Before going to Singapore, Alex needed to stop by a certain place. Perth Western Australia. Alex spent his teenage life in this country. He came here to study when he was 15 and stayed here for 10 years. This was the life he had before he met his wife, built his company and the 11 years Doomsday.
His memory of this place seemed like a very long time ago. He grew up here, many of his friends still lived here and some of the people here were like family to him.
Alex had organized a simple reunion party and 30 of them managed to come. Some had come with their families and when they saw Alex came in with Aria, the two people received weird stares. They were having fun that day, but it was really hard for him to enjoy any of it. In his previous life, he had not heard any news from Australia until a few years later. Most of them had already died by then. However, there was one person that he knew who survived, Evan the class president.
Alex brought up the viral video to become a topic of the group, but almost all of them were making fun of it. It was very hard for people to believe it unless they had seen it with their own eyes. It was not ignorance, not stubbornness, nor stupidity, it was human nature.
Alex is not truly expecting much from this group, but nevertheless, he is still hoping he can change their future and save some of them. His main agenda is actually to have someone that he knows to prepare his second phase.
Indonesia may be important to Alex, but the Australia continent will be more important for Alex. Australia has four times the total land mass compared to Indonesia and Australia's population is only one-tenth of Indonesia. There will be only 5 pillars that will be dropping in Indonesia, but Alex knew that at least 20 of them will be descending in Australia. In his previous life, some of these pillars were not able to withstand the attacks from the monsters as there were not enough survivors. A few of the pillars were also left untouched. Since Alex knew that there will be pillars that will not be occupied, Alex will be including the continent's geographic location as it will be strategically close to Indonesia.
Alex had some private talk with Evan along with a few others that he was close to. He had convinced them to help him for the next few days. Alex planned to buy a large number of items to be stored in the city of Darwin. Australia's city in the north and the closest to Indonesia. The amount of money and the list of items to buy shocked them. Food and supplies and the specific place to store it. Alex told them hypothetically that this could be a great place to hide if the Doomsday really did happen.
Alex was hoping that they could get the hint and moved to this location when things hit the fan. But he couldn't hope too much, he couldn't help everyone and he couldn't force them to move to Bali either. Either way, this location could become his starting point for his second phase.
- - - - - - - - - -
Singapore. 22nd of December.
The night before the gathering, Alex had been planning to meet with someone from his past, a special friend. Christina, Alex knew her even longer than Theo. They first met at college in Australia. The college's most beautiful student, she was idolized by many, the famous girl with big eyes. One of Alex's closest friends. They did have something emotional that happened back then but they were never a couple. When Alex went back to Indonesia, she also returned to Singapore.
Christina's background is not simple. Her family is one of the most influential families in Singapore. Her family is somehow related to both the nine dragons and China's big four families. They own the biggest real estate in Singapore. Christina has had married a young colonel in the Singapore army, they have a young daughter and a son. But their marriage did not last long.
Alex made sure he had the time to meet and talk to her tonight not just because of their relationship, but also because this woman, Christina, in Alex's previous life, survived and was also a well-known Spirit Enhancer.
Singapore's a very crowded city, they faced the Doomsday with a unique situation. When the disaster struck many people died but the government managed to control the situation. With many difficulties, the island was able to manage to clean out all of the undead. The Singaporean survivors only needed to take a defensive stance at the bridge which was facing Malaysia. Later on, when the mutated beast had started coming, the Singapore city was fortunate because the Doomsday pillar dropped right in the middle of the city. This pillar was actually one of the best options for Alex to choose from, but the Singapore island had almost no resources. Therefore, Alex chose Bali island instead.
Alex meets her in one of Singapore hawker stalls, a simple street food vendor. This is one of the reasons Alex likes her friend very much. Even though she comes from a prestigious background, she prefers simple living instead. She cares for others and likes to do charities.
"Hi Alex, what a surprise!"
She then realizes that there is a beautiful girl standing next to Alex, she is confused.
"Hi Christina, oh right, this is Aria, she is my associate."
Alex wonders as to why does Aria finds it so hard to understand some situations. There are some meetings which are business and some are personal. And yet, why is this girl really so serious with her mission. Does she really have to follow him all the time? Well, Alex doesn't want to make this more awkward than it already is, so ignoring the situation is probably for the best.
"So, what's up? Suddenly receiving a phone call from you and sounding so serious..."
"Have you heard about the gathering tomorrow?"
"Are you referring about the Doomsday video? Yes, I have watched it already. Because of that video, there are groups of whacko that have started showing up here. What about it?"
Alex points a finger into his face.
"I am one of those whackos."
"..."
"Hahahahaha, you have always been funny Alex."
She smiles at Alex, she flashes back to some good times they have shared together. But then she realizes that Alex doesn't share the laughter... She is startled
"..."
"Are you serious?"
"Yes, I want to make sure that you are taking the Doomsday message seriously. In fact, I am the one responsible for making the video."
Christina becomes serious now, she thinks for a while and says,
"Are you related to James Randal?"
"Yes, I am."
"Is it true that Randall's have created a miraculous medicine?"
Alex takes out a white crystal stone, the spirit stone.
"You mean this one?"
Christina looks at the stone, she gives it some thought and says,
"What did you get yourself into, Alex? The Randalls and many others are not to be trifled with."
Alex is happy deep down that this woman still cares about him, he replies,
"You don't have to worry about me. I actually came here to give you one of these stones. This stone will give you a higher chance to survive the initial disaster. I am worried that my involvement with the video will harm you somehow."
Alex told her to be prepared and stay at home on the 31st. Most importantly, be there for her kids. Alex did not know if Christina's children died from the disease or not. Because of her family's background, Alex was not sure if it was a good idea to bring her to Bali either. It was really tempting to just lie and bring her to Bali, but it was not fair to her, even if it meant another spirit enhancer on his side that he could trust. Alex gave her a list of a few Singaporean names that she could depend on just as a precaution. But Alex still reminded her to not trust them completely. A desperate situation could change people.
All of this information is too much for her, Alex truly wishes to stay longer and have some more normal conversations, but he cannot. He's already a completely different person now. Alex wishes her well and departs with Aria...
Aria rarely spoke a word, but this time she said,
"Why haven't you give me one of the spirit stones?"
"I don't think one stone will have any effect on you."
.
.
"Give me two or three then."