LOGIN~ Evelyn. I had forty-five days and a man with a stamp who wanted to waste every one of them. By the time Day 75 rolled around, I had learned that the end of the world wasn't necessarily going to be caused by a shortage of food, a collapsing government, or even the weather. Sometimes, all it took was one stubborn bureaucrat sitting behind a desk. I stood in the middle of our warehouse, staring at the men who had been hired to turn my survival plans into something real. Instead of working, they were sitting on overturned crates, playing cards and arguing over whose turn it was to buy lunch. Piles of insulation boards sat untouched beside several stacks of cement. The generators I had purchased were still wrapped in their original packaging. Everything I needed to build a shelter was here. Everything except permission. "Are we starting today or not, boss?" one of the workers asked. I turned to look at him. He immediately straightened in his seat. "Sorry, ma'am. I just meant t
~ Evelyn.Silence fell over the basement. I could feel Noel shaking. Even his crew had stepped back a little in case the Major's wrath came down.But unexpectedly, he smiled. The kind of smile a predator might give after discovering that its prey had teeth."Very well."He turned to his man and gave him a short command. He made a short salute and withdrew from the staircase, although he didn't look particularly pleased about it.The major, however, remained where he was.He walked slowly along the basement wall, inspecting the reinforced concrete and the metal brackets embedded between the supports. He crouched beside one of the ventilation openings, examined the ductwork, and ran a gloved finger over a freshly welded joint.I followed him with growing irritation."If you're planning to conduct a full inspection, at least tell me what you're looking for."He stood."Redundancy."I blinked."What?""Your systems. You've designed them with multiple backup layers. Independent power. Inde
~ Evelyn.He was tall, broad-shouldered, and moved with the kind of rigid discipline that made even standing still look like a military exercise.Aside from his Cold gray eyes, which made my heart go painfully still, I couldn't help but notice his straight nose like those of the many fiction characters I had read about, and his sharp jaw that looked as though it had been carved out of stone."Sir, the property owner approved the work," Noel spoke up from behind me, wiping his sweaty palms against his trousers. "We're reinforcing the basement walls and installing additional insulation. It's a private residence."The major didn't even look at him.His eyes remained fixed on me."Shut down the equipment."Noel blinked. "Excuse me?""You heard me. Stop all excavation work immediately. Nobody touches another tool until I give the order."My tongue suddenly loosened from whatever it was that held it down before "That's a rather impressive entrance," I said. "You could have started by intro
~ Evelyn."You don't get it, Evelyn; we can't open this thing. Even if we tired," he gestured toward the hatch, "this thing is older than half my crew. If we damage the mechanism, don't blame me.""Just open it, Noel."He muttered something under his breath before signaling two workers to position themselves beside the cutting equipment.The machine roared to life.Sparks flew as the workers cut through the corroded metal around the locking mechanism. The noise echoed through the basement, forcing me to step back.After nearly twenty minutes, Noel raised his hand."Stop!"The machine fell silent.He crouched beside the hatch and examined the cut."Try lifting it."Two workers inserted metal bars beneath the edge and pulled with all their strength.Nothing happened.They tried again when finally, a deep metallic groan escaped from beneath the concrete, and the hatch shifted upward by a few inches.Cold, stale air rushed out of the opening, and without thinking, I stepped back."What th
~ Evelyn.I had read the first third of this novel three times and the rest only once, and now that gap could kill me. Day seventy-eight. Seventy-eight days until the world froze, and I was sitting in my half-gutted villa with a cup of coffee, a notebook, and a dangerously unreliable memory. I took a sip and stared at the empty page. According to the novel, the global temperature collapse would begin on the eightieth day. The first signs would be sudden cold snaps, power outages, and government warnings that most people would dismiss as temporary weather disturbances. Then everything would fall apart. Water pipes would burst. Transportation would grind to a halt. Supermarkets would be stripped bare, and desperate people would fight over whatever food remained. I uncapped my pen. DAY 80: GLOBAL TEMPERATURE COLLAPSE BEGINS. I underlined the sentence twice before continuing. FIRST WEEK: POWER GRID FAILURES. FOOD SHORTAGES. COMMUNICATIONS DISRUPTED. I paused, tapping my pen aga
~ Evelyn.The deafening roar of demolition drills echoed across the manicured lawns of the Mallory estate, but it was entirely drowned out by the sound of furious howling at the front entrance.I stood by the second floor window, watching as Arthur and Max rattled the heavy iron perimeter gates with both hands. They had caught wind of my new property through neighborhood gossip, and their predatory instincts had immediately kicked into overdrive.Instead of waiting on the balcony, I walked down the grand staircase, my heels clicking sharply against the marble floor, and marched straight toward the front gates. The construction workers paused, watching in bewilderment as I approached the barrier where my former family was losing their minds."Open these gates right now, you ungrateful thief!" Arthur shrieked, his face flushed a dark, bloated red as spittle flew through the bars. "You think you can sneak around buying multi million dollar villas while my family suffers? That money belon







