Rebirth: 100 Days Before Doomsday - Chapter 114

Chapter 114: Snowstorm

[Time until the day of the end of the world: 12 Days and 11 Hours]

For decades, Sunspire City had always been known for its golden sunrises and warm, bustling streets. It was a city that barely slept and was always working. But today, the city was unrecognizable. A thick, ominous layer of gray clouds was blanketing the sky, while a thick layer of snow covered the land.

Though the temperature had been slolwy dropping for the past ten or so days, the city noticed a drastic drop overnight, leaving the air biting and heavy with an unnatural chill.

Grace was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window of her living room, watching as the snow began to fall once again. It had snowed the entire night and only stopped early that morning, but as noon arrived, it was once again back. However, the snow seemed different this time.

Grace took a closer look and realized that these weren’t the gentle, delicate flakes she had been seeing for the past ten days. Instead, these were harsh, jagged pieces of ice that were blown violently by a howling wind that suddenly started blowing.

Before she could have wondered about this change in the weather, she received a notification from the system.

[A snowstorm is beginning]

Continous raining, flood, hurricane, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, shadow rain, temperature drop, and now a snowstorm – the disasters were hitting one after the other without any break.

Grace watched as light snowfall quickly turned into a blizzard. Within an hour, the streets were buried under a thick layer of ice and snow. Cars were abandoned as their engines had frozen. Streetlights flickered before going out entirely, plunging the city into darkness despite it being midday.

She turned on the radio, looking for updates, and the static-filled voice on the emergency channel only confirmed what the system had already told her.

“-unprecedented storm conditions – temperature dropping to record lows – advised to stay indoors-”

With a soft sigh, she turned off the radio and switched on her apartment’s heating system as the air inside was turning cold because of the blizzard. It took about a minute or two before the apartment turned warm and there was left no trace of the cold.

With her place filled with warmth, she returned her attention to work, no longer paying any attention to the snowstorm.

– – –

By evening, the storm had intensified. The wind howled like a living creature, shaking the walls of buildings and ripping trees from the ground. Power lines snapped under the weight of the disaster, plunging several streets and blocks into complete darkness.

The cold seeped into every crevice, making it impossible to stay warm even indoors. People burned whatever they could find – wooden furniture, books, clothes – just to keep the frost at bay. But it wasn’t enough.

The first casualties came within first twenty-four hours. Some elderly people and young children, who were unable to withstand the cold, succumbed in their homes. Though hospitals were already overwhelmed because of the rain disaster, had to admit new patients even though they were barely able to manage the situation.

The storm brought more than just snow and ice. Pipes froze and burst, flooding buildings with icy water that quickly turned into sheets of ice. The roads, already treacherous, became impossible to navigate as cars skidded and collided in the icy chaos.

Some certain people chose this moment of chaos to come out of their hideouts and try to loot others for food as the stationed military wasn’t able to keep proper control over the situation because of their requirements at the places of immediate help.

Grace watched a similar scene unfold from her apartment window. Though her apartment was located on the twenty-first floor of the building, the military-grade binocular helped her in keeping track of whatever was going on down below on the streets.

And while she had witnessed all sorts of painful and sad incidents through those binoculars, her heart barely felt anything. It was as if it had turned into ice just like the outside world. She knew better than to feel sympathy for anyone when she wasn’t even strong enough to protect herself and her own people… yet.

As she watched the storm howling outside through the glass window, she found herself thinking about the timer ticking in the system. According to the timer, only twelve more days were left before the world would officially end, and while she had been preparing for that day all this time, she was unable to ignore that restlessness she felt deep in her heart.

She had done everything that she should have – she took care of her enemies, removed both her identities, hoarded supplies, and had formed a team of her most trusted people. But even with all these meticulous preparations, she felt the weight of the situation that was turning worse with each passing day.

* * *

[Time until the end of the world: 10 Days and 12 Hours]

Ironically, the next disaster came in the form of fire, and it happened merely three days from the arrival of the snowstorm. A gas line that was weakened by the cold, burst in several parts of a nearby city, causing explosions that lit up the dark, snowy night. The fires spread quickly, consuming entire blocks as the wind carried embers from one building to another.

The combination of snow, ice, and fire turned the city into a living nightmare. People were forced to choose between freezing in the cold, or burning in the flames.

By the fifth day, several infrastructures around the cities began to collapse. Buildings that got weakened by the snow and ice, started to crumble.

The entire Greenstone Residential Area heard the sound of a skyscraper, that was still under construction, falling in the distance. It was a deafening roar followed by a cloud of dust and debris that blanketed the area like a second storm.

Some very old bridges had also started cracking under the weight of ice, and it ended up cutting off a few escape routes. The makeshift shelters were once again becoming overcrowded and understocked, forcing them to become death traps as supplies ran out and tensions boiled over into violence.

* * *

It was the fifth day since the snowstorm began, and this particular afternoon, Grace found herself standing in Rune’s apartment.

The storm was still raging outside, creating a relentless wall of white that obliterated the world beyond the windows of the apartment. Inside, however, the warmth of the fire crackled in the hearth while the soft glow of the lanterns made the space feel almost cozy – if not for the fact that the two of them were currently in the middle of a training session.

Grace was standing in the middle of the living room with her fists raised and her feet planted firmly on the wooden floor. On the other hand, Rune was standing just a few feet away. His broad frame and calm demeanor exuded confidence as he watched her closely. His sharp icy-blue eyes were closely studying her movements.

“Again,” he guided in a low and steady voice.

Grace immediately lunged forward, throwing a punch that was aimed at his chest. And while she was quick, Rune was a perfect match. He dodged her attack with ease. His movements were fluid and controlled as if he had spent his entire life training.

Done with the defense, he caught her wrist and twisted it gently to immobilize her, before pulling her closer.

“Your form is improving,” he murmured. His breath was warm against her temple as he added, “But you are still leaving your left side open.”

Grace pulled out of his hold, feeling frustrated for making such obvious mistakes. She knew that she was good enough to give this young man a hard time on the mat, and yet, she kept getting distracted.

Fixing her sharp gaze on him and just confessed honestly, “Maybe I’ll do better if you stop being a distraction.”

A smirk tugged at Rune’s lips, making it obvious that he was happy with what he just heard. “Isn’t that the point? Distractions are everywhere in a real fight. You need to adapt.”

She just shook her head in response but didn’t argue as he had a point with that statement. They continued their sparring, filling the room with the rhythmic sounds of their movements.

Grace’s punches grew sharper, her kicks more precise as she forced herself to focus on the mission of beating the man into a pulp. However, Rune made it very hard as he kept testing her at every turn. The way his hand kept touching her bare skin, the way his lips were always inches away from her, the way he…!

Shaking away these thoughts, she threw the most merciless punch so far, not really caring if it was going to finally land of its target.