29 Days To The Apocalypse

​Daisy hung up, dropped the phone onto the bed, and walked straight into the master bathroom.

​She turned the brass faucet, letting steaming water cascade into the deep porcelain soaking tub. Dropping her robe, she stepped into the heat, sinking into the water until it reached her collarbones.

​Physically, her body wasn't suffering from the sub-zero bite of the past life, but the memory and trauma of frost-blackened skin and shivering bones lingered deep in her nerve endings. 

Soaking in the scalding, lavender-scented water was the first real comfort she had allowed herself, a quiet moment to anchor herself back in the living world.

​As the steam rose around her, Daisy closed her eyes and began to calculate.

​Twenty-nine days.

​Twenty-nine days until the hail and snow, the temperature plunged into the negatives, and society collapsed into a desperate, bloody wasteland. 

The System had given her a clear directive: stockpile supplies, build a safe sanctuary, and exact her revenge.

​Food, fuel, weapons, thermal gear, medical supplies—she needed them in quantities that could last a lifetime. 

While looking through the system window displayed before her, she noticed there was another function to this system. And that was an inventory. 

She had a whole system space that could take in tons of resources.

If she hadn't died once, she might've never believed it, but it was right there.

With her System Space providing infinite storage and time-stasis, hoarding wouldn't be an issue. But where would she put herself?

She needed a safe fortress.

​City apartments were death traps; the power grid would fail within hours, water pipes would burst, and desperate neighbors would tear down doors for a single piece of bread. 

She needed an impenetrable fortress—somewhere isolated from the chaos of the city, naturally shielded, and rich in raw resources.

​Her eyes snapped open underwater.

​The mountain range.

​Along with the cash, stocks, and urban real estate, her grandfather’s will had left her a vast, private mountain estate nestled deep in the northern ranges. 

It came with thousands of acres of dense pine forest, a massive natural timber supply, a private water spring, and an old mountain lodge.

​In her past life, she had traveled up there once to inspect the property, intending to turn it into a peaceful family retreat spot.

But she hadn't even finished looking around before Maureen called, sobbing over the phone about a sudden ‘faintness’ and demanding Daisy come back to the city immediately. 

Daisy had abandoned the inspection, rushed back, and completely forgotten about the land.

​Now, her mind raced with the possibilities.

The lodge may be old and unable to keep out the cold now, but with some work and renovations, it would be the perfect sanctuary to guard against the cold. 

​Plus, a private mountain range meant total isolation from city riots. It would take a while before anyone rallied up at her gates asking for food and acting entitled.

The dense forest also provided unlimited hardwood for thermal insulation and fuel. 

The high altitude offered a natural defensive advantage against roaming gangs. If she fortified the lodge with military-grade steel, geothermal heating, and automated defenses, it would become an unbreakable sanctuary in the frozen hellscape.

​A cold, vicious smirk touched Daisy’s lips as she leaned her head back against the rim of the tub.

​Her grandfather hadn't just left her an inheritance—he had handed her the ultimate stronghold to survive the end of the world.

But she had been too stupid in her last life to use it properly.

She had handed her inheritance to her husband and sister, and they had sold it, squandering the money without a care in the world. 

Daisy stepped out of the tub and dried herself, her mind spinning with a cold, relentless rhythm.

“The more I recall my actions, the more I am convinced that I was bewitched by some unknown entity.” She said to herself.

​A soft knock rattled the bedroom door, followed by the hesitant voice of the housemaid. 

"Miss Daisy? Mr. Desmond and Miss Maureen are downstairs in the living room. They said you weren't answering your phone, and they've been waiting for twenty minutes."

The news of them waiting in her living room made her clench her fists. They were shameless. 

​’So, they couldn't wait, and decided to come here themselves.’

​Since she hadn't replied to Desmond's text, they had panicked. The thought of millions in inheritance slipping through their fingers was enough to make them run straight to her doorstep. 

In their minds, her silence meant something was wrong—maybe an accident, maybe a sudden illness. They couldn't afford to let their golden goose wander off before signing the papers.

‘​Too bad for them. They won't get a single cent.’

​Daisy opened her wardrobe, passing right over the drab, faded sweaters and oversized hoodies she used to wear. 

For five years, she had completely neglected herself. She had spent every waking hour stressing over Maureen’s health, Desmond’s career, and her family’s endless demands. 

She had allowed herself to look worn-out, pale, and thoroughly undesirable—a tired housekeeper rather than the wealthy heiress she actually was.

​Not anymore.

​She pulled out an emerald-green silk dress that hugged her curves flawlessly. She sat at her vanity, carefully applying a light layer of makeup to accentuate her high cheekbones, painting her lips a striking rose, and dangling a pair of diamond drop earrings that caught the light with every move. 

Staring at her reflection, she looked imposing, radiant, and undeniably stunning.

​While fixing her hair, she dialed her lawyer’s line once more.

​"Miss Daisy?" he answered instantly.

​"Draft a divorce agreement," Daisy said, her tone as calm as still water. "I want Desmond to walk away with absolutely nothing. Every asset, every property, and every joint fund bearing my name stays with me."

​Silence hung heavy on the other end. The lawyer was visibly stunned. First, she had ordered a sudden freeze on her grandfather's trust and demanded an audit of Desmond's accounts, and now a divorce? 

The submissive, blindly devoted Daisy he had known for years was acting unlike his usual self. Something massive had happened.

​"Are you... certain about this, Miss Daisy?" he asked cautiously. "This is a very sudden shift."

​"I have never been more certain of anything in my life," she replied. "Keep this strictly confidential. Do not let Desmond or my family catch wind of it until the papers are ready for his signature."

​"Understood. I will have the draft prepared immediately."

​Ending the call, Daisy got up and started heading downstairs.

She stood at the top of the stairs and ​the second her eyes fell on Desmond and Maureen, a violent, sickening memory slammed into her mind. 

She could almost smell the copper stench of her own blood and taste the ash of burning marrow. 

She remembered her ghost form floating helplessly above them, watching those two monsters casually chew on her flesh to stay warm. 

​Her fingers twitched at her sides. A fierce, primal urge screamed at her to jump across the foyer and wrap her hands around their throats, choking the life out of them until their eyes rolled back.

‘​Patience,’ she reminded herself, forcing her knuckles to relax. ‘A quick death is mercy. They need to starve, freeze, and crawl before they die.’