Six days until the rain. Lately, stockpiling had filled every day.
Robert and David had better keep their rotten old faces out of her way. She wasn't sure she'd stop herself from killing them.
Not yet. Society hadn't fallen apart. Getting locked up before the apocalypse would ruin everything. Let them live through it. Please. She wanted them for herself.
Robert. David. Riley, Taylor, Jordan. Her two dear aunts. The accelerator sank beneath her foot. An electronic voice warned of excessive speed.
She caught herself and eased off. A notification had already come through. Red-light violation. Two hundred dollars.
Ten o'clock. Eastgate first. Shopping, then the meal pickups.
Same as yesterday. Park, two carts, supermarket. She cleared the nut and snack sections, then moved to the snack shops.
Too much to carry alone. An employee helped her to the car, and she handed over a hundred-dollar tip. "Thanks. I'd be making trips all day without you."
A token refusal, then acceptance. She'd spent enough. Half an hour's shopping had matched half a month's sales.
"Can you eat that much?" The question finally came.
She hesitated. "Those alerts keep warning about heavy rain. Who knows how long it'll last? I like snacks. If I get stuck at home, at least I'll have some to snack on over time."
The employee scoffed inwardly. Rich people. Maybe this was how they thought.
She'd been about to suggest stocking up too. One look at that expression, and she kept it to herself. Door open, engine on.
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Four years of the apocalypse. Betrayal. Killing. Fighting for food. So many days and nights without knowing if there'd be another morning. Her heart had gone cold long ago.
One hand steered. The other reached toward the bags on the back seat and sent them into her space.
The diner was as crowded as ever, delivery drivers waiting outside. She took off her cap before the crush knocked it off.
"There you are!" A warm greeting from the owner. She nodded.
An employee helped load the back seat. "Nice car." Until now, she'd come in the little truck. He'd thought she was a company errand runner.
"A G-Class?" He ran a hand over it. She gave a quiet yes.
"That's over three million, isn't it?" His look changed. He'd been standing right beside a rich woman all along.
"Bye." Door shut. Four restaurants still to go.
Around a corner, the meals went into her space. The other pickups done, she headed for a third mall.
Another sweep, just like that morning. Once she'd cleared the shops, she checked the time. Day five. The coal dealer should be gone by now. Tonight, she'd clear the coastal warehouse of coal and the remaining salt.
Home without delay. Washed up, on the bed, awareness inside her space. She'd grown plenty of pasture last time. Two-thirds of the hillside was still covered.
The cattle and sheep would have enough for a while. She'd asked the ranch owner about pigs, since she knew nothing about raising them. Free-ranging was fine. She'd fenced off a separate patch and grown fresh forage and young cabbage around it.
The birds and rabbits loved the tender cabbage too. Plenty more for them.
She found vegetable seeds in the lower level and drew soil from the hills, spreading it across the fenced growing area.
She withdrew her awareness and picked a basket of blueberries and sweet cherries from her space. She washed them and ate while watching a gardening tutorial.
Thorough explanations. Even the kind of soil vegetables preferred. Digging holes, sowing, fertilizing. She watched to the end and put down her phone.
Holes. Apparently she needed holes. She'd thought she could scatter seeds on top. Fertilizer, though—no need. Her ability was faster.
She'd barely eaten that afternoon. Somehow the whole basket of berries and cherries was gone.
Back into the space with her awareness. She shaped rows of holes, dropped each kind of seed into its own holes, checked she'd missed none, and drew the soil over them.
A neat bed, not a weed in sight. She smiled and stretched out her hand. Green pinpricks streamed into the buried seeds.
She waited. Three seconds. Tender shoots broke through one after another and kept reaching upward.
She guided them all the way to harvest. Tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplants, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins...