CHAPTER 6 THE LODGE

The city looked different when Lena left it with Ethan.

Not because Manhattan had changed.

Because she knew exactly what it would become.

Every crowded sidewalk reminded her of empty streets.

Every ambulance reminded her of the hospitals that would eventually overflow.

Every laughing stranger reminded her that most of them had no idea how little time they had left.

Ethan sat beside her in the back of the SUV, reading through the documents Margaret had placed in a black folder.

He hadn't spoken much since they left Cross Tower.

Lena didn't mind.

She had learned something about Ethan in the first timeline.

When he was thinking, silence was safer than conversation.

"The earthquake was real," he finally said.

"Yes."

"The market dropped afterward."

"Yes."

"And the fever cases increased."

"How many?"

"Twenty-seven."

Lena looked out the window.

Twenty-seven.

In her previous life, she had heard that number and thought it was small.

Now it terrified her.

"That's only the beginning."

Ethan closed the folder.

"You keep saying that."

"Because it is."

He studied her face.

"You said we have three years."

"Three years until August 9, 2026."

"And you're certain?"

"I'm certain."

He leaned back.

"Then why haven't you told the government?"

Lena almost laughed.

Because she'd tried.

Because nobody had listened.

Because in her first life, people had called survivors paranoid until the hospitals collapsed.

Because governments didn't prepare for nightmares simply because one frightened woman claimed to have seen the future.

Instead, she said, "Would you believe me if I told you?"

Ethan's expression didn't change.

"I already believe enough to investigate."

That answer surprised her.

She turned toward him.

"That's all I need."

The SUV continued north.

Hours later, the buildings became fewer.

Then the roads narrowed.

Trees replaced concrete.

The air became colder.

Finally, Ethan pointed ahead.

"We're close."

Lena recognized the road immediately.

Her stomach tightened.

The Catskills.

The lodge.

In the first timeline, this place had been their refuge.

For a while, it had felt like the safest place on Earth.

Then everything changed.

Lena stared through the window.

The stone house appeared between the trees.

Green roof.

Tall windows.

Old chimney.

Exactly as she remembered.

But this time, the windows weren't broken.

There were no barricades.

No emergency supplies stacked against the walls.

No bloodstains on the steps.

Only an old wooden door waiting beneath the porch.

Ethan noticed her expression.

"You've been here before."

It wasn't a question.

Lena swallowed.

"In another life."

He looked at her carefully.

Then he opened the door.

"Let's see what you remember."

Inside, the lodge smelled of dust, wood, and cold stone.

Ethan switched on the lights.

Nothing happened.

Lena smiled.

"The electricity is disconnected."

His eyebrow lifted.

"You knew that?"

"Your grandfather stopped using the place regularly years ago."

He stared at her.

"How do you know about my grandfather?"

"You told me."

"I don't remember telling you."

"You did."

Another silence.

Ethan walked toward the fireplace.

Lena followed.

She remembered the cracked stone.

The broken section near the bottom.

The place where Ethan had once hidden emergency documents.

She pointed.

"There's something behind that panel."

Ethan stopped.

"You've got to be kidding."

"I remember."

He crouched and examined the stone.

After a few seconds, he found the loose section.

He pulled it away.

A small metal box sat behind it.

Ethan stared.

Lena's breath caught.

The box hadn't existed in the lodge when she first came here with him.

Or perhaps she had simply never known about it.

Ethan opened it.

Inside were old property papers, a handwritten note, and several photographs.

One photograph showed a younger Ethan standing beside his mother.

His expression changed.

Lena remembered that photograph.

His mother.

The woman he rarely talked about.

Ethan picked it up carefully.

"How did you know?"

"I told you."

"You shouldn't know this."

"I know."

He turned toward her.

For the first time since she met him again, his cold expression cracked.

Not completely.

Just enough.

"You really knew me."

Lena nodded.

"Better than anyone."

Ethan looked away.

That sentence seemed to bother him.

Or maybe it frightened him.

He placed the photograph back into the box.

"Show me the rest."

So she did.

The private well behind the house.

The underground storage room.

The old generator shed.

The safest room in the basement.

The damaged section of the fireplace.

The surrounding forest paths.

Every detail she remembered.

Ethan listened.

He asked questions.

He challenged her.

And she answered every one.

By sunset, the table was covered with maps.

Food.

Water.

Medicine.

Fuel.

Generators.

Communication equipment.

Tools.

Solar panels.

Land.

Security.

Ethan stared at the list.

"This is enough supplies for a small community."

"Eventually, that's what it needs to become."

He looked at her.

"You want to build a fortress."

"I want to build somewhere people can survive."

"Who?"

Lena hesitated.

"Anyone we can save."

Ethan studied her.

"And me?"

Her eyes met his.

"You especially."

Something shifted between them.

Neither spoke.

Then Ethan looked away first.

"Tomorrow, we start buying."

Lena blinked.

"You're serious?"

"I don't know if the apocalypse is coming."

He closed the folder.

"But I know something is coming."

He pointed toward the map.

"We prepare quietly."

Lena smiled.

"Good."

Ethan stood.

"And one more thing."

"What?"

"If you're wrong, you disappear from my life."

Her smile faded.

"And if I'm right?"

His gaze held hers.

"Then you won't face it alone."

Lena's chest tightened.

Those words.

She had heard them before.

On the bridge.

Three years from now.

Only then, Ethan had been bleeding, exhausted, and surrounded by a world that had already collapsed.

Now he was standing in a warm room, alive and untouched by the future.

But he had said the same thing.

You won't face it alone.

Lena looked down before he could see the emotion in her eyes.

She had promised herself she wouldn't become weak again.

She wouldn't.

Not now.

Not when she had three years.

Not when Ethan was alive.

Not when the world was still sleeping.

Outside, the last light disappeared behind the mountains.

Inside the lodge, Ethan opened another folder.

Lena glanced at the papers.

Then she froze.

One company name was printed across the first page.

SUNVOLT ENERGY.

Her face changed.

Ethan noticed immediately.

"What?"

Lena slowly reached for the document.

"This lawsuit..."

"What about it?"

She stared at the date.

The date was wrong.

It wasn't supposed to happen for another month.

Her pulse quickened.

"Ethan..."

He stepped closer.

"What?"

Lena looked up.

"The future has already changed."

For the first time, Ethan looked genuinely alarmed.

And somewhere deep inside Lena, something strange stirred.

A faint warmth spread through her palm.

She looked down.

For a second, a tiny silver light flickered beneath her skin.

Then it vanished.

Neither of them spoke.

But Lena knew one thing.

Being reborn hadn't simply given her memories of the future.

Something else had come back with her.

To be continued...