Chapter 12-Back to the starting line

Chapter 12: 12-Back to the starting line

The next thing on her list was furniture. Aymara wanted the cruise to become more than a fortress. She wanted it to become home, a very luxurious home.

She contacted several furniture companies and went crazy ordering everything she’d list down; bed, mattress, sofa, dining table, kitchen equipment among many more.

Aymara spent more than five million buying furniture for every room in the cruise. The deliveries arrived at the dock one after another.

Truck after truck, the workers began unloading the furniture without a word. The were being paid double so they didn’t ask questions.

One worker looked toward the massive cruise ship. "That’s your ship?" he asked, eyes full of awe at the massive luxury ship.

It was his first time seeing a ship like that and it left him breathless.

"Yes," Aymara answered indifferently.

"Wow. It is out of this world!" the worker exclaimed.

Aymara smiled. The smile didn’t reach her eyes at all. "Beautiful, isn’t it?" she inquired, probing his thoughts on her new home.

"It’s enormous."

"I know. It’s just the right size for what I am planning," her tone grew nonchalant again and she grew bored of that conversation so she dropped it. "Get back to work."

The worker looked at the stacks of furniture. "Are you hiring movers?" he questioned, if so, he was ready to volunteer himself to earn some extra money.

"No. I am not."

He blinked, clearly he hadn’t expected Aymara to turn him down without hesitation. "Then how are you getting all this aboard?"

Aymara didn’t bother with him and threw a casual response. "I’m very good at organizing. I’ll manage."

She waited until they finished offloading, packed up and left. Then, she made sure nobody was looking before opening her storage and instantly, the furniture disappeared.

She had bought one of each furniture and the second they entered the storage, they multiplied. With one hundred of each, she had more than she needed for the cruise.

Aymara stood inside the empty ship and watched the system distribute everything.

Room by room, suite by suite and deck by deck. Beds, sofas, tables, curtains, cabinets, lamps and other furnitures appeared in the ship.

Within minutes, the cruise transformed. What had been an empty luxury vessel became a fully furnished floating palace.

Aymara walked through one of the suites. She touched the soft bedding and smiled with relief. "Much better," she let out.

The quality was much better than the one she had in her past life. Then she imagined Nathaniel lying there being warm, comfortable and safe and her expression softened tremendously.

"He’ll like this," she said, confidently and immediately caught herself. "Wait," she frowned. "I haven’t even asked him what he likes."

She paused. After six years apart, he must have developed new interests that were different from what he used to like in the past.

Aymara smiled. "Whatever it is that that he likes now, I’ll learn it."

It was a sad reality, everyone’s life was moving forward in the last six years except for hers. Despite having lived through that time, it felt like her life had stopped and her shadow had been circling around Dylan the whole time.

Now, she was regressing back to her old self. The foods she used to enjoy, the way she used to live and the people she used to love. It saddened her to think of it that way.

"It’s better to go back to the starting line and start the race all over again than finish a race ahead, having not run the race for myself, Aymara," she consoled herself.

---

The pharmaceutical warehouse was located on the outskirts of town. Aymara chose it deliberately because unlike ordinary pharmacies, a warehouse could supply medicine in bulk, at once.

The manager nearly fainted when he saw the size of her order. From painkillers, fever medicine, cold medicine, antibiotics, antiseptics, stomach medicine, bandages, medical gloves, vitamins, mineral supplements, emergency medications, first-aid supplies and medical equipment.

Everything she could legally acquire was ordered and put in large boxes. After checking off medical supplies she’ll need, she reached the medications specifically relevant to Nathaniel’s condition.

Aymara became serious when it came to that list. She checked every item carefully.

She didn’t know how much his illness would improve with modern treatment after the apocalypse but she wasn’t taking chances.

If the system offered better medicine later, she would use it. If she needed to find specialists for him later on, she would and if she had to build a hospital on the ship to ensure his survival, she wouldn’t hesitate to do so.

Nathaniel had already died once, for her. She refused to let it happen again.

The final bill exceeded six million. Aymara paid without hesitation and had everything moved to a warehouse she had rented.

The moment the medicine reached the storage space, the system reacted immediately.

DING.

She selected the entire collection. "Multiply," Aymara ordered.

One box became one hundred and since she bought everything in bulk, the supplies multiplied until she saw no end to her stock.

The warehouse’s worth of supplies piled into well arranged mountain. The system kept everything in their own section and labelled each item, which made it look neat and easy to understand.

Aymara stared at the enormous stockpile. Her shoulders finally relaxed. "That’s one less thing to worry about," she whispered. "I won’t have to worry about getting sick in the future."

She looked toward the section containing Nathaniel’s medications and her eyes softened.

"You’ll get better this time. With the system cheat, I’m confident I can find a way to cure you permanently," she spoke with hope in her eyes.

That evening, Aymara returned to the ship. She was exhausted to the bone. Her feet hurt, her hair was messy and her bank account had been brutally wounded but she had never been happier.

She stepped onto the main deck. The sun was disappearing beneath the horizon, the ocean reflected the orange light and the air seemed fresh and calming to her tired lungs.

DING!

Aymara stopped admiring her surrounding and focused on the blue screen infront of her.

[Daily Survival Preparation Requirements Met.]

Her eyes widened for a second before she regained her composure. With the hard work she was putting in, it would be impossible for her not to meet the survival requirements.

[Ship Upgrade Initiated.]

The cruise began to hum. A deep vibration traveled beneath her feet as blue light spread across the walls. The engines roared to life, the hull shimmered and hidden mechanisms shifted beneath the ship.

Aymara stood frozen. Waiting to see how much her efforts had earned her. After a full three minutes of upgrading, a new notification appeared.

[Upgrade Progress: 1%...]

Aymara’s smile grew. It was a lazy afternoon so she had time to wait. She wasn’t impatient, not when the odds looked up in her favour.

The number climbed up, higher and higher with every second.

10%.

25%.

50%.

The ship trembled again and again as the progress continued updating.

75%.

Then the progress shot up rapidly and untill completion.

100%.

[Upgrade Complete.]

[Cruise Ship Level increased.]

[Current Level: 2.]

Aymara’s eyes lit up. "Finally!" she cheered. Getting the ship to upgrade to the second level was a small victory but it was a victory nonetheless.

After everything she’d bought, everything she’d planned, and all the time she’d sacrificed and dedicated into the task, the ship was finally becoming stronger.

She opened the status panel. The numbers had changed, the hull was stronger, the energy system had improved, and the medical facilities had expanded. Even the agricultural space had grown and the security system had improved.

It wasn’t enough though, not even close but it was progress. Aymara walked to the edge of the deck. The breeze moved through her hair.

Far away, the city glittered brightly. People were living their final days without knowing it.

Only five days remained until the end of the world arrived in heavy unending storms and tsunamis that would end up flooding the world.

Aymara looked toward the horizon. Her mind drifted to her Ex- boyfriend, "Dylan," her voice was calm when she called that name that felt like poison against her throat. "Enjoy your last five days."

She turned back toward the ship. "Because when the ocean rises..." her lips curved into a cold smile. "You won’t be taking anything from me again!" she clenched her fists tightly with determination.

Aymara took a deep breath and thought of Nathaniel. Her expression immediately softened.

"And you..." she smiled without realizing it. "You’re going to live like a king when it all goes down. I give you my word."

[Apocalypse Countdown: 5 Days Remaining.]

The system reminded her. Aymara wasn’t in her a hurry, that number was more time she had to hoard everything she’ll need, upgrade the ship and get Nathaniel on board safely.