“I won’t tell anyone,” Poppy promised, covering her mouth with both hands. “Only you.”Ethan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.He accepted the apple and handed her two candies in return.Just then, his phone chimed.It was a message from Maya Bennett.[Ethan, the first floor is already more than halfway underwater. If the water reaches the second floor, could Lucas and I stay with you for a while?]Maya had been a competitive athlete before the disasters, a national collegiate kickboxing champion who had competed at a level most people could only dream of reaching.Lucas Reed was her boyfriend and lived with her.Ethan, Maya, and another childhood acquaintance, Ryan Cole, had all grown up in the same children’s home. They had stayed close partly because, back then, they had needed one another.Lucas had always been physically weaker and frequently sick, while Ryan had never been particularly strong either. Despite that, the three boys had once joined together to make Ethan’s childh

The residents on the second floor were struggling to move their belongings as well.Living without water, electricity, or gas had become brutal. Even people who had rice, flour, and cooking oil were helpless because there was no reliable way to prepare them. Some residents burned liquor as fuel, while others smashed furniture apart for firewood. A few had become so desperate from hunger that they chewed dry rice until they became sick.When several sturdy bags came through the window, eyes immediately turned toward them.Then someone noticed the inflatable raft.An elderly woman hurried over with a broad smile.“You brought so much stuff just to move upstairs?” she asked sweetly. “What did you bring?”Her voice sounded friendly, but Ethan could see the calculation in her eyes.She reached toward the bags, but Lucas immediately pulled them closer and held them firmly against his legs.Unable to reach the supplies, the woman changed targets.She grabbed the raft.“Young man,” she pleade

Life wasn’t easy even for those living on the higher floors.The toilets could barely flush anymore, and the foul smell from the lower levels continued creeping upward until it was strong enough to make people gag.Fortunately, Ethan had prepared for situations like this.He had stocked plenty of heavy-duty black garbage bags for emergencies.At first, he considered throwing the filled bags downstairs once they became necessary, but quickly dismissed the idea. If things reached that point, he would simply deal with the waste inside his storage space.He was about to start cooking when someone knocked on his door.It was Maya.After sleeping for most of the day, both she and Lucas looked considerably better.Maya brought several alcohol-fuel blocks with her. But when she saw how complete Ethan’s preparations were, she was stunned.Vegetables were growing in planters on the balcony.Rabbits were being raised.Supplies were neatly organized.For a moment, she simply stared.“Ethan,” she

The rain continued pouring while the wind howled between the buildings. Maya’s voice barely made it across the distance before the storm tore it apart.Plenty of residents had already noticed what was happening in the building opposite theirs. Windows opened on different floors, and voices rose through the rain as people shouted at the woman, begging her to stop and think about what she was doing.She didn’t respond.Instead, she grabbed both children and jumped.Someone from the other building rushed onto the rooftop, but it was already too late. All they could do was watch helplessly as the woman and her children disappeared over the edge.A heavy splash sent floodwater shooting upward.Seconds later, one of the children surfaced.“Help! Mom… Help!”The terrified scream carried faintly through the storm.Lucas immediately covered Maya’s eyes and pulled her away from the window.The twin tornadoes had probably killed countless people earlier, but those deaths had happened far away. T

The past few days had been nothing but chaos.During the day alone, several groups had come knocking at the stairwell door, begging for food and claiming their children were so hungry that they could barely stand. The storm had trapped everyone inside the complex for nearly ten days, and by then, the situation had become desperate. There was no electricity, no running water, and no gas. Almost every household had exhausted whatever food they had managed to store before the disaster.The worst part was that there was no safe way to help them.If Ethan gave food to one family and refused another, the starving crowd would not care about fairness. Their eyes were red from hunger, their tempers unstable, and their desperation had stripped away whatever restraint they once possessed. One family receiving food could easily become the reason an entire group decided to force its way inside.Ethan had already seen enough to know that kindness could become a death sentence.That night, when some