- 2 days ago
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🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00The pain was gone. Only my soul shattering in the cold remained.
00:02What did minus 70 degrees feel like?
00:04It's when your breath freezes mid-air, tearing your lungs.
00:06It's when your blood moved so slow your heart just stopped.
00:08It's when steel got brittle and snapped.
00:09In my past life, I watched my own hands and feet turn black and blue, then stiff as stone.
00:12And my dear little sister Jenny was bundled up in the last army coat she'd stripped off my back,
00:16curled up in that guy Dave's arms, laughing at me through the steel door.
00:18Wendy, you've got more insulation. You can handle it.
00:20We need the coat more. Gotta carry on the family name.
00:22Family name? I wanted to laugh, but the muscles in my face were already dead.
00:25In that frozen hell, human cruelty was colder than the ice.
00:27Ha! I bolt upright in bed, cold sweat soaking my back.
00:29Hot, stifling. The cicadas screamed deafeningly outside.
00:31I fumbled from my phone. It was July 15th, 2025. 35 degrees.
00:35I was alive. My hand flew to the jade pendant on my chest, reaching for that so-called storage space.
00:38Nothing. I tried to summon the system in my mind. Nothing. Just nothing.
00:41Only the balance on my banking app and the very real sun blazing outside.
00:44No superpowers, no magic space, but I had my memories. I had my mind.
00:47And I had Mom and Dad.
00:48Wendy.
00:48My bedroom door creaked open. Mom and Dad stood there,
00:50their looks shifting from confusion to shock to pure joy the moment they saw me.
00:53They were back too. The three of us held each other tight.
00:55Dad's hands were shaking. Mom's tears were burning hot on my skin.
00:57This time around, we're not being saints.
00:59Dad said, wiping his face, his gaze sharp and focused.
01:01So what if we don't have a magic space? We have our hands. We have this house.
01:04Until it hits 70 below, we can build ourselves a shelter to survive.
01:07Let's take stock.
01:08Mom made a beeline for the safe, dumping the deed, the car keys, the gold bars onto the bed.
01:12Wendy, check every penny we have available.
01:14David, sell the house. Fast for cash.
01:17I took a deep breath, opened my banking app. No loans, no overdraft.
01:21This was our family's blood money. Every cent had to count.
01:24Only 30 days left until the end of the world.
01:26The doorbell rang. Even through the door, I could smell that sickly fake kindness.
01:30It's Jenny. Last time around, she's here to beg for money for Dave's business.
01:33I opened the door. Jenny dragged a suitcase, acting like the world owed her everything.
01:36Wendy, are Mom and Dad home? Give me $71,000 now, or I'll never come back.
01:39Last life, to scrape that money together, I emptied my entire bank account.
01:42This life, I glanced back at Mom and Dad on the couch.
01:44Mom's furiously punching numbers into a calculator, not even looking up.
01:47Sure.
01:47Jenny froze. She didn't expect it to be this easy.
01:49A grin started to spread across her face.
01:50Wait!
01:51Dad stubbed out his cigarette. He pulled a document from his briefcase, already prepared.
01:54Sign this first. A gift agreement and declaration of severance of relations.
01:56Dad, what do you mean?
01:58It means this money buys you out of this family.
02:00Dad's voice was cold.
02:02Take the money. From now on, live or die, you're on your own.
02:04We're selling this house tomorrow. You won't have a home to come back to.
02:06Selling the house? Are you insane?
02:07Jenny stared at us.
02:08You're selling the house just to force me to break up with him?
02:10Cut the crap. Sign it or not.
02:11I tossed the pen in front of her.
02:12No signature, no money. Sign it, and the 71,000 is yours.
02:15Do whatever you want.
02:15Jenny stared at the check. Her greed won.
02:17She thought we were bluffing.
02:19Fine, I'll sign.
02:19Once Dave and I are rich, don't come crawling back to us.
02:21She scribbled her name, grabbed the check, and left.
02:23As the door clicked shut, Mom's hand trembled slightly.
02:26But she steadied herself fast.
02:27One less mouth to feed. The leftover grain will last us three more years.
02:29Next comes the real fight.
02:31We've got 1.4 million to work with.
02:32We need a truck modified to handle extreme cold.
02:34Hundreds of tons of coal.
02:35We need to retrofit the old cellar.
02:36And enough food to last us a decade.
02:38Against the apocalypse, 1.4 million was a drop in the bucket.
02:40Back to the village.
02:41Dad looked around the empty house, his gaze resolute.
02:43To the bomb shelter.
02:43That's the only place with professional insulation that can survive 70 below.
02:47The backyard of the old house in Linton Village would be our final fortress.
02:49With no storage space, we couldn't just wave our hands and make supplies disappear.
02:52Our biggest challenge was storage and preservation.
02:54Dad, with all his years as a design engineer, stepped up.
02:57He stood in front of the abandoned bomb shelter,
02:58blueprints in hand, and roared at the construction crew we'd hired from the city.
03:02I don't want insulation. I want a seal. A seal.
03:05Even with only 1.4 million, Dad sank 428,000 into construction.
03:09Don't sweat the money.
03:10Dad said, seeing the pained look on my face.
03:12When it hits 70 below, every inch of insulation is a lifeline.
03:16Next came my task, the hoarding.
03:18No magic space. I had to calculate every cubic meter.
03:21The villagers watched, truck after truck hauling stuff in and crowded around to gawk.
03:24Hey, David, you opening a supermarket?
03:26Sold your city house just to come back to collect junk?
03:28I was hauling a 25k box of canned peaches.
03:30I just wiped the sweat off my face, gave them a smile, and said,
03:32Yeah, city life didn't work out. Figured I'd try the wholesale business.
03:35I looked up at the sky. The sun still blazed.
03:37But only I knew that this clunky, crowded, inelegant stockpile,
03:40in just one month, would become a treasure that even the richest people would envy.
03:44Just then, mom ran over, her face pale.
03:47Wendy, we have a problem. We're running out of money.
03:50We haven't bought the diesel generator yet.
03:51And we're only halfway on winter clothes.
03:53Sell it.
03:54I looked at the van in the yard.
03:55Our last hauler.
03:57Then at the gold bangle on my wrist.
03:58Sell everything but the clothes on our backs.
04:00Only three days left.
04:02The temperature started acting strange.
04:0340 degrees during the day, then plunging to 10 at night.
04:05The wild swings had the village dogs howling all night long.
04:07In our courtyard, there wasn't a square inch of floor space left.
04:10Without magic space, stockpiling was a skill.
04:12Dad had packed 50 tons of coal into two side rooms,
04:14bricked up the windows, left just a tiny hatch to grab it,
04:16and camouflaged it with weeds.
04:18Our biggest crisis is the diesel.
04:19Though we had a geothermal heater,
04:20the generator was our last line of defense for electricity.
04:21In a country tightly controlled,
04:22stockpiling tons of diesel was nearly impossible.
04:24David, the construction crew's gone.
04:26But the fuel, mom stared at the three big but empty steel drums,
04:28stress eating her alive.
04:29Dad gritted his teeth, dialed an old army buddy,
04:31a contractor he'd worked with before, a maverick.
04:33Alan, I need fuel.
04:34Don't ask why.
04:35Greenhouse operation, urgent.
04:36I'll pay 50% over.
04:37Cash, now.
04:38Late that night, a modified water truck rolled quietly into the yard.
04:41No small talk.
04:42Dad just tossed two cases of cash, 85,000, into the cab.
04:45The hose connected, a black line pulsing like an artery,
04:47pumping precious diesel into the tank buried in the ground.
04:49Mom and I were on lookout duty at the door.
04:50Mrs. Ward from next door came out to use the restroom and craned her neck.
04:53Oh, what's the Linton family up to so late?
04:55That was the smell of diesel.
04:56My heart seized.
04:56I gripped my flashlight tight and smiled back.
04:58Nothing, Mrs. Ward?
04:59Just clearing out the biogas digester.
05:00It stinks, you should get inside.
05:02Mrs. Ward wrinkled her nose and scurried back in.
05:04The moment the tank was full, Dad slumped against the wall.
05:06Completely spent.
05:06We're set.
05:07Grain, coal, fuel, and medicine.
05:08Even if the world goes moonscape, we can last three years.
05:11Then, an emergency weather alert flashed on the TV.
05:13Due to an abnormal stratospheric collapse,
05:15temperatures are expected to drop sharply over the next 24 hours.
05:17I checked the phone.
05:18Jenny sent a picture of her enjoying seafood in a fancy restaurant.
05:20Fools feed mosquitoes in the country.
05:22I enjoy the view from a presidential suite.
05:23August 15th, noon.
05:24The blinding sun suddenly seemed snuffed out by a gray cloth.
05:27Not a cloud in the sky, yet the sky took on an eerie leaden hue.
05:29The air went still.
05:30Even the cicadas fell silent all of a sudden.
05:32Into the shelter, Dad roared.
05:33It was survival instinct, etched into his bones.
05:35The three of us scrambled into the cellar.
05:36Just as we'd rehearsed, Dad first slammed shut the outer camouflaged wooden door.
05:39Then the heavy blast-proof steel door.
05:40The groan from the hand crank, the final seal.
05:42An airtight, insulated door clicked shut with a thud.
05:44The world outside ceased to exist.
05:45Inside the cellar, only the pale glow of the battery-powered LEDs lit the space.
