"A storm is coming!"

Watching it all unfold from her home, Stella Sterling silently lowered her binoculars. She turned and went back into the living room. After a moment’s thought, she walked to the door and activated the motion-sensor alarm she’d installed.

From now on, if anyone tampered with her door or tried to force their way in, an alarm would immediately sound inside. That way, she wouldn’t have to worry about sleeping so soundly that she wouldn’t know if someone broke in.

She had installed the device a while ago, but the situation hadn’t been nearly this dire. Thinking it unnecessary, she’d left it off.

’But from now on, I’m afraid there will be no more peace.’

She checked the time. It was only one in the afternoon. She went back to bed for a nap.

Meanwhile, the residential complex had been turned completely upside down.

Ms. Larkin was dead, her body tossed onto the snow. The white down jacket she had been wearing was now tattered and riddled with holes, soaked so thoroughly with blood that its original color was unrecognizable.

Her face was a mask of agony, eyes staring wide, and her mangled body lay in a pool of blood.

A mob had also stormed her apartment, stealing all their food. Her son and daughter had tried with all their might to stop them, but it was no use.

Over ten people took part in looting her home. Others, who still had some conscience left, did not join in.

Before long, the looters left, satisfied with their spoils. Ms. Larkin’s two children sat on the floor, their clothes disheveled and their expressions vacant.

Tears streamed down the face of the high-school-aged girl as she murmured, "Why? Why did things turn out like this?"

Just a moment ago, everything had been fine. Their family had always been on good terms with the other residents. How had it come to this?

’All our food is gone. What are we going to do now?’

"Sis, stop crying. The floor is cold," the fifteen-year-old boy said, getting to his feet to help the girl two years his senior. "Those bastards will get what’s coming to them sooner or later!"

His face was covered in bruises from when he’d tried to stop the mob.

The hatred in his eyes was intense, but seeing his sister’s despair, he tried to comfort her. "Look," he said, "I managed to grab this back!"

He unzipped his jacket, revealing a small bag of rice and a few pieces of bread.

The light finally returned to the girl’s eyes. She stood up and glanced at their ransacked home. Then, as if remembering something, she darted into her room. She lifted a board under her bed, revealing a hidden stash of snacks and dry rations. She breathed a sigh of relief. ’Thank goodness they didn’t find this.’

She wiped away her tears and looked at her brother, who had followed her. "This is all we have left," she said. "From now on, we have to keep it hidden securely!"

The boy nodded, knowing that for the time being, their family of three would have to get by on just this.

"Weren’t those people supposed to be collecting supplies? Why didn’t they go? Why did they suddenly go crazy and rob us?" Woody Larkin frowned, a sense of unease creeping into his heart. "They’re back, but Mom isn’t... Why isn’t Mom back yet?"

"Something must have happened," Yana Larkin told her brother. "I’m going to go look. You stay here and lock the door. Don’t open it for anyone, no matter who it is!"

Their mother was the property manager, so people were always coming to the door. That’s why when someone knocked earlier, they had opened it without a second thought, leading to the disaster that followed.

From now on, they would never open the door for anyone again. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"I’ll go with you," Woody insisted. "When Mom gets back, we’ll settle the score with them. We’ll make them pay!"

Woody Larkin followed his sister, and the two of them headed out, locking the door behind them as they spoke.

The Larkin family lived in Building B. By the time the siblings got outside, the crowd had already dispersed, leaving only a few people scattered across the vast, snow-covered ground.

Seeing the two siblings, the few remaining people gave them complicated looks, tinged with pity.

The siblings spotted an acquaintance who lived upstairs from them and hurried over to ask.

"Uncle Lawrence, have you seen our mom? Weren’t you all supposed to go collect supplies?"

Uncle Lawrence saw their injuries and sighed. "You poor children... Those bastards are truly ruthless!"

He’d been on good terms with Ms. Larkin, and he had known that the group was planning to rob her family.

He hadn’t joined in. Their relationship was good, after all; he couldn’t bring himself to do something like that.

He’d wanted to stop them, but they were in a frenzy. He hadn’t dared to speak up, afraid that meddling would just anger the mob and bring trouble to his own family.

In the end, all he could do was stay silent, hoping the two kids would be quick-witted enough to realize something was wrong and keep the door locked against everyone.

But seeing the siblings in their current state, he knew the looters had succeeded.

"Uncle Lawrence, a mob just broke into our home and stole all our food," Yana said, her voice filled with anxiety. "What’s going on? Where’s our mom?"

Seeing his expression, Yana Larkin guessed he knew something, but her most urgent priority was finding their mother.

Hearing her question, Uncle Lawrence stammered, unable to find the words. After all, he had watched the tragedy unfold with his own eyes and done nothing to stop it.

Seeing his hesitation, the siblings grew anxious and began to press him. Just then, a man standing next to Uncle Lawrence spoke up. "What’s the holdup? Just tell them. It’s not like you had anything to do with it."

With that, he pointed to a spot in the distance. "Your mother’s over there," he said to the siblings. "Poor woman. Stabbed dozens of times... *Sigh*..."

He sighed again and strode away, his figure desolate as he went.

’He’d been on the verge of a breakdown himself earlier, but now that his sanity had returned, he knew life had to go on. The big question was how to survive the road ahead.’

’There were no more supplies to be had, and he had no idea how long his own family’s stash would last.’

’If he had known, he might as well have joined the others in looting the Larkins. He could have at least gotten something out of it.’

At this thought, he glanced back at the two siblings running off in the other direction and shook his head.

’At the time, he didn’t know what he was thinking. Maybe he was just scared, or maybe that last shred of conscience held him back. But now, it was too late for regrets.’

"Mom! Mom!"

Yana Larkin and Woody Larkin ran to the spot and saw the person lying on the ground. They saw the face clearly—it was their mother.

"Mom, don’t scare me! Please, don’t scare me, Mom!" Yana Larkin cried, pulling Ms. Larkin into her embrace. The body was already ice-cold, the spilled blood long since congealed.

Ignoring the filth, she used a hand to wipe the blood from Ms. Larkin’s face. As her mother’s features were revealed, the last glimmer of hope in the siblings’ hearts died.

"How could this happen? How could this happen!"

Yana sobbed, tears streaming down her face. Just a few hours ago, her mother had been fine. Before she left, she’d told them to cook extra noodles for dinner so the three of them could finally eat their fill.