The first Danger

The typhoon's relentless fury showed no signs of abating, and the severity of the weather, coupled with the growing difficulties of survival, frayed the nerves of the residents. With each passing day, the water level inched higher, transforming the lives of those on the lower floors into a state of perpetual distress. The unbearable humidity gave rise to a plague of insects, while the ever-present threat of sewage backflow loomed, casting a foul shadow over their existence.

In the still of an early morning, the sound of raised voices echoed from the rooftop, slicing through the oppressive silence. Emily and her family strained to listen from the safety of their balcony, piecing together fragments of the heated exchange. The red rain, it seemed, had infiltrated the lower floors, rendering the living spaces uninhabitable and forcing the displaced residents to seek refuge on the rooftop.

The dispute had ignited when a resident from the 7th floor reported their home had been ransacked. The building's inadequate sound insulation should have made the commotion audible, yet an eerie silence had prevailed. The 7th-floor dweller inquired among the rooftop assembly, seeking any witnesses to the crime, but their pleas were met with a chorus of denials. Fueled by anger and desperation, they cast blame on the rooftop inhabitants, ascending to confront them. As supplies grew scarce, the 7th-floor resident found themselves stripped of their last resources. Trapped within the building by the unforgiving weather, the thief's identity was confined to their fellow residents. The argument spiraled, culminating in a physical altercation.

Emily abstained from venturing onto the rooftop, opting instead to eavesdrop from the relative safety of her balcony. As the tumultuous conflict began to die down, she retreated indoors. However, the echoes of strife did not cease, persisting for the subsequent days. The dwindling of supplies correlated with an uptick in home invasions, each more brazen than the last. It wasn't long before nocturnal group break-ins became a harrowing norm.

A grim satisfaction emanated from those who had run out of food, taking a twisted pleasure in the shared suffering. Meanwhile, the victims of theft were left to resign themselves to their fate. A cruel sense of equality had emerged from the communal starvation. Some claimed to have heard the desperate cries of the beleaguered in the dead of night but chose to turn a deaf ear, barricading themselves within their homes and feigning ignorance. Their solace lay in the misfortune of others, as long as it did not touch their own doorstep.

As days turned into weeks, the tension within the apartment complex mounted, a palpable force that threatened to consume them all. Emily and her family did their best to remain insulated from the growing discord, focusing on their own survival and the nurturing of their makeshift sanctuary within the space. Yet, the darkness that had befallen their once peaceful home cast a long shadow.

As the turmoil within the building escalated, Emily, prioritizing the safety of her family, escorted her parents and young daughter back into the sanctuary of their space. She and Alex, along with Duke, the loyal canine companion, resolved to remain as the vigilant guardians of their home. The day was filled with a tense stillness, broken only by the cautious knock on their door. Emily, ever the cautious one, instructed Alex and Duke to retreat within and stay out of sight.

Two women stood at the threshold, their faces etched with desperation, pleading for a meager share of food to aid an elderly family member on the brink of starvation. The reality was stark; after being confined for over ten days, food had become a precious commodity. Any household that claimed to have surplus was clutching a lifeline that could either be a beacon of hope or a source of conflict. Emily, weighing the risks and the implications, decided against parting with their provisions. With a heavy heart, she informed the women, "I don't have any extra food to spare. Fortunately, it's just me, so I'm managing." She watched as the women turned away, hopelessness in their eyes, and then firmly closed the door.

That night, the silence was shattered by an attempt to break in. Emily, her senses heightened, used her ability to peer through the shadows and identified three figures. With a silent signal to Alex, they armed themselves with long knives, ready for the confrontation. Duke, sensing the danger, bristled and prepared to defend his family.

The door exploded inward with a resounding "bang," and Duke leaped into action, its powerful jaws clamping down on the throat of one of the intruders. The swift attack caught the others off guard, and before they could recover, Duke had neutralized one threat. The remaining two, panic-stricken, sought to flee, but Emily and Alex were relentless. Emily dispatched one with a swift strike, while Alex swiftly ended the other, their movements a well-coordinated dance of survival.

Together, they disposed of the bodies, casting them into the void beyond the high-rise window. Emily and Alex then set about the grim task of cleaning the blood from the room and hallway, repairing the damaged door lock, and securing their sanctuary once more. Afterward, they retreated to their rooms to cleanse themselves, washing away the physical remnants of the night's events.

With the immediate danger neutralized, they sought the solace of sleep, knowing that the trials of the new day would come soon enough.

The following morning, Emily led her brother and Duke back into the space, where they savored a hearty breakfast of soy milk and fried dough sticks. Over the meal, Emily recounted the harrowing events of the previous night, explaining the critical role Duke had played in their defense. David and Elizabeth listened with somber expressions, the weight of the changed world settling heavily upon them. "The world has changed," they murmured with a sigh.

After breakfast, in an attempt to lift the spirits of her parents, Chloe proposed an exploration of the space. Emily agreed, seeing it as an opportunity to provide a distraction and perhaps rekindle a sense of wonder and hope amidst the challenges they faced. Together, they ventured forth into the space, seeking solace and strength in their unity and the promise of a future, however uncertain it may be.

