Chapter 2
Extreme weather lays bare the true nature of people.
I urged the real estate agent to quickly secure a villa in the suburbs, assuring them that price was no object.
First, a pricier residence meant better security and more refined neighbors, an essential filter against potential threats when living alone.
Second, the suburban location promised fewer people and better greenery, a perfect haven from the heat.
The agent was efficient. The villa’s owner had settled overseas, ensuring no disturbances to my carefully planned month of survival,
With the property secured, I wasted no time. I headed straight to the supermarket to stock up.
In my last life, I had died of dehydration. This time, watching barrels of water delivered to the villa, I felt the weight in my chest finally ease.
Truckloads of instant food, grains, oils, and meat soon followed, filling every corner of the house.
Thankfully, the villa came equipped with large freezers, making food storage much easier.
At the time, most people dismissed the importance of fruits and vegetables, deeming them too perishable. When they saw me loading cart after cart with fresh produce, their reactions ranged from scoffs to outright laughter.
But I knew better. I turned the vegetables into pickles or froze them in the massive freezers.
No one foresaw how vital these would become. Soon, fruits and vegetables would be the last viable source of vitamin C. The relentless heat would wither crops in the fields, leaving nothing but rot in its wake.
For six long months, even after temperatures normalized, fresh produce would remain an impossible luxury.
Many who survived the heatwave would later succumb to scurvy and its devastating complications, like brain hemorrhages.
But food wasn’t my only priority.
I also bought out the bulk of the city’s stock of blankets, down coats, hand warmers, candles, lighters, and matches.
On top of that, I hauled in charcoal and firewood.
While most people assumed that surviving the heatwave meant the worst was over, I knew better.
Extreme weather was rarely an isolated event. It often signaled the arrival of other calamities.
After my death in my previous life, my lingering spirit had watched as the city erupted in joyous celebration when the heatwave finally ended.
But their relief was premature. Nobody saw what was coming next.
Without warning, a week of utter darkness descended upon the earth.
A once–in–a–lifetime phenomenon caused by geomagnetic disruptions kept the sun from rising.
The darkness was suffocating, and the cold was unbearable. But it wasn’t the cold that broke people. It was the endless, maddening blackness that unleashed the ugliest parts of human nature.
The city’s electricity grid, already strained from the heatwave, collapsed under the demand for heating.
Solar panels and batteries were an option, but their limited capacity rendered them almost useless. Instead, the simplicity of candles and firewood proved far more reliable.
I also stocked up on essential medicines from the pharmacy.
To avoid drawing attention, I hired different drivers to deliver each truckload of supplies.
It had been only two days since I began my preparations.
Then, as if he’d suddenly remembered my existence, Liam‘ called from next door, where he was happily playing surrogate father to Clara and Mia.
“Jane, are you out partying so much you’ve forgotten your way home? Tomorrow’s going to hit 117°F! You’d better get out there and stock up on food and water for Clara and Mia before it’s too late!”