05:47Though underground, we had periscope viewports.
05:49I pressed my face to one, staring at the outdoor thermometer.
05:5235 degrees.
05:5330 degrees.
05:5320 degrees.
05:54In just 10 minutes, the temperature plunged below freezing.
05:56Rain began to fall, freezing instantly on the ground.
05:57Then came the snow.
05:58Thick, heavy flakes.
05:59Each one the size of a palm.
06:00Gray and city.
06:00Smelling of sulfur.
06:01By 3 p.m., the outside temperature was 20 below.
06:04This wasn't a gradual chill.
06:05It was like someone had tossed the entire planet into liquid nitrogen.
06:07The village loudspeakers crackled to life.
06:08The village headset, his voice shaking.
06:09Everyone stay inside.
06:10Stay warm.
06:11Don't go out.
06:11The broadcast cut out mid-sentence.
06:12Maybe the lines had snapped in the cold.
06:13Or maybe he'd just frozen solid.
06:14Through the viewport, I saw a villager who hadn't made it home was stumbling toward the
06:17village entrance.
06:18But his movements grew jerky, mechanical.
06:20Like a rusted wind-up toy.
06:2110 feet from his own front door, he pitched forward and fell.
06:24Outside, the world had become hell.
06:25Inside the cellar, it was something else.
06:27The insulation was a godsend.
06:28We hadn't even turned on the heat yet, but between the geothermal warmth and our own
06:31body heat, the temperature held at around 15 degrees.
06:32A little cool maybe, but perfect for a fleece-lined hoodie.
06:34Checking the seals, dad said.
06:36Detector in hand, he did a full circuit of the door and vents.
06:38Carbon dioxide levels are normal.
06:39Oxygen's good.
06:40No leaks.
06:40Mom, meanwhile, had dug out a small coal stove from our supplies.
06:43Let's save the battery.
06:43We'll use coal for now.
06:44The smokeless coal burned in the stove, crackling softly.
06:46Blue flames licking the bottom of the kettle.
06:48Dinner was simple.
06:49Noodles, three fried eggs topped with chili crisp and spam.
06:51But at a time like this, a steaming bowl of broth was nectar of the gods.
06:54We huddled around the coal stove, bowls in hand, not saying a word,
06:56just wolfing it down. Cell service was spotty now.
06:58But the towers weren't completely dead yet.
07:00I scrolled through my feed.
07:00Just people screaming for help.
07:01What's going on?
07:01My AC is set to 30 and I'm still freezing.
07:03My window's shattered.
07:04The coal just shattered them.
07:04Then a message popped up.
07:06It was from Jenny.
07:07Wendy, what's wrong?
07:08The hotel lost power.
07:08The AC is down.
07:09We're freezing to death.
07:10Don't rural houses have heated brick beds?
07:12Come get us.
07:12I stared at the screen coldly.
07:13Typed back.
07:14Roads are closed.
07:15Trucks frozen solid.
07:15Can't make it.
07:16Then I blocked her.
07:16I just put my phone down when a dull, heavy thud came from the ventilation shaft above.
07:19Thump, thump.
07:20Someone was up there, pounding on our camouflage.
07:22The pounding stopped after a few thuds.
07:23Dad signaled for us to be quiet.
07:24He put on a stethoscope and pressed it against the vent pipe.
07:26It's Baldi Rick and his crew.
07:27Dad whispered,
07:28They're seeking shelter.
07:29Good thing we camouflaged the entrance.
07:30Piled it high with scrap wood and bricks.
07:32They think it's just a collapsed ruin.
07:33Kicked it a couple times and moved on.
07:34Baldi Rick was the village bully.
07:35Lazy and worthless.
07:36And he definitely hadn't stockpiled any food.
07:38Over the next three days, the temperature plunged past 40 below.
07:40Life in the cellar was dull and suffocating.
07:41No internet, no entertainment.
07:42Just dim lights and the endless howl of the wind.
07:44To save fuel, we rationed the coal stove to four hours a day.
07:47The rest of the time, we relied on our expensive sleeping bags.
07:49On the fourth day, people in the village started going door to door.
07:51Not asking for food, but asking for coal.
07:53Through the viewport, I watched a group of villagers wrapped in quilts,
07:55axes, and crowbars in hand, battering on Mrs. Ward's door.
07:58Mrs. Ward, we're all neighbors here.
07:59Just lend us some coal.
08:00Open up, or we'll break it down.
08:01I could just make out Mrs. Ward's screams.
08:03Then the sound of splintering wood.
08:04The screaming stopped in under five minutes.
08:06The villagers emerged, dragging two sacks of coal.
08:08One of their axes was smeared with blood.
08:10They'll find us soon enough, Dad said, wiping down his compound bow.
08:12It was his only long-range weapon.
08:13Our chimney's rigged to disperse the smoke,
08:15but that small heat signal won't hide from thermal imaging,
08:17or anyone desperate enough to notice.
08:18No sooner had he spoken than a face appeared in the viewport.
08:20Baldi Rick, right by our hidden vent, inhaling deeply.
08:22A greedy, ecstatic grin spread across his face.
08:24There's meat down there.
08:25They'd found us, but Dad wasn't worried.
08:26We'd built this place for exactly this moment.
08:29Baldi Rick called the others, and they started digging at the vent.
08:31Zap!
08:31The second their fingers touched the vent's protective mesh,
08:33a blue-purple arc of electricity flashed.
08:35It was a capacitor Dad had rigged to the battery bank.
08:36Not enough to kill, but enough to make a man lose control of his bladder.
08:39Ah, the screams came from outside.
08:40It's electrified.
08:41That old man was ready for us.
08:42In 40 below weather, if you get hurt, or even just panicked enough to sweat,
08:46hypothermia sets in fast.
08:46They didn't stick around.
08:47They cursed a few times and retreated.
08:48But this was only the beginning.
08:49The real crisis came that night.
08:50The entire region's power grid collapsed.
08:52Until then, we'd still seen the town's faint glow.
08:54In an instant, it all went dark.
08:55The world was plunged into absolute blackness.
08:56Our phones became useless bricks.
08:57The last bars of signal were gone.
08:59We were an island.
08:59Fire up the diesel generator.
09:00Dad ordered.
09:01A low rumble came from the soundproofed room in the back of the cellar.
09:03Even with all the insulation in the dead silence underground,
09:05you could still feel the floor vibrate.
09:06With power back, we switched on the old radio.
09:08A crackling voice came through.
09:09Fading in and out.
09:09Global catastrophe.
09:10Shelter in place.
09:11Await rescue.
09:11Mom was counting the remaining coal when her face suddenly went pale.
09:14Linton.
09:14Look at this corner.
09:15On the southeast wall of the cellar, a layer of frost had formed.
09:17Did we mess up the aerogel, or...
09:19Dad walked over and touched it.
09:20His face turned ashen.
09:20No, the cold's getting through.
09:22The ground outside is frozen 10 feet deep now.
09:23The cold is penetrating the concrete.
09:25If it hits 70 below, our insulation might not hold.
09:27Cut back to the city.
09:28The once glamorous five-star hotel was now a giant ice coffin.
09:31Jenny was wrapped in an expensive mink coat, yet she's still shaking like a leaf.
09:34Dave huddled in a corner, wrapped in every curtain he could find.
09:36All the wooden furniture has been chopped up and burned.
09:38Even that pricey European-style bed went up in flames.
09:40No food left.
09:41Dave's voice was raw.
09:42His eyes cold and predatory.
09:43That 71,000 was long gone.
09:44Spent on designer bags, a watch, and this useless mink coat.
09:46They never even bought a single case of instant noodles.
09:48Let's go to your sisters.
09:49Dave stood up abruptly, a manic gleam in his eyes.
09:51She must have planned ahead.
09:53They've got heated brick beds and firewood.
09:54But how?
09:55It's 50 below outside.
09:56Jenny wailed.
09:56I've got a car.
09:57Dave flashed a set of keys he'd taken off a corpse in the parking garage.
10:00An SUV.
10:00It's been modded.
10:01It'll still run.
10:02As long as we don't die on the road, we live.
10:03They charge out of the hotel like rabid dogs.
10:05Frozen corpses littered the streets.
10:07Some were stuck mid-crawl.
10:08Others still pounding on shop doors.
10:09Tonight, luck sided with the wicked.
10:10The SUV actually roared to life and the tank was full.
10:12They smashed through ice statues and wrecks, barreling toward Linton Village.
10:15One day later, at the village entrance, a smoking SUV slammed into the old locust tree.
10:19The door swung open.
10:20Two ghost-like figures crawled out.
10:21Jenny's face was already purple from the cold.
10:22She stares at the old Linton house ahead.
10:24Its outline not yet buried in snow.
10:25Her tears froze on her cheeks.
10:26We made it, Dave.
10:27We're gonna live.
10:27We were having dinner.
10:28To keep warm, we were eating high-calorie rice mixed with pork lard.
10:30Plus, there's a big pot of stew.
10:32Suddenly, the buzzer by the viewport went off.
10:33Someone's coming.
10:34I leaned over to look and my pupils shrank hard.
10:36It's Jenny and Dave.
10:37But they were not alone.
10:38Trailing behind were three more, Baldi Rick's crew.
10:40Wendy, Dad, Mom, it's me, Jenny.
10:42Jenny's voice blared through the loudspeaker, jarring in this death-quiet village.
