Reborn Three Days Before the Apocalypse

Chapter 3

Ethan jolted awake, his first instinct being to check the storage space with his mind.

It was still there.

More importantly, every supply he had stored inside was still intact. He tested the connection immediately, thinking about one of the coal briquettes. A moment later, the briquette appeared in his hand.

Ethan let out a slow breath and looked around the space again. That was when he noticed the glowing timer. It had reset completely.

Two hours.

The storage space only allowed him to remain inside for two hours at a time.

It was inconvenient, but far better than losing the space altogether.

After taking a shower, Ethan checked again and discovered that the timer had already replenished. By then, it was past midnight, and exhaustion finally caught up with him. He took some melatonin and went to bed, but his sleep was restless. The nightmare came again, dragging him back to the shopping complex where Marcus had abandoned him, except this time the rust-covered blades were already swinging toward his body.

Ethan woke drenched in sweat at five in the morning.

The sky outside was still dark.

Rather than return to bed, he entered the storage space and walked among his supplies until his breathing steadied. Seeing everything he had gathered reminded him that he was no longer helpless.

He grabbed his keys and drove to the largest agricultural wholesale market in the city.

Dawn had barely broken, yet the roads around the market were already packed. Ethan went straight for the produce section and began buying everything he could reasonably store. He purchased roughly a hundred pounds each of onions, carrots, squash, tomatoes, bell peppers, celery, cucumbers, ginger, and garlic, along with two hundred pounds each of potatoes and sweet potatoes.

He skipped almost nothing except delicate leafy vegetables.

Next came the staple foods.

Ethan bought one hundred fifty-pound bags of rice, fifty bags of flour, hundreds of pounds of noodles and starch, dried beans, lentils, chickpeas, peanuts, and dozens of large containers of cooking oil. The total was just under six thousand dollars, and after some negotiation, the vendor threw in several extra bags of rice.

Ethan knew exactly why he was buying in such quantities. In the apocalypse, food would become more valuable than money, and something as ordinary as a bag of rice could determine whether a person survived another month.

He continued to the seasoning section, buying barrels of soy sauce, vinegar, and other condiments, along with black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves, and other spices. He added hundreds of pounds of different sugars and, most importantly, several thousand pounds of salt.

During his previous life, Ethan had watched people trade ridiculous amounts of food for small quantities of salt. It took relatively little space, lasted practically forever, and would become increasingly difficult to obtain once transportation collapsed.

After loading the first batch into his truck, Ethan found a quiet location away from cameras and transferred everything into his storage space before returning to the market.

He moved through the frozen-food section next, buying frozen bread, pastries, breakfast buns, tortillas, and other items that could be stored for a long time. He also stocked up on dried mushrooms, tomatoes, herbs, and dehydrated vegetables.

At the meat section, Ethan found a vendor who supplied Graybridge University.

The moment the owner recognized him, he smiled. “Ethan, what are you buying today?”

“I need a lot of meat.”

The owner stared as Ethan began listing his order: two hundred pounds each of pork, lamb, and beef, along with chickens, ducks, turkeys, and assorted organ meats.

“Are you serious?”

“It’s for a family wedding,” Ethan replied casually. “Just give me your best price.”

The man laughed. “Since it's you, I'll give you thirty percent off.”

The discount saved Ethan a considerable amount. He paid roughly six thousand dollars and then asked for two heavy cleavers and a butcher knife.

The owner looked at him suspiciously.

“Relax,” Ethan said. “I'm not planning to kill anybody.”

After a moment, the man laughed and agreed.

Ethan continued through the market, buying a hundred cleaned whole fish, thousands of chicken and duck eggs, and fertilized eggs from several bird species. He also purchased a small incubator, knowing that if the disasters lasted long enough, breeding animals could become far more valuable than stored meat.

At a seed shop, he bought seeds for lettuce, spinach, kale, mustard greens, tomatoes, peppers, and other fast-growing vegetables. He also purchased planters, soil, gardening tools, and potting mix.

Then he reached the nursery.

Ethan selected several mature plants from different fruit varieties, including citrus trees, grapevines, apple trees, blueberries, and strawberries. His storage space had only a little over a hundred square feet of usable garden soil, but he intended to make every inch count.

Finally, he bought a breeding pair of rabbits.

Rabbits reproduced quickly, survived on vegetables, and required little space. If he managed them properly, they could provide a steady source of meat long after the stored food began running low.

By the time Ethan finished, his money had dropped dramatically.

It hurt to watch his savings disappear, but the sight of his supplies filling the storage space gave him a sense of security that money never had.

He spent almost the entire day at the market.

That evening, he stopped at a restaurant and ordered barbecue ribs, meatloaf with gravy, mashed potatoes, and several other dishes. He ate until he was full, packed the leftovers, and returned home.

Inside the storage space, he arranged the food and plants while keeping the rabbits on the balcony.

Then he noticed the timer.

Ten minutes remained.

Ethan immediately stepped outside.

The moment he did, both rabbits were thrown out of the storage space and landed heavily on the apartment floor.

He stared at them in disbelief.

For a few seconds, frustration filled him.

Then realization hit.

A grin slowly spread across Ethan's face.

The storage space had another rule.

As long as he wasn't physically inside, no living creature could remain there.

That meant nobody could sneak inside and steal his supplies. Even if someone discovered the existence of the space, they couldn't simply occupy it.

For the first time that day, Ethan felt genuinely relieved.

He checked his remaining supplies and realized there was little else he could buy in bulk without wasting valuable space. His bank balance had fallen to roughly four thousand dollars.

There was still more to prepare, but from this point onward, he needed to focus on compact necessities.

Ethan opened a delivery app and ordered food from several of the best restaurants in the city—burgers, fried chicken, mac and cheese, pizza, pasta, sandwiches, pastries, breakfast meals, fried sides, and drinks. He ordered multiple portions of each and scheduled the pickups throughout the evening.

He spent more than two thousand dollars.

It was extravagant, but Ethan wanted to taste the food while he still could.

He also wanted to see the city one last time.

That afternoon, an official announcement spread across the city. Because of the approaching superstorm Orion, schools would close for three days, with the reopening date to be announced later.

The students celebrated immediately.

Phones rang. Friends made plans. Restaurants and clubs began filling with people excited about an unexpected break.

To them, Orion was simply another powerful storm approaching the coast.

Ethan knew better.

They thought they were getting three days away from school.

They didn't know they would never return.

Ethan spent the evening eating barbecue and drinking beer while making his final pickups. Yet when he finally returned home, an uncomfortable feeling followed him through the door.

Something was wrong.

Something important was missing.

He stood in the middle of his apartment, trying desperately to remember what it was.

But no matter how hard he searched his memories, nothing came.

And that frightened him more than he wanted to admit.