Ashes to Empire HD 720p ASM

UrbanUniverse

10 hours ago

Transcript

00:05When that rusty boning knife sliced open my wrist artery, I didn't even feel pain, just

00:09relief.

00:10Gear 3 of the sportswear apocalypse tense locked in at 149 degrees Fahrenheit every single

00:13day.

00:13I was too flashy back then and my whole stash got raided on day one.

00:16Then my husband Blake and his axe Vanessa basically kept me as livestock.

00:19See, I have type O blood, and in a world dying of dehydration, my blood was their fancy kombucha.

00:24Blake chubbed the warm liquid straight from my wrist, then slid the other half bowl to

00:28Nessa with those soft, loving eyes.

00:30Nessa, drink up, this is the last of it, once you do we'll have enough strength to get out

00:35of here.

00:35I just lay there on the cracked floor, watching these two parasites live their best lives off

00:38my blood.

00:39Last time around I was Blake's ride or die wife, sitting on dividends from two publicly

00:42traded companies, yet somehow in the apocalypse I ranked below a stray dog.

00:45As my consciousness faded, I heard the scorching wind howling outside, like the universe was

00:48laughing at what a sucker I've been.

00:49Then I opened my eyes again, an AC vent hit me, and I literally shivered, and instead

00:52of corpses, I was back at that same mahogany negotiating table.

00:55Blake slapped a divorce agreement in front of me, totally checked out.

00:59Ivy, don't push your luck, the Riverview penthouse goes to me, that dirt plot goes to

01:03you.

01:04Final offer, keep it up, and Nessa's gonna lose her patience.

01:07I glanced at my phone, June 1st, 2026, exactly one month before the sun became the Grim Reaper.

01:12I pushed down the rage boiling in my chest and took a good look at his so-called luxury

01:15penthouse, priciest development in the city, full glass curtain walls, killer views.

01:19But in the apocalypse, it's just a 360-degree solar oven with zero blind spots, anyone inside

01:23would be beef jerky within half a day.

01:25And that dirt plot Blake mentioned, an abandoned civil defense bunker way out in the suburban

01:29hills.

01:29Sure, nothing grew on top and people swore it was haunted, but underneath was 20 meters

01:32of solid underground space.

01:33I took a slow, deep breath, pulled out my bashed, completely losing it, performance.

01:37Picked up the pen with a trembling hand, fine, I'll sign, and done, I'm heading to the mountains

01:41to grow vegetables, and I never want to see either of you again.

01:44Blake and Nessa exchanged a look, couldn't hide the glee.

01:47As far as they were concerned, I'd finally lost the plot, trading a $27.4 million penthouse

01:51for a pile of dirt.

01:52The second I signed, Nessa swooped in with that fake sweet smile.

01:54Ivy, don't be mad at Blake.

01:56Sure the plot's in the middle of nowhere, but hey, peace and quiet, living solo could be

01:59really good for you.

02:00The sarcasm was practically dripping off her face.

02:02I didn't even look at her, grabbed my keys and walked, stepped out of the law firm into

02:06noon sun that felt like a personal attack on my eyeballs.

02:09Not this time, no more playing down.

02:11First order of business, not shopping, money.

02:13But I couldn't touch my main accounts, Blake was still watching every transaction, and

02:17that greedy man would've swooped in the second anything moved.

02:21So I drove straight to the biggest luxury resale shop in the city.

02:24My trunk was packed, Hermes bags, limited edition watches, and all the jewelry I used

02:28to treat like it was irreplaceable.

02:29The owner watched me dump tens of thousands of dollars worth of bags on his counter, like

02:32I was tossing out trash, and just, Mrs. Donovan, are you?

02:35I cut him off, ice cold, not a Donovan anymore, cash for everything, no wire transfers.

02:39You can knock off 20%, but I walk out with the money within the hour, and you don't breathe

02:42the word.

02:43Smart guy.

02:44He flipped the sign and thought to counting.

02:46Two hours later I walked out with two black garbage bags that used to hold cat food, now

02:49stuffed with $690,000 cash.

02:51Not a fortune, but for bulk basic supplies.

02:54More than enough.

02:55Skipped going home, went straight to a rental place instead, and picked up a beat-up, mudspotted

02:59minivan that had seen better decades.

03:01Ditched the heels, threw on some $20 work boots and a pair of tough jeans.

03:06Looking at my bare face in the mirror, I finally felt safe for the first time.

03:09In the hell that's coming, beauty is a liability.

03:11Blending in is the only armor that matters.

03:13Next up, time to claim my fortress, that haunted garbage dump everyone rode off.

03:17Three hours of bumping down the dirt road, and we finally arrived at the base of a barren

03:21mountain.

03:21Desolate was an understatement.

03:23Weeds and rocks are everywhere.

03:24Halfway up the slope sat a rusty iron gate, the bunker entrance.

03:27I shoved open that heavy door, and got hit with a wave of moles and damp.

03:31Also rat, lots of panicked rats.

03:33Inside was pitch black, flooded, trashed, with mystery spiderwebs covering every single

03:36corner.

03:37In normal times, you couldn't pay a homeless guy to sleep here.

03:40But to me, this was the arc.

03:41I flipped on my flashlight and pushed deeper, gagging the whole way.

03:44Built in the 1960s.

03:46Reinforced concrete frame.

03:48Sitting 20 meters underground.

03:49At least 10 degrees cooler than outside.

03:51When the heat wave hits and surface temps spike to 158 degrees Fahrenheit.

03:55This place becomes a natural AC unit.

03:56Current condition though, raw.

03:58Ventilation shafts completely blocked.

03:59All wiring dead.

04:00And the well I remembered from last time had zero water.

04:02Just dried up sludge.

04:03Turning this into a safe house met one into a safe house met one hard rule.

04:06No contractors.

04:07Blake had connections everywhere.

04:08One piece of heavy machinery rolling into these hills and he'd know by lunch.

04:10I had to do this and style.

04:12One grain of sand at a time.

04:13I made a list.

04:14Clear the sludge.

04:15Reinforce the gate.

04:16Fix ventilation.

04:17Stoppile supplies.

04:17Every single item.

04:18Pure manual labor.

04:19First move.

04:20I drove the car inside.

04:21And shut the gate.

04:21Home for the next few days.

04:22That night I slept across the back seat.

04:24Eating stale bread that could've doubled as drywall.

04:26Then Blake's social media popped up on my phone.

04:27There he was.

04:28Him and Nessa.

04:29Wine glasses raged.

04:30Floor to ceiling windows behind them.

04:32Finally gave the love of my life a real home.

04:34I chewed my bread and laughed.

04:35Cold and quiet.

04:35Enjoy it.

04:36That giant window is gonna be your personal death trap.

04:39So you'll be on your knees.

04:41Begging for shade and a single drop of water.

04:43First thing next morning.

04:44Priority one.

04:45Water.

04:46The apocalypse doesn't kill you with heat.

04:48It kills you with thirst.

04:49Last life I watched people do the unthinkable fork.

04:51Half the cup of mud water.

04:52Deep in the bunker sat in abandoned mechanical well.

04:54I tied a rope around my waist.

04:55Clipped on a headlamp.

04:56And lowered myself down.

04:58Bottom of the well.

04:59Black sludge.

05:00Full stench.

05:00Wrath skeletons.

05:01The smell nearly evicted my last meal on the spot.

05:04No crew.

05:04No shortcuts.

05:05No crew.

05:05No shortcuts.

05:06Just me and a penny bucket during sad little laps.

05:08Scoop mud.

05:08Climb up.

05:08Dump.

05:09Repeat.

05:09Three straight days.

05:10Humi shovel.

05:10Zero benefits.

05:11Black sludge from head to toe.

05:12Snap nails.

05:14Palms bubbling with blister.

05:15Every rope all felt like my arms were going to broke.

05:17But I couldn't stop.

05:18Because I still remembered what it felt like when your throat turns to dust and your blood goes thick.

05:22Fourth day.

05:22Just afternoon.

05:23One shovel strike and cold liquid exploded.

05:25Straight into my face.

05:27Ground water.

05:27Muddy as hell.

05:29But alive.

05:29I sat at the bottom watching the water.

05:32Rise past my ankles.

05:33Cold soaking through skin.

05:34All the way to bone.

05:35I spooked up two hands of brown water.

05:36And just lost it laughing.

05:37Then somewhere in the laughing.

05:38The crying showed up uninvited.

05:39This well was my ticket.

05:40My whole plan hinged on it.

05:41I climbed out and drove straight to the hardware.

05:44District.

05:44No rest.

05:45Get to every legit store.

05:46Beeline for the sketchy little shops on the city's outskirts.

05:49Needed the best submersible pump available.

05:50Plus bulk activated carbon.

05:51Quartz sand.

05:52And PP cotton filter cartridges.

05:53Spread the purchases.

05:54Across a dozen shops.

05:55To stay invisible.

05:56Pulled each one I was buying for a fish farm.

05:58Out in the sticks.

05:58On top of all that.

05:5950 giant plastic water storage tanks.

06:02The well was great.

06:03But ground water drops in late stage heat events.

06:05Stage heat events.

06:05So I needed three years worth stored up.

06:07Starting now.

06:08Water done.

06:09Next up.

06:09Not getting baked a lie.

06:10On the ground safe cool.

06:12But extreme surface heat conducts right down.

06:14Can't insulate the whole hillside.

06:16Way too obvious.

06:18So I went with the dumbest.

06:19Sneaky's plan.

06:20Land inside.

06:21Drove the van to every building supply market nearby.

06:23And cleared out three shops of thermal wall.

06:25And full of bubble wrap.

06:26Cheap.

06:27Light.

06:28Takes up the space of a small country.

06:30Land maxed out fast.

06:31So I just kept making trips.

06:32Those days I was a machine.

06:33A very bruised machine.

06:34Hoaring by day.

06:35Setting foam on walls by night.

06:36No crew.

06:37Build my own scaffolding.

06:39Fat metal ceiling.

06:40Bell off twice.

06:41Lags were more than a project of loses.

06:43Hundreds of types of industrial pieces.

06:45And so corroded they shed a full layer of skin.

06:46But watching those molding walls vanish under silver foil.

06:49One sheet at a time.

06:50Was every blister.

06:51It's not just walls.

06:52It's a shield between me and the end of the world.

06:54Outside camouflage mattered even more.

06:56The ventilation shafts were halfway up the slope.

