In the End of the World, I will Hold My Child and Watch You Die

I gave birth to a pair of twins, but I wasn't happy at all.

The reason was that the couple downstairs complained every day that we were too noisy.

They even said that because of my children, she became mentally weak, launched a cyberbully, and forced me and my children to live in the underground garage.

I didn't expect the high temperature apocalypse to quietly come.

I spent my days happily in the basement cold storage with my two children, but I heard the couple's cry for help.

"My wife can't take it anymore, can you let us in to cool down?"

I shook my head.

"No, I will disturb you with my children."

——

Bang bang bang.

The urgent knocking scared my daughter Bella and made her drop the toy in her hand.

I ran out of the kitchen, wiped off the water stains on my hands, tidied up my messy hair, took a deep breath, and then opened the door.

The couple at the door has been waiting impatiently.

As soon as they saw me open the door, they started scolding me.

"Is it not over yet? What a loud noise, you shameless thing."

The man hammered the door frame next to him loudly.

I was afraid of scaring the children, so I quickly apologized.

"Sorry, I was cooking and there might be some noise, but it's just normal daily noise. Please bear with it."

The woman glanced up and down at me, who was wearing an apron, and clicked her tongue before turning her head away.

The man stepped over me and looked inside the house.

The house was covered with thick foam mats, especially in the area where the two children played, there was an additional layer of carpet.

His gaze finally settled on the toy ball that had just fallen to the ground, and he finally spoke with satisfaction.

"There will always be misbehaving children if there are misbehaving parents. They are actually playing with balls at home."

"Why don't you just do parkour at home?"

The intimidating man scared Bella so much that she burst into tears.

The silent older brother Matthew quickly covered Bella's mouth and took her into the bedroom.

Seeing this, I got angry and explained in an unfriendly tone.

"The plastic ball was knocked off just now when you knocked on the door, and it was covered with a thick carpet."

"You should have some limits when you're looking for trouble."

Unexpectedly, the woman who had been silent all along couldn't take it anymore and pointed at me with her long finger.

"Are you trying to deceive us?"

"Just now you said you were cooking, and now you know when your daughter's ball fell?"

"Don't make excuses here. What nonsense! If you can't teach your child well, let me help you. I think this naughty child deserves a spanking."

The woman spat on the ground discontentedly and never turned to look at me from beginning to end.

I habitually looked back and realized that the two children had already returned to the bedroom.

Then I turned around and directly fought back in anger.

"Watch your language. You're just a troublemaker who uses words randomly after learning them, aren't you?"

"You can vent your anger on me, but don't curse at my babies all the time!"

The couple was also unwilling to compromise.

"Well, we're not allowed to criticize cheeky little tyke? You, as their parents, have given birth to such trouble, and you deserve to be scolded to death!"

The constant verbal abuse between the couple drove me almost insane, and I grabbed the kitchen knife from the cutting board and started chopping it.

"You can try insulting my child again!"

The woman was scared by me and froze, but the man was not afraid and continued to shout.

"Come on, come on, cut here," he pointed to his neck and stretched it out in front of me.

"If you dare, kill me, otherwise I will call the police and catch you!"

I was just pretending. The knife just now made my hand numb.

But I still pretended to be calm.

"Then you can just call the police!"

After saying that, I slammed the door heavily and didn't want to pay attention to the two of them anymore.

I didn't expect the couple to really call the police.

This summer was unusually hot.

Although the sun has already set, the temperature has not dropped for a long time.

Bella sobbed, wondering why she had to be trapped in bed when it was only 6 o'clock in the morning.

I felt sorry for her and wondered if I should brave the heat and take them downstairs to play.

The sound of the police knocking on the door rang out.

There was also a couple standing with their hands on their hips, looking lofty.

"Officer, it's her. She brought her unruly child to make noise all th day and we can't sleep because of the noise."

"My wife has insomnia and it could be fatal if she can't sleep!"

"Today we came here with good intentions to communicate, but this woman wanted to stab me with a knife. Please help us!"

The woman sat on the ground and started crying.

"Oh, I can't take it anymore! I can't sleep a full night's sleep! I can't take it anymore!"

The police were getting a headache from the crying and gestured for them to stop. Then they turned to me with a serious expression and asked about the situation.

I didn't say much, and asked the police to come in and look around inside and outside the house.

The whole house was wrapped tightly with carpets and mats, and the police couldn't even hear the sound of footsteps in their leather shoes.

After coming out, the couple still didn't give up and complained that my two children cry and scream every day, disturbing the peace.

I couldn't bear it anymore and spoke up.

"So you started making up stories just because my children's running and jumping didn't work?"

After saying that, I felt a tingle in my nose.

The two children were already 3 years old. Not only did they live carefully every day, but even when Bella cried, Matthew's first reaction was to ask me to close the window.

Thinking of Matthew's being overly sensible, my heart ached.

"You say it's nonsense, but it seems like it's not you causing the trouble!"

The woman sat on the ground, crossed her legs, and her voice was so sharp that the whole building could hear it.