10:45I know you're in there.
10:46Dave told me everything.
10:47You sold the house and the car and brought back one four million.
10:49You must have food for days in there.
10:50Damn it.
10:51What a moron.
10:51Just so Baldi Rick would lead them or spare them, she went and spilled all our secrets.
10:55Neighbors.
10:55Jenny yelled to the crowd.
10:56My parents are right down there.
10:57They've stashed a ton of supplies.
10:58Bust that door open and we all get to live.
11:00That kill with a borrowed knife move was brutal.
11:01The villagers were only guessing before.
11:02Now they were sure.
11:031.4 million worth of supplies.
11:04How much food and coal was that?
11:05Rick it down.
11:06Baldi Rick snarled.
11:06Eyes bloodshot and he waved his hand.
11:07Pickaxes and sledgehammers rained down on our first blast-proof door.
11:10In the cellar, Mom's hands shook, clutching Dad's arm tightly.
11:12Dad's face was like stone.
11:13He set down his bowl and chopsticks.
11:14He strode to the control panel and twisted the valve on the hand pump.
11:17It's not hooked to the well, but to a high-pressure water line he buried at the entrance.
11:20At minus 50 degrees out there, water was the nastiest weapon around.
11:22Open the valve, Dad ordered coldly.
11:24I slammed the lever down.
11:25Nozzles hidden above the door blasted out a cloud of mist.
11:27And it's not just water.
11:28Dad dumped in a mountain of salt, dropping the freezing point, keeping it liquid until
11:31the spray.
11:32The moment it hit anything, the windchill flash froze it solid.
11:34Screams erupted outside the door.
11:35The ones swinging the tools got drenched, and in seconds their clothes turned to iron-hard
11:38ice.
11:39Their hands were welded to the handles.
11:40Then I saw Dave ducking behind Jenny, using her as a human shield.
11:43Jenny's coated in frozen shards, locked in place like an ice statue, her eyes full of stunned
11:47despair.
11:47Ah, the scream was torn apart by the savage wind.
11:49The high-pressure sprinkler system Dad built was supposed to rinse hazmat suits, but then
11:53it was our deadliest defense.
11:54The brine it spat out was crazy strong.
11:56And the second it hit air at 50 below, it turned into super-cooled mist.
11:59The moment that mist hit anything, it ripped the heat right out, forming a rock-hard ice
12:03shell.
12:03Baldi Rick was in the lead, raising a homemade shotgun and got blasted full in the face.
12:07Crack!
12:08Before he could even pull the trigger, his fingers froze solid.
12:10No way to bend them.
12:10Next, his eyelashes.
12:12Stubble.
12:12Even the steam from his breath turned white with frost in seconds.
12:15He tried to wipe his face in panic, but the glove was stuck to his skin.
12:18Dave, help me!
12:18Jenny's scream twisted with terror.
12:20Through the viewport, I saw a scene that made my blood run cold.
12:22The instant the mist erupted, the guy who kept saying he loved her, promising he'd keep
12:25her alive, Dave, didn't hesitate.
12:27He yanked Jenny over, planting her right in front of him.
12:29That pricey mink coat she was wearing turned into a soaking sponge.
12:33Icy water soaked the fur, clinging to her skinny body.
12:35She became Dave's human shield.
12:36You are crazy, so cold.
12:37Dave, what are you doing?
12:38Jenny struggled desperately, but Dave gripped her shoulders tightly, hiding behind her
12:41shivering body.
12:42His eyes were full of desperate survival instinct and hatred towards us.
12:44Don't move.
12:45You're my girlfriend.
12:46You have to protect me.
12:46Dave yelled, his voice trembling.
12:48Wendy, you bitch, open the door, or your sister would freeze to death.
12:51At that moment, Jenny stopped struggling.
12:52Well, she wanted to, but she was frozen stiff.
12:54That mink coat turned into dozens of pounds of ice armor, sealing her firmly in place.
12:58Her face was turned toward our viewport, her expression changing from terror to anger,
13:00and finally to hopeless stupor.
13:02Baldi Rick's two lackeys were rolling on the ground, but the more they rolled, the thicker
13:04the ice layer on them became until they could only twitch in the snow.
13:07Although Baldi Rick was strong, he then knelt on the ground, like an eerie ice sculpture
13:10making a broken bellow sound from his mouth.
13:11Was the threat gone?
13:12No.
13:12Dad suddenly pointed at a corner of the monitor.
13:14Dave isn't dead yet.
13:14He didn't get much water on him.
13:16And what is he doing?
13:17On the screen, Dave saw that Jenny had stopped moving and actually pushed her down.
13:20He took out a simple Molotov cocktail made from a plastic bottle, lit the fuse, and charged
13:24madly towards our air vent.
13:25Die!
13:25All of you die!
13:26Boom!
13:27The Molotov smashed into the vent's protective cover.
13:29Flames shot up.
13:29But in this deep freeze, they died in seconds.
13:31Dad had already wrapped the vent with double fireproof insulation.
13:33That splash of gas burned for barely 30 seconds before the wind snuffed it.
13:35But Dave didn't stop.
13:36Like a crazed gambler, he raised his crowbar and beat the hell out of our vent pipe.
13:40Come out!
13:40Give me food!
13:41I've got cash!
13:41That stupid bitch gave me all her money!
13:43I can pay you!
13:43He kept smashing while raving like a lunatic.
13:45But he forgot this was a minus 50 degree hell.
13:47That shove earlier, though it spared him most of the mist, still left his pant legs soaked.
13:51Through the viewport, I stared at him.
13:52Ice cold.
13:52His wings slowed and slowed.
13:53Five minutes later, the pounding stopped.
13:55Dave stayed kneeling, hands clawing the doorframe, face plastered to the frozen steel,
13:58eyes wide open, dead and staring.
14:00Outside the door, five ice statues became the Linton Cellar's new guards.
14:02This fight erased the threat.
14:03But it also blew our cover.
14:05Those statues were both warning and landmark.
14:07At dawn, Dad did his routine instrument check.
14:09Suddenly his face went ghost white, and his fingers shook as he tapped the barometer.
14:13Crap, what's wrong?
14:14My heart lurched.
14:15Not the gauge.
14:15Dad said, turning around, fear swimming in his eyes.
14:18It's the pressure.
14:18It's plummeting.
14:19That means a super blizzard is coming.
14:21The kind of wind that rips houses out by the roots.
14:23And right now, our cellar door, or after last night's spray, is sealed under a thick sheet of ice.
14:27If the exhaust pipe gets buried in snow, we'll suffocate in here.
14:30That legendary blizzard was even nastier than we'd feared.
14:32The surface wasn't howling anymore.
14:33All we heard was billions of tons of sand and great grinding steel.
14:36Then, the cellar's oxygen monitor flashed blinding red.
14:38Carbon dioxide levels were rising rapidly.
14:40The vent pipes totally clogged.
14:41Snow's too heavy, or the camouflage layer caved in.
14:42If we didn't clear it now, we would suffocate in under three hours.
14:45Do it.
14:46Dad didn't hesitate.
14:47He hauled out a spare industrial hydraulic jack and an extra-long alloy drill bit, lining them up with the
14:50emergency shaft.
14:50I gripped the drill rod with everything I had.
14:51Mom cranked the blower like crazy, trying to squeeze out every last puff of air.
14:54The lack of oxygen made me see stars.
14:56My lungs burned like fire.
14:57Ten minutes in, the bit jammed with a thud.
14:59Metal hit.
15:00Dad actually smiled.
15:01It's a car's underbelly.
15:02The wind had flipped one and parked it right over the shaft.
15:04The jack groaned under the load.
15:05With a dull boom, Tama warped overhead.
15:07A blast of icy, blissfully sweet air poured in.
15:10We gulped it down like attics.
15:12Dad shoved the hatch open.
15:13I slid the periscope through the gap.
15:14So it was Baldy Rick's off-roader.
15:16It was a giant lid shielding us from the drifts.
15:18I tilted the scope farther out.
15:19My heart clenched.
15:20Across the dead, silent white plain, a messy trail of fresh footprints snaked away.
15:23Following the footprints, I tweaked the periscope's focus.
15:26Three hunched figures slid into view.
15:27Leading them was Limp Larry from the village.
15:28Usually a quiet, harmless guy.
15:30Now he had two half-starved villagers in tow.
15:32Going nuts on the lock of the public granary.
15:33The door finally gave way.
15:34Inside, nothing but emptiness.
15:35Just a few moldy grains of old rice and rat shit in the corner.
15:37In that moment, the last fig leaf of humanity got ripped off.
15:39Without a word, Larry swung half a brick into the back of his buddy's head.
15:42Blood splattered on the snow like a blinding red flower.
15:44He wasted no time finishing off two guys.
15:46Claimed the bag of rat shit-laced moldy rice all for himself.
15:48Grabbed a fistful and crammed it into his mouth.
15:49Down in the cellar, I was having lunch.
15:50A steaming, self-heating meal.
15:52Curry beef.
15:52It's smell filling the room.
15:53When hunger takes over, humanity is gone.
15:55Dad lifted a chunk of beef, staring at the monitor, stone-faced.
15:57That's the apocalypse for you.
15:58Some murder for a bite of rotten rice, while others feast on meat in a warm cellar.
16:00On screen, Larry dragged the bloody rice bag, heading back, then suddenly froze.