06:58To hide any signs someone lived here.

07:00I transplanted dead grass and scrub brush.

07:02Over every shaft opening.

07:04Then staged the.

07:05Then staged the premium garbage pile by the entrance.

07:08Busted furniture.

07:09Clothes that had given up on life.

07:10I need to make every passerby.

07:11Gag and walk faster.

07:13Because when it all hits the fan.

07:14Nobody's playing nice.

07:15Right.

07:15In the middle of all this.

07:16Nessa called.

07:18Ivy.

07:18Heard you've been collecting junk.

07:20Blake and I are worried.

07:21Obviously.

07:22So we saved you a housewarming invite.

07:24You have to come.

07:25Blake laughed in the background.

07:27Actually don't.

07:28You'll track poverty all over the new floors.

07:31I looked at the tub of wet concrete in my hands.

07:32And kept it short.

07:33Congrats.

07:34Hope you have kids soon.

07:35You won't have long to enjoy it anyway.

07:37Two weeks left.

07:39Infrastructure done.

07:40Time to fill the pantry.

07:41Still had around 138k cash left.

07:43No supermarket runs.

07:45Those flagged the algorithm.

07:46Drove hundreds of miles to farming regions.

07:48I bought it straight from growers.

07:49Aged rice.

07:50Brown rice.

07:51A husk grain.

07:52Stuff city people won't touch.

07:53Cheap stores forever.

07:54Perfect.

07:54Cash only.

07:55200 tons per farm.

07:56Lens expansion.

07:57Formally lodging a complaint.

07:58Mont beans.

07:58Soy beans.

07:59Red beans.

07:59Not just food either.

08:01Sprout them when desperate.

08:02And boom.

08:03Vitamins.

08:04Beyond grains.

08:05Salt and sugar.

08:06Non-negotiable.

08:07A full metric ton of coarse salt.

08:08Spread across dozens of small shops.

08:10Extreme heat.

08:10Means constant sweating.

08:12No salt.

08:12Means electrolyte crash.

08:14Means dead.

08:14Meat.

08:15Skip fresh entirely.

08:16Power hog.

08:17Hard to store.

08:18Went with thousands of canned one-she meat tins.

08:19And the saddest, densest compressed biscuits.

08:21Not optimizing for taste.

08:22Calories only.

08:23Every run.

08:24Was a full body workout.

08:25Did not sign up for.

08:2650 pound rice bags.

08:2720 at a time into the bunker.

08:29Shoulders.

08:29Raw.

08:30Scab.

08:30Raw again.

08:31But watching those empty shells fill up.

08:33Bag by bag.

08:34Better than every Hermes I ever owned.

08:36Laszlo done.

08:37I passed the pharmacy.

08:39Remembered Nessa losing it over a scratch last time.

08:42Then gilting Blake into cutting my flesh so she could heal.

08:44I walked in stone-faced.

08:45And cleared the shell.

08:46I done.

08:47Interbiotics.

08:47Anti-inflammatories.

08:48Painkillers.

08:48All of it.

08:49Cashier stared.

08:50I didn't blink.

08:51Stocking a construction site.

08:52Locking out.

08:53Lightning scared the sky.

08:55Thunder.

08:55Low and wrong.

08:56Air gone thick and electric.

08:57The opening act had begun.

08:593 days out.

09:00Weather Bureau slapped a red heat alert on everything.

09:03Experts on TV calling it a temporary El Mino.

09:07Just stay calm.

09:08Only I knew the temperature was never coming back down.

09:11Drill the van to the deepest part of the bunker.

09:13Pulled the battery.

09:14That thing was my backup storage unit now.

09:16On the final lockdown.

09:17Well the steel plates over every side entrance.

09:20Left only the most hidden main door.

09:213 layer defense on the main entry.

09:23Layer 1.

09:24The garbage pile out front.

09:25Layer 2.

09:26A door that looks wooden.

09:27Armored with bulletproof steel plate.

09:29Layer 3.

09:29The original half meter thick reinforced glass door that came with the place.

09:32Added a manual mechanical lock.

09:34No power needed.

09:35Brute force proof.

09:36Done.

09:36Checked every ventilation shaft.

09:38That's where the activated carbon earned its keep.

09:40Packed every duct with filter layers against outside toxins and airborne disease.

09:44Finally, fired up the modified diesel generator.

09:47Ran attached on the deep low pump.

09:49Hmm.

09:49Low mechanical growl.

09:50And clean groundwater started flowing into the tanks.

09:53Watch the gauge climb.

09:54Felt my shoulders drop for the first time in weeks.

09:56Powered off my phone.

09:57Pulled the SIM card.

09:58From this moment.

09:59Ivy Caldwell was officially off the grid.

10:02Coiled a pot of noodles.

10:03Two eggs on top.

10:04Two eggs on top.

10:05Ate every bite.

10:06Then, cash dash out on the moisture barrier mat.

10:08Listening to the wind pick up outside.

10:09Tomorrow the sun shows its teeth.

10:11And I'm ready.

10:13June 30th.

10:146am.

10:15Shoop in the cool morning.

10:16Outdoor temp.

10:17113 degrees Fahrenheit before breakfast.

10:18By noon.

10:19Surface temp hit 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

10:21Asphalt started melting.

10:22Roads turned into slow motion tar pits.

10:24Roadside trees yellowed.

10:26Curled.

10:27Then just caught fire.

10:28Ambulance sirens everywhere.

10:29Until the ambulance tires blew out.

10:3220 meters underground.

10:33I watched it all on my monitors.

10:35Solar cameras.

10:35Mountain peak.

10:36Very sneaky.

10:37The footage looked like someone slapped a red filter on reality itself.

10:41Even down here I felt a faint warmth.

10:43My thermostat said 79.

10:45I was in pajamas.

10:46Biting into a fresh radish I just pulled.

10:49Crisp.

10:50Juicy.

10:50Magnificent.

10:51That crunch.

10:52Priceless in the apocalypse.

10:53I audibly sighed with contentment.

10:54Pulled out the backup phone.

10:55Caught a weak satellite signal.

10:57Social media had fully lost the plot.

10:58Blake's feed was still updating.

11:00Different vibe though.

11:01Yesterday.

11:02Steak and wine.

11:03Today.

11:04Why is it today?

11:05Why is this AC so useless?

11:06Someone call the building manager.

11:07Photo attached.

11:08His prize four to ceiling windows.

11:09Now wallpapered in newspaper and bag sheets for shade.

11:11That all glass penthouse was now premium human easy bake oven.

11:14Even with curtains.

11:16Indoor tents had to be pushing 122 degrees Fahrenheit.

11:18I pictured Nessa's surgery enhanced face slowly warping in the heat.

11:21And felt absolutely nothing.

11:22A1.

11:22The main event hadn't even started.

11:24Day 3 of the heat.

11:25City power grid.

11:27Deceased.

11:28Transformers exploding all night.

11:30Honestly a great light show.

11:31No power meant no water pumps.

11:33For anyone living in a high rise.

11:35This was game over.

11:36Blake called 17 times.

11:38I powered up my old number and picked up.

11:40Baby.

11:41Where are you?

11:42Does that plot have water?

11:44Nessa shrieking in the background.

11:45I'm dying.

11:46I need water.

11:48Blake do something.

11:49I took a long slow sip of my ice cold mint water.

11:51And put on my best barely alive voice.

11:52I'm not doing great either.

11:54Rats everywhere.

11:54Hot.

11:55Smells terrible.

11:55So thirsty.

11:56Blake heard I was worse off.

11:57And immediately pivoted.

11:59Useless.

11:59Shoulda kept the place.

12:01At least I coulda sold it for water money.

12:03Click.

12:04Gone.

12:05On my monitor.

12:06I can see the date of Blake's building.

12:07Have people smashing windows.

12:08And looting already.

12:09The penthouse kept them safe for now.

12:11But not elevator means climbing down 50 floors.

12:13Means dying of dehydration.

12:14I looked over at my hydroponic vegetable rack.

12:16Lettuce growing under the LED grow lights.

12:19Almost aggressively green.

12:20Auto drip system delivering nutrients every 10 minutes.

12:22Like clockwork.

12:23Drip.

12:23Down here in the quiet.

12:25That sound was basically a symphony.

12:26No rush.

12:26I'd wait.

12:27However long it took for them to go from people to monsters.

12:29Two weeks gone.

12:30Everything on the surface.

12:31Charcoal.

12:32The mountains in the distance had gone full grim reaper aesthetic.

12:35Except for my spot.

12:36I've been careful.

12:37Almost perfect.

12:38The ventilation shafts.

12:39Were covered in dead blood.

12:40So all that underground moisture kept pumping up.

12:42And the supposedly dead weeds on top had gone.

12:44And sprouted back green.

12:45In the landscape of total black death.

12:47That tiny patch of green was basically a neon sign.

12:492pm.

12:50Security alert.

12:51A civilian drone.

12:53Wapping up from the base of the mount.

12:55Moving slow.

12:56Operator clearly running on view.

12:58The camera circled a few times.

13:00It locked onto that little green patch.

13:02Then the drone dropped altitude.

13:04Altitude.

13:05My stomach dropped with it.

13:07Busted.

13:07Not by Blake.

13:08By whatever survivors were still crawling around out there.

13:10Because in the apocalypse.

13:12Green means water below.

13:13Green means livable temperature.

13:14I watched the monitor.

13:15And reached under my pillow.

13:16Custom compound crossbow.

13:17Homemade.

13:18Very effective.

13:18If I couldn't hide it anymore.

13:19The next best option was permanent silence.

13:21On screen.

13:22The drone suddenly spun around.

13:23And bolted back down the mountain.

13:24Which meant one thing.

13:26They were coming.

13:27All of them.

13:27For the only green thing left on earth.

13:29On the monitors.

13:30Two sketchy figures crept up from the mountain base.

13:32Local village deadbeats.

13:33One tall.

13:34One short.

13:34Carrying machetes that had seen better days.

13:36Following the drone's GPS trail.

13:37Straight toward me.

13:38Planning to keep this jackpot all to themselves.

13:40I zoomed in on the camera.

13:42Got a good look at the naked grid in their eyes.

13:44Bro.

13:45What could even be out here?

13:46Shut up.

13:46The drone caught green grass means there's water down there.

13:49Water means we run this whole area.

13:51I sat in my climate controlled monitoring room.

13:54Ice cold coke in hand.

13:56Compensation drooping down the glass onto my fingers.

