After They Left Me to Die, I Hoarded, They Begged

Chapter 3

The workers were incredibly efficient.

By eight in the evening, the storage room had been completely transformed. The walls were lined with military-grade reflective insulation film on the inside, with an extra layer of soundproofing foam on top.

Both portable AC units were connected to discreet exterior vents, and the solar generator batteries were fully charged.

Most importantly, that flimsy wooden door had been reinforced from the inside with a high-security vault-style steel door.

Once I locked it from within, there was no way anyone was getting in from the outside.

The surveillance system was up and running too.

Four high-definition cameras covered the living room, kitchen, hallway, and sunroom, feeding real-time footage straight to the monitor in the basement.

From my seat on the couch down there, I could see everything happening in every corner of the house.

After the workers left, I hauled every last supply from the panel van into the storage room.

From upstairs, I heard the front door open. Ethan was back with Chloe and Cody.

The three of them reeked of grease and were bitching up a storm.

"What a lousy fast-food joint—so oily and gross, Chloe barely got to eat anything!" Cody burst into the basement entrance and jabbed a finger at me. "Where are the snacks you bought? Hand over all the good stuff!"

I stayed on the couch and pointed at a plastic bag in the corner of the living room.

"Just are out there."

Cody tore over, ripped the bag open, and found a few packs of the cheapest plain crackers and two bottles of water.

"Elena! Are you seriously treating us like bums?" Ethan stormed in, his eyes cold and hard. "Chloe is our guest, and this is how you welcome her?"

Chloe leaned against the stair rail and let out a sigh. "Ethan, please do not blame Elena. Maybe she really does not want me here. I will just leave first thing tomorrow."

"Do not even think about it!" Ethan grabbed Chloe's hand and spun around to glare at me.

"Elena, Chloe takes the guest room tonight. Cody sleeps with me. You take the couch in the living room."

In my past life, they had used the exact same excuse to kick me out of the master bedroom.

But today, I did not argue.

"Fine by me."

I grabbed a pillow and a thin blanket and headed for the basement, toward my newly renovated climate-controlled storage room.

"Where are you going with that?" Ethan followed me.

"Since you think I am such a spendthrift, I will stay somewhere you cannot see me. That way I will not annoy you."

Ethan let out a harsh laugh. "Suit yourself! Who sleeps in a basement storage room when there is a perfectly good couch upstairs? Go hide in your little hole if that is what you want. Just do not come crawling back up here and embarrass yourself."

I settled into the plush beanbag chair in my storage room, cracked open a cold Gatorade, and fired up the monitor. All four camera feeds came to life at once.

I glanced at the thermometer on the wall. Eleven PM. The outdoor temperature had already crept up to a hundred degrees.

On the monitor, I could hear Chloe's saccharine voice drifting from the living room. "Ethan, that Häagen-Dazs in the freezer is about to melt. Let’s help Elena finish it off!"

Then came Cody's excited shriek.

"I want strawberry! Give me all the strawberry ones!"

The fridge door swung open and shut. Spoons clinked against glass bowls. The three of them laughed and chattered in the quiet of the late-night living room.

Down in my cool little bunker, a smile curled at the corner of my mouth.

Eat up while you still have something to eat.

Crank that AC too.

Every kilowatt you waste, every pint of ice cream you polish off, is just another log on the fire for tomorrow's inferno.

See you in the morning.