16:04Beyond a snowy ridge, three pairs of eerie green eyes lit up.
16:06Those were three starved wolves.
16:08Any beast tough enough to survive this frozen hell is among the elite.
16:11Larry never even got the chance to run.
16:12The first wolf struck like lightning, snapping his calves.
16:14The second wolf went straight for his throat.
16:16His screams blasted through the cellar mics and lasted a good ten seconds.
16:18Blood splattered across the snow and froze in an instant.
16:20The sack of moldy rice bought with two lives spilled everywhere.
16:22The wolves didn't spare at a glance.
16:23After filling their bellies, they still didn't leave.
16:24The three wolves paced around our vent.
16:26Nostrils flaring, they caught the faintest whiff of human scent.
16:29Reinforce it.
16:29Dad set down his bowl in chopsticks.
16:30He turned toward the workbench and instantly welded a row of barbed iron grates behind the
16:33blast door.
16:33Anyone who forces their way in dies.
16:34While mom was sorting the coal for heating, she suddenly yelped.
16:37David, look.
16:38At the bottom compartment of the coal bin, a metal case clattered out.
16:40Inside were ten boxes of amoxicillin.
16:42The coal seller had tossed them in for free.
16:43We didn't think much of it back then, but now it's priceless, life-saving stuff.
16:46Just as we were celebrating the windfall, the silent shortwave radio suddenly lit up red.
16:49After a burst of static, a strange man spoke, chuckling like a freak.
16:52Found it.
16:53Linton Village?
16:53Got ourselves a fat sheep.
16:54Tomorrow we'll hit.
16:55Bring the flamethrower.
16:55Burn through that damn turtle shell.
16:57The electric buzz sounded like nails screeching on a chalkboard.
16:59Dad tweaked the old shortwave set.
17:00His face flickered red in the indicator glow.
17:02That stranger's voice cut in again.
17:04So clear it felt like he was whispering in my ear.
17:05Confirmed.
17:06It is that house.
17:06Baldi Rick died there a few days ago.
17:08Ice statues stood at the door.
17:09Impossible to miss.
17:09Our trophies?
17:10The corpses that froze right outside ended up nothing but bait for vultures.
17:13It was down underground.
17:14There was a big stash for sure.
17:15No one even frisked those ice statues.
17:16Dad killed the volume.
17:17The cellar fell dead silent.
17:18Gear up for a fight.
17:19That time we were done playing defense.
17:20Mom dug through the supplies and pulled out a few bottles of high-proof alcohol.
17:23The ones she'd never let us touch on a normal day.
17:24But now she smashed the next clean off.
17:26She poured the liquor into glass bottles.
17:27Stuffed greasy rags in for wicks.
17:29I sat by the whetstone.
17:30Compound bow in hand.
17:31The arrowhead rasped against the stone in rhythm.
17:33Cold steel flashing.
17:34No fear.
17:35Just adrenaline cool focus.
17:36In a world that preys on the weak, being soft is a death sentence.
17:38Late that night, the radio crackled with that voice again.
17:40Cocky as hell.
17:40Like he'd already won.
17:41We'll hit after midnight tomorrow.
17:42Just the three of us.
17:43More people means less for everyone.
17:44No way those bastards survive a flamethrower.
17:45Midnight.
17:46Blizzard raging outside.
17:47A roar shattered the silence.
17:48Three snowmobiles burst through the storm like ghosts.
17:50They stopped at our cellar door.
17:51Through the periscope, I spotted three figures wrapped up tight.
17:54No chit-chat.
17:55The leader just waved.
17:56A guy with a huge tank on his back stepped up.
17:58A 30-foot fire dragon spewed out instantly.
18:00It was an industrial flamethrower.
18:02Orange flames roared in the 50 below.
18:03Looking downright eerie in this frozen world.
18:04The thick ice sealing the door melted fast.
18:06Hissing into scalding steam.
18:07Right after that, the outer blast door started to discolor.
18:10Changing from iron black to dark red, then cherry red.
18:12Beep, beep, beep.
18:12The cellar's temperature alarm screamed like mad.
18:14A second ago, it was freezing.
18:15Now it's an oven.
18:16We tore off our polar suits.
18:17Sweat streamed down our faces.
18:19Heat rushed in through the cracks, reeking of burnt metal.
18:21This door won't hold much longer.
18:22The sealant's already melting.
18:23Mom tightened her grip on a Molotov.
18:24Dad stayed cool.
18:25Eyes locked on the monitor.
18:26Hand hovering over a red button.
18:27That's a dry powder suppression rig he'd built for fire safety.
18:29But right now, the nozzles aren't loaded with suppressant.
18:31They're packed with pure starch he swiped from the mill.
18:33Want fire?
18:34I'll give you a damn inferno.
18:35Dad smashed the button.
18:37The pressure vent above the doorframe suddenly shot out two streams of white mist.
18:40That wasn't smoke.
18:41It was ultrafine flower dust.
18:42Under pressure, it blanketed the whole doorway in an instant.
18:45The concentration was insane.
18:46It enveloped the flamethrower punk.
18:47Clearly, the guy had skipped physics class.
18:49He didn't even have time to react.
18:50His fingers still clamped on the trigger.
18:51Open flame.
18:52Sealed spay plus flower dust.
18:53Boom.
18:54A deafening blast.
18:55Like thunder.
18:55A huge shockwave.
18:57All Fikars swallowed everything at the door.
18:58The periscope screen went all white.
19:00Then the whole place shuddered, dust sifting down on our heads.
19:02A few seconds later, the view cleared.
19:04A scorched patch stained the snow.
19:05The guy with the flamethrower was gone.
19:07Or rather, he was just a lump of unrecognizable charcoal.
19:09Another thug.
19:10Closer in.
19:10Got hurled 30 feet.
19:11Left hanging from a dead branch.
19:12His fate unknown.
19:13We won.
19:13I tightened my grip on my bow.
19:14Not yet.
19:14Dad stared at the screen.
19:15The leader was lucky.
19:16He'd stood farther back, so the blast only knocked him over.
19:18His face was a mess of blood.
19:19One arm twisted at a sick angle.
19:21Yet he staggered to his feet.
19:22He grinned ferociously.
19:23With his good left hand, he pulled out a dark green thing.
19:26He pulled the pin.
19:26Pressed it firmly against the deformed door gap.
19:28Come out, or I'll let go.
19:30We'll all be blown to bits.
19:31Don't do anything stupid.
19:32I flicked on the loudspeaker at the door.
19:33My voice was so calm, it didn't even sound like me.
19:36That thing might blow a hole at best.
19:37But I'm on top of a mountain of dynamite.
19:38There's 10 tons of TNT right under my feet.
19:40You drop that pin, and we'll all go up in smoke.
19:41Total bullshit, of course.
19:42But in this life-or-death moment, it's about who's more scared to die.
19:45Sure enough, the leader's eyes flickered.
19:46The fingers clutching the grenade pin went stiff.
19:48He was weighing his odds, hesitating.
19:49And in that split second, Dad stood straight at the firing port.
19:52His compound bow fully drawn.
19:53Dring humming tight.
19:54Through the scope, the guy's wrist filled the view.
19:57The string snapped.
19:58A custom carbon steel arrow sliced the air, punching straight through his right wrist,
20:01pinning his hand to the frozen dirt by the doorframe.
20:03Ah, the searing pain made him let go.
20:05The grenade clattered down the steps and landed in a snowbank.
20:08The blast went off about 30 feet out, kicking up a cloud of snow.
20:10But the blast door didn't even flinch.
20:12Before he could snap back from the pain, Mom had already lit a Molotov and lobbed it clean through the
20:15throwport.
20:16Flames instantly engulfed the struggling figure.
20:18We stayed inside, watching them through the screen turn into three charred corpses,
20:21emitting black smoke until they stopped moving.
20:22Half an hour later, confirmed safety.
20:24Dad went out to clean up the battlefield.
20:25In the arms of the leader's charred body was a fireproof bag.
20:27Inside was a hand-drawn map.
20:29Linton Village was circled in red.
20:30Next to it was marked, Suspected Groundwater Entrance.
20:32That map made Dad's eyes light up like never before.
20:34If we can get running water, our whole life will change.
20:36Dad pointed at the contour lines on the map.
20:37Groundwater stays at a steady temperature and never runs dry.
20:39Way better than hoarding cases of bottled water.
20:40Following the map, the potential groundwater entrance was right under our foundation.
20:44For the next three days, the cellar became a work site.
20:46We took shifts.
20:47In this basement, barely 200 square feet, we started digging down in one corner.
20:49That was a tough job.
20:50The frozen ground below was hard as iron.
20:51Every shovel strike shook our hands numb.
20:53We had to drill pilot holes first, then chip away with pickaxes inch by inch.
20:56Sweat ran down our spines, cooling the second it hit the cold air.
20:58To spare our strength, we added an extra compressed biscuit to every meal.
21:00The cramped space reeked of wet earth and sweat.
21:03Yet no one complained.
21:04We all knew at the end of the world, water was life.
21:07A harder currency than food.
21:08Late on the third night, we were nearly 10 feet down.
21:10Dad was swinging the pickaxe when he suddenly froze.
21:13Thud.
21:13No more dull thump.
21:14This one rang hollow.
21:15He tapped again gently.