13:58Outside surface temp was pushing 131 degrees Fahrenheit.

14:01Every step they took was drawing down their life meter.

14:02I shook my head and set down the coke and set down the coke.

14:05In the apocalypse.

14:06Anyone who steps into my territory is a threat.

14:08Custom barred steel bolts.

14:09Can punch through a wild boar's skull.

14:11You came all this way.

14:12Might as well stay.

14:12Consider it a housewarming gift for my fortress.

14:14They finally dragged themselves halfway up the hill.

14:16And found the vent shaft I'd camouflaged under dead grass and trash.

14:19Bro.

14:19Air.

14:20Cold air.

14:21That chill creeping up from underground.

14:22Absolutely lethal temptation.

14:24They went feral on the iron grate.

14:25Practically trying to bend steel bars with their hands.

14:27I wasn't about to give them the chance.

14:29I was already posted behind the gun cord on the inside.

14:31Cross hairs lopped steady on the fat one's femoral artery.

14:34The bolt punched clean through his thigh.

14:36Tip coming out the other side.

14:37His screams sent a flock of half dead crows scattering.

14:40Before he even processed it I reloaded.

14:42The second bolt went through his shoulder and pinned him to the scorching rock.

14:46They dropped.

14:46The blood evaporated off the ground almost instantly.

14:49Out here.

14:49Wounded and immobile.

14:50Is just a slower way of saying dead.

14:51I didn't finish them off.

14:52Just watch the monitors.

14:53Cold as ice.

14:54Tracked them from thrashing to stilted.

14:55Two dried out husks.

14:56That was my first lesson after coming back.

14:58Mercy for intruders is just cruelty to yourself.

15:013am is the coolest part of the day.

15:03And it's still 113 degrees.

15:04Still 113 degrees Fahrenheit.

15:05I suited up in my anti-stab gear.

15:07Grabbed an entrenching tool.

15:08And pushed open the heavy blast door.

15:09Both bodies had gone fully rigid.

15:11Yaking of that burnt.

15:12Sour stench.

15:13No sympathy.

15:14Not even a little.

15:14I grabbed them by the ankles.

15:15And dumped them into a deep ravine on the shaded side of the mountain.

15:17The heat and the scavengers would take care of the rest.

15:20Cushing them.

15:20I found the drone remote controller.

15:22The drone itself was a nice surprise.

15:24Top shelf DJI.

15:25With that thing.

15:25I could cover a 5km radius around the base.

15:27Back inside.

15:28I wiped down the controller with alcohol.

15:30Crisis handled.

15:31But that flash of green had been way too visible.

15:33Those two bodies though.

15:34Best warning sign.

15:35I could've put up.

15:36Done swatting flies outside.

15:37You turned my attention back to the city.

15:39Through the back door I planted in their system months ago.

15:41I tapped into the security cameras of Blake's building.

15:43Day 7 without water or power.

15:44Through those massive floor to ceiling windows.

15:46The scene inside was rough.

15:47That so called Riverview luxury penthouse.

15:49All glass walls.

15:50Had become a giant convection oven.

15:51Not a single angle safe from direct sunlight all day long.

15:53Vanessa was slumped on the floor.

15:54Her once pampered skin caked in dried sweat.

15:57Her designer pajamas crusted over with a white layer of salt.

15:59And the filler in her face had warped from the heat.

16:02The vase on the table was knocked over.

16:04The stover.

16:04The stale water inside licked clean.

16:06Blake was hunched over an empty water bottle.

16:08Trying to collect his own pee.

16:09But hesitated.

16:10Hands shaking.

16:11But the thirst had stripped away every last shred of dignity.

16:13This was the penthouse they took from me.

16:15It had become an actual hell on earth.

16:16I was watering the lettuce on my hydroponic rack.

16:19Just enjoying the satisfying little drip of water.

16:21When the phone I'd silenced so nobody could bother me lit up.

16:23Two words on the screen.

16:24Blake Donovan.

16:25I took my sweet time washing my hands.

16:27Dried them off.

16:28Picked up.

16:28And hit speaker while I was at it.

16:29Ivy.

16:30Ivy please help me.

16:31Blake's voice was wrecked.

16:32Like sandpaper dragged across concrete.

16:33I know.

16:34You have a way.

16:34You had to.

16:35Have stocked water.

16:35We were married.

16:36Doesn't that count?

16:36For anything?

16:37In the background.

16:38Vanessa's weak little sobs filtered through.

16:40Ivy.

16:40I was wrong.

16:41Just one sip of.

16:42Water please.

16:42I'll do anything for you after this.

16:44Listening to these two absolutely lose it.

16:45I felt nothing.

16:46Just the clean.

16:47Satisfying rush of a long overdue win.

16:48I picked up the scissors.

16:49And sniffed the dead leaf off the lettuce.

16:50And said.

16:51Real casual.

16:52Oh.

16:52You're thirsty?

16:53Since you're that desperate.

16:54Remember that jade necklace you took from me?

16:56That was a family heirloom.

16:57If you two swallow it.

16:58I'll think about getting you a bottle of water.

17:00Silence on the other end for a few seconds.

17:02Like they genuinely couldn't process.

17:03I'd ask.

17:04I'd ask.

17:05I thought it was just trash talk.

17:07Turns out when survival's on the line.

17:08People will hit rock bottom fast.

17:10Then through the phone.

17:10Came a full on brawl.

17:12And the woman screaming.

17:13Blake are you insane?

17:15That's a rock.

17:15I'll choke.

17:16You swallow it.

17:17She said she'd give water.

17:18You wanna die of thirst?

17:19You are the one who said you'd do anything.

17:21Then came the sound of something heavy hitting the floor.

17:22And Nessa shrieking like she was being strangled.

17:25Blake was actually pinning Nessa down.

17:27Forcing her to swallow that cold hard jade necklace.

17:29I watched the blurry shadows on the security feed.

17:30Two people who once swore they'd love each other forever.

17:32Now going at it like feral animals.

17:34So this is true love?

17:35One half bob of water.

17:36And it's worth absolutely nothing.

17:38I got bored of the whole circus.

17:39And just hung up.

17:40I knew they weren't gonna die.

17:41The human survival instinct is a terrifying thing.

17:43And this was only the beginning.

17:44No water.

17:45No food.

17:45And they still had energy.

17:46To fight each other.

17:47Meaning they weren't desperate enough yet.

17:48I'd wait until they were.

17:49Drowning in their own mess.

17:50Begging on their knees like the worms they were.

17:52Outside.

17:53The world.

17:53Was basically a functioning hell.

17:55Surface temps had long past 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

17:57But down near 20 meters underground.

17:59The thermostat made a cozy 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

18:01The ventilation system.

18:02Hummed at its lowest setting.

18:03Just enough white.

18:04Just enough white noise to actually feel calming.

18:07To celebrate successfully flushing.

18:09All two spies today.

18:10And to celebrate Blake finally showing his true colors.

18:12I decided I absolutely deserved a treat.

18:14I swung open the heavy sealed door.

18:15The cold storage.

18:16And the chill hit me instantly.

18:17Picked out a prime M9 grade Australian whitey ribeye.

18:20Fought.

18:21Then just a little flake sea salt.

18:22And fresh cracked black pepper.

18:23Cast iron screaming hot.

18:24Butter melting in.

18:25That sizzle echoing through the quiet dining room.

18:27Like the Maillard reaction was personally healing my soul.

18:29The smell of seared beef hit the whole room.

18:30I took a 1982 Lafitte off the rack.

18:33Let it breathe for 30 minutes.

18:34Deep red swirling in the crystal glass.

18:36Warm amber mood lighting all around.

18:38I sliced into the perfectly seared, juicy beef.

18:41And put it in my mouth.

18:41The fat just melted on my tongue.

18:43And the satisfaction hit my whole body at once.

18:44Right now I wasn't just eating steak.

18:46I was.

18:47Having my dignity back.

18:48The contrast was everything.

18:49Chou chaos outside.

18:50Chou shun level peace inside.

18:52And it locked in one belief for me.

18:54Nobody gets to wreck my life.

18:55Not this time.

18:56You reach for my plate.

18:57I cut off your hand.

18:58No hesitation.

18:59Fat unsatisfied.

19:00I patched into the spotty local network.

19:02To see just how far gone the outside world was.

19:05The residence group chat for Blake's building.

19:07Had completely imploded.

19:08All that civilized, polite society energy.

19:09Gone.

19:10Morals.

19:10Laws.

19:10Social contract.

19:11All of it.

19:11Torch.

19:12Someone started organizing a so-called mutual aid squad.

19:13Which was just a fancy name for an armed robbery crew.

19:15It targeted single women and elderly folks.

19:16And were openly discussing which doors were easiest to break into.

19:18And right there in the latest member list.

19:20Blake's name.

19:21For survival.

19:22For self-preservation.

19:23This guy who used to walk around calling himself an elite.

19:25Always preaching ethics.

19:25Had finally ripped off the mask.

19:27Then someone in the chat dropped the bombshell.

19:28Blake.

19:28As his entry fee to the crew.

19:29Had ratted out Mrs. Bennett next door.

19:30Who lived alone.

19:31He told them she had two.

19:32Pieces of water her son had sent her.

19:33Her lifeline.

19:34Breathing through the chat logs.

19:35I felt physically sick.

19:37Mrs. Bennett had always been good to him.

19:38Brought him fruit all the time.

19:39This was Blake.

19:40Last life he sold me out to Nessa for half a bottle of water.

19:43So selling out a neighbor.

19:44Barely a warm up.

19:45He wasn't human anymore.

19:46He was a pure monster.

19:48First thing the next morning I got back on.

19:49The patchy local network.

19:50And saw Blake had posted something.

19:52And he hadn't blocked me.

19:53The photo was clearly posed for maximum impact.

19:55Who was gripping a baseball bat with dark red stains on it.

19:57Two unopened cases of water sitting at his feet.

20:00His eyes had this unhinged.

20:01Pharaoh looked to them.

20:02Those were his trophies.

20:03From robbing Mrs. Bennett.

20:04Two cases of water paid for with one person's life.

20:06Word was that a sweet gentle old woman.

20:08Hiding shot down the stairs by Blake when she tried to fight back.

20:10Blake didn't have an ounce of guilt.

20:12He was actually proud of it.

20:13People were hiding him up as a tough guy.

20:14And someone even nominated him to be for captain.

20:16Really all that praise on the screen.

