She picked up the phone and called me. "They've all passed out what are you planning to do next?"
I replied emotionlessly. "Drag them to the balcony; I'm on my way…"
Shortly after arriving and helping her move them to the balcony, I made sure Abhay and his group members were all here. Taking in the moment, a small chuckle escaped my lips as I knelt to take a good look at his face. "You guys finally fell into my hands, Hehehe… I wonder if you ever once thought in your wildest dreams, this would be how you die?"
Diana, who saw me 'in the moment' nervously asked. "Do you plan to kill them all?"
It was a question that brought a smile to my face, I picked the hemp rope I had brought with me and tossed it to her standing up and dusting myself off. "Nope, you guessed wrong. The one to take action… is you."
She didn't even get a chance to say anything before I gave her more instructions. "I'll give you the tutorial. Step one is to find the gun on Abhay and throw it to me, and then you tie them all to this railing."
I could see Diana hesitated, she was probably thinking if she really going to kill someone. She didn't know if she could do it and… I don't have time for this. I know as a normal person who hasn't killed before, and making her… blah-blah-blah…
'The apocalypse waits for no one' I pointed a handgun -mine- directly at her, before anymore naïve thoughts or morals clouded her reasoning. "You only have this one chance; if you miss it and it won't come again. So DON'T test me."
I wasn't joking around and she knew it; so Diana had no choice but to follow my instructions. Tying Abhay and his group, she found the handgun on Abhay- just to be safe I kept my handgun pointed at Diana's head. "Now take out the gun magazine and then throw it here."
Obviously Diana's hesitance still hadn't cleared, because rather than ask me how to do that she asked. "How do I know you won't suddenly kill me after this?"
I just laughed her off. "My precautions are necessary but think and tell me, if I wanted you dead you wouldn't be asking right now. Moreover do you have any other options now? I don't think I need to point out that, in such extreme weather you wasn't last long without my help."
After getting that into her head, Diana removed the magazine according to my instruction; then threw the handgun to me.
I took the time to inspect it carefully; I found that it was the same as mine. I had used this exact kind once before.
Then I went back to the room; found a water pipe gave on end to Diana connected the other to a tap, then opened the valve. Water rushed out spraying directly at Abhay and his gang; it was quite the sight seeing these people about to become ice sculptures- it was utterly cruel till you remembered what they had for lunch.
Abhay who was out cold was the first one to be shocked awake; then a few other underlings next to him. They struggled, screamed and tried to escape but I made sure their hands and feet were bound- At this point I decided I would hold the hose as its more fun to do so.
Abhay wasn't as stupid as he looked; he realized that he had been drugged and knew exactly who was responsible. He twisted his head to look at me. "Ash, how dare you. You despicable son of a…"
I shut the valve off and chimed. "Oh so I'm the despicable one? Fine then, but at least I won't be dead; now it's to send you guys on your way~"
I open the valve, pointed the hose and the last cold shower of their lives was resumed. Given in such extreme cold weather things froze quickly, in a few minutes they were already been frozen solid.
Before they died I gave them a warm smile, and off to hell they went. Now with them dead I simply turn the tap off and called out. "Diana, you should come out now."
Diana who had been hiding in the corner and peeking since I took the hose nervously came to my side. "Congrats you've passed the test."
I could see her visibly relieved as she collapsed onto her knees, she could finally survive. I was proud of her; though she hadn't really adopted the apocalypse survival mindset I was hoping for, at least she was no so softhearted she wouldn't kill if her life was on the line.
Since under my guidance Diana had successfully proven her value, I naturally kept my word. I told her to pack whatever she felt was necessary and bring it my house.
A little later Diana cautiously arrived at my front door with a few things. I kept an eye on everything from the Surveillance- I could trust she wouldn't try anything foolish, but not that others wouldn't. I didn't see anyone follow her and that meant she didn't dare to be careless. 'Good job'
Diana had been fidgeting at the door when she heard my voice which startled her. "It's not locked, you can come in."
She nervously pushed open the door, and when she entered I locked the door. The first thing that Diana felt was a long lost sense of warmth against her body, which she found incredible.
While she had a general idea of how comfortable I was, knowing and experiencing it were two different things. She didn't expect it to be this good; with from various type amenities, loads of food, and even a heating system. Compared to the freezing hell outside this was a paradise.
But just as she was about to lose herself in this comfort, and take a lie down on the couch my voice brought her back to her senses. "Before you sit-down, you need to do one last thing. Since you have decided to stay with me now I need to check what you brought with you. Open the bag and take everything out slowly."
She didn't make things difficult for herself; the contents of her luggage were either clothing or things from the medical kit. After confiscating all the drugs, anesthetic, syringes and anything else I found risky, I told her "Clothes… take them off."
Diana knew what I meant but she still asked "Can I…", but I cut her off "Nope, you do it here, and yes I will be watching. I don't want to have to frisk you so let's not waste time… and not all of it."
So she ended up taking off her clothes in front of me …did I admire her figure? Yes! But in my defense I've been a virgin for two lives, and you would have done worse.
But I'm still a gentleman, so after checking and making sure she hadn't hidden any drugs in her clothing I handed her a bath towel. "You can take a shower in the bathroom; it's on your right by the way."
I pinched my nose, and she subconsciously defended herself. "Hey, not everyone lives as well as you."