21:16A chunk of solid earth caved in, opening a pitch black hole.
21:20A moist, chilly draft wafted up from below.
21:22The flashlight beam sliced through years of stale darkness.
21:24Under that opening, there was a man-made tunnel.
21:27Moss carpeted the concrete walls.
21:28Faded red slogans from decades ago were still visible.
21:30So this was the abandoned shelter from famine and war days village elders talked about.
21:33Dad clipped onto the safety rope and went down first.
21:36Ten minutes later, his trembling voice crackled over the radio.
21:38Get down here now.
21:39It's real flowing water.
21:40Mom and I slid down the rope ladder and squeezed through a narrow passage.
21:43Suddenly, the space opened up.
21:43At the tunnel's end, an underground river flowed quietly.
21:46It wasn't big, but under the flashlight, the surface shimmered.
21:49I dipped a hand in.
21:49The water was actually warmish.
21:50Four degrees.
21:51Dad read the thermometer.
21:52His cheeks flushed with excitement.
21:53This is the underground thermostatic layer.
21:54The water hasn't frozen.
21:55We can rig a circulation system, use the heat to warm the cellar, maybe even take a bath.
21:59In this frozen hell of 50 below, liquid water at four degrees feels like a hot spring.
22:02We stared at the river, greedy as if it were liquid diamonds.
22:04But then, just as I knelt on the damp ground for a sample, my beams swept the muddy bank and
22:09I froze.
22:09On the soft, wet soil was a clear line of footprints.
22:11They were tiny, barefoot, toes dug deep into the mud.
22:14The soil was still wet.
22:15Aside from us, in this bottomless underground maze, someone else was alive.
22:18Following the trail of wet little footprints, we crept through the maze-like shelter like hunters.
22:21Around a bend, stacked with moldy wooden crates, our flashlight locked onto a dark corner.
22:24Something was huddling there, thin.
22:26The kind of sickly thin that comes from way too long without food.
22:28Rags hung off his body and the skin was corpse pale.
22:30If not for those wide, terrified eyes, I'd have sworn it was a skeleton.
22:33It was the mute orphan from our village, Noah.
22:35He was clutching a dead rat, dark blood smeared at the corner of his mouth.
22:38Beside him lay a pile of moss-like green plants.
22:40Dad's compound bow snapped up.
22:42The arrow aimed right between his eyes.
22:43In an era where supplies are worth more than lives, an extra mouth is a huge risk.
22:46Worse, he'd just found out our water secret.
22:47Noah didn't fight back.
22:48He just shut his eyes in despair, shaking like a leaf in a storm.
22:50For a few seconds, it was so silent we only heard the water running.
22:52Screw it.
22:53Dad lowered the bow, pulled two cold, rock-hard buns, and tossed them over.
22:56Noah's eyes flew open, and he pounced like a starving animal, swallowing them whole without a chew.
22:59When he was done, he suddenly crawled over, slammed his head to the ground in thanks, then pointed straight up.
23:03He spread his arms wide, tracing a huge circle, letting out urgent ah-ah sounds.
23:06He clenched his fists and mimed, holding a steering wheel.
23:08Then he drew a finger across his throat.
23:10He was warning us.
23:11Something was up there, and it killed.
23:12Just got back to the cellar.
23:13I hadn't even caught my breath.
23:14The ground suddenly started to quake.
23:15It's not an earthquake.
23:16Some heavy rig was grinding over the frozen earth.
23:18The water glasses on the table were dancing.
23:19I pressed my face to the periscope.
23:20Through the blizzard, a convoy of steel beasts ripped apart the quiet of Linton Village.
23:23Three massive trucks, tricked out and armored.
23:25Each had a grim snowplow bolted to the front.
23:27Bright red flags flapped on the sides marked 9th District Rescue Unit.
23:29Government guys?
23:30Mom's eyes lit up.
23:31Hold up.
23:31Dad cranked the scope to Max.
23:33Look at their shoes.
23:34The men who jumped down wore camo parkas, but cheap knockoff sneakers.
23:37They aren't carrying standard issue weapons, just random shotguns and pipe guns.
23:40Even worse, the first thing they did wasn't rescue.
23:42They punted a frozen corpse off the road, then laughed and lit up smokes.
23:45Wolves in sheep's clothing.
23:46This rescue unit was just a big looter gang flying fake colors.
23:49The convoy stopped at the village entrance.
23:50They huddled, arguing over the route.
23:51Suddenly, the last truck, packed with coal and generators, coughed black smoke and died.
23:55The lead rigs never even slowed down.
23:56They dumped two guys with the busted truck and thundered on toward the town.
24:00That lone truck was just sitting there like a gift, not even 500 meters out.
24:03It was a diesel generator.
24:04There were at least five barrels of diesel in the truck.
24:06Our fuel stash was almost gone.
24:07If we wanted to keep the heat and lights in the cellar, this might have been our last chance.
24:10Let's hit it.
24:10It was past midnight.
24:11The blizzard was perfect cover.
24:12Dad and I pulled on white camo.
24:13We crawled across the snow like ghosts.
24:15The two guards on duty underestimated that hellish weather.
24:18They were curled up in the cab with the heater blasting, dozing off a booze buzz.
24:21Dad whipped out a towel, soaked in ether.
24:22I went to work on the lock.
24:23Click.
24:23The frozen lock cylinder was brittle.
24:25It popped right open.
24:26Dad slapped the towel over the passenger's mouth and nose.
24:27The guy twitched a little, then went limp.
24:29I dealt with the driver in the same way.
24:31We didn't get greedy, skipped the generator, snatched three barrels of diesel, and bolted.
24:34Just as we were about to pull out, my flashlight swept under the driver's seat and caught a long black
24:37case.
24:38We cracked it open and froze.
24:40Two gleaming QBZ-95s plus five full boxes of ammo.
24:43They must have jacked these off a real military checkpoint.
24:45Let's go.
24:46We slung the rifles, dragged the diesel, and sprinted home.
24:48The moment we vaulted the wall and dived for cover, a distant rumble erupted behind us.
24:50Their crew had turned back.
24:51Blinding headlights flooded the truck we had just cleaned out.
24:54Furious shouts followed, then wild panicked gunfire.
24:56Those two missing QBZ-95s were like a loud slap in the face, smacking those desperados hard.
25:01Roars of rage echoed over the village, but that wasn't the scariest part.
25:03What truly chilled the blood was when they hauled out real pro gear, an industrial handheld thermal imager.
25:07On that green screen, every hint of body heat lit up.
25:09Through my periscope, I fixed on the thugs in rescue unit uniforms.
25:13They combed the ruins of Linton Village.
25:16A shot cracked.
25:17Mr. Harper, hiding in the cellar at the east end, was dragged out.
25:19He was 70, and to save every scrap of food, he'd withered to skin and bones.
25:22He knelt in the snow, no time to beg for mercy, before a big thug smashed his jaw with a
25:26rifle bud.
25:27Where are the rifles and the diesel?
25:28Who took them?
25:29The thug planted a boot on the old man's chest, his voice colder than ice.
25:31The old man could only let out broken whimpers.
25:33Worthless.
25:33Another shot split the air.
25:34A blinding red bloom spread across the snow.
25:36They kicked the corpse into a drift, like tossing a bag of trash.
25:38Then the second house?
25:39The third.
25:40The last few survivors were yanked out like rats and butchered for having no answers.
25:44This wasn't a search.
25:45It was pure rage.
25:46Suddenly, my heart clenched tightly.
25:47The thug holding the thermal imager stopped in his tracks.
25:49He was standing in front of the pile of rubble at the village entrance.
25:51That was the entrance to the abandoned shelter.
25:52It was also the hiding place of the mute Noah.
25:53Boss, there's a heat source underground.
25:55It's weak, but it's a live one.
25:56The thugs instantly got excited.
25:58Like sharks smelling blood, they swarmed around.
26:01They used crowbars to pry open the stone slab covering the entrance.
26:03Noah's terrified screams, even through the thick layer of soil, seemed to reach my ears.
26:07He was discovered.
26:08Save him or not?
26:09That question flashed through my head for barely a second.
26:10Noah knew the secret of our groundwater.
26:12If they tortured him and he broke and spilled the location, our whole family was toast.
26:15Besides, he was just a kid living off rats in this apocalypse.
26:18Gear up for a fight.
26:19Dad's eyes went cold.
26:20He grabbed the QBZ-95 we'd just seized.
26:22Wendy, take firing port two.
26:23That's the high ground.
26:24Use the scoped crossbow or just grab the gun.
26:26Stir up chaos.
26:27Pull their fire.
26:27I'll drag the kid back.
26:28Dad skipped the front door and slipped into the tunnel we'd just dug, the one tied to
26:31the shelter.
26:32I drew a deep breath and sprinted for port two.
26:34Through the scope, I saw the thugs had yanked Noah out.
26:37Blood covered his face.
26:38He fought like hell, but a brute dangled him like a chick.
26:40Not talking, huh?
26:41Mute, huh?
26:42The thug sneered and whipped out a belt knife.
26:44No time left.
26:44I steadied the rifle.
26:45It was my first real fight, yet raw survival instinct locked my aim.
26:48Bang.
26:49The shot missed.
26:50Smacking frozen dirt by the thug's boots, kicking up a spray of grit.
26:52But that's enough.
26:53The blast cracked over the silent snowfield like thunder, sending the gang scrambling
26:56for covers.