20:18I let out a cold laugh.

20:19Blake thought he'd become a warlord.

20:20Who was just.

20:21A short-sighted idiot.

20:22Two cases of water in this kind of heat.

20:24How long is that by you?

20:25Three days.

20:26Five.

20:26In an apocalypse where productivity has hit absolute zero.

20:28Burning through your stash is inevitable.

20:29And he was out here loud by showing off his violence and his supplies.

20:32Basically lighting a torch in the middle of a pitch black forest.

20:34His little power trip was just a dying flicker before the end.

20:37Tall puppies get cut those desperate people out.

20:39They would be at his door.

20:40I was about to close my laptop and hit the gym.

20:43When the pinned post on the local survival forum.

20:45Caught my eye like a knife.

20:48The title was bold, red, and screaming.

20:51In the world where rats were starving.

20:53Ten boxes of instant noodles was basically a winning lottery ticket.

20:56I traced the poster's IP in about three seconds.

20:58And shocker.

20:59It was Blake's neighborhood.

21:00My stomach dropped.

21:01And something cold and sharp took its place.

21:03So they burned through those two.

21:04So they burned through those two.

21:05Stolen water cases.

21:06Or that glass greenhouse finally.

21:08Cooked them a lot.

21:09Blake suddenly remembered.

21:11The worthless dirt plot he so generously dumped on.

21:13Last life he robbed me straight up.

21:15This time he got clever.

21:16Using the internet and human greed as his weapon.

21:18The replies were already dripping with desperation and hunger.

21:21Classic Blake.

21:21Getting other people to do his dirty work.

21:23Trouble was coming.

21:24Big trouble.

21:24I stared at the screen.

21:25And a slow, ugly smile crept across my face.

21:27My fingers tapped the desk quiet and steady.

21:29Oh, you wanna come?

21:30Come on then.

21:31You're walking into this with your eyes open.

21:32So don't cry when I turn this place into your graveyard.

21:34My trap grid has been sitting there.

21:35Bored and hungry.

21:36Just waiting for some greedy idiots to feed it.

21:38The riots had totally spiraled out of control.

21:41With gunshots, explosions, and screaming stitching together a death soundtrack every night.

21:44Blake and Nessa finally figured out the glass penthouse.

21:47Wasn't livable anymore.

21:48They any longer.

21:49And you're either roasted or eaten by a mom.

21:51Through the last working traffic cam at the intersection.

21:53I caught their whole escape prep on camera.

21:55The Range Rover was packed.

21:56To the roof.

21:58And Blake.

21:58Genius that he is.

21:59Threw in one spare gas can.

22:00But multiple cases of red wine in the trunk.

22:02Gotta keep the vibes right.

22:03Even during the apocalypse.

22:04Nessa tossed Blake's entire box of books.

22:06Out one by one.

22:07And swapped them for a staff of limited edition Hermes bags.

22:10And a few oak couture gowns.

22:12That would cause heat stroke.

22:13She clearly thought this was a vacation.

22:15Or maybe she was.

22:15Already planning my funeral.

22:17Watching her kick those books off the car with the look of pure contempt.

22:19I actually laughed out loud.

22:21In this world a book can start a fire.

22:23Wipe your ass.

22:24Or block the wind.

22:25What a silk gown is literally only good as kindling.

22:28These two absolute idiots.

22:29Even with a hundred reincarnations.

22:31Couldn't fix the factory defect inside their skulls.

22:32Their escape went sideways faster than expected.

22:35Not even 12 miles out.

22:36The tires blew on the melting asphalt.

22:38The road had literally liquefied.

22:40Ground temp hitting 176 degrees Fahrenheit.

22:41Hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk.

22:42No jack.

22:43No spare.

22:44No one coming to help.

22:45They had to ditch the car and walk.

22:46Through the scattered public cans still running.

22:48I watched the whole disaster unfold.

22:50Death race on above.

22:51Tar pit below.

22:52Every single step was a full body effort.

22:54Just to peel their shoes free.

22:56Souls literally smoking.

22:57The roadside was lined with heat mummified bodies.

22:59Some still half alive.

23:00Moaning, reaching out like dried twigs.

23:02Begging for help.

23:03Blick kept his eyes forward and dragged Nessa along.

23:06Refusing to look.

23:06Nessa's pricey surgically enhanced face was already peeling under the UV assault.

23:10Bright red and bubbling with blisters.

23:12She was sobbing, screaming she wanted to go home.

23:14And Blake, out of patience, slapped her hard.

23:17She bled from the lip.

23:18He said,

23:19Shut up.

23:19Or stay here and feed the dogs.

23:20A two hour drive took them two full days on foot.

23:23But by my count, they crawled to the foot of the mountain in two days.

23:26Time to prep their welcome gift.

23:28I got to work setting up the reception.

23:29No way I was wasting my precious explosives on these chips.

23:31I dug through the junk.

23:32Then in the far corner of the storage room.

23:33And pulled out a few.

23:34Doesn't rest the animal traps.

23:35Left behind by the old hunters who used to work these hills.

23:37He's still sharp.

23:38Just with a nice vintage rust aesthetic.

23:39To upgrade the damage output.

23:40I grabbed my fake industrial rubber gloves.

23:42Choked back the nausea.

23:42And made a trip to the septic tank.

23:44I brushed layers of long fermented sewage sludge onto every set of teas.

23:47This stuff hit.

23:48Harder than poison in the apocalypse.

23:49The heat had bacteria.

23:51Multiplying 10 times faster than before.

23:52One little nick from these jaws.

23:54An infection rate was 100%.

23:55Death just a matter of time.

23:56I carried my little collection of bio weapons out and buried them along the only path meeting to the entrance.

24:01Tucked into rock crevices and dry brush.

24:03Dusted over with a thin layer of loose dirt.

24:05Every single trap.

24:06Handcrafted with love just for them.

24:08Want to walk through my door?

24:09Leave your legs.

24:10Heading back down after setting the traps.

24:12I heard fake whimpering from a patch of dead grass.

24:15Pushed to the side.

24:16Found a massive Tibetan mastiff.

24:17Skin and bones.

24:18Broken chains still around its neck.

24:20Fur rotting where the metal had dug in.

24:22Clearly dumped by owners who bail.

24:24Barely alive.

24:25Couldn't even lift its head.

24:26In a world where people eat each other.

24:27Humans are scarier than any beast.

24:29Animals are way more loyal.

24:30Something in me cracked a little.

24:31I mixed a bowl of porridge.

24:32With water and antibiotics.

24:33And set it down.

24:34It lapped it up like its life depended on it.

24:36Tongue chasing every single grain of rice.

24:37Then actual tears rolled out of its eyes.

24:39Didn't expect that to be a whole rescue operation.

24:41Three days later.

24:42It stood up.

24:42Deal shaky.

24:43But that black coat had a shine to it now.

24:45And a bill.

24:46Absolutely intimidating.

24:46It followed me everywhere.

24:48Totally devoted.

24:49Anyone who can near.

24:49He got a deep, slow growl from the chest.

24:51I named him Onyx.

24:52My first line of biological defense.

24:54His nose beats any security camera.

24:56His teeth beat any trap.

24:57In this apocalypse.

24:58He's the only one I trust to watch my back.

25:00Day 5.

25:01Moon.

25:01The air itself was basically on fire.

25:03Blake and Nessa fire.

25:04Blake and Nessa finally showed up at the base of the mountain.

25:06Their designer outfits had become glorified rags.

25:09Kicked in dirt and dry blood.

25:10Lips cracked like old bark.

25:12Eyes completely vacant.

25:13But then.

25:14They looked up and spotted the bunker entrance.

25:16I disguised as a trash heap.

25:17And their eyes lit up like feral animals.

25:20They caught that.

25:21Tiny leak of cool air drifting out.

25:23Ivy.

25:24Ivy.

25:24Blake.

25:25Scream.

25:25Flawing his way up on all fours.

25:27Fingers digging into the dirt.

25:29I'm your husband.

25:29I'm here for you.

25:30We're family.

25:31Open up.

25:31I need to talk to you.

25:33His voice bounced around the empty valley.

25:35Sharp and gross.

25:36He was testing me.

25:37Psyching himself up.

25:38Trying to pull rank using our old dynamic.

25:39I stood at my hidden lookout.

25:41Cold coconut water in hand.

25:42Straw in it and everything.

25:43Just watching them.

25:44Come to get me.

25:45More like.

25:45Come to take me.

25:46Out and steal my spot.

25:47Genuinely nauseating.

25:49They charged up the hill.

25:50Zero hesitation.

25:50Totally clueless about what was hiding in that dead grass.

25:53Nessa was first.

25:53Done with the heat.

25:54Done with running.

25:55She wanted first dits on that cool air.

25:57Snap.

25:58That crisp metallic click rang out across the hillside.

26:01Followed immediately by a blood curdling scream.

26:03Ah.

26:04Ah.

26:05My leg.

26:05My leg is broken.

26:07Nessa hit the ground hard.

26:08Right leg locked in a giant bear trap.

26:10Rusted teeth sank straight to the bone.

26:12Blood everywhere instantly.

26:13She was riding in the dirt.

26:14Wound getting filthier by the second.

26:16Blake.

26:16Right behind her.

26:17Froze.

26:17His first move wasn't to help.

26:19It was to scramble backwards two steps.

26:21So he wouldn't be next.

26:22True love.

26:23Everybody.

26:24Real ride or die stuff.

26:25I picked up the mic connected to the external speakers.

26:27Voice ice cold across the valley.

26:28Private property.

26:29Trespassers get deleted.

26:30Take one more step forward.

26:31And the next trap won't catch your life.

26:33It'll catch your throat.

26:33I watched them freak out down there.

26:35It took a long sip of coconut water.

26:37Ice cold.

26:38Absolutely perfect.

26:39Only after checking there were no more traps.

26:41Did Blake finally stop.

26:42He looked at Nessa bleeding out.

26:43And rolling in pain.

26:44Then at the sealed iron door.

26:46And figured brute force wasn't gonna cut it.

26:47Then he dropped to his knees on the scorching gravel with a thud.

26:50And started kowtowing.

26:51Forehead hitting the ground until it bled.

26:53Mixing with sweat.

26:54Ivy.

26:54Babe.

26:55I know you're in there.

26:56We were married.

26:57That's gotta count for something.

26:58Even if I messed up.

26:59Nessa's innocent.

27:00She's just a helpless woman.

