Going back to J City finally made her breath easy.  

They are far from their greedy aunt finally. The sisters stood at the doorstep of the city apartment, the first address the lawyer gave them. 

The door gave a faint beep after Alvis' put in her birth date as its lock password. The place is sparsely decorated at 2,000 sq feet with three bedrooms and an open living and dining area. All of which lacked in necessary furniture, except maybe the lights. 

The floor is thick with dust declaring the neglect it had suffered for who knows how many months. Alvis raised an eyebrow. 

Her parents owned this and it's even near the CBD? This must have cost millions. Then she remembered the homey bungalow where she grew up in an old community near the university. She was sure her parents were upright and frugal people. 

Where did the millions come from? 

Lallie’s sneeze called her attention, “Sorry luv, the place is a little dirty.”

“It’s okay.” The little girl smiled cutely while a snot dripped on the left hole of her nose. “Are we staying here?”

“No.” Alvis decisively declared.

The place is big and fine but it’s in the middle of the city. The anti-theft doors wouldn’t hold much. Living here is the same as voluntarily hanging yourself in the fish hook as bait.  

There is still a lot of daylight left so she decided to visit the other property hoping that would fit her standard. If not, she will be forced to find a much better place to raise and train her sister. Thankfully, when they were about to set out on the bus she received a call from their lawyer, Mr Keith.   

Mr Keith helped them finalize everything. He fetched them from the bus stop and delivered them into the house in Magnolia Park. 

“By the way Miss Klein, I was informed by my friends in the city hall that your aunt and Mr Sol made movements but since the assets have already been moved in your care, the fake will in their hands are now ineffective.”

A devious light flashed in the depths of her eyes, “They’re a step too late.”

“Thankfully, you contacted me before they could make any moves. I’m very sorry about my colleague, your father trusted him but it seems he had other motives.”

“Dad must have anticipated this. You were old friends and you knew his habits.”

Mr Keith smiled. He knew Klein hired another lawyer as insurance if in case something happened to him. Unfortunately, he rushed to the afterlife ahead of him.    

“You do not have to apologize on that lawyer’s behalf. We are all responsible for our actions. His fault does not reflect on you.”  

Mr Keith shook his head bitterly for the loss of another colleague who fell to the lure of wealth.

“You girls live a good life now. In the following days, if you encounter any trouble do not hesitate to contact me. This old man still has plenty of connections.”

Alvis looked at his kind wrinkled face and smiled warmly. “I will, thank you so much, Mr Keith.”

Receiving a large inheritance like this would naturally attract predators. Thinking that maybe it was just two orphaned girls that are easy to fool, the lawyer and her aunt confidently decided to be greedy.  

After another hour of travel outside the city, Mr Keith and his secretary’s car left, leaving the sisters standing in front of a gated sculpture-like house. 

Alvis pulled Lallie to enter the property. Looming in front of them is an unusually designed villa. From the driveway, she noticed the whole yard is surrounded by tall trees and it was fenced with concrete disguised as wood. From where she stood she could see that even the windows had metal fittings and the walls were made massive at least five hundred millimetres thick. 

This house is perfect. Too perfect she began to have doubts. 

The deeper they entered, the faster her heart thudded. 

Just when she was thinking about what to do when the world ends, this came as a surprise.

[Major, the house in front is only a cover. There is a whole sixteen thousand square feet of living spaces below the ground.] 

She nearly tripped. A bunker?

[00, send a blueprint of the whole structure.]

Their new home appears like an average contemporary abode on the surface. The above-ground estate is a five thousand square feet modern villa while the underground structure was made much deeper and wider. It was designed by their daddy himself. Alvis saw the sketch when they entered the living room. 

The facade looked like a boring black cube, however, once the windows opened, you will see that inside was a cosy modern rustic design masterfully done. Immediately after entering the reinforced metal main doors, there is a narrow hallway that brings you into another set of doors, from there the space opens to a generous living room.

The floor is vast, solely dedicated to an indoor garden, a kitchen, a living and dining area. The second floor, however, only had one bedroom serving as a master suite. 

Blast-resistant glass windows provide ample view to see the surroundings and big enough to let natural light pass. They are also secured by thick metal slats to prevent unwanted people from breaking in. Heavy metal shutters are set to close in the evening adding another layer of protection. 

The first underground floor is a garage, a clinic and monitoring room. Four large bedrooms, another living room and a fully equipped kitchen are located below in the lower secondary level. The home is self-sustaining using photovoltaic energy, has its water treatment, nuclear-biological-chemical air filtration and is fully automated. While 00 was ecstatic to finally latch its claws in the home system, she was shocked stupid. 

She could no longer tell if their house was prepared to withstand the zombies or nuclear winter. 

[Major, your father must be an eccentric man. Building a house off the grid like this, if I didn’t know any better I might assume he knew about the apocalypse. This house has a device that will automatically filter the air in case of pathogens and pollutants outside.]

Eccentric? He is more than that. 

A helpless laugh escaped from her mouth. 

How should she treat this? Think of her daddy as an oddball? 