"Have you ever said that your child has never cried?"

"Especially that little bitch, every time I come, I have to shout a few words"

"Alright, stop making a scene here"

The police finally couldn't stand it anymore and stopped the woman's words.

First, he kindly told me that he didn't see any problem, and that it's inevitable to have noise in life. Our family was already doing well.

Then he turned to the couple and told them not to make trouble here. Nowadays, many sounds in the buildings can be transmitted through the walls, not necessarily from our house.

The couple immediately became unhappy when they saw the police speaking for me.

"No, officer, I called the police. Why are you speaking for her?"

"Besides, we didn't lie. Her family does have two children. Why is it not her family?"

"If you are still not satisfied, then come with me to the police station and talk slowly"

The woman continued to make trouble, and the police were also troubled. Knowing that they couldn't be reasoned with, they warned impatiently.

As soon as the couple heard that they were going to the police station, they immediately stopped and waved their hands, saying it's not necessary.

Only then did the police nod and look at the few of us before leaving.

I thought that after the police came, I would have a peaceful time.

Unexpectedly, it was only a matter of time before the owners' group bombarded with messages while I was trying to calm the two children to sleep.

The couple directly posted the medical records in the group.

They also posted the video of me holding a kitchen knife and the police coming to negotiate in the owners' group.

[To all the people in the help group, I can honestly say that I have never done anything wrong in my life, but I have encountered such bad neighbors]

[My wife has always been in poor health, and we don't have enough money to sell the house and buy another one]

[The children of this family run, jump, and scream upstairs every day. My wife hasn't had a good night's sleep for three days]

As soon as a few words came out, many homeowners immediately expressed their anger, saying that people like me were simply lowering the property prices in the community.

Many people even came forward to expose our house number and wanted to kick me and my two children out of the community.

The couple just answered the roll call, pretending to leave me some privacy. However, privately, they quietly changed their remarks to buildingunitdoor number.

I couldn't stand it anymore and retorted.

[You should have some reason when you say that my child makes noise. I have shown you that we have thick carpets at home, but you just don't believe it]

Unexpectedly, instead of supporting me, this statement became an outlet for the people in the homeowners' group. Everyone has already prejudged me as a bad person.

They simply didn't believe a single word I said.

[Oh, the person involved can't remain calm]

[How about taking a video to show how thick the carpet is?]

[If they didn't make any noise, why would they come to you?]

[Agree, at least the couple's cases have been posted, she just made up the carpet out of thin air, lmao]

[Please stop talking, what if the child grows up to be a prisoner and comes to revenge us, what should we do at that time?]

I was trembling with the increasingly outrageous words, so I immediately found the video I had taken before, which showed that the whole house was covered with carpets, and sent it to the group.

I didn't expect the video to show a red exclamation mark directly.

I was kicked out of the group.

Even if I was angry, I couldn't reach the person on the other side of the internet, so I could only comfort myself by saying that out of sight, out of mind.

I didn't expect that the next morning, when I was about to go out to buy groceries, the door couldn't be opened.

While I was twisting the doorknob and pushing hard, there was a tearing sound, and a strong stench hit me.

It turned out that the door was sprayed with a thick layer of red paint by someone, and a lot of unknown solid and liquid mixture was poured on it.

I had no choice but to call the property management to send someone to clean it up, and while there was no one at the door, I quickly sent the two children to kindergarten.

It's only June, but the high temperature of nearly 40 degrees made me feel dizzy just buying groceries.

Just as I was about to go home to avoid the heat, the kindergarten teacher called. It turned out that the two children had just arrived and started fighting with the other children in the kindergarten.

The teacher hinted on the phone that maybe the two children should rest at home for a few days.

I didn't understand at first, until Bella ran towards me, tears streaming down her face.

"Mom, they all said that Matthew and I are naughty kids and they won't play with us anymore."

The teacher smiled awkwardly and handed me the phone to let me see.

So last night, a nosy neighbor posted the chat records of the homeowners' group online, immediately attracting a lot of criticism.

In less than two hours, photos of me and the two children's daily life were exposed.

"Yvonne, I know you're not like that, but in the end, it's Matthew and Bella who are hurt the most by public opinion. Let's go back and rest for a few days and wait for the storm to pass."

I nodded, thanked the teacher, and took the two children home.

As soon as I entered the house, the booming disco music came from the bedroom.

The two children covered their ears in pain and squatted down.

"Mom, my heart feels uncomfortable."

I asked them to go outside first, closed the door, and then entered the house to find where was the sound from.

Until then, in the center of the bedroom, the music coming from the floor made me tremble as well.

It's that couple again.

When I had a splitting headache, I suddenly thought of the underground garage downstairs.

At that time, there happened to be an independent garage in the northwest corner of this community that the developer originally planned to use for himself.

But due to a funding interruption, it was mortgaged to the construction team as part of the project payment.

When my husband, Walter Young, heard about it, he secretly bought it from the construction team at a high price and transformed it into his usual workspace and warehouse.

