystal glass under the warm dining lights i sliced off a piece of
17:39nicely
17:39browned steak and put it in my mouth it was juicy and tender inside as the fat melted across my
17:43tongue a wave of
17:44absolute euphoria washed over me at this moment i wasn't just eating steak i was savoring my survival
17:49and my dignity this was in brutal contrast hell outside and a michelin star experience inside i
17:54hardened my ris lifetime i would never let anyone destroy my peace if anyone dared reach for my plate
17:58i would chop their hands off belly full and slightly buzzed i logged onto the fragmented local interwerp
18:03i wanted to see how badly the world was declaim dorian's building group chat had descended into total
18:07anarchy the veneer of polite society had vanished overnight law and morality were dead concepts residents
18:11were forming mutual eight squads this was just a polite term for armed raiding party they were
18:15openly targeting single women and the elderly casually debating whose doors were easiest to
18:19crowbar open and right there on the latest roster of the raiding squad was dorian's name to survive the
18:24man who used to preach about corporate ethics and high class morals had entire shed his human skin
18:27someone in the chat bragged about dorian's initiation to prove his worth to the gang dorian had betrayed
18:32mrs calloway she was the sweet old lady living next door to him he tipped them off about her two
18:35cases of
18:36bottled water her son had dropped off before the heat wave hit reading the chat lags a cold shiver ran
18:39down my
18:40spine mrs calloway used to bake him cookies she treated him like family that was dorian in my
18:44past life he traded my life for a cup of lifetime throwing an old lady to the wolves was nothing
18:47to
18:47him he wasn't a man anymore he was a demon wearing a tailored suit
18:59the next morning the moment my intranet pinged i saw a new post on dorian's feed he hadn't blocked me
19:05it was a highly curated photo he was gripping a baseball bat smeared with dried dark blood
19:11at his feet sat two pristine unopened cases of aquafina water his eyes stared into the lens with
19:17a rabid glare that was the loot he plundered from mrs calloway two cases of water paid for with an
19:23innocent life rumor had it that the kind gentle old woman had fought back he felt absolutely no
19:29remorse instead he was a murder like a badger on the gang was hailing him as a ruthless operator
19:33some even wanted him to lead the squad looking at the sycophantic comments under his post i laughed
19:38coldly dorian thought he was the big shot in this wasteland and true if he was just a short-sighted
19:43idiot
19:43two cases of water how long would that last him and mila in this oven three days five in a
19:49world where
19:49production was permanently reduced to zero taking without contributing is a death sentence he's
19:54flaunting his violence and supplies so openly like lighting a torch in a pitch black forest his
19:58current madness is just the last gasp before the end he's making himself a perfect target those
20:02outlaws will smell blood in the water and come for him soon just as i was shutting my laptop to
20:06head down to the bunker's gym a pinned post on the local survival fornal caught my eye the title
20:09was plashed in red fight reward 10 boxes of instant noodles in a world where even the rats were starving
20:13to death 10 boxes of instant noodles was enough to hire a private army i quickly traced the ip address
20:17of
20:17the original poster i wasn't surprised it pinged straight back to dorian's luxury comp old murderous
20:20rage welled up inside me those two stolen case of water were clearly already empty or his penthouse
20:24had finally come completely hit forced on me dorian had finally remembered to use my love and trust to
20:27steal my bunker in this life he was smarter he was weaponizing the mob and human greed using other
20:30people to do his dirty work the comments underneath the bounty were feral the greed practically bled through
20:34the screen a storm was coming a big one i tapped my fingers rhythmically against the desk
20:41ria capped her with mint loa's esque you want to come then come if they were so eager to rush
20:50into
20:50hell i'd happily turn this mountain into their mass grave my perimeter traps had been starving for
20:56action and i was more than ready to feed them some fresh meat
21:00you
21:02you
21:03you
21:06you
21:06you
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