27:01Her leg is broken.

27:01She'll get infected and die without treatment.

27:03You've got out treatment.

27:04You've gotta have medicine in there.

27:05Please just open up and give us a little.

27:07Even just some water.

27:07Full tears.

27:08Full snot.

27:08Oscar worthy.

27:09Performance honestly.

27:10Like he was the victim and I was some cold blooded executioner.

27:13He was banking on guilt.

27:14Betting I.

27:14Still had feelings.

27:16Betting I'd go soft.

27:17Bad bet.

27:18Last life.

27:18When they slit my wrist and drained me dry.

27:20Whatever conscience I had left drained out with it.

27:22I watched his little show with zero emotion.

27:24Just disgust.

27:24Oh.

27:25Now we're invoking marriage.

27:26When you were chugging my blood.

27:27Did you think of me as your wife then?

27:29When you left me on that balcony to die.

27:30Where was all that love?

27:31Watching them nearly dehydrate was fun.

27:33But I decided to upgrade the experience a little.

27:35I ran the pipe out through the top ventilation shaft.

27:38And aimed it right at their spot.

27:39Turned the valve.

27:40Crystal clear water can pour in doubt.

27:42A gorgeous shimmering curtain writing front of them.

27:44It hit the scorching rocks with a satisfying hiss.

27:47A little cloud of steam rising up instantly.

27:48The smell of wet earth drifting through the air.

27:51For two people basically mummifying alive.

27:53This wasn't torture.

27:54It was psychological slow death.

27:56Blake and Nessa's eyes went completely blank.

27:58Mouths open.

27:58Desperately lapping at muddy water off the ground.

28:01Nessa didn't even register her leg anymore.

28:02Dragging the trap behind her.

28:05Tongue pressed against burning rock.

28:07Chasing every last drop.

28:08I shut the valve.

28:09Water stopped.

28:10Dead silence.

28:11One song.

28:11My voice came.

28:12Through the speaker.

28:13Dripping with amusement.

28:15Both of them nodding frantically.

28:16Pure desperation in their eyes.

28:17Then let's play a game.

28:18Slap each other.

28:19Loudest slap wins a cup of water.

28:20Ready?

28:21Go.

28:22One second of silence.

28:23Just the hot wind.

28:24Smack.

28:25Blake didn't hesitate.

28:26Wound up his whole arm.

28:27And cracked Nessa clean across the face.

28:29Nessa hit the ground.

28:30Blood at the corner of her mouth.

28:32Totally stunned.

28:33The cheeks swelling up in real time.

28:34You actually hit me.

28:35Nessa shrieked.

28:36All that love in her eyes.

28:38Curdling into pure venom.

28:39Crack.

28:39She clawed back.

28:40Nails dragging three deep bloody lines.

28:42Down Blake's face.

28:43You absolute bitch.

28:45If you hadn't thrown out my books.

28:46Would we even be in this mess?

28:47This is all on you.

28:48You're just useless.

28:49Couldn't find supplies to save your life.

28:51If I were you I'd just die already.

28:52They weren't at it.

28:53Every fit landing solid.

28:54Blake had the weight.

28:55Advantage.

28:56Pinned her down.

28:57And punched.

28:58Nessa went for the eyes.

28:59And bit his ear.

29:00I filmed the whole thing on my phone.

29:03Have a cup of water.

29:04Have a cup of water.

29:04And the great love story just dissolved.

29:06Every ugly thing underneath finally showing.

29:0810 minutes later.

29:08They were both racked.

29:09Flat on the ground.

29:10Gasping.

29:10I kept my word and tossed something out the window.

29:13An expired bottle of medicated oil.

29:14Drink up.

29:15Clears the head right up.

29:16Good stuff.

29:16Don't waste.

29:17Blake picked up that rolling bottle.

29:19With shaking hands.

29:20Cracked it open.

29:21One sniff.

29:22And yeah.

29:23He knew.

29:23He looked up.

29:24Eyes gone cold and calculating.

29:26He'd been played.

29:27Didn't matter how much he begged or bled.

29:29That door was never opening.

29:30Rush it.

29:31He glanced at the bear trap still locked around Nessa's leg.

29:33Nope.

29:34Not that brave.

29:34So he pried the trap off with both hands.

29:36Face like a thunder cloud.

29:37Ignored every scream.

29:38Grab Nessa.

29:40And limped the both of them back down to the base.

29:41There was an abandoned mine shack down there.

29:43Dark.

29:44Damp.

29:44Full of bad droppings.

29:45But just enough shade to not die instantly.

29:47They didn't leave.

29:47Blake stopped at the entrance.

29:49And looked back up at me.

29:50No more begging.

29:51Just cold.

29:52Calculating malice.

29:53He was waiting for an opening.

29:54Or backup.

29:55That look said he'd burn everything down.

29:56Just to take me with him.

29:57Classic.

29:58If he can't have it nobody can.

29:59I knew this wasn't over.

30:00We were barely past the opening credits.

30:02Didn't care.

30:03In this fortress I built from scratch.

30:05I'm the final boss.

30:06You want to play?

30:07Let's go.

30:08I'll see how long you last.

30:09In a cave with no food and nothing but despair.

30:11I knew Blake couldn't be trusted.

30:13That look he gave wasn't just for show.

30:15Next evening.

30:16The infrared alarm tripped.

30:18On the monitors.

30:19A thick black smold column rose from the base of the mountain.

30:21Cutting straight up into the still air.

30:23Signal fire.

30:24He was calling for backup.

30:25Sure enough.

30:26A crew showed up.

30:27Armed with machetes and shotguns.

30:28The one leading them had a scar across his face.

30:31Built like a wall.

30:32Eyes like a shark.

30:33Gnome raiders.

30:34The nastiest crew operating in the area.

30:36Blake leant out to meet them.

30:37Leg wound and all.

30:38Pointing up at my mountain.

30:40That gross little smile plastered on his face.

30:42One look at scars.

30:42Expression.

30:43And you could fill in the pitch yourself.

30:44Supplies up there.

30:45Unlimited water.

30:46Lone woman living solo.

30:47Blake didn't hesitate for a second.

30:48Sold me out completely to settle the score.

30:50He wanted this place turned into a slaughterhouse.

30:52Me as the main event.

30:53Classic Blake.

30:54Honestly.

30:55When survival's on the line.

30:56Everyone else is expendable.

30:57This crew was different though.

30:59Not the average desperate stragglers.

31:00These guys came prepared.

31:01Scar was careful.

31:02Pulled a black waterproof.

31:03Pulled a black waterproof bag from his pack.

31:05Heavy.

31:06Landed with a dull thud.

31:07From my stocking up days I knew immediately.

31:09Either homemade explosives.

31:11Or detonators.

31:12My stomach dropped.

31:14Pongs went cold.

31:15My blast door is solid.

31:16Could take a truck at full speed.

31:18But directional charges.

31:19Different story.

31:20And the vents were the real weak point.

31:21One detonation.

31:22Or a smoke funnel.

31:23In there.

31:23And I'm cooked.

31:24Can't just sit here playing defense.

31:26That's a losing strategy.

31:27I watched them huddle at.

31:28The base running their plan.

31:29Leg pointing around like a tour guide.

31:32Sketching out the vents.

31:33The entry points.

31:34All of it.

31:34I tightened my grip on the remote.

31:36Knuckles going white.

31:37Let me roll out the welcome back.

31:38Bye.

31:39You wanting so bad.

31:39This is my turf.

31:40My rules.

31:41Time to show them.

31:42That some doors aren't entrances.

31:44They're a one way trip.

31:46Bold plan.

31:47Borderline insane.

31:49I suited up in full insulated gear.

31:51Strapped on the gas mask.

31:52Took a breath.

31:53And hit the remote myself.

31:54Here's grinding.

31:56With this guy's trash heap door rolled open.

31:59And there in the buffer zone.

32:00Exactly what I'd staged.

32:02Need stacks of cardboard boxes.

32:03Or boxes.

32:04A few slashed rice.

32:06Bags filling white grain across the floor.

32:07In that golden hour light.

32:09It looked like the promised land.

32:10The boxes were packed with rocks for weight.

32:13The rice was moldy months ago.

32:15But from out there.

32:16That was hope.

32:17That was worth dying for.

32:19Once it was set.

32:20I slipped back behind the second glass door.

32:22And watched through one way bulletproof glass.

32:24Meanwhile.

32:25I flicked on the corridor systems.

32:26They were already sold in lubricant oil.

32:28Their wires on both walls now live at 380 volts.

32:31I live a welcome corridor.

32:33Direct express to the afterlife.

32:35The door's open.

32:36It's open.

32:36Must be a power failure.

32:38Systems down.

32:38Blake screamed.

32:39Voice cracking with excitement.

32:41Pointing at the supplies.

32:42Eyes basically leading his skull.

32:44Scar blinked.

32:45Then lit up completely.

32:46Last shred of caution dissolved by pure greed.

32:48Boys.

32:49God just handed us dinner.

32:50Move.

32:51Grab everything.

32:52Woman's mine.

32:53Supplies split even.

32:54The whole crew howled and charged up the hill.

32:56Blake was first.

32:58Limping on that wrecked leg and still leading the pack.

33:01He hit the corridor first.

33:02Hand almost reaching that still.

33:03Most reaching that still rice on the ground.

33:05Then his foot slipped.

33:06He went down hard.

33:08Completely lost it.

33:09And rolled all the way to the drainage pit at the end of the corridor.

33:12Pit I pre dug.

33:13Bottom line with rusty irons.

33:15The scream was genuinely horrific.

33:17But it barely carried before the mob flooding in behind him drowned it out.

33:20The five raiders right behind Blake didn't fare much better.

33:23They piled up on the slick floor in a human heap.

33:26Weapons flying everywhere.

33:28Cursing.

33:29Scrambling to get up.

33:29Palms and bodies hitting the electrified walls and floor grid.

33:32That's when I calmly.

33:34Pulled the red switch.

33:35Biz sit.

33:36Blue arcs crackled through the narrow corridor.

33:39Bodies convulsing.

33:40Foaming.

33:41Eyes rolling back.

33:42Skin visibly blackening and charring by the second.

33:45Burnt hair and ozone filling the air.

33:47Industrial voltage.

33:48Not messing around.

33:49Scar at the back reacted fast.

33:51Slammed the brakes.

33:52Even grabbed the guy next to him as a human shield.

