The three of them were squeezed onto the same couch.
Normally, they wouldn't sit like this.
But that day, no one cared.
Boran was spread out on the edge of the couch, Riven had pulled his knees in, and Karel sat silently between them.
Boran suddenly laughed.
"Damn," he said,
"people are probably watching a match at home right now."
Riven smirked slightly.
"And we're here preparing for the end of the world."
Karel didn't speak.
Boran turned to him.
"Dude, why are you so quiet?"
"Normally at this point you'd say something stupid."
Karel shrugged.
"I'm tired."
It was a lie.
But no one noticed.
Riven stood up and walked into the kitchen.
"Alright," he said seriously.
"Jokes aside… if this is real—"
"It's real," Karel said in a firm voice.
Riven nodded.
"—we need money."
Boran raised an eyebrow.
"How much money?"
Karel looked at the window.
"A lot."
Silence fell.
Riven spoke:
"Food, okay."
"Water, okay."
"Medicine, okay."
Then he paused.
"Electricity?"
Karel turned his head.
"There won't be electricity."
Boran jumped in immediately.
"So what, are we gonna live in a cave?"
Karel continued calmly:
"Electricity won't come from the grid."
"We'll produce it ourselves."
Riven's expression changed.
"Generators?"
"Generators," Karel said.
"More than one."
"Solar panels."
"Industrial batteries."
"Inverters."
"Fuel tanks."
Boran burst out laughing.
"Man, we're not building a village house."
"We're founding a mini state."
Karel smiled for the first time.
"Long-term," he said.
"For three people."
"Comfortable."
"Enough to last multiple lifetimes."
Riven took a deep breath.
"Alright," he said.
"The cost of this is heavy."
Boran leaned back on the couch.
"Banks."
Karel nodded.
"Banks."
"And everyone who lends money."
Riven frowned.
"What will we say?"
Karel was clear:
"Big investment."
"Foreign connections."
"Repayment in five months."
"With interest."
Boran grinned.
"Will there even be a world left to pay in five months?"
No one answered.
⸻
The first week passed quietly.
Then the city started talking.
"Unexplained power outages in Istanbul."
"Multiple car cameras malfunctioning at the same time."
Boran laughed while looking at his phone.
"Man," he said,
"the apocalypse is literally dropping a teaser."
Karel didn't respond.
At that moment, he saw an expensive car parked in Etiler.
Its door was open.
No one was around.
The car… disappeared.
Three streets away, it appeared in an abandoned parking lot.
Karel walked up and opened the door.
The key was inside.
"I won't sell it," he thought.
"If necessary, I'll use it."
⸻
Banks were visited one by one.
Suits.
Clear sentences.
Cold faces.
"Five months."
"With interest."
Money flowed.
Millions.
Then markets.
Warehouses.
Wholesalers.
Canned food.
Frozen meat.
Water.
Energy bars.
Medicine.
And power systems.
Silent generators.
Fuel canisters.
Solar panels.
Battery banks.
Boran complained while carrying boxes.
"Man," he said,
"if the world doesn't end after us, that'd be embarrassing."
Riven laughed.
"If it doesn't end, we'll pay the debts."
Karel stayed silent.
Because he knew.