Chapter 63: CH-63: Such a pain to be here! (3)

Sophia frowned slightly.

He smiled faintly.

"Trust me."

Suzie folded her arms.

"That is statistically dangerous advice."

The SUV rolled through a thick gate that opened automatically after biometrical recognition.

Suzie’s jaw dropped.

The road curved upward, surrounded by tall trees, the mountain air crisp and clean.

And then what came into view was a huge, like really huge estate.

Surrounded by stone walls, reinforced steel gates, solar panels integrated along the sloped roof, watchtowers disguised as architectural features, a large courtyard, reinforced windows gleaming under the afternoon sun.

Sophia and Suzie stared without blinking at the architectual miracle as Reed turned off the engine, coming out of the SUV, he intoned lightly.

"...Welcome."

Sophia stepped out of the car slowly, taking in the scale of the place, her voice quiet.

"Reed... i don’t think this is a hotel."

"It’s not."

"Then what is it?"

Reed walked ahead, calmly replying.

"Our new home."

Suzie slowly turned to him, mouth wide open.

"You... bought a whole freaking mountain!?!"

"We, only part of it."

With this, silence insued, only the sound of wind rustling through the trees, and the birds chirping resonated.

Suzie blinked once, then twice, finally she screamed with all her heart.

"THIS IS INSANE!"

She ran forward, pushing past him and racing toward the entrance.

Sophia stood still for a long moment, complex thoughts flooding through her mind, as why he didn’t tell them about this, why he didn’t ask for their consent, and why they needed relocation. But she swallowed it back and just attered.

"You did this... for us, right?"

Reed met her gaze, understanding the flood of thoughts in her mind.

"Yes."

Sophia studied his eyes carefully, there was something beneath the calm, something dangerous.

’I sure hope your son had not become a psycopath killer.’

Inwardly grumbling, she shook her head and walked behind Suzie.

"...Alright, I’ll trust you on this."

And just like that, she accepted it.

Suzie’s voice echoed from inside.

"IT HAS A MOVIE ROOM!"

Reed allowed himself a small smile.

...

The estate was a fortress disguised as luxury. Underground water filtration system connected to mountain streams, independent solar arrays, geothermal backup, food storage rooms sealed and temperature controlled, steel-reinforced doors hidden behind wooden finishes, even an underground bunker accessible through a concealed panel.

Suzie ran through every hallway like she had discovered Atlantis.

"Why does the kitchen look like it belongs to a cooking show?!"

"Why are there so many freezers?!"

"Why is the basement door fingerprint locked?!"

Reed answered shortly and calmly.

"Cooking."

"Storage."

"Privacy."

Sophia walked slower, observing her surrounding fully, something irked her that Reed was hiding something significant from them. When they reached the balcony overlooking the valley, she stopped.

The view was breathtaking. Mountains layered against the horizon. Clouds drifting lazily.

"It’s beautiful," she whispered.

Reed stood beside her.

"It sure is."

Suzie burst onto the balcony holding a bottle of juice she had found in one of the many stocked refrigerators.

"Guys! The pantry looks like we’re preparing for war!"

Reed didn’t flinch, but flicked her forehead.

"Mumma, he’s bullying me again~."

...

Days passed.

They settled in quickly.

Suzie claimed the largest bedroom immediately and decorated it as she willed.

Sophia organized the kitchen with quiet efficiency.

Reed checked if the operations are going smoothly every morning. Water pressure, solar efficiency, security feeds, perimeter sensor, all went through a daily routine checkup by him.

Suzie eventually cornered him one afternoon while he was inspecting storage.

"Alright, now confess."

She said, hands on hips and he just looked up from a crate of emergency rations.

"Confess, about what?"

"About this, about what is going on in your mind, to make us migrate without our consent."

She gestured around dramatically.

"This is not normal vacation behavior, in fact this was all planned by you beforehand, right?"

Sophia called from upstairs.

"Suzie, stop interrogating him."

"I’m not interrogating! I’m investigating!"

Reed walked past her.

"Detective Suzie, your skills need refinement."

She chased him up the stairs.

"I will uncover your secrets!"

While he... just chuckled softly, for he knew the peace they know of will soon be gone.

...

And finally, it came.

The day that marked the start of the apocalypse.

The morning felt more vibrant, news channels buzzed repeatedly, debating about the intense solar flare that happened last night.

But this Solar flare was a bit too intense, causing the temperature to rise drastically, by noon, the government had issued temporary lockdown as going out in this intense heat in nothing but death wish.

Scientists discussed coronal mass ejections, fighting over the cause of the solar flare and how it will impact them.