33:54Still caught the edge of the arc.

33:56Got launched backwards.

33:57Slammed into the ground outside.

33:58Hair standing straight up.

33:59Pull back.

34:00Now.

34:01It's a trap.

34:02Electric.

34:03He screamed in.

34:03Trick.

34:04He screamed in full panic.

34:05Crawling out on all fours.

34:06Scar made it out alive.

34:08But lost more than half his crew.

34:09Humiliation plus fear plus rage.

34:11Brain fully offline.

34:13Nessa.

34:14Leg wrecked.

34:14Was dead last.

34:15Dragging herself along.

34:16Catching her breath against a rock.

34:18Scar grabbed her by the hair and yanked.

34:20Donked her in front of whatever was left of his guys.

34:22You think you can trap me?

34:23This is your great spot?

34:25My brothers are dead because of you.

34:26Boys.

34:27She's yours.

34:28Make it hurt.

34:29For the ones we lost.

34:30Nessa screamed.

34:31Fought back.

34:31Nothing working.

34:32Screaming Blake's name over and over.

34:34Against a bunch of guys.

34:35Who'd lost everything.

34:36She had zero leverage.

34:37I muted that feed.

34:39Just watched the scream.

34:40Cold.

34:40Meanwhile in the spike pit.

34:41Blake was in the corner.

34:43Hand clamped over his own mouth.

34:44Curled into a ball.

34:45Not making a sound.

34:46To survive.

34:47He threw Nessa away.

34:48Again.

34:49The survivors weren't ready to quit.

34:51Too proud to walk away empty.

34:52They tried lighting.

34:54Wet grass and half burnt branches.

34:55Smoke rolling in.

34:56Their plan.

34:57Choked me out.

34:57My internal air circulation system had been running for hours.

35:00Nice try.

35:00Night fell.

35:01I strapped on.

35:01Military IR night vision.

35:03Everything went that creepy glowing green.

35:06Reached into the cabinet for my personal collection of Molotov cocktails.

35:08Custom batch.

35:09High proof liquor.

35:09Gasoline.

35:10Dissolve foam.

35:11I climbed silently to the top hidden observation point.

35:13And watched through the firing slit.

35:15You guys love fire so much.

35:16Let me upgrade that for you.

35:18I zeroed in on the center of their little campfire huddle.

35:20And threw the first bottle hard.

35:21It cut a clean arc through the dark.

35:24Flat.

35:25Glass shattering into the silence.

35:27Like a gunshot.

35:28Apocalypse heat means everything.

35:30Around us was basically kindling.

35:31Where dry as a bone.

35:32Molotov cocktails with a perfect match.

35:34Fire swallowed their camp hole.

35:36Corpses and all.

35:38Fire.

35:39We're on fire.

35:40Some of them became human torches.

35:42Sprinting through the flames.

35:43Screaming.

35:44Slapping themselves.

35:46Just spreading it further.

35:47Scarfully ablaze.

35:48Something clicked.

35:49And he made a.

35:50Desperate run for the water pipe.

35:51He remembered the water.

35:52Only way out.

35:54Hands shaking.

35:54Twisted the valve open.

35:55Aimed it at himself.

35:56Praying it would put him out.

35:58What came out wasn't water.

36:00It was high octane gasoline.

36:01I pumped in under pressure.

36:03B.

36:04Boom.

36:05Fuel hits open flame.

36:06Instant flashover.

36:07Scar became a fireball.

36:08The explosion swallowed his scream whole.

36:11He hit the ground rolling.

36:12Went still slowly.

36:13Turned to char.

36:14Nothing left.

36:15But the sound of fat crackling.

36:16The whole base of the mountain was a sea of fire.

36:18Lighting up the pitch black sky.

36:19The fire burned all night.

36:21Gying out just around dawn.

36:22Air thick with gasoline.

36:24Char.

36:25And dead body smell.

36:27Raiders.

36:27Gone.

36:28Nessa.

36:29Nowhere.

36:29I suited up in full heavy gear.

36:31Dry powder extinguisher in one hand.

36:33Long handle tongs in the other.

36:34Time to clean up.

36:35When I got to the spike pit.

36:38I noticed something.

36:39Moving under the pile of charred bodies.

36:40I raised an eyebrow.

36:42Nudged the top layer of crispy raiders aside.

36:44Blake.

36:45This cockroach actually survived.

36:47A puddle at the pit bottom broke his fall.

36:48Lucky him.

36:49Not a single patch of skin intact.

36:51One eye swollen to a slit.

36:52He heard my footsteps and forced his head up.

36:55Staring at me through that one cloudy eye.

36:57Making this low rattling noise in his throat.

36:59Nothing in that look but pure bottomless hatred.

37:02Ivy.

37:02I'm going to kill you.

37:03Going to kill you.

37:04I didn't kill Blake.

37:05One clean cut.

37:06Way too easy.

37:07I dragged him out of the body pile.

37:09His red form leaving the dark green streak across the ground.

37:12Used the same heavy chain that used to hold onyx.

37:14Locked it around his neck.

37:15The cold metal making him flint.

37:17I set him up in the buffer zone.

37:19Between door one and the blast door.

37:21No sun.

37:21No rain.

37:22But also no exit.

37:24Every day.

37:24One bowl of sour slop.

37:25The occasional moldy bread crust.

37:27I needed him alive.

37:28Watching me eat well and thrive.

37:30Every second a reminder of.

37:31Exactly how badly he lost.

37:33Also.

37:34His face is.

37:34The best along system.

37:36Anyone dumb enough to break in gets.

37:37Him as their welcome gift first.

37:39Welcome to your new position.

37:40My guard dog.

37:41I patted his head.

37:42Turn and shut the blast door behind me.

37:43Sealing the light.

37:44And every last bit of hope on my side.

37:46All those kids.

37:47And the apocalypse.

37:48Stop pretending.

37:49Temps blew past anything humans were built for.

37:50Toppy out have 167 degrees Fahrenheit.

37:52Even cacti gave up.

37:53Then turned to ash.

37:54Asphalt didn't just melt.

37:55It started off gassing toxic black smoke.

37:58The indoor thermometer crept up past 82 degrees Fahrenheit.

38:01And then.

38:02The ground water.

38:03Ground water.

38:04Started dropping.

38:05Miserably.

38:06Tabs running thinner.

38:07Pumps draining with that dry wine.

38:09I had to fire up the expensive closed loop water filtration system.

38:12Starting now.

38:12Shower water.

38:13Vegetable rinse water.

38:15All of it gets recycled.

38:16Every drop worth more than gold.

38:18Zero waste.

38:19Meanwhile.

38:19Gui Kao sat.

38:20Hadn't had water in two days.

38:21On the monitor.

38:22I watched him flat on the concrete floor.

38:24Dehydration had stripped out whatever was left of his humanity.

38:26Body shaking.

38:27Blackened.

38:28Swollen tongue out.

38:29Licking his own urine off the ground.

38:30To stay alive.

38:31Even one more second.

38:33He'd let go of every last shred of dignity.

38:35And gone full animal.

38:35On top of the heat that could cook you.

38:37Plague showed up too.

38:38The city below was stacked with uncleared bodies.

38:42At these temperatures.

38:42With everything baking and evaporating.

38:44The whole city became one massive petri dish.

38:45Ancient and mutated viruses.

38:47And bacteria going absolutely wild.

38:48E-stroke.

38:49Cholera.

38:50Plate.

38:50Death in every cubic inch of air.

38:52Even from kilometers away.

38:54That distinctive sweet rot stench of decomposing bodies.

38:56Drifted up the mountain on the hot wind.

38:58Seeping into every crack in the rock.

39:00One whiff and your stomach turns itself inside out.

39:02I sealed ev-

39:03I sealed every external vent immediately.

39:05Not a single gap left open.

39:07Then kicked on the backup internal oxygen roof.

39:10And the industrial grade air purifier at max setting.

39:12Lushinari hami.

39:13And the air inside went clean again.

39:15From here on out.

39:16This fortress is.

39:17A fully sealed independent ecosystem.

39:19Cut off from everything.

39:20Outside isn't just a heat apocalypse anymore.

39:22It's a bio one too.

39:23Anyone out there who dares pull.

39:24Off their mask for one breath.

39:25Gets those pathogens straight into their lungs.

39:27Slow and painful exit guaranteed.

39:29Just when I thought NASA was ash.

39:31She came back.

39:32But what showed up on the security feed.

39:34Was not a person.

39:35This was something that crawled out of house.

39:37Most of her skin had carbonized.

39:39Hair completely gone.

39:41She somehow survived the fire.

39:43And now ran truly on one setting.

39:45Hunt.

39:46She clawed her way back up.

39:47The mountain.

39:48And into the buffer zone.

39:49Those cloudy.

39:49Inside out eyes.

39:51Locked onto Blake.

39:52Chained in the corner.

39:54Pure starvation had wiped her mind clean.

39:55Just a low growl in her throat.

39:57She did a red mice her beloved.

39:59Just saw fresh meat.

40:00She lunged.

40:01Shockingly fast.

40:02And bit a chunk.

40:03And bit a chunk clean out of Blake's thigh.

40:06His scream punched straight through the blast door.

40:09Echoing underground.

40:10He stared at this reeking thing in front of him.

40:12Unable to connect her to that precious.

40:14Delicate.

40:14Girl he'd once put on a pedestal.

40:15He simply could not process it.

40:17I was parked in front of the security monitor.

40:18Fresh ground coffee in hand.

40:20Still steaming.

40:20Watching this horror show unfold.

40:22And I laughed.

40:23Like.

40:23Actually cried laughing.

40:25Karma's got incredible timing.

40:26Last life.

40:27I was their personal blood bag.

40:29Caged up.

40:29Kept alive just to fuel them.

40:31This life roles reversed.

40:33Blake became Nessa's meal.

40:34Getting mauled by the woman.

40:36He once would've died for.

40:37Watching Blake thrash on the ground.

40:39Trying to kick off a feral Nessa.

40:41Dark green fluid spreading across the floor.

40:43I set down my coffee.

40:44Walked over to the feeding slot in the inner door.

40:45Clank.

40:45I tossed in a rusty serrated boning knife.

40:49The one I used to use on expired meat.

40:51Want to live?

40:51I said.

40:52Through the interpump.

40:53That flat.

40:53Zero warmth in my voice.

40:54Simple rules.

40:55Whoever kills the other one.

40:57Gets a cold can of coke.

