Three

Chapter Three

Avenne’s POV

The house was nothing like I expected.

From the outside, it looked strong and well protected, with a high wall surrounding the property and a large iron gate that could easily be secured, but when I stepped inside, I quickly realized that there was almost nothing in it.

The rooms were spacious, the walls were still clean, and the windows were intact, but there was barely any furniture. There were no comfortable sofas, no dining table, no decorations, and almost nothing that made the place feel like someone actually lived there.

I stood near the entrance and looked around quietly, still trying to understand why he had brought me here.

The man I had just saved walked ahead of me without saying anything, his steps slower than before but still steady enough to show that he was not as weak as he had looked when I first found him.

He stopped in the middle of the sitting room and looked around the empty space before turning his attention to me.

“Stay here for now. I’ll be back soon. I have unfinished business to deal with.”

His voice was calm and low, and there was no explanation in it, as though he had already made the decision and did not expect me to question it.

I opened my mouth, wanting to ask where he was going and, more importantly, who he was, but before I could say anything, he reached into his pocket and took out his phone.

He made one call. “Come here.”

That was all he said before ending the call.

I stared at him, wondering what kind of person could say so little and still make it sound like an order that would immediately be obeyed.

A few minutes later, the sound of a vehicle came from outside.

A man entered the house and stopped when he saw us.

His eyes immediately moved to the injured man, and although he tried not to show it, I could see the concern on his face.

“You called, sir?”

“Yes.”

The injured man glanced at me. “She stays here.”

The assistant looked at me, then back at him.

“Understood.”

“Make sure she has what she needs.”

The man nodded.

I looked at the injured man again, finally gathering enough courage to ask the question that had been bothering me since I met him.

“What is your…”

He had already turned away.

He walked toward the door without looking back, and before I could finish my question, he stepped outside.

I stood there with my mouth slightly open, watching the door close behind him.

I did not even know his name.

For some reason, that made me feel strangely unsettled.

The assistant noticed my expression and gave me a small, polite smile.

“Feel free to tell me if you need anything.”

I looked around the almost empty house.

“There is a lot we need.”

He raised his eyebrows slightly.

“Such as?”

“A generator, for one.”

I looked toward the empty kitchen.

“We need food, water, somewhere to store the food, cooking equipment, medicine, batteries, lights and probably a lot more.”

The assistant’s expression changed slightly. “We had most of those things.”

“What happened?”

“Some people broke into the property.”

He paused before continuing. “They took the generator, fuel and several other supplies. That is who he went to deal with.”

I went quiet.

The image of the man I had found lying in that unfinished building came back to me.

He had been covered in blood, and there had been poison in his body. At the time, I had wondered how someone who looked so strong could have ended up in such a condition.

Now I understood, he  had been fighting the people who had broken into this place.

My fingers tightened around the edge of my clothes as I looked toward the door through which he had disappeared.

So that was why he had been injured.

I was glad I had stopped when I found him.

If I had walked away that day, he might not have survived.

But I quickly pushed the thought aside.

I had already depended on someone once, and I had learned exactly how dangerous that could be.

I could not spend the rest of my life waiting for someone to provide everything for me.

Riven had once been my entire world, and when he decided he no longer wanted me, I had been left with nothing.

No home, no money.

No family I could depend on.

Nothing. I looked around the empty house again.

This time, instead of seeing an empty building, I saw a place that could become a home.

But if I wanted to survive, I could not simply sit here and wait for the injured man to return with everything I needed.

I had to do something myself.

I found a piece of paper and sat down on the floor because there was not even a proper table in the room.

For a moment, I stared at the blank page.

Then I began writing. Clean water.

I stopped and thought for a moment before adding another line.

Water containers.

Then came food preservation equipment, because there was no point collecting food if I had nowhere safe to keep it.

I continued writing.

Communication equipment.

Batteries.

Medicine.

Fuel.

Cooking equipment.

Tools.

I looked at the list when I was finished, It was longer than I expected.

There were probably many other things I had forgotten, but it was a beginning.

The world outside had changed, and I had no idea how long the situation would last. Whatever had happened was not something that would disappear in a few days, and I could not depend on shops reopening or electricity returning as if nothing had happened.

If I wanted to survive, I needed to prepare for the possibility that things would only become worse.

I folded the paper and placed it carefully inside my pocket.

The assistant was still standing nearby, watching me.

“You are going out?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“To find supplies.”

He frowned. “You should wait for him.”

I shook my head. “He told me to stay here. He did not tell me to sit here and wait for everything.”

The assistant looked like he wanted to argue, but I could tell he was not sure what to say.

I stood up and looked around the empty house one more time.

I had no furniture, almost no food, no generator and very few supplies, but for the first time since the world changed, I did not feel completely helpless.

I had been thrown out of one home because someone decided I was no longer useful.

I would not allow that to happen again.

This time, I would build something that belonged to me.

I walked toward the door, tightened my grip around the small bag I had managed to keep with me, and stepped outside.

The city looked nothing like the place I had known before.

Buildings stood damaged along the streets, cars had been abandoned in the middle of roads, and the silence was broken only by distant sounds that I could not identify.

I took a slow breath and looked down at the list in my hand.

There was no one coming to save me.

That was fine, I would save myself.

Then I started walking.