Soon I could hear the sound of the shower; now that I was alone I put everything I had confiscated in the space.
Few minutes later I was on the couch binge watching my movie collection, when Diana came in wearing pajamas. Her hair was still damp; flowing down her back and there was a certain beauty about it.
I then pointed at the hairdryer on the sofa next to me, so she sat down picked it up and began blow drying her hair.
I decided to pause the movie and take a moment to enjoy the view; once I was satisfied it was time to lay down the ground rules. "Listen closely. I didn't let you live here just because you're pretty, but because you're of some value. Understand that my allowing you to live in my home wasn't out of the goodness of my heart. So it's best not to have any ill intentions; there's surveillance all over this house. If I find you plotting against me, I have no qualms about killing you."
Then I pointed out a room down a corridor "That'll be your room; if you don't like it there are others. Without my permission you're not allowed to leave, else whatever happens to you out there is on you alone; don't expect a rescue."
Diana replied "Understood"; she was very clear about the consequences of being thrown out. With the ground rules established I continued "Diana you're a smart person so I expect you to follow the rules; as proof I won't treat you unfairly…"
I stood up to poor myself a glass of beer- and think up some bullshit. "I'll reveal my biggest secret to you. I'm sure everyone has basic knowledge of what caused the apocalypse. It was a nuclear explosion, which not only triggered a nuclear winter, it also kick-started an ice age. But what people don't know is that…"
I pulled a loaf of bread from the space mid-sentence for dramatic effect "… I had a vision of this apocalypse. I then awakened powers in advance; and what I awakened was an alternate space. I can store anything none living in it with no limits. What do you think?"
Diana was really surprised, but then she understood why was living such a comfortable life. I must have stored a lot of supplies in advance then…
I interrupted her train of thought. "Diana you're a smart woman; by following me can you enjoy all my supplies whether its food to eat, hot water baths… everything. However if I die, the supplies in the space will disappear with me. So you can only survive if I survive."
Seeing her nod in understanding I knew I was making progress. 'Now to steer things in 'that' direction…'
I told her, "Furthermore, while I fully trust you. It would make sense that you need to exchange labor for these benefits; so from now on you'll be responsible for all the chores."
She was about to agree when I interrupted her. "But I don't really need that, I can do that myself, so what else can you offer me?"
Her cheeks flushed and I wore a grin. She knew exactly what I was talking about, and I was definitely not taking no for an answer- not that she was against it either.
…
The next day I woke up and looked at Diana sleeping soundly beside me; I held mixed feelings 'Having a woman around in the apocalypse is quite nice; If I were alone to long, I would probably have a mental breakdown.'
Later that morning I knocked on the door waking Diana up for breakfast. "Sleepy head wake up."
Diana woke up feeling refreshed. This was the best night of sleep she'd had since the apocalypse- well when she actually went to sleep that is. She got dressed and came to the dining room to find the table covered with all sorts of food.
I smiled at her. "What are you waiting for hurry up and eat."
She didn't need to be told twice, picking up a sandwich and wolfing it down. Looking up to see my amused expression, she realized she was eating like a ravenous beast and slowed down.
After she had her fill I tossed her a thermal coat then gestured for her to come with me which left her puzzled. "What are we going to do?"
I replied. "To complete yesterday's unfinished business of course. The pile of trash we left there yesterday, even if they're frozen sculptures now they're still disgusting to look at. I mainly want to set an example with them."
I pulled out my phone and took some selfies and pictures; then I handed Diana a bat, set up my phone and started recording. Then I proceeded to smash the corpses on camera, gesturing for Diana to come join me.
…
After I posted the video in the group they were ecstatic; some even coming to see for themselves. Considering how much of a nuisance Abhay had been for a long time and the large amount of owners who died at his hands. Seeing Abhay had met his end, they were naturally overjoyed- This doesn't include those lamenting on missing the bounty.
But before they could get too happy about the passing of the tyrant, I decided to burst their bubble. "From now on this community will be under my rule, those who have a problem with that will share Abhay's fate"
The result was typical; they all started to flatter me on the group. But after seeing the message, Khushi was surprisingly the first to call me.
I was genuinely surprised to get her call; I didn't expect this to still be alive. I picked up the phone and the first thing I heard was Khushi half-crying; begging pitifully. "Ashok, if brother A-Abhay is dead, c-can l come to your house now. I don't allow you to be with that woman, you belong only to me r-right?"
My reply was… "Oh, so you're not dead? I thought were dead."
Khushi seemed to have misunderstood, what I meant by that. "I get it now you thought I was dead; that's why you're with that woman right?"
She cut me off before I could clarify anything "Don't worry I'm coming to live with you now. I'll just…"
Khushi clearly still clung to her delusions of the sweet life, but neither her best friend nor rose were happy about this. You see they firmly believed their miserable lives were all because of Khushi; they would naturally not allow Khushi to have a Cinderella love story ending at any cost.
Soon the only thing that could be heard was the sound of the three women fighting with each other.
But what was most surprising was Diana, who seemed to have felt a sense of crisis. Possibly even afraid that I would be seduced and her 'value' and in turn her monopoly and benefits, would fall.
I guess the one gaining the most from this was me; with Abhay dead I wasn't really sure what to do anymore- I guess my main sense of purpose was gone. But it seems I still have one last thing to do. 'Khushi in my last life you made my life hell; this time it's your turn to experience hell.
End of Volume 001