40:59One can.

40:59Winner drinks.

41:01Both of them froze mid struggle.

41:03Struggle.

41:04They looked up at that dark little slot.

41:06And in their heads.

41:07That coke.

41:08Was the holiest thing on earth.

41:09Not a second of hesitation.

41:11Zero.

41:13Blake grabbed the boning knife off the ground.

41:14Didn't even flinch when the blade sliced his palm open.

41:17Nessa threw herself at his throat.

41:19Fingernails digging deep into his flesh.

41:20Thud.

41:21The dull sound of steel finding meat.

41:23Blake put everything he had left into driving the knife into Nessa's chest.

41:27Once.

41:27Twice.

41:28Three times.

41:28Dark green splattered across his face.

41:30But he did not stop.

41:31Not until Nessa went completely still.

41:33Those venom filled eyes frozen open.

41:34Staring straight through him.

41:35Blake shoved the body off and crawled to the gate.

41:37Face soaked in blood.

41:38Those charred hands locked around the iron bars.

41:40Eyes blazing with something feral and unhinged.

41:42Coke.

41:43Give me the coke.

41:43I killed her.

41:44I won.

41:45I pulled out an open can.

41:46And right in front of him.

41:47Slowly poured it onto the concrete.

41:48Maybe three inches from the bars.

41:50Dark liquid bubbling on the ground.

41:51Sweet smell drifting up.

41:53Lick it clean.

41:54Blake pressed his face to the floor.

41:55Dust and dark green fluid and all.

41:57Frantically lapping up that gritty cola.

41:59Letting out the satisfied, broken whimper.

42:01That's when the old radio.

42:03Nothing radio.

42:04Nothing but static for weeks.

42:05Crackled to life with a human voice.

42:08This is coalition government.

42:09Shelter number seven.

42:10All survivors.

42:11Please note.

42:11Proceed immediately to the west side of the city.

42:13Large underground shelter.

42:14We will provide food and water.

42:15So the government finally showed up.

42:17Two months into the apocalypse.

42:17They converted existing civil defense tunnels into one big shelter.

42:21But I knew exactly what that meant.

42:22I've been to a place like that in my last life.

42:25Hundreds of thousands crammed together.

42:27Strict hierarchy.

42:28Resources locked up top.

42:29Regular people shoved into the bottom bunks.

42:31It was a slave camp with better branding.

42:33Easy to get in.

42:34Nearly impossible to leave.

42:35I turned off the radio without expression.

42:37Cutting off that very tempting voice.

42:38I had my own kingdom.

42:39I wasn't about to be anyone's bottom bunk.

42:41And I definitely wasn't taking handouts.

42:43A group of survivors passed by the mountain base.

42:45Loaded down.

42:45Half-starred.

42:46Clothes basically dissolving off their bodies.

42:48Creely headed for the government shelter.

42:49After hearing the broadcast.

42:51A few of them spotted a hint of green up the slope.

42:54And got ideas.

42:55Armed with sticks and rocks.

42:56They crept up to the first gate.

42:58But the second they looked through the bars at what was inside.

43:01Every single one of them lost it.

43:03One of them lost it.

43:04There was a creature covered in dark green fluid.

43:06Skin charred and rotting.

43:07Face down on the ground.

43:08Gnawing on a decomposing corpse.

43:09It heard them.

43:10Blake's head snapped up.

43:11That one eye blazing.

43:12A guttural growl rising from his chest.

43:15Monster.

43:15There's a monster eating people.

43:16Run.

43:17They screamed.

43:18Trith over each other.

43:19And fled down the mountain.

43:20Without looking back once.

43:21Blake's horror show just handled.

43:23A whole security threat for me.

43:24And that is his only.

43:26Remaining purpose.

43:27Scarecrow.

43:28Outside.

43:28People were starving.

43:29Treating kids for food like it was normal.

43:31Meanwhile my underground farm.

43:32Bathe in purple growl lights.

43:34Was hitting its first real harvest.

43:35Planet control.

43:36Custom nutrient solution.

43:37The whole setup.

43:38And the sweet potatoes on.

43:40The hydroponic racks were absolutely thriving.

43:42I pulled on my cotton gloves.

43:43And carefully dug out a pile of fist sized sweet potato.

43:46Red skin.

43:47Yellow flesh.

43:47Still damp with soil.

43:49Smelling like actual earths.

43:50Which I hadn't smelled in forever.

43:51In this apocalypse.

43:52This pile could start a 100% riot.

43:54That night I air fried two of them.

43:56Then slow cooked the thick sweet potato congee.

43:58I even tried fermenting the leftover.

44:00Start into a jar of homemade wine.

44:01Low proof.

44:03Low proof.

44:04But actual grain alcohol.

44:05Peeled back the crispy skin to reveal soft steaming golden flesh inside.

44:09Caramel juice running down my fingers.

44:11One bite.

44:11Straight up sweet.

44:12That deep.

44:13Carb loaded satisfaction.

44:15Hitty in a way no synthetic food ever could.

44:16I mixed onyx a bowl with mashed sweet potato and canned one-cham meat.

44:19Fancy.

44:20One human.

44:21One dog.

44:21Deep on the ground.

44:22Listening to the wind how outside.

44:24Lending our absolute best lives.

44:26Turns out.

44:26Heavy enough food.

44:27Doesn't fix the void eating a brain.

44:29Weeks of isolation.

44:31Zero human contact.

44:32No social media noise.

44:34Just silence so thick it had weight.

44:36I started feeling this deep, bone level loneliness.

44:39Sometimes it hit harder than hunger.

44:41I catch myself talking to the mirror.

44:43Repeating random sentences over and over.

44:45Just to confirm I still could.

44:46I'd stare at the ceiling for hours.

44:48Completely zoned out.

44:49No idea if it was day or night.

44:51Mental health, I realized, was just as critical as physical.

44:53If my mind went, the bunker meant nothing.

44:55I'd crack before the heat got me.

44:57So I forced myself onto a schedule.

45:002 hours of working out every day.

45:02Full sweat.

45:03Sweat.

45:03Dopamine vs depression.

45:05Round 1.

45:05I dug out the box of books Blake had tossed away.

45:07Read every word out loud.

45:08One by one.

45:08I started talking to onyx like a person.

45:11Named every lettuce.

45:12Every potato.

45:13Little green grew a centimeter today.

45:14That's my boy.

45:15Onyx.

45:16This book is genuinely terrible.

45:17The author has never seen apocalypse in their life.

45:19I'm not just surviving.

45:20I'm staying sane while doing it.

45:22In this war against loneliness, I refuse to lose.

45:25Blake finally gave out.

45:27The burns alone had wrecked his body.

45:29Then the infected wounds.

45:30Then eating Nessa's rotten flesh.

45:31His fever spiked hard.

45:33He lay on the cold concrete in the buffer zone.

45:35Body convulsing every few minutes.

45:36Breathing barely there.

45:37Right before the end.

45:38He had a moment of clarity.

45:41He lifted his head toward the security camera on the inner door.

45:44One eye leaking cloudy tears.

45:45I thought he was going to confess.

45:47Apologize.

45:47He didn't.

45:48In that ragged, barely there voice.

45:50Wait.

45:50Ivy.

45:51I regret it.

45:51If only I hadn't.

45:52If I hadn't divorced you.

45:53Hadn't given you this land.

45:54This place would've been mine.

45:55I could've ruled this whole area.

45:57Had everyone kneeling at my feet.

45:58I would've been king.

45:59Even dying.

46:00His last thought isn't what he owed me.

46:01It was power.

46:02It was power.

46:03It was greed.

46:04What a pathetic, ridiculous, infuriating man.

46:07One last exhale.

46:08And his head dropped.

46:10Dead inside his own delusion.

46:11Done.

46:12Every shred of love and hate.

46:13Burned to nothing in the heat.

46:15No grief in my chest.

46:16Just the clean, feeling of taking out the trash.

46:18Three days after Blake died.

46:20The sword of Damocles finally dropped.

46:22The big one hit right on schedule.

46:24Months of heat and drought.

46:26Had turned the whole city into one giant tinderbox.

46:29The air itself was basically lighter fluid.

46:31One spark.

46:31Maybe dry lightning.

46:33Maybe arson.

46:34Who knows.

46:34And it set off the most insane, wildfire anyone had ever seen.

46:37The wind carried it at terrifying speed.

46:39Swallowing the surrounding mountains whole.

46:41On the security monitor.

46:42The pitch black sky.

46:43Had turned solid red.

46:44A sea of fire in every direction.

46:46Flames licking the clouds.

46:48My bunker became a lone island.

46:49In an endless ocean of fire.

46:50Flames went to town on the rock surface.

46:52The outer blast door glowed red hot.

46:54Groaning as the metal warped.

46:56Even through meters of concrete and rock.

46:58I could hear the trees exploding outside.

47:00The sound of a world burning alive.

47:02Blake's body.

47:03Blake's body.

47:04Along with the remains of every thug who'd come before him.

47:06Got swallowed up instantly.

47:07No crematorium needed.

47:08The fire would handle it.

47:09Clean and thorough.

47:10Ash to ash.

47:11The fire didn't just bring heat.

47:13The scarier part was it was eating all the oxygen.

47:16I'd sealed every vent in advance.

47:18But hours of intense burning.

47:19Had turned the whole area into a low pressure dead zone.

47:22The oxygen monitor started freaking out.

47:24Alarm blaring nonstop.

47:25Beep.

47:25Warning.

47:26Oxygen level below 18%.

47:27A heavy suffocating pressure hit me.

47:29Chest tight.

47:30Couldn't get a full breath.

47:31Temples pounding.

47:32Dark spots creeping into my vision.

47:34Onyx had gone flat on the floor too.

47:35Tongue hanging out.

47:36Heaving hard with every breath.

47:37Eyes glassy and scared.

47:39Not messing around with this one.

47:40I cracked open the last five.

47:41Emergency oxygen canisters.

47:43Strapped a rick up mask onto onyx.

47:45Hauled a heavy tank onto my own back.

47:47And we pushed deeper into the bunker.

47:49Back near the reservoir.

47:50High humidity.

47:51And the best air reserve in the whole place.

47:53We huddled in the dark.

47:55Listening to the roar outside.

47:56A total coin flip.

47:57Either my oxygen runs out first.

47:58Or the fire burns itself out first.

48:00Every second.

48:01Felt like a year.

48:02A year.

48:04Even with meters of rock and custom heat insulation panels.