Thinking that this room couldn't accommodate anyone, I quickly grabbed some things and went out to tell the two children.

"Hey kids, Mom will take you to a fun place."

Even though the sun had already set, the outdoor temperature was still rising.

Just by going downstairs, the three of us were already covered in sweat.

Matthew complained to me uncomfortably, pulling at his collar.

"Mom, it's hot."

I tucked a cool quilt under my armpit and used my free hand to touch him.

"It's okay, it'll be better once we get there. The garage is cool."

The reason Walter chose this garage in the first place was not only because it had two parking spaces and a small warehouse on the negative second floor, but also because it had an independent exit in the northwest corner of the community.

Therefore, in order to ensure the safety of the goods, when the warehouse was converted into a cold storage, the workers also built a wall directly behind the rolling shutter door leading to the public garage.

From the public underground garage, it looked like a normal rolling shutter door, but in fact, only the independent exit outside could be used to enter and exit.

As I opened the garage door, a gust of cool wind rushed in.

The children happily ran in, touching the desk and chair of Walter, and then touching the folding single bed in the corner.

Matthew ran directly to the row of shelves against the wall, holding a package and trying to read the words on it.

I looked at the two energetic children and felt very happy. I quickly took out and arranged some items that I brought temporarily.

A few sets of clothes for changing, two summer quilts, a versatile frying pan, and an induction cooker.

As I organized everything, I suddenly realized something serious.

I originally thought that the cold storage on the negative second floor had boxes of rice, flour, oil, and frozen fruits and vegetables, as well as a lot of instant food.

But I completely overlooked the electricity.

In order to save money, the electricity for the entire cold storage relied on several solar panels on the balcony of the house.

But the amount of calculation at that time was only enough to support the normal operation of the cold storage and turn on one more light.

Thinking of this, I immediately ran to the power meter to check.

Unexpectedly, after several days of scorching sun, the power was actually much more than originally estimated.

Feeling relieved, I immediately set up the induction cooker and took a bucket of water from the shelf to cook three bowls of plain noodles for the two children and myself.

Although the onions were frozen products in the cold storage, they tasted incredibly delicious when combined with sesame oil.

After finishing the meal, I coax them to sleep.

With nothing else to do, I picked up the account book on the table and prepared to help Walter with inventory.

Over the years, we have accumulated a lot of capital. Walter has become a small supermarket supplier by using the channels he has run as a salesperson.

He went out to purchase this month, and the only refrigerated truck at home was also taken out, leaving a large space for me to tidy up.

I started organizing from the ordinary shelves on the negative first floor.

Because it contracted the supply of mineral water for a nearby convenience store, the 4L large barrels of mineral water occupied two entire shelves, with dozens of barrels neatly arranged.

The shelves next to it were also filled with about twenty to thirty boxes of 500ml small bottles of mineral water.

There were another 10 boxes of bread, with two bags in each box, totaling 100kg; 5 boxes of oil, with 4 cans in each box, totaling 100L; over 20 bags of flour, totaling 40kg.

And 3 boxes of sugar and salt, with 60 bags in each box.

And there were also several boxes of various toiletries such as shower gel, shampoo, and soap, with different quantities.

2 boxes each of tissues, cling film, garbage bags, and towels.

And dozens of boxes of nonperishable foods such as instant noodles, instant hot pot, ham sausages, and milk.

After finishing the inventory on the first floor, I stretched and yawned, only to find that it had only been 2 hours and the child was still not awake, so I walked to the corner and lifted a thick cover.

Well, the entrance to the basement cold storage was in the garage, accessed through a thick isolation door.

I climbed down the stairs, and the piercing cold made me regret why I didn't wear more cloth to come down.

The inside of the cold storage was only half the size, allowing one person to pass between the shelves.

Several layers inside are filled with various frozen vegetables, fruits, and seafood from top to bottom.

The next two layers were some frozen fast food that can be heated and eaten.

While taking inventory, I suddenly saw the fast food pizza that the children have been wanting to eat for a long time.

Thinking that they have been through a lot recently, I planned to heat up the pizza in the microwave to satisfy their cravings when I go back tomorrow.

Early the next morning, thinking about the custard bread in the cold storage, I prepared to go back for a visit before 6 o'clock.

Unexpectedly, as soon as I went out, the scorching sun forced me to turn back.

When I returned, I saw that my arm, which was the first to reach out, was sunburned in just a few seconds.

Not knowing what happened, I quickly opened my phone to check today's temperature.

The top of the screen popped up with a hot search reminder.

[Warning! Extreme high temperatures are currently occurring nationwide. Citizens are advised to stay at home and avoid going out as much as possible.]

Click in, the social media was already buzzing with complaints about this sudden abnormal heatwave.

Many people have directly shared their experiences of getting sunburned despite being fully covered.

I kept scrolling down and came across a post complaining about our neighborhood.

[There has been a sudden power outage in Sierra Vista Community. How are we supposed to survive in this scorching weather?]