26:57Gunfire.
26:58Those thieves are over there.
26:59Seizing the moment of chaos, in the shadows of the shelter entrance, a powerful hand suddenly
27:02reached out, grabbed Noah's ankle, dragged him back into the dark tunnel like a sack.
27:06Retreat!
27:06Quick!
27:06Retreat!
27:07I shouted into the walkie-talkie, fired my gun blindly into the crowd, suppressing their counterattack.
27:10The thugs realized what was happening.
27:11Bullets poured like rain towards the shelter entrance.
27:13Dad dragged Noah, rolled awkwardly into the deep tunnel under the rain of bullets.
27:16But at the last moment before he disappeared into the darkness, I saw his body jolt violently.
27:19His left leg exploded in a mist of blood.
27:21He staggered, then fell heavily into the tunnel.
27:23The air in the cellar was frozen.
27:24Only the strong smell of blood lingered.
27:25Dad was lying on the workbench, face as pale as paper.
27:28Cold sweat soaked the mat beneath him.
27:29On the outside of his left thigh, there was a hideous bloody hole.
27:31Blood was pouring out.
27:33I could even see the white bones.
27:34Fortunately, no major artery was injured.
27:35But the bullet got stuck in the bone.
27:36It had to be taken out immediately.
27:37Mom's hands were shaking.
27:38But her eyes were extremely firm.
27:40She used to be a veterinarian.
27:41Although she was not treating people, she was no stranger to surgical suturing.
27:43There was no anesthetic.
27:44The little lidocaine that was left had long since expired.
27:46Bring it on.
27:46Dad bit into a stick wrapped in a towel.
27:48The veins on his forehead popped out like earthworms.
27:49Don't waste your time.
27:50I have a feeling those bastards are coming in.
27:52Mom took a deep breath, heated a scalpel brightly over an alcohol lamp.
27:55The sound of the blade cutting through the flesh made my teeth sore.
27:57Dad's body tightened suddenly.
27:58A beast-like growl came from his throat.
28:00He held the table with both hands, scratched fingerprints into the metal table.
28:03I held Dad's legs.
28:04Tears welled up in my eyes, but I dared not let them fall.
28:06Noah huddled in the corner, trembling with fear.
28:08His eyes were fixed on the bloody hole in my dad's leg.
28:10His face was full of guilt.
28:11Ten minutes felt as long as a century.
28:12Cling!
28:13A deformed warhead was thrown onto the iron plate.
28:14Mom quickly stopped the bleeding, cleaned the wound, and stitched it up.
28:16When the last stitch was finished, Dad had already fainted from the pain.
28:19The wooden stick in his mouth was bitten to pieces.
28:20The operation was successful.
28:21But Dad's leg would not be able to move for at least a month.
28:23We had lost our strongest fighting force.
28:24Before we could breathe a sigh of relief, in the tunnel leading to the abandoned shelter,
28:27there was suddenly a strange hissing sound.
28:28I got closer to the viewport on the door and took a look.
28:29My pupils dilated instantly.
28:30A thick yellow smoke was flowing along the cracks in the tunnel, slithering like a serpent.
28:34It was chlorine, or their homemade gas bombs.
28:36They couldn't get in and didn't dare to go to the tunnel rashly, so they chose the most
28:39vicious way.
28:39They wanted to smoke us to death in the hole.
28:41That yellow gas moved like a living demon, sliding through cracks from the abandoned shelter
28:45and silently permeated into the cellar.
28:46The air instantly filled with a choking bleach stench.
28:49It was concentrated chlorine or an even deadlier cocktail.
28:51Hurry!
28:52Open the PIV system.
28:53Mom shouted, her voice sharp with panic.
28:55She slammed Dad, still struggling up, back onto the bed and dove for the control panel.
28:58Dad built this as our last line of defense.
28:59The idea's simple.
29:01High-power fans would frantically pump filtered air inside, cranking the indoor pressure
29:04above outside, so poison can't blow back in.
29:06Boom!
29:06The backup motor roared awake.
29:07The blade spun like crazy.
29:08I glued my eyes to the gauge, watching the needle crawl right.
29:11At the same time, that acrid reek hit my nose, but it was thinning, getting shoved out.
29:14The sealed door to the tunnel had stopped most of the smoke, yet under the flashlight's
29:18glare, I still saw the steam fizzing as it corroded.
29:20Weird foam popping.
29:21They can't get in, but we can't get out.
29:23I gripped my gun, my palms slicked with sweat.
29:24The gas attack dragged on for half an hour, then...
29:26Obviously, they didn't want to waste their precious ammo.
29:28But a worse sound followed overhead.
29:31Thud.
29:31A muffled grinding sound and the shudder of a drill chewing into frozen ground.
29:34They're planting explosives.
29:35Dad rasped from the bed, his face ghost gray.
29:37Gas failed.
29:38Now they'll blow the roof, bury us alive, or rip the lid clean off.
29:41Once the roof caves even a corner, the 50 below air will flood in.
29:44We won't stand a chance.
29:45Sitting around doing nothing means certain death.
29:47We have to strike first.
29:47I glanced at Dad, still trying to rise, and pressed his shoulder down.
29:50Rest, Dad.
29:51Noah and I will go this time.
29:52Even though Noah couldn't talk, his clear, dark eyes were razor sharp, burning with a wolf
29:55cub's ferocity.
29:56He pointed to a spot on the map, gestured that it was cracking.
29:59It was a natural cavern zone deep inside the shelter, where the geology was highly unstable.
30:02Any significant vibration could cause a collapse.
30:03That would be our graveyard, and the thug's tomb as well.
30:06Noah and I strapped on gas masks and slipped into the tangled underground maze like two ghosts.
30:09Noah took the lead, quick as a monkey.
30:12Not even needing a light in the dark.
30:13We started making noise on purpose, clanging on the pipes, to fake a panicked escape.
30:16Sure enough, the digging overhead stopped.
30:18But those greedy bastards heard us below, thought we were fleeing through a different
30:21exit, and charged after us like sharks smelling blood.
30:23Over there.
30:24Don't let them get away.
30:25Their chaotic footsteps boomed through the empty tunnel.
30:26Noah and I lured them into the cavern zone.
30:28The walls were draped with shaky stalactites, and cracks split the floor.
30:31Once we reached the mark, Noah dived into a crawlspace, barely wide enough for a kid.
30:34I ducked behind a boulder, clutching the grenade we had swiped from their truck.
30:38Blinding flashlights sliced around the corner, their cursing echoed closer and closer, so
30:41I yanked the pin and counted three seconds.
30:43Go to hell.
30:44The grenade arced through the air and landed by the cave's central support pillar.
30:47Boom.
30:47The blast was amplified a hundredfold in the closed space, loud as fuck.
30:50Then came the sickening crack of rock giving way.
30:52The ceiling collapsed like a line of dominoes, tons of stone and dirt crashing down.
30:56Their screams vanished under the roar and dust.
30:58Noah and I clawed our way back, the tunnel crumbling right behind us, like death nipping
31:02at our heels.
31:02We tumbled into the safe zone, and with a heavy thud, the tunnel was sealed.
31:05Silence.
31:06They were buried down there forever.
31:08But we paid for it.
31:09Every path to the surface was now blocked by our own cave-in.
31:12We'd really become underground dwellers now.
31:13The threat outside was buried under thousands of tons of earth and rock, shutting us off entirely from
31:16that brutal world out there.
31:17We couldn't leave, but in a messed up way, it felt safer like this.
31:19Day after day, slipped by beneath dim lights in the steady drip of water.
31:22Dad's legs slowly healed under Mom's careful nursing, even though he still walked with a
31:25limp.
31:25At least he could stand up again and tinker with his machinery.
31:27Noah was officially part of our family now.
31:28The kid couldn't talk, but he worked so hard it almost broke your heart.
31:30He took over the gardening jobs, keeping those dozens of foam planners in the basement
31:33neat and thriving.
31:34Thanks to the groundwater and grow lights, we finally harvested our first bean sprouts, and
31:37even coaxed mushrooms out of the damp corners.
31:39When that pot of mushroom and canned meat finally hit the table, the smell was so good,
31:41it made you want to cry.
31:42No killing, no looting, no scheming.
31:44Our family sat together around the table.
31:46Dad set a piece of meat on Noah's plate, and Noah grinned so wide I saw nothing but
31:48teeth.
31:49For a split second, the apocalypse felt like a bad dream.
31:51Half a year flew by.
31:52Our hair got longer, our clothes more worn, but our eyes were brighter than ever.
31:55One early morning, I did my usual check on the sensors tied to the outside world and
31:59froze.
31:59The thermometer that had been pegged at 50 below shot up to 20 below in just a week, and the
32:03reading kept rocketing.
32:04Dad, look at this.
32:05Dad walked over, stared at the screen for a long while, and instead of relief, his face grew even
32:09more serious, it's heating up way too fast, he muttered, this isn't back to normal, it's
32:12the pendulum effect.
32:13After the deep freeze, I'm afraid it's a hellish heat wave.
32:16Almost on cue, the sensor data flickered.
32:18The surface temperature was zero degrees, the snow was starting to melt.
32:21For us living underground, that probably meant another nightmare, a flood.
32:24The rising temperature wasn't warming, it was savagery.
32:26In just three days, the thermometer went nuts.