48:07At several thousand degrees sustained.

48:09Heat finds a way.

48:11The thermometer inside.

48:12Declined fast and blew past 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

48:14Walls were hot to the touch.

48:16Air thick and scorching.

48:17Every breath felt like inhaling a hair dryer.

48:19I held every single ice block out of the cold storage.

48:22Piled them around the reservoir.

48:23Desperate DIY coolant cyst.

48:24They melted embarrassingly fast.

48:26Water spreading across the floor.

48:27I was soaked head to toe.

48:28I couldn't tell if it was sweat or melt water.

48:30Running on empty.

48:31A straight up endurance race against death.

48:33I wiped Onix down to keep his tab manageable.

48:35While keeping my eyes locked on the thermometer.

48:37If it climbed any higher.

48:38The electronics and circuit systems would start shutting down.

48:40And then I'd be blind and deaf.

48:42Buried alive in an underground cough.

48:43But panicking wasn't an option.

48:44I drank salted ice water.

48:46And forced myself to stay loved.

48:47Compared to everything outside.

48:48Getting tarbonized instantly.

48:50This was practically a spa day.

48:51Just had to outlast it.

48:52That's the whole game plan.

48:53Just when I thought I'd hit my limit in.

48:55Was ready to play dead to save energy.

48:57The outer door took a massive hit.

49:02A whole bunker shook.

49:04A dozen chunks of rock.

49:05Raining down from the ceiling.

49:07Monitors showed a giant mutant boar.

49:09Charred black all over.

49:10Skin peeling off in strips.

49:11The fire had driven it completely feral.

49:13And dying.

49:14It caught a whiff of cool air.

49:15Desperately hunting for.

49:16Somewhere to escape the flames.

49:18It smashed through the.

49:18Already wrecked decoy cover.

49:19And blew past the first door.

49:20Charging straight into the buffer zone.

49:21It headbutted Blake's carbonized skeleton clean across the room.

49:24Stomped it to powder.

49:25Then started going absolutely berserk on the blast door.

49:27That door was solid.

49:28But even it wasn't built for a dying monster running on pure rage.

49:31The frame let out a metallic shriek.

49:32Concrete cracking at the joint.

49:34That door cannot go down.

49:35If it breaks.

49:36The fire.

49:37The toxic air.

49:38The heat all flood in.

49:39Everything I've built means nothing.

49:40And both Onyx and I are done.

49:42I dragged my oxygen deprived.

49:44Heat wrecked body off the floor.

49:46Made it to the firing port on the inner door.

49:48Through the observation window.

49:49I could see the boar's bloodshot eyes.

49:51The massive tusks.

49:52Face twisted in pure agony.

49:54I pulled out the tricked out.

49:55Heavy duty industrial nail gun.

49:56Loaded up the extended steel nails.

49:58Held it steady with both hands.

49:59Go for renovations.

50:00Now doing.

50:01Very different work.

50:03Different work.

50:03The boar was still going full sen.

50:05Had no idea what was coming.

50:07Deep breath of oxygen.

50:08Held it.

50:09Aimed straight at the ice socket.

50:11One muffled shot echoed through the tight space.

50:13The nail punched clean through the eye.

50:16Straight into the brain.

50:17Central nervous system.

50:18Offline.

50:18The boar had one horrible shriek.

50:20That massive body just collapsed.

50:22Leg spasming hard a few times.

50:23Then nothing.

50:24Crisis over.

50:25I slumped to the floor.

50:26Gulping oxygen through the mask.

50:28Sweat dripping off my face.

50:29Looking at that enormous carcass.

50:31I actually laughed.

50:32Almost killed me.

50:33But honest.

50:33Best parting gift nature could have sent.

50:35We're having barbequeue tonight.

50:37The fire raged for three full days and nights.

50:39Like it had a personal grudge against everything.

50:40That ever existed.

50:41Oxygen reserves inside were nearly gone.

50:43I watched the pressured beige creeping toward the red.

50:46And just as I was about to risk cracking open the backup vent.

50:49A thunder clap hit like the sky was splitting in half.

50:51Boom.

50:52The whole underground structure shook.

50:54Then came the sound of heavy, relentless pattering.

50:56Rain.

50:56It was rain.

50:57Sure.

50:58I knew it was acid rain.

50:59Grossive as hell.

50:59But right now it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard.

51:01Water hit fire.

51:02Water hit fire.

51:03And the whole mountain disappeared in white steam.

51:05It killed the blaze.

51:06Pulled the temperature.

51:06Back down from nightmare levels.

51:08The thermometer inside started a slow descent.

51:10And that red alarm light finally went dark.

51:12I collapsed on the floor and just held onyx.

51:14Tears coming whether I wanted them to or not.

51:16Made it.

51:17Beat death one more time.

51:18My home standing.

51:19Day after the rain stopped.

51:21Thamps dropped to around 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

51:23Still brutal.

51:23But survivable.

51:24I suited up in full acid rain gear.

51:26Grabbed the detector.

51:27And cracked open that long sealed door.

51:29Hit immediately by a wall of burned.

51:31Chemicals stank.

51:32Outside was pure scorched earth.

51:34Nothing left.

51:35Every tree reduced to black charcoal.

51:37Their rock where the mountains used to have a face.

51:38Blake.

51:39Nessa.

51:40The boar.

51:42All unrecognizable after the fire and acid rain.

51:44Officially part of the soil now.

51:46Didn't give them a second look.

51:47What caught my eye was a tiny flash of green in the rock cracks below.

51:50In the middle of all that black and nothing.

51:51One stubborn little weed was pushing through the ash.

51:54Droplets on its leaves catching the sunlight like tiny diamonds.

51:57Life finding a way.

51:58Also a pretty good omen.

51:59As long as the roots hold.

52:00Fire and rain.

52:01Can't finish the job.

52:02Green will.

52:03Green will come back to this wasteland eventually.

52:06Same goes for me.

52:06Knocked down.

52:07Repeatedly.

52:07Still here.

52:08Humans are that fast.

52:09It's honestly impressive.

52:10Once tents hit 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

52:11Survivors started crawling out from underground.

52:13I loaded up the modded off-roader.

52:15Threw onyx in.

52:16Headed down to the city.

52:16The thriving metropolis was now one mass of ruin.

52:19Collapsed buildings.

52:20Burned out car skeletons.

52:22Shriveled bodies everywhere.

52:23Streets completely empty.

52:24Just wind moaning.

52:25Shrew the wreckage.

52:26Going off memory.

52:27I found what used to be Blake's so called.

52:29Luxury complex.

52:30That all glass tower was now a blackened skeleton.

52:32Every paint shattered or melted.

52:33Frozen midrip.

52:34Like metal tears.

52:35Sucked through the rubble for a while.

52:36Finally found the warp.

52:37Fire damaged safe.

52:38And inside.

52:38The half gold.

52:39Bar Blake had fought to the nail for the last life.

52:40And secretly stashed like a treasure.

52:41This time around.

52:42The gold had melted and re-solidified.

52:43Into a twisted lump.

52:44Looked like scrap metal.

52:46Coated in black ash.

52:47Holding that heavy little chunk.

52:49I couldn't help but laugh.

52:50He wrecked his life.

52:51Sold his soul.

52:52Betrayed everyone for this thing.

52:54Now it's just sitting quietly in the ashes.

52:56Worth less than a potato in my pocket.

52:58The apocalypse's greatest irony.

52:59And his.

52:59Most brutal punchline.

53:01Back on the mountain.

53:02The official shelter.

53:02The official shelter broadcasts.

53:04Kept moving the recruitment pitch.

53:05Didn't move me an inch.

53:06I had crystal clear well water.

53:08More food than I could eat.

53:10A fortress.

53:11And most importantly.

53:12Total autonomy.

53:13But I couldn't sit on this gold mine alone.

53:15Used the surplus supplies as fate.

53:17And screened a few.

53:18Wanderers passing through.

53:19The base of the mountain.

53:20Most had families in tow.

53:21Honest eyes.

53:22Edges worn smooth by the apocalypse.

53:24I didn't need slaves.

53:25Revolt.

53:26I needed people with skin.

53:27In the game.

53:28I offered clean drinking water.

53:29And a daily ration of sweet potatoes and rice.

53:31Which to them.

53:32Was basically five star treatment.

53:34In exchange.

53:35They cleared farmland at the base.

53:36Packed shot the fire damaged outer defenses.

53:38And built greenhouse frame.

53:40I was the only.

53:41Authority here.

53:42The one who made the rules.

53:43They called me Miss Caldwell.

53:44Eyes full of respect and genuine gratitude.

53:45Because here.

53:46Work equals food.

53:47And in a world full of starving people.

53:49That's basically a miracle.

53:50On this wasteland.

53:51I built my own.

53:52Micro civilization.

53:53No brute looting.

53:54No pointless killing.

53:56Just.

53:56Leverage.

53:57Resources.

53:57And the grip on what keeps people alive.

53:59My rules.

53:59My patch of order carted out of hell.

54:01And this patch.

54:02It belongs to I.

54:02It belongs to Ivy Caldwell.

54:03The year.

54:042027.

54:05New Year's sake.

54:05First light of morning broke through the clouds.

54:06And hit the mountain top.

54:08Yielding the whole wasteland in gold.

54:10I was in the rocking chair by the bunker entrance.

54:11Light blanket across my lap.

54:13Onyx was at my feet.

54:14Bigger than ever.

54:15Soaking up the sun.

54:16You're twitching now and then.

54:18Hot tea in hand.

54:19Steam curling up lazy and slow.

54:20I looked out at the valley below.

54:21Terraced green farmland where there used to be nothing.

54:23Workers moving through the rows.

54:25Their laughter and the sound of kids playing drifting up faintly.

54:28The world was still brutal.

54:29Still full of unknowns.

54:31Maybe a deep freeze next.

54:32Maybe earthquakes.

54:33But right now.

54:34I was alive.

54:35And doing it with dignity and on my own terms.

54:37Blake.

54:37Nessa.

54:38And every single person who'd ever come for me.

54:40All just us now.

54:41Swept away without a trace.

54:43And me.

54:44Ivy Caldwell.

54:45I made something of myself in the apocalypse.

54:47On the map full of dead.

54:48Grey silence.

54:49This mountain burns with the light of civilization and hope.

54:51And it doesn't go out.

54:52Doesn't go out.

Category

Transcript

Comments

Recommended