Chapter Four: The Last Normal Day

The morning after Edward's eviction notice, I woke before dawn with a single thought burning in my mind: eleven days.

I dressed quickly, pulled my hair back, and headed downstairs. The mansion felt different now quieter, emptier. Edward had taken Claire and his grandmother to a hotel the previous evening, spewing threats about lawyers and revenge. I hadn't bothered responding. Their words meant nothing compared to what was coming.

Mrs. Adler, my housekeeper met me in the kitchen with a cup of coffee.

"You're up early, ma'am."

"I have a long day ahead. Is the car ready?"

"Yes, ma'am."

I took the coffee and headed outside. The driver already had the engine running. I slid into the back seat and opened my tablet, reviewing the supply list I had compiled the night before.

Dry foods, Medications, Water purification tablets, Sanitizer. Batteries, Flashlights, Radios, Generators, Fuel, Solar panels, Weapons, Ammunition and vaccines.

That last item was the most difficult. In my previous life, vaccines had become worth more than gold after the pandemic hit. The wealthy hoarded them. The desperate killed for them. I had watched my daughter die because Edward gave our only dose to Claire.

Not this time. I made my first stop at a wholesale food distributor on the outskirts of the city. The manager, a heavyset man named Greg, greeted me with obvious confusion.

"Mrs. Elliot? We don't usually get customers of your... caliber."

"I need to place a large order. Bulk quantities."

"How large?" I handed him my list. He scanned it, his eyebrows rising with each line.

"This is... extensive. Are you opening a restaurant?"

"Something like that. Can you fulfill it?"

He scratched his chin. "Most of it, yes. Some items might take a few days."

"You have three. I'll pay a premium for speed."

His eyes widened at the number I quoted. "I'll get my team on it immediately."

I left with a receipt and a promise of delivery within seventy two hours. The supplies would go directly to a storage facility I had leased near the underground base.

The next stop was a medical supply company. Vaccines required prescriptions and documentation but I had prepared for that. My family's influence opened doors that money alone could not. Within an hour, I had secured enough doses to protect my daughter, my mother and a select few I trusted.

Then came the weapons. I had never fired a gun in my previous life. Edward had forbidden it, claiming women didn't need such things. When the zombies came, I had watched neighbors with rifles hold off entire hordes while I huddled in a corner with nothing but a kitchen knife.

That would not happen again. The gun shop owner, a retired military man named Sergeant Mills studied me with open skepticism.

"You ever handled a weapon before?"

"No."

"Then why are you here?"

I met his gaze. "Because I refuse to be defenseless."

He nodded slowly. "That's the best reason I've heard all year."  I walked out with a license, three handguns, two shotguns, a rifle and enough ammunition to arm a small militia. Sergeant Mills had also agreed to give me shooting lessons starting the next morning.

By noon, I was back at Elliot Holdings.

The office felt like a sanctuary compared to the chaos of my personal life. Employees nodded as I passed, unaware that the world they knew was ending. I locked myself in my office and began reviewing the base's inspection report.

The structure was solid. Reinforced concrete walls, independent air filtration, underground water storage, backup generators. It needed supplies and some minor repairs but it would hold. I was making notes when my phone rang.

Mr. Bennett.

"Mrs. Elliot, I have news."

"Tell me."

"Edward has filed a lawsuit against you."

I set down my pen. "On what grounds?"

"He claims you secretly transferred shares from his company while you were still married. He's accusing you of financial fraud and is seeking damages plus reinstatement of his access to all joint accounts."

I almost laughed. "His company?"

"Yes. He's arguing that the shares you liquidated belonged to him and that your actions constitute theft."

The irony was almost too much. Edward's company had been built with my family's money. The shares he claimed were his had been purchased with funds I had provided. And now he wanted to paint himself as the victim.

"What's our response?"

"We can demonstrate that the shares were acquired with your personal assets and were always under your name. His claim is weak but it will require time and documentation to dismiss."

"How much time?"

"Several weeks, at minimum." I didn't have several weeks. 

"Then we settle it quickly. I want this case resolved before the end of the month."

"That may not be possible "

"Make it possible. I don't care what it costs."

There was a pause. "Understood. Is there anything else?"

"Yes. I need you to transfer fifty million dollars to my personal account."

Another pause, longer this time. "Fifty million?"

"I'm liquidating my assets. I want cash available immediately."

"Mrs. Elliot, may I ask what this is for?" I  glanced at the television mounted on my office wall. It was tuned to a news channel, the volume low. A reporter stood in front of what looked like a withered field, her expression grave.

"I'm preparing for an emergency," I said.

"What kind of emergency?"

"The kind that requires me to be ready for anything."

He didn't press further. "I'll begin the transfer immediately. It may take a few hours to process."

"Thank you, Mr. Bennett." I ended the call and turned up the television.

" unusual decay substances are now spreading rapidly across Ohio," the reporter was saying. "Scientists are advising the public to use airborne precautions. Masks are recommended, along with hand sanitizer. Authorities have not yet confirmed the source of the contamination, but residents are urged to remain calm." My blood ran cold.

I remembered that headline. In my previous life, I had watched it from my living room, dismissive and unconcerned. Ohio was far away. It had nothing to do with me but two weeks later, the first cases appeared in Los Angeles.

Eleven days, That was all the time I had before the pandemic reached my city.

I turned off the television and sat in silence, my heart pounding as the memories came flooding back. The panic in the streets.  The creatures that had once been human, their minds destroyed, their bodies twisted into something monstrous.

I pressed my hands against my desk and forced myself to breathe.

Not this time.

Ipicked up my phone and called Mrs. Adler.

"Prepare the guest rooms. My mother will be staying with us and I need you to pack everything in my daughter's room clothes, toys, medications. Everything."

"Are we going somewhere, ma'am?"

"Yes. Somewhere safe." I ended the call and stared at the television screen. Eleven days until Los Angeles fell.

The intercom on my desk buzzed.

"Mrs. Elliot, there's a delivery for you at the front desk. The man says it's urgent."

I frowned. "What kind of delivery?"

"He says it's from Sergeant Mills."

The weapons.

"Tell him I'm on my way down." I stood and grabbed my coat. I walked toward the elevator, my phone buzzed with a text from Mr. Bennett.

Transfer initiated. Fifty million will be available within the hour.

I typed a quick acknowledgment and stepped into the elevator.

The doors closed as I caught my reflection in the polished metal.

The woman staring back at me was not the same Elliot who had died in her previous life. That woman had been broken, desperate, and alone.

This one was different.

The elevator doors opened, and I stepped into the lobby as Sergeant Mills stood near the entrance with a large crate at his feet.

"Mrs. Elliot," he said. "Your order."

I nodded. "Bring it to my car."

As he lifted the crate, a television in the lobby caught my eye. The same news channel. The same reporter but now the headline had changed.

"Breaking News: Ohio Decay Crisis Spreads to Three Additional States." I  stared at the screen.

It was spreading faster than before. In my previous life, it had taken two weeks to reach the West Coast. Now it was already crossing state lines.

I turned away and walked toward the exit.Eleven days, Maybe less.

As I stepped outside, a cold wind brushed against my face. Winter was coming and so was the end of the world.