32:29The mercury shot up from a hellish 50 below, rocketing nonstop, punching straight past 40 degrees,
32:33from deadly cold to blistering heat with zero transition in between.
32:35Boom, boom.
32:35A deafening roar shook the space above.
32:37It wasn't wind, it was water.
32:38Half a year's snow and ice melted in seconds under the scorching heat.
32:41The whole world turned into a giant steamer, then morphed into a raging flood.
32:45Water seeped through the cellar walls.
32:46Condensation beaded on the concrete.
32:48The air grew thick, sticky, and hot.
32:49Even sitting still, sweat poured nonstop.
32:51Submarine mode now.
32:52Dad tossed me a wrench, his voice urgent.
32:54We'd prepped for this long ago.
32:55We'd added three two-meter extensions to the vent pipe, so it stuck out of the ground like
32:58a periscope.
32:59Every drain was locked shut in reverse, sealed with a thick layer of caulk.
33:01Through the periscope, I saw the outside world.
33:03The once-white snow field was gone, replaced by muddy, roaring yellow waves.
33:06The flood dragged dead trees, ice chunks, and smashed up car wrecks from god knows where,
33:10slamming into every bit of ground that stuck up.
33:11Our cellar felt like a submarine lurking in the deep.
33:14Glug, glug.
33:15The pressure kept climbing.
33:16The steel door let out a teeth-grinding creek.
33:17The water level is still rising.
33:18It had already swallowed the village rooftops.
33:19Dad stared hard at the pressure gauge.
33:21If water gets into the vent, we'll be stuck breathing off those oxygen tanks.
33:23Noah huddled in the corner, eyes wide as a dirty drip fell from the ceiling.
33:26I walked over, wiped the small wet patch with a towel, handed him a compressed biscuit,
33:29and shook my head, telling him it was fine.
33:30But I knew if the water rose another meter, we'd suffocate in this metal can for good.
33:34The flood wasn't just water.
33:35It was a boiling pot of corpse soup.
33:36Through the periscope's blurry lens, I saw countless swollen things drifting on the surface.
33:39People.
33:40Animals.
33:40All rotting and fermenting in that scalding flood, turning the place into one giant petri dish.
33:44Even with all our filters, the air still carried a stench so foul it made you gag.
33:48The plague was here.
33:48Mom was wearing two masks, spraying disinfectant into every corner.
33:51One drop of water out there was deadlier than a bullet.
33:53That was the most ironic part of the apocalypse.
33:54Water was everywhere outside, yet the survivors were dying of thirst.
33:57If anyone cracked and drank that murky crap, cholera, dysentery, and typhoid would come
34:01for them on the spot.
34:02And us?
34:03We were huddled around a tiny table, sipping cool sweet water from an underground river,
34:05enjoying canned yellow peaches.
34:07That hidden river was our lifeline.
34:08Water bubbled up from deep underground, completely untouched by the surface filth.
34:10To stay safe, we cut off every bit of contact with the outside.
34:13We hardly even raised the periscope, afraid some killer germ would hitch a ride.
34:16We lived off our stash of oxygen tanks and an air purifier that was barely holding on.
34:19We kept it up for a solid month.
34:20Then one day, the maddening roar of water finally stopped.
34:23Dad slowly cranked up the periscope.
34:24Dried mud on the lens cracked and fell away,
34:26revealing a sliver of blue sky.
34:27The water's gone down.
34:28Through that gap, I saw the ground turned into a pool of black rotting sludge.
34:31Buildings, trees, bodies were all gone.
34:33Only a thick, reeking layer of muck covered the whole world.
34:36Yet in all that dead blackness, I spotted the faintest tint of green.
34:39Once the temperature held steady at about 25 degrees,
34:40and the dirt firmed up a bit, we decided to head back topside.
34:42Back then, to blow up the bastards, we'd seal the exit ourselves in a planned cave-in.
34:45Now it's the biggest thing keeping us from getting home.
34:48Dad scoped out the weakest spot and used our last little pack of explosives.
34:51Dust billowed everywhere.
34:51The long-lost sunlight was like a golden blade, ripping through the cellar's gloom.
34:54I squinted, tears streaming from the glare.
34:56I drew a deep breath of the outside air, still earthy with a hint of rot,
34:59but it tasted like freedom.
35:01The four of us crawled out of the hole and stepped on what used to be Linton Village.
35:04The village was gone.
35:04Everything was gone.
35:05The old house, the walls, Mrs. Ward's little place next door,
35:07all of it leveled by the flood.
35:08The land looked scrubbed clean, like a wiped blackboard.
35:11Only thick silt and random trash remained.
35:13This soil, man, it's fertile.
35:14Dad crouched down, scooped up a handful of black soil, and rubbed it between his fingers.
35:16Bodies and rotten plants had turned into first-rate fertilizer.
35:18Noah dashed onto a rise, where a lone blade of grass had punched through the muck.
35:22He pointed at that splash of green, cheering, uh, ah, let's work.
35:25Dad slapped the dirt off his hands.
35:27There was no sadness in his eyes, only a burning urge to rebuild.
35:29Treasures buried under all this mud.
35:30We can finally plant our seeds.
35:31We carved a veggie patch out of the ruins.
35:33After just a week, the first batch of cabbage poked through.
35:35Against the dead black-brown wasteland, those tidy rows of fresh green looked like flags of hope,
35:39fluttering in the setting sun.
35:40That's the color of life, brighter than gold.
35:42The radio had been dead silent for ages, until one afternoon, it suddenly sprang back to life.
35:45It wasn't that sneaky, hostile static anymore, nor the chaotic electric hiss.
35:48Instead, a woman's voice came through, so clear it could make you tear up.
35:50This is National Safe Zone 3.
35:52If you can hear this broadcast, head southeast and assemble.
35:54We're rebuilding our home.
35:55Dad's cigarette butt scorched his fingers, yet he didn't even flinch.
35:58He just stared at the battered radio like it was alive.
36:00The authorities are still out there.
36:01Order's still out there.
36:02Did we go?
36:02Mom stopped trimming the veggies, her eyes wavering.
36:04After all, it was a refuge for the group.
36:06A return to civilization.
36:07I looked out the window.
36:07In the sunset, our rebuilt greenhouse glimmered gold.
36:10The shelter entrance, now reinforced, stood like an unbreakable fortress.
36:12Groundwater murmured below.
36:14The generator thundered steadily, and the warehouse held enough food for ten years.
36:17Not going.
36:17Dad crushed the cigarette.
36:18His gaze suddenly razor sharp.
36:19If we go there, we're just refugees, numbers waiting for handouts.
36:21Here, we're kings of our own land.
36:23I nodded.
36:24After betrayal, killing, and brutal trials, we can't turn our backs to strangers anymore.
36:28Not even to the government.
36:29Right then, a long-lost rumble rolled across the sky.
36:31A helicopter with peeling camouflage paint skimmed past low, never slowing.
36:33And as it flew over Linton Village, it tossed out a huge bundle.
36:36The bundle splashed into the mud, spilling packs of compressed biscuits and a blizzard of flyers.
36:39I grabbed one flyer.
36:40It showed the safe zone map and a rallying call.
36:42Looks like the world really is changing back.
36:44Dad watched the helicopter fade.
36:45A complicated smile tugging at his lips.
36:46But we better just guard our own little place.
36:48We stood in the fading sun, protecting the patch of earth that's ours.
36:51As more and more survivors crawled out of hiding, Linton Village, now better known as
36:54the Linton Compound, turned into a legend for a hundred miles around.
36:56Across the silent, brown wasteland, our place was the only splash of green.
36:59Cabbages, sprouting potatoes, cucumbers climbing all over the trellises.
37:02Rag-clad drifters passed by all the time, keeping their distance, their starving eyes
37:05locked on that patch of green, their Adam's apples bobbing wildly.
37:07You want a bite?
37:08Then earn it.
37:09That was my rule.
37:09No gold or silver, no cash, just labor.
37:12So the ruins suddenly filled with people hustling.
37:14Some shoveled out the muck, others patched the walls, all for a single bowl of hot potato
37:18soup.
37:18Inside this little independent kingdom, Noah was the brightest star.
37:21He couldn't talk, but he was born of the soil.
37:23Those small calloused hands worked straight up miracles.
37:26Seedlings that barely clung to life with Dad and me would shoot up inches in his hands
37:29in just a few days.
37:30He never tired, strutting around like a general on patrol.
37:32Every row was his territory.
37:33One day, I caught a few drifters pointing and snickering at Noah, their eyes dripping contempt.
37:37He ignored them, scooped a heap of rich black soil, and spread it down the furrow like
37:40a pro.
37:41Then he plucked a spiny cucumber and bit into it with a loud crunch.
37:43The crack echoed across the dead plain.
37:45The drifters instantly shut up, their scorn flipping to raw envy and awe.
37:48In an age littered with starved corpses, anyone munching fresh veggies was royalty at the top
37:52of the food chain.
37:52Watching Noah stand tall in the sun, my heart swelled with pride.
37:55This is our home, an oasis blooming in the apocalypse, the legendary Linton compound.
37:58We were still shoveling out the sludge the flood had left behind.
38:00I was holding a shovel, working around the big locust tree that had been knocked sideways.
38:03It used to be the village's landmark, and it was where Jenny and Dave died.
38:06Clang!
38:07The shovel hit something hard.
