Chapter 5
Growing up in poverty, I had developed a habit of stockpiling food.
If no one had acted out, the supplies at home would have been more than enough for all three of them to survive until the heatwave ended.
But Mia’s constant tantrums for snacks, coupled with Clara’s saintly facade of being kind and fragile, made that impossible.
On the tenth day of the heatwave, I was debating whether to have steak or pasta for dinner when my phone, connected to the house’s security camera, suddenly picked up a loud knocking at the door.
I looked closely. Liam was holding Clara’s hand, signaling her to ignore it.
But when the desperate wails of a starving old man echoed through the air, Clara’s kindness couldn’t resist. She broke free from Liam’s grasp and cracked the door open, passing a pack of food through the gap.
What she didn’t see coming was how the old man suddenly sprang to life, his frailty vanishing as he stepped aside to make way.
In the next moment, several men emerged from the blind spot outside the peephole, wielding knives and burst into the house.
Two of them held blades to Liam and Clara’s necks while the others ransacked the place. By the end of their invasion, the house was stripped bare of food.
When it was over, Liam sobbed over the phone, begging me to come to his rescue.
Sipping my iced soda, I slurped on my pasta and chuckled, “Can’t help you, sorry.”
Some people were simply beyond saving.
“Jane, how can you be so heartless? Are you really going to let me starve? If you don’t come back and help, I’m divorcing you!”
Typical Liam. He didn’t blame Mia’s greed or Clara’s recklessness. Instead, he chose to pin it all on me, the person who had stockpiled enough supplies to keep him alive.
A shameless ingrate like him wasn’t worth my time or energy.
“Oh, divorce? Sounds great. Let’s do it.”
What better way to cut loose three burdens in one go?
Meanwhile, the outside temperature had climbed to a staggering 132°F. Air conditioning was barely effective, and every household had set their thermostats to 60°F. The power grid, overloaded by the massive energy consumption, implemented rolling blackouts.
Fortunately for me, my villa in the affluent district had a separate power supply and remained unaffected.
Liam and Clara, however, weren’t so lucky.
When the electricity cut off, they were drenched in sweat, desperate for relief.
Clara, ever resourceful, donned one of my expensive silk camisoles.
Mia complained about feeling sticky and demanded a bath. But the water was also cut off.
With the taps dry and the remaining water yellow and murky, even
tling, Mia refused to use it.
To placate her, Clara resorted to using the last few battles of purified
By the time Liam noticed, only
yone five–liter bottle of water remained to last them four days.
His life was now at risk. Enraged, he slapped Clara with all his strength, veins bulging on his forehead.
“You stupid woman! If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be starving and rationing every sip of water!”
Yet, even in his fury, he didn’t kick her and Mia out.
Liam had a remarkable talent for survival, somehow enduring four days
way without proper food or water until the heatwave finally broke.
mbled outside, drenched and ecstatic, hugging each other in
As rain poured from the heavens, signaling cooler weather, Liam and Clara
relief.
After the initial celebration, Liam collapsed from exhaustion, lying
Oddly enough, though he appeared gaunt and dehydrated, Clara and Mia still looked radiant.
I didn’t dwell on it. None of it mattered to me anymore.
The next challenge, the eternal night and its bone–chilling cold was fast approaching. I needed to prepare.
Everyone was afraid of darkness, and it was almost impossible to overcome that fear.
