Chapter 1: The Blood Price

The last thing Maya felt was the jagged snap of her collarbone beneath the weight of a rotting, rabid jaw.

She remembered the freezing rain blinding her vision, the slick asphalt burning against her torn knees, and the iron reek of human blood pouring down the gutters of Sector 4. She remembered clutching that tiny black medical pouch to her chest like a sacred relic—the medicine she had crawled through hell to retrieve for Adrian’s dying mother.

And, above all, she remembered the smooth, pristine surface of Adrian’s metal door.

The way it clicked open just enough for his hand to snatch the pouch from her trembling fingers. The soft silk robe wrapped around Vanessa as she stepped into view, a glass of wine held casually between her manicured fingers. And the cold, calculated weight of Adrian’s hand planted square against Maya’s shoulder.

“Meet the love of my life, Vanessa. You were really useful right up to the end.”

Then came the push. The fall. The sound of his door slamming shut and locking tight, leaving her stranded in the flooded alley while five rabid monsters tore into her flesh, ripping her open while Adrian and Vanessa laughed behind reinforced glass.

Awakening from the nightmare. Source: Reddit

Maya bolted upright in bed, a violent gasp tearing through her throat.

Air cool, dry, sweet air rushed into her lungs. Her heart hammered wildly against her ribs, echoing like a war drum in her ears. Instinctively, her hands flew to her neck, her throat, her abdomen. She dug her fingers into her flesh, expecting to feel open gouges, torn muscle, and exposed bone.

Nothing.

Her skin was smooth. Soft. Completely intact. There were no bloodstained rags wrapped around her calves, no jagged teeth marks on her collarbone, and no freezing mud caked beneath her fingernails.

Maya sat frozen on her mattress, her chest heaving as she stared down at her trembling hands. Her hair fell over her shoulders in clean, soft waves. Her breath didn't carry the stench of decay.

“No…” she whispered, her voice rasping against her vocal cords. “I died. I felt them eat me.”

She scrambled out of bed, her feet hitting the hardwood floor, and darted to the small vanity mirror resting against the wall.

The reflection staring back at her was a ghost.

Her skin was supple and healthy, free of the hollow cheeks and dark, sunken circles brought on by weeks of starvation. Her dark eyes were bright, framed by thick lashes, and her lips carried a natural flush. It was the face of a woman who hadn't yet seen humanity strip away its mask to reveal the beasts underneath.

Her eyes darted to the wooden bedside table. She grabbed her phone with a trembling grip and tapped the screen.

The display lit up instantly, displaying a crisp, clean layout:

08:15 AM — Thursday, October 12th.

Thirty days.

Thirty exact days before the emergency response vehicles would roll into Sector 4 under the pretense of treating a "seasonal flu." Thirty days before the government distributed Serum-9, the experimental medicine meant to cure the nosebleeds that were quietly sweeping through the populace.

It hadn't cured anyone. It had unhinged their jaws, destroyed their frontal lobes, and turned ordinary citizens into mindless, violent beasts within forty-eight hours.

Maya pressed her back against the cool wall, sliding down until her knees hit her chest. Her mind spun violently as the truth settled over her like a heavy steel blanket.

She hadn't just survived. She had been sent back.

In her past life, Maya had spent those thirty days acting as Adrian’s errand girl. She had spent her meager savings buying groceries for his ungrateful mother, cleaning their apartment, and foolishly believing his sweet promises about building a future together. When the outbreak struck, she had been naive enough to believe that loyalty and sacrifice meant something in a collapsing world.

Her hands curled into tight fists, her nails biting into her palms until the skin turned white.

"Never again," she hissed into the quiet room. "Not a single cent. Not a single grain of rice."

Suddenly, a strange, burning sensation throbbed at the base of her skull. Maya squeezed her eyes shut as a sharp heat radiated down her spine, pooling in the center of her chest.

When she opened her mind’s eye, the dark bedroom vanished.

