Chapter 8
- 5
Humans were social creatures. The fea
of isolation could be paralyzing.
As time dragged on, the endless night stretched longer and darker.
Alone in the unrelenting blackness, my thoughts spiraled out of control.
Would those men return? Had they found new tools to break in?
Was the security system as reliable as I had hoped?
Were there now more frozen bodies lining the streets, abandoned and unclaimed?
The temperature had already plummeted. Would it drop even further? Would the sun ever rise again?
The uncertainty gnawed at me. Fear crept in, slow but unyielding, threatening to crush me under its weight.
After only four days, the oppressive silence was almost too much to bear. I realized I couldn’t go on like this.
Petty grievances and past betrayals felt insignificant in the face of this suffocating solitude. I needed to hear another human voice just to confirm I was still alive and sane.
Without that anchor, my mental state was bound to unravel.
Back when I stubbornly married Liam, I had cut myself off from my family. After my parents passed, I had no close relatives left to turn to.
Liam, ever controlling, had insisted I quit my job, isolating me further. He didn’t want me exposing myself to the outside world, and the tragic death of Mia’s biological father gave him an excuse to demand my full attention for Clara and Mia.
I’d been so obedient back then, blindly following his lead, that I hadn’t kept in touch with my colleagues or friends
Out of desperation, I called a new former comUIACIO, I
In this darkness, it was hard to know who was still alive.
After much deliberation, I realized there were only two people I left to call: Liam and Clara.
To my surprise, his phone was still on. After several rings, he finally picked up.
“Hello?” I said cautiously. There was no response, just the faint sound of labored breathing. Finally, his weak, trembling voice broke the
silence.
“Jane… You finally turned your phone on.”
Then, like a thunderbolt, his next words hit me. “I… I think I’m dying.”
I could hear his teeth chattering on the other end.
“Stay warm,” I advised coolly. “There are plenty of blankets at home. The eternal night is almost over. Just hold on.”
That was all the comfort I was willing to offer.
But his response caught me off guard.
“It’s no use… Clara kicked me out… I haven’t eaten in four days. I can’t take it anymore.”
Through his fragmented sentences, 1 pieced together the events of the past few days.
