Chapter 04

I walked out of the tunnel and blinked in the bright afternoon sun. Maple trotted ahead of me, sniffing the dry grass.

Around the entrance stood an old chain-link fence. Most of it was rusty. Some parts leaned sideways, and other parts had fallen flat on the ground.

I touched one of the metal posts. It was still solid, buried deep in the dirt.

"If I rebuild this fence and electrify it," I said slowly, "my defense will shoot through the roof."

Maple looked up at me and barked once.

"You agree?" I smiled. "It's worth a try."

Ding.

The blue light flashed in front of my eyes again.

[System alert. Base Fortification Mission activated.]

[Rewards depend on defense upgrades.]

[Apocalypse countdown: 14 days.]

My chest tightened. Seeing the number in front of me made it real.

Fourteen days. That was all the time I had left to get ready.

Ding.

[One base guard dog detected.]

I froze. My eyes moved down to Maple.

[Reward: Combat strength and physical power multiplied by 80.]

Before I could say a word, a soft golden light wrapped around Maple's body. She whined and dropped low to the ground.

"Maple!" I knelt beside her. "Are you okay?"

The light faded. Maple stood back up and shook her fur.

She looked the same. But when she stepped forward, her paw sank deep into the hard dirt. Her muscles rippled under her coat. Her eyes looked sharper than before.

I picked up a thick fallen branch and tossed it. Maple leaped forward, caught it in her mouth, and bit down once.

The branch snapped in half like a pretzel.

My mouth fell open. "Oh my goodness."

Maple dropped the pieces at my feet and wagged her tail like nothing had happened.

I laughed and rubbed her ears. "You're going to scare the zombies to death, girl."

---

That evening, I stood inside a hardware supply store on the edge of a small town called Millbury. The shelves were full of tools, nails, and huge rolls of metal wire.

The owner, a tall, older man named Mr. Doyle, wiped his hands on his apron.

"What can I get for you, miss?"

I pointed at the back wall. "I want all of those razor wires. And all the double-strand barbed wire too."

Mr. Doyle raised his eyebrows. "All of it?"

"All of it," I said. "And please deliver it to Coldbrook Ridge."

He scratched his head, but he didn't argue. Money talked louder than questions.

---

By the time the delivery truck reached the tunnel, the sky had turned orange. Mr. Doyle's two workers unloaded roll after roll of sharp, shiny wire next to the old fence.

"That's the last of it," one of them said, wiping sweat from his face. "Where do you want it set up?"

"Thanks for the hard work, sir," I said with a polite smile. "Just leave it here. I'll have someone come pick it up and put it in later."

"All right, got it." He climbed back into the truck.

I waited until the truck's lights disappeared down the dirt road. Then I turned back to the pile of wire.

I don't need anyone. I just need time.

I worked until my hands bled through my gloves. I pulled the old fence straight and wrapped the razor wire around the top. I twisted the barbed wire between the posts, row after row, until the whole entrance was locked in a cage of sharp metal.

When I tied the last knot, the blue light flashed again.

[Wire fence reinforcement detected.]

[Reward: Defense multiplied by 150.]

The fence began to glow silver. The rusty metal turned clean and shiny. The thin wires grew thicker, harder, and stronger, right in front of my eyes.

I reached out and pushed on it with all my weight. It didn't move even a little bit.

"Now," I whispered, "not even a heavy truck or a giant herd of zombies can break into my base."

Maple sat down next to me and let out a long whine. Her stomach growled loudly.

I laughed. "You're hungry, right? Me too. We've been busy all day."

My own stomach grumbled. I suddenly remembered something.

The grilled cheese sandwich I made this morning before I stripped the apartment. I stored it with everything else, and I never even touched it.

"I'd better eat it before it goes bad." I sighed. "And I haven't bought a single thing to stock up yet."

"Release."

The sandwich dropped into my hand, still wrapped in paper.

I froze.

It was warm. Steam rose from the paper as I opened it. The cheese inside was soft and melted, like I had just taken it off the pan.

"It's still hot," I said slowly.

I stared at it for a long moment. My heart started beating faster.

"Time inside the space is frozen. Everything comes out exactly the way it went in."

That meant fresh meat would stay fresh. Hot food would stay hot. Medicine would never expire.

I can stockpile as much as I want, and nothing will ever go bad.

I broke the sandwich in half and gave the bigger piece to Maple. She gulped it down in one bite.

I chewed slowly and looked out at the dark road leading to town.

If I suddenly buy truckloads of food and send them to an empty mountain tunnel, people will start asking questions. And questions are dangerous.

To avoid suspicion, I'll rent a farmhouse first.