Second Chance

I stared blankly at the glowing blue screen hovering in mid-air.

​[Congratulations, Host. You have been reborn.]

​My eyes widened as the interface shifted, flashing a neat, video-game-like status window right in front of my face. Was this some sort of… trick? 

But then the texts changed.

​[Status Interface]

—​Name: Amber Johnson

—Gender: Female

—​Age: 25

—Date of Birth: August 9th

—Height: 165 cm

—Weight: 54 kg

—Current Date: July 3rd, 2026

​My breath hitched. July 3rd, 2026?

​Five years ago? This was exactly two weeks before the sirens started blaring, and the first wave of flesh-eating monsters tore through the city.

‘​Wait, just how in the world...?’

​I rubbed my eyes, expecting the floating words to vanish, but they didn't. Was this a dream? Was I hallucinating in my final moments now that I was dead? Had my brain finally snapped from the oxygen deprivation after Karen drove that blade into my neck?

​A slow, bitter laugh bubbled up from my chest, echoing through the quiet apartment. I suddenly didn't care.

I didn’t care if it was a delusion. Dream or not, someone out there had answered my final prayer. Be it a god or a devil.

​I had been given a chance. A real, genuine chance to rewrite this nightmare and get back at that scumbag and my so-called best friend, even if it's just in my dreams.

​The laughter died in my throat, and my face immediately contorted with pure rage. Images of Jayden’s hollow eyes and Karen’s mocking, giggling face flashed back into my mind. 

I wanted to hit them. I wanted to beat them up to the point that no one—not even their own parents—could recognize their mangled bodies anymore.

​How dare they betray me like that? I had stayed quiet when I found out they were seeing each other behind my back. I had swallowed my pride, played the fool, and endured the misery just to keep our group together in hell. And they rewarded my silence by tearing my throat open and pinning a death sentence on my name?

​This was the perfect time to teach them a lesson.

​I clenched my fists and cracked my knuckles, but the familiar, satisfying pop didn't happen. I looked down at my hands. They were pale, soft, and devoid of the calluses I had built up over half a decade of fighting for scraps.

​My body felt incredibly weak compared to how it had been in the apocalypse. Five years of constant running, heavy lifting, and raw survival had honed my muscles into something lean and functional. 

It hadn't been anything flashy, but it had kept me breathing. Jayden had built up his strength the same way, which was exactly why I couldn't overpower him when he pinned me to that pole. Now? I was back to square one.

​I should hit the gym the second I can, I thought to myself, flexing my soft fingers. Even though a part of me still believed this might just be a hyper-realistic dying dream, I was going to prepare myself to live it like it was completely real. 

The moment I finally deal real, physical damage to them is the moment I’ll know for sure.

​Suddenly, a sharp ping chimed in my ears again, and the blue text on the screen dissolved, rewriting itself into bold, glowing red letters:

​[First Quest Triggered!]

—Objective: Payback against the cheating, scummy boyfriend and best friend.

—Time Limit: 24 Hours.

—​Reward: 1x Random Skill.

​A dark, vicious smirk spread across my lips. "Ah, I like this. It's actually giving me a reward just for getting back at them. So generous."

​I didn't need to think twice. I knew exactly what I was going to do.

​I walked over to the back corner of my apartment and picked up the heavy, solid metal baseball bat Jayden had bought a few months ago, leaving it in my courtyard after we practiced some swings. 

I wrapped my fingers around the handle, testing the grip, and gave it a harsh, whistling swing through the air. 

The weight was a bit heavy for my current untrained arms, but the momentum was lethal. It would do the job perfectly.

​I quickly threw on a pair of durable jeans, a black hoodie, and some sneakers. I grabbed my phone and dialed Jayden's number.

​Ring... ring... ring...

​"The subscriber you are trying to reach is currently unavailable. Please leave a message after the beep—"

​I hung up and immediately dialed Karen.

​Ring... ring... "The subscriber you are—"

​I cut the call, my gaze turning incredibly dark as I shoved the phone into my pocket. I knew exactly what they were doing right now that made both of their phones completely unreachable at the same time. 

They weren't busy at work, and they absolutely weren't sleeping.

​Well, it was to my advantage. It meant I knew exactly where to find them, caught in one place, entirely unprotected and ready to be bashed into meatloafs.

​"Jayden, you never told me the password to your house or your credit card before the apocalypse," I muttered to myself, a cold, ruthless grin cutting across my face as I gripped the metal bat tightly. "But you sure as hell blabbed about it after money became completely invaluable and we had to hide out in the wild. Now, you'll regret it."

​I unlocked the front door and stepped out into the bright, unsuspecting morning sun, heading straight for Jayden's apartment. It was time to catch the cheating bastards in action.