Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 55: Fourtress Four.

Ariel Quinn knew what guilt looked like. He had seen Earl get into trouble so many times that he knew Earl’s guilty face was their father’s guilty face.

Looking at his father and stepmother, the lawyer in him arose and he had just one question. "What have you two done?"

Hades and Sunshine exchanged puzzled glances. The helicopter had just dropped them off twenty minutes ago. All they had done between then and now was serve themselves lunch and sit down. They had also been whispering and giggling about their latest adventure but there was no way Ariel knew that.

"We just got some food from the kitchen." Hades answered with uncertainty. "What troubles you son?"

Ariel folded his arms on his chest and leaned in. "Dad, you have forgotten that I can tell when you are lying. You two are acting as thick as thieves."

Sunshine gasped. "How did you know?"

Ariel could not actually believe it. "You really stole something." His small hands fell to the sides as he processed the shock.

"Now Ariel..." Hades started.

"Have you lost your minds?" Ariel slapped the table. "Quinn’s don’t steal, we negotiate. For everything in the world, there is a selling price or something equal in value. Tell me what you stole so that I can know what kind of legal ramifications you are facing."

"Ramifications." Sunshine whispered to Hades.

Hades leaned towards her and whispered in response, "He likes to use big grammar, it is why he own three big dictionaries. When I was helping them pack their suitcases, he asked me how many days of school I expected him to skip. When I said unknown, I think he had a stroke..."

"I can hear you." Ariel hissed at them. "And disregard my grammar for it has no bearing here."

"Oh my God, we just stole a few things from Jon Kingsley." Sunshine lifted her hands in surrender and gave them up.

Ariel looked at his father and he shook his head. The look in his eyes was pure disappointment. It was as if father and son had switched places. "You couldn’t help yourself, could you?"

Ariel had overheard his father curse Jon Kingsley many times on the phone.

The problem between them was simple: Money. Jon had a lot of it, inherited from his parents and grandparents. Hades had worked for his, but he would never reach the Kingsley kind of wealth unless he worked for at least eighty to one hundred more years. And he had to make twice the money the Kingsley’s were making annually.

Jon was jealous of Hades’s business skills, so he used money to show Hades that they would never be equal. They competed in almost everything.

So, having a clue about this, Ariel was not too shocked by what his father had done.

"Are you proud of yourselves?" Ariel asked them in a tired voice.

Sunshine scratched the back of her neck. The kid really had a way of making one feel ashamed.

Hades lowered his head, kept his eyes on his food and he covered half of his face with a single hand. He would not be shamed into returning what he had stolen from Jon.

"Covering yourself with one hand does not make you invisible." Ariel pointed out.

Sunshine laughed softly, whispering like she was afraid to be heard by Ariel.

Ariel sighed again. "Alright, if we are going into an apocalypse, there will be no time for you to be persecuted for your crimes. Whatever comes, we can afford to pay the best lawyers to defend you.

When you have finished your lunch, I would like us to discuss the allocation of supplies. This place is chaos and some of my aunts, cousins, nephews, nieces and other individuals that were invited seem not to understand the quagmire that we will soon be facing. They are eating lavishly like kings at a buffet."

He slapped his notebook on the table. "On every trip that we have taken here, I personally counted the supplies in the private kitchens. Most of those things have already been devoured. The snacks that were arranged in the kitchen cabinets on the 30th floor are almost gone."

He turned the page. "Since we arrived, Uncle Warren has eaten three bowls of porridge, two servings of instant noodles, four slices of bread, half of a 4-inch cake, a glass of wine and two slices of cheese. Grandma Rori has eaten..."

Sunshine yawned.

Ariel paused and flashed her a questioning look. Then, he cleared his throat and closed the notebook. "Since stepmom is tired, we can continue after you both take a rest." He turned and left.

The couple released their breath which they had been holding in. Sunshine was impressed but she found Ariel too intense for his age.

Hades wondered what position to assign his son. Why hire an accountant when they had Ariel?

"I bet he was counting something in the womb." Sunshine joked.

Hades laughed and countered her, "Mmm, I think he was reading."

After eating, Hades went to start putting the base and his relatives to order. Sunshine went into the space to fix the many robot legs which were waiting.

***

The following days flew past quickly, eager to meet the weekend. The rain did not stop, bringing the calamity of the meteorite showers closer and closer. Panic worldwide continued to take root. The prices of food and other things climbed higher and higher. Despite government efforts to control it, nothing worked.

Some things went unnoticed during that time, like Janet Kailani who had been swallowed by the tsunami on ocean Liora walking out of the water and stepping onto a beach in Sephonia city.

She was completely unharmed but her formerly dark eyes were now blue green.

During this time, Pastor Salem moved his group to the Rainhounds mountain. After returning from the interrogation, he had physically displayed his displeasure in Moon for hiding things from him.

He now had her under scrutiny 24hrs a day. She was no longer his partner but his prisoner. Moon was unhappy and she had taken to feeding him half-truths. In the deception, she was weaving an escape path.

****

The Westbrook Mountain base was coming together nicely. The builders had left the day before, some had stayed on, with Hades and Sunshine’s approval. Their families had flown or driven in and settled in the area around the third wall.

Hades had decided to let them stay on because there was still more building to do. After the acid rain, perhaps they could expand the base. In case of damage to the houses or walls, they would also need skilled builders around.

The bases had been named Fortress Four, two F’s for short. The name puzzled those that heard it because they had no idea where fortresses one through three were.

At every wall, there was large steel gate guarded by private bodyguards in holding guns, upper chests covered in bullet proof vests and walkies-talkies around their belts. Entry of unknown vehicles and individuals was only granted after confirmation from the security department behind the first or inner wall.

Aside from housing, the base had been divided into other sectors. There was an engineering sector where mechanics and inventors worked. It was Sunshine’s favorite place.

A sustenance sector was well established. A place where crops were grown and animals were reared. It was bigger than the engineering sector.

They had a library where physical books and digital files were kept. Sunshine had told Hades that books were rare in the apocalypse and a lot of past knowledge died. He was on a mission to save as many as he could.

They had a fully equipped medbay, which served as a hospital. It was not utilized much but the medical officers on the base still showed up and discussed medical knowledge. They were also seen teaching the small population on the base about first aid. Earl was usually seen in their company, and he was becoming suspiciously good at offering first aid.

A recreation sector was a must. It was divided into a movie theater, an area for games and sports and a bar.

Lastly, there was the vault. It was the restricted area that only few knew about, and it required an iris scan, a password and a special ID to access. Only two people were seen going inside. One was Sunshine and the other was Hades.

The fortress had come together perfectly and just in time. There was just one day left for the meteors to fall and two days to acid rain.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr(e)𝒆novelkiss