Chapter 26: Impurities

Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Impurities

Once everyone was showered, they gathered around the outdoor sitting area. Penelope marvelled at how much more handsome her brothers got right after drinking the pond water. Aunt Mary also looked years younger. If one didn’t know better they would think she was a woman In her 30’s. Aunt Mary is currently 50 years old, she had married at the age of 22 and had Erik two years after her marriage. She was already 28 years old when Kai was born. She had always taken care of herself and had looked younger than her age. Now, thanks to the spring water, she could pass as their older sister.

"Wow, Mom you look so young! If I didn’t know better I would think you were a vampire" Kai said as he stared at his mother in disbelief.

"What nonsense are you saying! I swear, I must have drank too much coffee while pregnant with you!" She berated him.

"No, seriously mom. You look like our sister and not our mother. Honestly, you look like a 30 year old dressed like a grandma. We have to change your style!" Kai said again. Circulating around his mother.

"You little brat! What the hell goes on in your brain all day! I have always been young!" His mother said as she tried to pull his year. How dare this brat call her old.

Erik was quick to pull Kai towards him. He was happy to see his mother’s young face again. However, he couldn’t help but recall Aunt Eliza’s death. He was already 6 years old when Aunt Eliza and Uncle Allister died. If they were still alive, Aunt Eliza would be the same age as his mother.

"Okay, now that we have acknowledged that our looks have improved, lets talk about the important matters." Erik said.

"Yes, big brother is right. We should really get the important things out of the way. Aunty, what do you think about this space?" Penelope asked her.

"Well, I think it’s a beautiful space. We can farm and raise animals. It would be great if we could hide in here and wait for the apocalypse to be over" She said with a sigh. Penelope looked at both Kai and Erik. She noticed they had a similar thought.

"Well...It’s not impossible. We could stay here for up to 10 years. However, it’s not realistic. Aunt, I was thinking that perhaps you should stay here. You can live peacefully. Now that you are all contracted, you don’t need to be near me to be able to enter the space. Just keep in mind that when you exit you will appear in the same spot you were in when you entered. You are able to check out your surrounding in the outside world mentally, and vice versa." Penelope hoped that Aunt Mary would agree to stay inside.

"Mom, I think what Penn said makes sense. You would be a lot safer staying here" Erik said.

"’Mom, I also agree with you staying in. This will give all of us a peace of mind" Kai also chimed in.

"Dear, I’ll think about it. As much as I would like to be here, I would be lonely."

Penelope stayed quiet and then said "What about contracting Ben and Aunt Lucy? We could have aunt Lucy accompany you"

"That’s a great idea! Ben would grateful if we can keep aunt Lucy safe" Kai said.

Erik was the one to disagree. "P, if you contract them, what would happen if either one betrays you? People would kill to have your space."

Everyone stayed quiet. Penelope was the first to say "I see neither one of you read the fine print on the contract."

"What do you mean?" Kai asked.

"Well, the contract protects me from being betrayed. Anyone who tries to betray me will have their soul obliterated. If the thought occurs to betray me the system will evoke punishment as a warning." Penelope said smiling. "So, chances of them being able to betray me are zero. Even if you liked to speak of the space to others, the system would mute your mouth. Stop you from playing charades too. Only I can invite others to join our team."

"So, the chances of someone putting you in danger once they join are slim?" Erik asked again.

"Yes, we will be fine. So should we contract them too?" Penny asked again. She felt her heart warm at the thought of them being protective of her.

"Erik, mom, I know this is a lot to ask but could we please contract them. You know Ben is my best friend. We are like blood brothers. He also sees Penny as his big sister. He would never do anything to harm any of us. We could also keep Aunt Lucy in the space with mom. They won’t be lonely." Kai was really going all out to plead his case.

"Penny, dear, if you won’t be in danger, then I have no problem with it. I would love to have her accompany me. I’ve grown to really like her as a person anyways. She’s a gentle younger sister." Aunt Mary said.

"Well, it seems like we will have more members. Will you be contracting Mr. Remington too?" Erik asked.

That question stumped Penelope. She had thought about it. She just wasn’t sure how trustworthy he was.

"I’m not sure yet, let’s see how this week goes. If we feel that he can be trustworthy, then we will extend an invitation to him. What matters right now is contracting Ben and Auntie Lucy." Penelope said.

"Well, it’s technically 4:30pm outside. We still have 1 hour before Ben and Aunt Lucy’s arrival. What should we do?" Kai asked.

"Oh goodness! I forgot about the take-out!!" With that, aunt Mary disappeared.

"Wow, she got the hang of it very quickly" Kai said as he blinked. Then, as if performing a magic trick, he bowed and disappeared.

"Does he think he’s some kind of magician?" Erik said and disappeared.

Penelope just blinked a few times. Processing what just happened and proceeded on exiting the space.

She found Aunt Mary in the kitchen organizing all the food she prepped and storing it away into the space.

Penelope just laughed and went to look for her brothers.

"Erik, I was thinking that we should hit the construction site tomorrow night. Once people turn into zombies, it would be dangerous to collect material from large factories during the day. If we are going to invite others in, we need to have enough materials to build individual quarters."

Erik thought this was a great idea. He told her they could raid their family construction company for supplies and blueprints.

"We should also go to the jewelry district. We need a lot of energy sources to build these homes" Penelope said once again.