Well, he certainly is but he is not alone. In other parts of the world, some people converted several missile silos as bunkers and some of their properties are already fitted with special bunkers in case a crisis arises. Who knew if there were much more out there.  

Yes, that’s it. Plus, their daddy is a scientist. He must have known! 

Looking at everything made ready for her and Lallie, though she could not fully grasp how her seemingly low-key parents had enough wealth to build this, she felt very emotional.  

Alvis walked in the underground villa checking every corner, amused by her father’s vision. He knows. No doubt about it now.  

Another thing that convinced her the most is perhaps the most prominent piece of the upper level. There sat in the middle dividing the huge study and living room is a spacious atrium at a height of six meters occupying half of the floor space ready for horticulture. 

Why put a garden inside when there is a wide yard out there? It doesn’t make sense. Although for now, there are only a few pieces of ornamental plants in it she can just take those away and place something edible. Something she and Lallie could eat. 

Speaking of Lallie, the little girl enjoyed walking around their new house. She tailed her without complaints. 

They are now on the lower third level solely dedicated for all kinds of storage. It was temperature controlled, made for keeping everything fresh from the crispy vegetables, meat and packaged food. Alvis planned to secretly use an energy tube to supply the house with electricity when the worldwide blackout happens but it seems that will be put off until the solar panels their dad installed no longer work.

The fourth level basement, on the other hand, is divided between a theatre, a playroom, a small pool and another indoor garden with simulated outdoor lights. It has live wall plants and a large fish pond occupying most of the floor area. She was glad she chose this over the city apartment. Although that one was located high above the clouds, it's still in the middle of the city where millions of undead are estimated to walk.

Alvis doesn’t want zombies for neighbours especially when she’s raising a kid. Here, her nearest neighbour is at least a football field away and is obscured by trees. This part of the forest area there was only her and that house, the other neighbours are located down the meadow hundreds of meters away. 

The sisters arranged what little belongings they have in one of the rooms before making plans to stockpile little by little.

“Is this ours?” Lallie rolled atop the wide bed. 

The grandpa earlier left leaving only her and her sister in this big house. 

“Yes,” Alvis answered when she came out fresh from the bath. 

Their house still lacks a lot of things, basic toiletries for example. The move was abrupt; they had no time to stop in for a quick grocery. Alvis pitched her little sister's cheek and squeezed in beside her.

“This is daddy and mommy’s house. From here on, the two of us will live here. Do you like it?”

Lallie hugged her waist, “I like it but what about school?”

She hesitated before answering. The world is about to change and the things the little girl knew would no longer be there. Alvis didn’t plan to hide her in a soft cocoon either, she will learn about the joys and tragedies of life eventually. 

But discovering would have to be a gradual process.    

“The school will be closed for a long time so Lal has to stay at home and study with Sissy from now on.” 

“Why is the school closed?”

Alvis touched her ears, “Well, outside right now is not nice. The teachers and classmates have to go home to stay away from the bad things.”

“Oh.” Lallie nodded then hugged her waist like a koala. 

“But Sissy needs to go to work sometimes. Lal has to stay at home to be safe.”

“Ah?” Lallie pouted looking up. “You can’t! You said there are bad things there.”

“Sissy is a big girl. I can scare them away.”

The little girl giggled. “Really!?”

Alvis felt a little guilty when faced with those sparkling eyes full of admiration and dependence. There was a lump on her throat when she uttered an, “En.”  

“Sissy’s the best.”

That night in the master suite, the sister’s curled in the middle of the large bed, surrounded by warmth and security. Just like two lost kittens finally finding their own litter box. 

 

On the other side of J City, in a large villa. 

Dean packed his bag quickly and couldn't wait to return to the dormitory as soon as possible. He never liked staying, especially when there are ‘strangers’ living here now. 

On the way to the gate, he didn’t know how but there was a figure standing outside smiling at him.

Fei walked up when he saw the handsome young man striding out. She noticed the displeasure in his eyes but she did not panic. “You’re going back to the uni so soon?”

“Un.” he was about to step around when she moved and cut off his path. 

“Sometimes my title as the university goddess felt like a sham. When it comes to you, my charm doesn’t work at all. Considering we have been neighbours since young, we should at least be close.”

Dean could smell a faint powdery scent from her. The same as those women he knew who loved perfumes and whatnot on their bodies. 

Fei was looking up to him with smiling eyes. She had been aggressively teasing him but his responses will always be wooden. She should get used to this by now but a part of her was very indignant. 

She was a hailed beauty. 

Was her effort for the past months all in vain? Certainly not. When the time comes, he will change his view on her. Isn’t that what always happens in the books? 

She will allow him to ignore her for now, but as long as she brushed up her presence, he will eventually remember her. While immersed in her thoughts, she felt a pair of eyes staring at her intently.

Fei’s heart tumbled.

“You’re blocking my way,” Dean said flatly. 

He was about to squeeze her out. Fei smiled mischievously but before she could make another move Dean backed a foot and turned the other way leaving her alone in astonishment.