CHAPTER 1

The last thing I felt was cold spit on my face and the sound of my ribs snapping like dry twigs.  It hurts like hell. But the smell is what I remember most. Metallic blood. Wet rot. Death. And then there was Liam. My “loving” boyfriend.

I can still see him. Sweat-slick. Pale. Eyes wild with fear as he shoved me backward into the dark.

“Sorry, Eladia! Better you than me!” He giggled. 

That bastard. Five  years. Five  years of me paying his bills, carrying his shit, being his human pack mule. And he used me as bait for a pack of shamblers. He didn’t even look back. He just ran.

Then, everything went black.  I thought I was dead. I should’ve been dead.

Gasp.

I shot upright so fast the room spun. I wasn’t on cold pavement. I wasn’t torn apart. I was in bed. Clean sheets. The air smelled like vanilla candles. My heart slammed against my ribs like a trapped bird. Sunlight cut through the blinds and landed on the mess of clothes on the floor. My phone buzzed on the nightstand.

*8:12 AM. Tuesday.*

My brain short-circuited. Day Zero. In exactly nine hours, the purple “Black Mist” would roll into the city. Everyone would turn into a Standardized Hive. And I was right back in it.

“Babe? Are you good? You’re making weird noises over there.”

I froze. That voice. I wanted to vomit.

Liam walked out of the bathroom, towel in his hair. He looked perfect. Untouched. No scars. No blood. Just that same arrogant, pretty-boy face I’d spent a decade swallowing sandpaper for.

“Hurry up,” he said, not even looking at me. He was busy in the mirror, fixing his hair like he was about to be on TV. “We’ve got brunch at ten. And you know my mom loses her mind if we’re late.”

I looked at my hands. They were shaking. Not from fear but from rage. I remembered his hands on my back. I remembered his sneakers pounding the pavement as he ran.

“Eladia? Earth to Eladia?” He turned, annoyed. “Did you not iron my gray slacks or what? I can’t show up looking like a hobo because you decided to sleep in.”

I met his eyes. I saw him for what he was. A good Narcissistic Parasite. Old me would’ve jumped up, apologized and ironed the pants.  

Definitely not today.

“Iron them yourself, Liam,” I said in a low distinctive cold voice.

His jaw dropped. “What the hell did you just say?”

“I said I’m not your maid. And I’m not going to brunch with your fake-ass parents.”

I swung my legs out of bed. My legs were jelly, but my head had never been clearer. I yanked my camping backpack from the closet and started shoving things in.  

Nine hours. That’s all I had to prepare for the end of the world.

“Are you having a breakdown or something?” He laughed. That stupid, condescending chuckle. “Look, if you’re mad about dinner last night, get over it. I’m going to be a doctor, Eladia. I have real pressure.”

I stopped and walked straight to him. I’m shorter than him. But when I looked up, he stepped back.

“In nine hours, Liam,” I whispered. “Nobody’s going to care about your medical degree and your fake ass family every Friday brunch. And nobody’s going to care about you.”

I reached past him and snatched his wallet off the dresser.

“Hey! Give that back!”

“No.” I flipped it open. “This is the money I gave you for ‘textbooks’ that you blew on video games. Consider it a jerk tax. For the last five  years.”

I pocketed the cash and cards.  

“Eladia, I’m serious! Put it back or I’m calling the cops!”

I didn’t blink. I grabbed the heavy glass award from the desk and smashed it into the wall mirror.  The glass exploded and the shards were everywhere and Liam screamed like a little girl and stumbled backward.

“Don’t follow me,” I said. My voice was finally steady. “If I see you again today, I won’t aim for the mirror. I’ll aim for your face and you won’t like to see yourself in the mirror with a disfigured face right?.”

I walked out and slammed the door. Halfway down the stairs, a sharp ping cracked inside my skull. A glowing blue screen snapped into existence in front of my eyes.

[EROS- SURVIVAL SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]

[USER: ELADIA AMBROSE]

[STATUS: REBORN (CYCLE 2)]

[MUTATION LEVEL: 0.01% (LATENT)]

[WELCOME BACK, SUBJECT 001. THE COUNTDOWN HAS BEGUN.]

My breath caught. I wasn’t just lucky.  

I’d bound a high-level AI meant for the Architects of the new world. At the edge of the screen, a timer ticked down.

*08:42:15*