The family ventured to the serene shores of the lake within their space, a place untouched by the chaos that raged beyond its confines. Duke, the ever-curious canine, seemed to have discovered a new world, his excitement palpable as he dashed into the bushes, his tail wagging furiously.

Not long after his spirited venture, the family was startled by a series of quacking sounds. Turning their attention to the commotion, they witnessed Duke proudly emerging, a duck in his mouth that had been tending to her nest of eggs. Chloe's eyes lit up with delight, momentarily forgetting her initial intent to explore the new surroundings. She excitedly beckoned her grandparents to assist her in collecting the duck eggs, while simultaneously calling out to her mother to rescue the duck from Duke's gentle, yet firm grip, fearing that even an accidental bite could prove fatal to the bird.

Once they returned home, David, with a careful hand, trimmed the duck's flight feathers to prevent it from escaping, while Elizabeth enlisted Alex to construct a small enclosure for the duck to establish its nest. Chloe danced with joy around the confines of the makeshift fence, her heart filled with the anticipation of soon welcoming a fleet of ducklings into their family.

Elizabeth, ever the strategist, proposed to Emily that with the addition of ducks to their menagerie, they could also create a brooding setup to hatch some chicks. The abundance of space within their sanctuary meant that they could become self-sufficient, ensuring a steady supply of meat and eggs for the future.

Elizabeth, taking the initiative, located a foam box and filled plastic bags with water, tucking a small electric heating blanket beneath them to maintain the ideal temperature for incubation. Meticulously, Elizabeth placed dozens of eggs into the makeshift incubator, marking each with a number to facilitate the turning process. A small blanket was draped over the foam box, and their handiwork was complete. For the first ten days, the task was to flip the eggs and mist them with water at regular intervals. After this period, they would perform the " tread water" test, immersing the eggs in a basin of water to assess the success of the incubation. Any movement within the water was a positive sign of life; stillness, a somber indication of failure.

This small yet significant endeavor of nurturing new life from eggs and constructing a home for the ducks sparked a renewed interest in animal husbandry within the family. Emily proposed that Duke accompany David, Elizabeth, and Chloe as they explored other areas within the space during daylight hours. At night, Duke would rejoin Emily and Alex for their vigil, standing watch over their sanctuary.

At the stillest hour of the night, 3 AM, when the world was shrouded in silence and most people were enveloped in the comfort of their dreams, a group of individuals was meticulously attempting to breach the security of Emily's door. Unbeknownst to them, Emily and Alex, endowed with abilities that heightened their senses beyond the norm, possessed an acute awareness of their surroundings. The slightest whisper of sound was as clear as a bell to them. Thus, when the soft snick of lock-picking reached Emily's ears, she emerged from her bedroom, knife in hand, as Alex simultaneously opened the door, his long knife at the ready. The duo, along with their loyal canine companion, Duke, stood resolute in the corridor, facing the would-be marauders.

The intruders, caught off guard by the unexpected appearance of their targets, hesitated momentarily before regaining their bravado and issuing a bold threat, "Hand over your food, or don't blame us for being rude." Emily, uninterested in bandying words with these unwelcome visitors, responded with a cool challenge, "Sure, come and try," as she poised her knife and prepared for the confrontation.

She was well aware that this group was but the tip of the iceberg; others might be skulking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to strike. If they did not nip this problem in the bud today, a relentless barrage of harassment would follow. Endless vigilance against thieves was not a viable solution. The intruders, misinterpreting Emily and Alex's confidence as arrogance, charged at them with their cleavers drawn.

Emily moved with the grace of a dancer, evading the clumsy swings of the attackers. With a swift turn and a well-placed strike, she landed her knife on the leader's shoulder, simultaneously sweeping his feet out from under him and sending him crashing to the floor. The man lay there, incapacitated. Seeing their leader felled, the others roared and lunged forward with reckless abandon. Alex met their charge, his knife finding the chest of one, while Duke leaped into the fray, his fangs seeking purchase on the interlopers.

The corridor transformed into a scene reminiscent of hell, strewn with the evidence of violence—blood and screams echoing off the walls. Emily and Alex did not dispense death to all; they left two men clinging to life, one of them the leader of the group. The leader's cries of despair filled the air, "Killing people is against the law." Emily's response was swift and unyielding, "Against the law? If you hadn't harbored the malicious intent to break in and rob us, we wouldn't have been forced to defend ourselves. You're welcome to call the police and see who they'll hold accountable." The leader, realizing the magnitude of his miscalculation, pleaded for mercy, his demeanor shifting from one of arrogance to abject submission, "We had no choice. We were desperate for food."

"You're fortunate today. We're not in the habit of slaughtering everyone who crosses us. Leave now," Emily declared. Throughout the cacophony, the other residents of the building remained behind their closed doors, too afraid to witness the spectacle unfolding in the corridor. Emily made a point of leaving the blood and signs of the skirmish untouched, using them as a grim warning to would-be troublemakers.