Aiden cleared his throat, trying to piece things together. Whether it was his own deduction or what he heard.
He wanted to give a straight account.
"I wanted to know why she was taking so long after we came in. There is a camera there, so I was able to find out. I realize she was talking to her father. According to what I pieced together from what she said, he isn't out for business. He is out collecting things for doomsday."
"I am not sure how she convinced him, but I am sure he believes her."
Ember raised an eyebrow, pursed her lips as if to say, 'see, her dad believed her'.
"Don't give me that look. Although I haven't been in contact with him for too long, I know he isn't the kind of person to believe something like that without proof."
Ember didn't say anything. Raising her hands in surrender.
Aiden continued, "They were talking about what they needed to prepare for the cold period. There is also something about a solar flare and mutant animals. What you told me seems simpler than what she saw or experienced."
"If I hadn't heard her talking to her father, I would still be very skeptical. But for someone like him to start preparing. It means something. Especially since he didn't have anyone deal with it for him. Instead, he decided to go on his own. It shows they don't just want to survive. They want to build something bigger."
"So you believed that it's comin because of a conversation you overheard and not because of what I told you."
It didn't feel good hearing it. Although he believed it now, the fact that she wasn't the one to make him believe it left a sour taste in her mouth.
"We agreed to wait until the volcano, remember. Don't look at me like that. It's like going to another doctor to get a second opinion." He pulled her into a hug on the back seat.
"I'm sorry for not believing you. It won't happen again. Even if you tell me the sky is purple, I'll believe it next time. Don't be upset. Okay."
Aiden didn't want her to be angry at him. He tried giving her small kisses on her cheek. He gave her puppy dog eyes. He pouted. He started tickling her.
Before long, Ember was no longer angry and could laugh with Aiden. But she still flicked him on the forehead as a way to vent.
"I'll ignore it this time. But we left her in the house. Are you sure she won't cause trouble?"
"It's fine. Someone's keeping an eye on her. Plus, there are cameras all over the place. Anything she does, we'll know."
Ember looked outside. They should have reached the shopping mall by now, but they hadn't stopped. If not for the vast expanse of trees, Ember wouldn't have even noticed they weren't in the city anymore.
She was so caught up in listening to Aiden and being angry with him that she didn't notice she wasn't going to the mall.
"Where are we going?" Ember looked at Aiden and asked.
"Somewhere we can get the things on your list."
Ember's brows furrowed. As far as she could see, there were only trees. Even the road was no longer asphalt. They were now on a paved dirt road.
There was another half an hour drive before Ember saw a warehouse. There were ten large warehouses. Ember turned to Aiden, waiting for him to explain what they were doing here.
"Let's go," he said as soon as the car stopped.
They both got out and walked towards one of the warehouses. Neither of them talked. Aiden held her hand, squeezing slightly to reassure her that everything was fine.
"I had these filled when you gave me this list. It doesn't have everything, but it does have some of the things you wanted, like medicine and non-perishables. Although the order looks large, no one would question it. For a company our size, this may as well be a gift for the employees."
They approached the first warehouse and opened it.
Inside, there were non-perishables on one side and gallons of water on the other.
"I didn't want to put everything in the same warehouse, in case something happened. So most of them are a mixture of different things."
Ember's hands itched to take them into the system space. She knew she could buy things from the system, but she didn't want to do it. If she were going to make a base, she would have them experience what it meant to go out looking for food.
She herself didn't experience it. However, she knew the comforts that the space had to offer. She didn't want there to be a day when she might need to go outside the base and end up in a situation of being ignorant.
Aiden watched her struggle with something. He saw her being conflicted and couldn't help asking, "What's wrong?"
"I-,"Ember paused not sure what to say.
[Just tell him.]
Can I tell him?
[Yeah. It's not like he can do anything about it. Weren't you both kissy kissy and trusting a while ago? Just tell him.]
Taking a deep breath, Ember responded to Aiden, "If I want to put these somewhere else, do you mind? It's definitely safer than this place."
"No," he shook his head. "I bought them because of what you said. Even if I didn't believe it at the time, you would be the one to benefit. If you think you have a safer place, then you can put them anywhere you want."
Ember grinned when he gave her the go-ahead.
She waved her hand, and all the things in the warehouse disappeared.
She looked at the space. There was only a small section used after taking the things from the warehouse.
This is what 2000 LE gave her. If she used the space the system had before, she wouldn't be able to take everything in. Now, she should be able to take pretty much anything she needed.
She had 50,000 after buying the LE converter for the system and the new space.
She thought it was worth it. The system scanning range is wider; it can even monitor people from a distance. Not just when they are close by.
The space she has now can keep things fresh. Not only can she put in non-perishables, but she can also put her favourite foods. If she eats them sparingly, she might be able to have them for years to come.
While Ember was thinking about what to eat, Aiden was so shocked he couldn't speak. His lips pressed tightly against each other. His body turned rigid. He tried taking deep breaths.
His leg was actually shaking.
He didn't want Ember to know how frightened he was. So he mostly kept rigid. Lucky for him, he recovered quickly from his shock. And Ember was still thinking about what to eat.
"Em, what the hell just happened?"
"Eh?"
She looked at him, pointing around the room. Wiggling her fingers and grinning, she said, "I have magic."
Her attitude made Aiden breathe a small sigh of relief. He scoffed lightly. Since she was in the mood to make jokes, that meant she wasn't in danger.
"I'm serious," he said, using his knuckle to rap on her forehead.
Ember hissed, rubbing her forehead. "It's something I can do. I won't tell you everything now. Just start stockpiling. As much as you can. Don't worry about a place to stay. I have a place."
Ember patted her chest. Aiden couldn't help reaching out to pinch her breast.
"I'll listen to you. Just make sure to tell me if there is anything dangerous. If you think your 'magic' is affecting you, let me know asap."
Ember nodded, indicating she understood.
Then they walked around collecting the rest of the things from the warehouses.
In addition to water and non-perishables, there were medicines, emergency kits, bedding, clothing, camping gear, walkie-talkies, and ladies' hygiene supplies, among other things.
When she saw the hygiene supplies, she was a little surprised. She didn't think Aiden would remember.
She also saw baby things.
She side-eyed Aiden, who didn't look the least bit apologetic. Only stating that if they don't use them, other people could use them.
It took a while to get to all the warehouses. Although they were visible, they weren't really close to each other.
And between playing around and collecting, they spent more than 3 hours here.
It took another 2 hours to get back home because they were caught in traffic.
When they got home, Valentina was nowhere to be seen.
Ember couldn't be bothered to care.
She went straight to her room to get a quick nap.