REBIRTH: SEVEN DAYS BEFORE DOOMSDAY

HIS SCREAMS

I had a subtle and satisfying smirk on my face as I drove out of the small supermarket’s parking lot, and out towards the industrial district.

I kept my hands tight on the steering wheel while my mind kept on replaying the last few minutes with Sarah.

I knew that I had been impulsive, of course, but I had also been discreet. Earlier in the day, after I had discovered my new powers, I had decided that I wasn’t going to use my powers unless I urgently needed to.

That was not a situation where I needed to use my powers, but I would be lying if I said it wasn’t satisfying to see Sarah fall face down on the floor.

It was reckless, but watching her expression crumble in pain had been worth every risk I had taken. In my past life, she had watched with a smirk on her face while Ethan burned me to a crisp. I was not about to do something so extreme, but I also wasn’t about to go easy on her.

It didn’t take long before I pulled my car into the large parking lot of the largest supermarket on this side of the country, Apex. They were a major distributor to pretty much all the other supermarkets, so, I knew I would be able to get all I needed from them.

Even though they were supposed to be a supermarket, the first impression anyone would get when they got into Apex was that it was just a large warehouse.

They pretty much had the entire block. I had only been here a couple of times, but I knew that their shelves were packed full of non-perishables, solar and industrial generators, and enough dry food to probably last for over a hundred years.

This was the kind of supplier I was sure would be able to get me everything I needed to fill up the silo back in the island home.

I parked, adjusted my jacket, took a deep breath and walked out of the car. I looked around for a bit, and made sure there was no one around before patting my clothes. Then, composed, I walked straight through the heavy glass entrance of the supermarket.

I kept my gaze focused and my eyes narrowed. I looked every bit as focused as the endless other shoppers around me, but unlike them, I wasn’t going to shop from the shelves.

I kept my gaze focused as I reached the customer service counter and beckoned the clerk on duty over.

The young college student rushed towards me with a smile on her face, “Good morning ma,” she greeted, “What do you need?”

"I need to speak with your general manager," I said, keeping my voice even and direct. "I am here because I want to place a six-figure order for long shelf provisions. And I want to set up the delivery with the manager."

The clerk blinked. Clearly shocked by my words. She spent the next second taking in my clothes before looking up and taking in the absolute lack of hesitation in my eyes. She was clearly checking if this was a joke.

When she realized that I was serious, she quickly issued an apology, and rushed to pick up the desk phone before placing a call to the manager.

She only spoke on the phone for a minute before her smile grew even wider, and she quickly escorted me down a quiet hallway towards the manager’s office.

The clerk opened the door for me, then immediately closed it shut behind me when I walked in.

"Miss... Kara, was it?" Arthur Vance, the store manager, stood up from behind a desk that was full of clipboards.

The manager looked exactly like I had expected. He was a middle-aged man with very sharp eyes. He stretched out his hand, and my brows shot up when I took his hand.

He had a very firm handshake. He beckoned me to the seat and immediately moved to business.

"My assistant said you were looking to make a bulk purchase?" he asked,

I nodded, and took the seat with a smile on my face. “I have a large order, and I believe your supermarket would be the best for what I need.” His brows shot up, but he also nodded and quickly took his seat.

“Please go on, Ms. Kara,” he said with a smile, “I will do my very best to help.”

I flashed him a smile as I began to lie. “I am securing some emergency rations for a retreat for my private company. I need some compressed food blocks, high calorie bars, bulk dried grains.” I kept on speaking for a minute. It got to a point that he picked up a pen and began to write out what I needed.

His eyes grew wider the more I spoke.

It was pretty clear to me that he was beginning to think of me as a doomsday prepper.

He didn’t know how right he was.

“For just the seeds, I would need enough volume to fill a medium-sized warehouse, and I need it prioritized.” I continued, “In fact, I want everything to be ready and shipped to my silo in at most 2 days.”

By the time I was done speaking, Vance’s eyes had lit up to the brightest they had probably ever been.

An order like this was probably more than the quarterly target for the entire supermarket.

He was smiling from ear to ear as he answered me,

“I can assure you that we can certainly facilitate that, Miss Kara. We have supply lines directly with primary manufacturers. Depending on the exact quantities, I can clear out our primary distribution center for you by tomorrow morning."

"Good," I said, pulling out a notebook where I had laid out my primary targets. "There are still a couple of things that I need. So, let’s go over it.”

For the next twenty minutes, we went back and forth over tonnage, pallet counts, and shelf-life guarantees. I pushed for any food that would last years when properly stored.

I knew just how much food would cost during the apocalypse. I also pushed for enough seeds to grow a farm. But I was probably going to buy a mobile green house and have it moved to my base.

Just as we were finalizing the initial inventory draft, my phone vibrated violently against the glass table.

I glanced down and frowned. There was no caller ID on the number. But somehow, I had a feeling of who it could be.

I had blocked Ethan earlier this morning, but I knew just how persistent that bastard was.

"Excuse me for a moment," I told Vance, before swiping the ‘answer’ button.

Before I could even put the phone to my ears, his voice immediately exploded out of the phone.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" His voice was distorted with rage, "Sarah just called me screaming. She is in pain, Kara! What the hell did you do to her? She said you threatened and pushed her. How could you do that? Don’t you know she’s-”

"Ethan," I interrupted his tirade with a smooth tone, "I am busy. And I blocked you for a reason. Don’t ever call me again.”

Before he could reply, I cut off the call, and blocked the number too.

I had no idea what was wrong with him, but I didn’t care. Right now, I have way more important things to focus my attention on.

I looked up at Vance, who was staring at me with wide, slightly alarmed eyes. I offered him a calm, professional smile as if nothing had happened.

"Family drama," I said simply. "Now, where were we on the compressed grain shipments?"