38:08I bent down, pulled a shiny object from the black muck.
38:11I wiped it on my sleeve, and under the sun it flashed blindingly.
38:14A hair clip studded with tiny diamonds.
38:15My mind snapped back to that afternoon before the apocalypse.
38:17Jenny had waved a $71,000 check, slammed the door, chin high.
38:20She had posted the pic of the clip in moments that same day.
38:22Said, some women were born to save, but I was born to shine.
38:25Now this symbol of vanity and greed lay in my mud-stained palm.
38:29Still sparkling, but icy cold.
38:30In the sludge beside it, I dug up a few splinters of white bone, gnawed by wolves, soaked by the
38:34flood.
38:35Once living souls, my own kin, now just a pile of mud and a handful of nameless bones.
38:40There was no thrill of revenge, no soul-ripping grief, just a bleak sense of having seen it
38:43all.
38:44Wendy, is this pretty?
38:45For a moment, I felt like I heard little Jenny pouting behind me, begging for praise.
38:48I breathed in deeply, fished out a rusty candy tin from my pocket, polished the clip spotless,
38:52and set it inside.
38:52There was no headstone, no ceremony.
38:54I dug a deep hole at the roots, buried the tin, heaped the dirt back, and stomped it down
38:58hard.
38:58In the next life, let's not be sisters.
39:00Strangers would do.
39:00I slapped the dirt and straightened up.
39:02The setting sun washed the ruins in gold.
39:04I turned away, walked toward the cellar with smoke curling from it, and never looked back.
39:07Time was the cruelest blade in the world, yet also the softest cure.
39:10It was 2028, three years into the apocalypse.
39:12The Linton Compound was now in phase three of its expansion.
39:13What used to be a dank cellar was now linked to several abandoned shelters we had dug into,
39:17forming a vast underground ecosystem.
39:19Sunlight poured through triple-layer bulletproof skylights, glinting off the terrazzo floor
39:22of the rec room.
39:22Dad crouched by the generator, wrench in hand, showing Noah how to replace a worn gear.
39:26His wounded leg still had a slight hitch, but it hadn't dulled his spirit one bit.
39:30His hair had gone gray, but his eyes were sharper, steadier than three years before.
39:33Noah was a full-grown young man these days.
39:35The orphan who once looked like a walking skeleton now had a barrel chest.
39:38Arms knotted with muscle.
39:39He signed as he worked, swiftly stripping the components.
39:41His gaze was as focused as an old craftsman's.
39:43From the kitchen came the rapid thought of a cleaver.
39:44Mom, apron on, was chopping pickles.
39:46She had filled out.
39:46In a world where people still butchered each other for a moldy slice of bread,
39:49Mom was worried about losing weight.
39:50That alone was obscenely luxurious.
39:52Wendy, grab that crock of pickled pothered mustard.
39:54We're steaming cured pork for lunch, Mom said.
39:56Voice full of life.
39:57I answered and hauled the jar from the climate-controlled room.
39:59Passing a mirror, I caught my reflection.
40:01My skin was pale from life underground, but healthy enough.
40:03A gun in my hand, grain in the storehouse, family at my side.
40:06That was our life.
40:07We weren't scraping by.
40:07We were living for real.
40:08The whole family crowded the tables, soaking in that hard-won piece.
40:11Every dish there we had grown with our own hands.
40:13Looking at it all, I was overflowing with contentment.
40:15Sunlight flooded the room.
40:16Everything was perfect.
40:17This was our family photo.
40:18Three years on and we were all still there.
40:20The wind chime at the lookout rang.
40:21It wasn't an alarm.
40:21It was the visitor signal.
40:22A dusty caravan pulled up just outside our perimeter.
40:24Their rigs had special emblems spray-painted on them.
40:26They were beat up, but clearly well-maintained.
40:28It was a trade crew from the southern safe zone.
40:29After three years, humans had finally pieced together a fragile new order.
40:32Trade had replaced endless raids.
40:34I stood on the high wall, guns still in hand, but the muzzle pointed down.
40:37Their leader was a one-eyed guy.
40:38He craned his neck, staring at the string of dried chilies hanging from our wall.
40:41He swallowed hard.
40:42Ms. Linton, this batch is all here.
40:44That one-eyed guy had his men open the truck bed.
40:45Inside were barrels of gasoline, solar panel parts we were desperate for,
40:48and even a few boxes of sanitary pads and shampoo.
40:50We want veggies.
40:51Potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, anything fresh, we'd take it all.
40:54The deal went down fast and wordless.
40:56When Noah hauled out a basket of cucumbers, still wet with morning dew,
40:59the caravan guard's eyes nearly popped.
41:01One reached out to touch, but the one-eyed guy smacked his hand away.
41:03Show some respect.
41:04This was Linton family produce.
41:05In the new world, we were no longer lambs to the slaughter.
41:06We were the ones with real resources.
41:08When the trade wrapped up, the one-eyed guy sparked a cigarette,
41:10took a long drag, and eyed our compound with envy.
41:12Word was, the Linton compound was paradise in the apocalypse.
41:15Seeing it today, it's true.
41:16I just grinned, saying nothing.
41:18Paradise?
41:18No.
41:19It was a fortress we bled to defend.
41:20The caravan rolled off, hauling our veggies, and hauling hope, too.
41:23Maybe the world was really getting better.
41:24After the trade crew left, night fell.
41:26That night was New Year's Eve.
41:27No matter how crazy things got out there, we still celebrated.
41:29The underground dining hall was brightly lit.
41:30Warm yellow light washed over the wooden table, chasing away every trace of cold.
41:33That was the biggest meal we had had in three years.
41:35A giant bowl of braised pork with pickles and noodles.
41:37It was loaded with thick slices of pork belly.
41:38One plate of cucumber salad, fresh and crunchy.
41:40And a heaping platter of steaming hot dumplings.
41:41They were made with white flour.
41:42We had milled the flour ourselves from wheat we grew.
41:44It wasn't as white as the store-bought stuff, but the wheat aroma was amazing.
41:46Come on, Noah, that torn-skinned dumpling was the one you wrapped.
41:49You've gotta eat it.
41:50Dad chuckled and put a split dumpling into Noah's bowl.
41:52Noah scratched his head, embarrassed, then broke into a wide grin,
41:54showing a mouthful of bright white teeth.
41:55He stuffed the dumpling in all at once.
41:56It was so hot, he started huffing and puffing.
41:57Mom switched on the old TV she had fixed up, hooked to a hard drive.
42:00Old comedy skits from decades ago flickered on the screen.
42:01The picture was a bit blurry, the sound crackly.
42:03But to us, it was pure heaven.
42:05Canned laughter poured from the TV, and we laughed right along.
42:07We laughed until Mom's eyes grew misty.
42:09She wiped them, raised her glass of juice.
42:11To us, to our family, all together, not semen sanying.
42:14Our glasses clinked with a clear, bright ring.
42:16Outside the window, the cold wind was still howling.
42:17Maybe out there, people were still starving and killing.
42:19But in here, right there, right then, there was hot food, there was light,
42:22there was Dad and Mom and my little brother.
42:23That was home.
42:23Even if it was hell out there, once the door was shut, that place was paradise.
42:26Looking at it all, I suddenly felt every bit of suffering had been worth it.
42:29Dad's eyes shone with the pride of the man in the family.
42:31On Mom's face was the simplest happiness.
42:33Noah's eyes sparkled, because he had a home.
42:35Right then, I wished time would just stop forever.
42:37After our dinner, I stepped out of the cellar alone.
42:39The setting sun drenched the land in blood-red light.
42:41Standing atop the high wall, I looked down on this place that had once been nothing but ruin.
42:44Three years ago, it was a frozen hell strewn with corpses.
42:47Six months ago, plague-swollen bodies floated everywhere.
42:49But now, green plants blanketed the wreckage.
42:51The terraced fields we carved snaked down the hillside.
42:53Plastic sheeting on the greenhouses gleamed in the sunset.
42:54At the village entrance, the old locust tree where I buried the clip was budding.
42:57Its new leaves swaying in the breeze.
42:59Smoke curled from the cellar chimney, carrying that wood-fire smell, and shot straight into the sky.
43:02This wasn't just smoke. It was proof we were alive.
43:04It was civilization breathing.
43:05I touched my chest.
43:06No jade pendant.
43:06No magic space.
43:07No system.
43:08No cheat codes for us.
43:09All we had was that one afternoon when Mom and Dad sold the house in the car without blinking.
43:12And the countless nights spent hunched over blueprints, retrofitting the cellar.
43:15And the guts to pull the trigger when looters showed up.
43:17Kiddo, come grab some fruit.
43:18I cut up a watermelon.
43:19Mom's shout drifted over.
43:20Dad and Noah grumbled for me to hurry.
43:22I turned around and stared at that doorway glowing warm light.
43:24A smile slipped onto my face.
43:25Was the apocalypse over?
43:26Maybe not.
43:27Disasters might come back.
43:28Deep freeze, scorching heat, quakes, plagues.
43:30It felt like the earth is running a long immune response.
43:32But I wasn't scared anymore because I knew no matter what tomorrow brought,
43:35our family were a nail driven deep into this land.
43:37Coming.
43:38I shouted and sprinted toward the light.
43:40The apocalypse would end and we would go on living.
43:42And we'd live well.
43:43I don't want to.
43:43You
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