New reporters reported the risen temperature of places all over the world, while subtly hinting at further rise.

...

Reed sat by the sofa, looking at the outside world from the window, glancing at the sky.

Elise floated beside him, unusually quiet.

"It’s today."

She said softly, because she was trapped inside the prism for all her life, she really didn’t understand what the ’apocalypse’ that Reed implied was about.

He nodded as he came downstairs where Suzie was arguing with Sophia about the temperature rise and the solar flare.

"Heard the new? The temperature is going to rise drastically for a few days."

Sophia said as she walked toward the window. The sunlight streaming through the glass looked... harsher, and brighter.

Reed moved quickly.

"Close the external shutters."

Sophia didn’t hesitate, pressed the wall panel as steel-lined external panels slid down smoothly over the windows. And Reed activated climate controls causing the estate’s temperature regulation system to engage immediately.

While outside the world began to burn. Within hours, news reports exploded throughout the internet, record-breaking heatwaves across continents, electrical grids failing due to overload.

Wildfires erupting in multiple regions simultaneously as the airports shutting itselves down, traffic jams forming as asphalt softened.

Suzie stared at the television screen while Sophia’s face had lost its color.

"...This isn’t normal."

The temperature outside continued climbing.

45°C, 50°C, 55°C, 60°C.

In two hours, the temperature has risen at an alarming rate. In some hotter regions, even higher.

People without ample resources suffered immediately, air conditioners failed, water supplies strained.

Hospitals overwhelmed by heat stroke patients. Social media flooded with panic and tragedy.

Suzie turned slowly toward Reed.

"Y-you knew, b-but how?!?"

"I suspected something bad was going to take place, anytime, but wasn’t sure about what it was, that’s why I prepared for everything."

Sophia looked at him carefully.

"For how long have you been preparing?"

"A while ago."

Silence filled the room, until Sophia’s soft whisper silently broke it.

"Thank you, for thinking about us."

She also felt guilty, delusioned about his intention being creepy towards them.

’Such an idiot i am.’

With a sigh, Sophia slumped down the sofa comfortably, as now his actions all made sense to her.

The solar arrays absorbed the radiation surge, automatically rerouting excess energy to battery storage, water flowed normally, food storage was abundant.

This was simply the safe heaven where they could take refuge.

Suzie also sat down slowly, understanding little bits and misunderstanding by a lot.

"So... this is why."

Reed nodded.

"Yes."

She stared at her hands.

"Is it going to get worse?"

"Maybe, perhaps only god knows the answer."

Suzie looked towards the window shutters, unable to grasp the answer from Reed, so instead leaning the ’God’.

"...So what’s next?"

Reed’s eyes flickered slightly.

"Well, we will stay here, until the crisis calms down only then will think of something."

"...Make sense to me."

Sophia glanced at him sharply as Reed leaned back lazily in his chair.

...

A few days later.

Outside, the world descended into chaos, while Reed self made safe heaven continues to thrive.

Outside, news anchors sweated on live television before broadcasts cut out entirely, global markets crashed, governments issued emergency declarations, forcing people to stay home while simultaneously trying to maintain order and control over people.

Inside the mountain estate, Sophia brewed tea while Suzie sprawled on the couch with ice cream from an overstocked freezer.

Reed monitored global reports calmly.

Elise floated upside down near the ceiling.

"This isn’t so bad, don’t you think so? But why do they trust you so much?"

"Well, i don’t know the answer myself."

Reed replied, unsure of the reason for the Mother daughter duo’s immense trust.

But it warmed something inside him that had been frozen for ten years.

Outside, temperatures peaked at unprecedented levels.

And the first to suffer in this traumatizing heat, were none other than the poor, for they had no Anchor for support.

Sophia frowned slightly.

He smiled faintly.

"Trust me."

Suzie folded her arms.

"That is statistically dangerous advice."

The SUV rolled through a thick gate that opened automatically after biometrical recognition.

Suzie’s jaw dropped.

The road curved upward, surrounded by tall trees, the mountain air crisp and clean.

And then what came into view was a huge, like really huge estate.

Surrounded by stone walls, reinforced steel gates, solar panels integrated along the sloped roof, watchtowers disguised as architectural features, a large courtyard, reinforced windows gleaming under the afternoon sun.

Sophia and Suzie stared without blinking at the architectual miracle as Reed turned off the engine, coming out of the SUV, he intoned lightly.

"...Welcome."

Sophia stepped out of the car slowly, taking in the scale of the place, her voice quiet.

"Reed... i don’t think this is a hotel."

"It’s not."

"Then what is it?"