In its place stood an immense, silent expanse. It was a massive, pristine warehouse floating within a sea of quiet grey mist. The floor stretched out for thousands of square meters, lined with polished concrete, completely spotless and vast enough to fit entire shipping fleets. There was no wind, no sound, and no passing of time within this space. A hot cup of coffee placed inside would retain its steam for an eternity; cold ice would never melt.

A portable spatial dimension.

Maya gasped, opening her physical eyes as her hand instinctively drifted down to touch the silver chain hanging around her neck. Suspended from the chain was a simple, emerald-green jade ring.

In her previous life, Adrian’s mother had spotted the ring on Maya's neck during the second week of the apocalypse. She had demanded Maya give it up, claiming it was "too dangerous" to wear shiny jewelry while scavengers roamed the streets. Adrian had taken it, trading it to a local gang leader for three tins of moldy beef.

Maya hadn't known then what that ring truly was.

She was an orphan, raised in a cold, underfunded shelter before working two jobs to put herself through college. She had met Adrian on a matchmaking app, starving for affection and desperate for the warmth of a real family. She had tolerated his mother's sharp tongue and his subtle financial demands because she thought she had no one else in the world.

She hadn't known that her biological parents—wealthy industrialists who perished in a private plane crash three years prior—had spent years searching for her. They had left behind an untouched inheritance trust worth over $120 million, accessible only by the heir possessing the Vance family signet ring.

Adrian had sold her birthright for three cans of beef. And then he had thrown her to the monsters when she outlived her usefulness.

A cold, bitter laugh escaped Maya’s lips. The lingering phantom pain in her neck faded, replaced by a dark, suffocating rage that hardened her heart like tempered steel.

She didn't just have thirty days. She had infinite space, a mountain of gold, and full foresight of the nightmare to come.

She stood up, walked over to her desk, and picked up her phone. She didn't hesitate. She dialed the direct line of Vance International's legal team, a number she had burned into her memory during her previous life.

The line rang twice before a crisp, professional voice answered. "Vance Legal, state your business."

"My name is Maya Vance," she said, her tone devoid of trembling, cold and sharp as a razor blade. "I hold the green jade signet ring of House Vance. Prepare the liquidation papers for my inheritance trust immediately."

There was a sudden, sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line, followed by the immediate rustle of papers and raised voices.

Maya hung up the phone and walked to the window, pulling back the thin white curtain. Outside, the morning sun bathed Sector 4 in a warm, golden glow. People were walking their dogs; shopkeepers were sweeping their storefronts; children were laughing on their way to school. None of them knew that in thirty days, this quiet neighborhood would become an open slaughterhouse.

Maya rested her palm against her lower belly, feeling a faint, warm pulse deep within her body. A tiny, fragile heartbeat that had just begun to take root.

In her past life, she had died without ever knowing she was pregnant.

"I will protect you this time," Maya whispered softly to the child growing inside her. "No matter how many bodies I have to step over."

Just then, her phone buzzed sharply on the desk, cutting through the silence of the room.

Maya turned around and picked it up. The caller ID flashed with a name that sent a surge of black hatred through her veins:

Adrian.

She answered, keeping her breath steady. "What?"

"Maya? Where the hell are you?" Adrian’s voice barked through the speaker, heavy with irritation. "My mom’s knee is acting up again and she needs her prescription filled. Plus, Vanessa is coming over later today to help redecorate the living room—I need you to come clean the guest apartment and prepare lunch for us before she gets here. Hurry up, you're already late."

Maya looked at her reflection in the glass. A dark, terrifying smile slowly spread across her lips.

"Clean the apartment?" Maya asked softly.

"Yes! And make sure you buy organic vegetables on your way over, my mom doesn't like the regular stuff," Adrian snapped. "Why are you sounding so weird? Did you hear me?"

Maya took a slow breath, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the phone.

"Adrian," she said, her voice dropping into a razor-thin whisper. "I'm coming over. But not for the groceries."

She cut the call, threw on a dark jacket, and grabbed the emerald ring from her desk.

She needed her money unlocked today, but before she spent a single dollar on her stockpile, she had a small, overdue debt to settle with Adrian.