Chapter 3: The Man Who Knew Too Much

“Who are you?”

The man in black didn’t answer immediately, and he simply watched me with those cold eyes as if he had been expecting me all along, before he started walking toward me and I stepped back.

“Stay where you are.”

He stopped, a faint smile touching his lips. “You look different from the last time I saw you.”

My heart skipped. “The last time?”

He tilted his head. “Interesting, you don’t remember?”

I had never seen this man before, not in my previous life, not at the wedding and not anywhere else, so I could not understand why he was speaking as if we had already met.

[WARNING: UNKNOWN INDIVIDUAL APPROACHING.]

[COMBAT ABILITY: INSUFFICIENT.]

I ignored the system and kept my eyes on him. “What’s your name?”

“Adrian Cross.”

The name appeared on my screen again.

[ADRIAN CROSS IDENTIFIED.]

[THREAT LEVEL: UNASSESSABLE.]

I hated that word, because it meant the system could not tell me whether he was an enemy or something far worse.

“Did you send those messages?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Then you know about the system?”

“I know enough to understand that you’re in danger.”

I laughed without humour. “That’s convenient, a stranger approaches me, claims I’m in danger, and expects me to trust him.”

“Good, don’t trust me.”

His answer caught me off guard, and before I could respond Adrian reached into his coat, which made me tense immediately.

“Don’t move!”

He paused, then slowly pulled out a phone and held it where I could see it. “Someone is tracking you, and if I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn’t be standing here explaining that.”

“Who is tracking me?”

“Your brother, for one.”

My fingers tightened around my phone. “Samuel?”

Adrian’s expression changed slightly. “You sound surprised.”

I forced myself to look away, because I could not tell him that Samuel had already killed me once, and I could not explain the strange system appearing before my eyes or the fact that I knew exactly how cruel my brother could be, at least not yet.

“Why are you helping me?” I asked.

“I’m not helping you.” He glanced toward the hotel entrance. “I’m curious.”

“About what?”

“Why someone who is supposed to get married today is running through a hotel garden like a man fleeing a murder scene.”

My blood ran cold, because he knew far too much, and before I could answer my phone vibrated with a message from Samuel.

WHERE ARE YOU?

Another followed immediately.

MICHAEL IS WORRIED ABOUT YOU. COME BACK NOW.

I almost laughed, because Michael had watched me die without blinking, and now he was supposedly worried.

Adrian glanced at my screen. “Are you going back?”

“No.”

“Good.”

He turned as if to leave, but I caught his sleeve before I could think better of it. “Wait.”

He looked down at my hand, and I released him immediately. “I need answers.”

“And I need something from you.”

“What?”

“Three days from now, when the world begins to fall apart, don’t expect anyone to save you.”

I stared at him. “What are you talking about?”

His face became serious. “The apocalypse.”

My system flashed in front of my eyes.

[APOCALYPSE COUNTDOWN: 71 HOURS, 42 MINUTES.]

I swallowed. “How do you know?”

Adrian stepped closer. “Because I’ve seen what happens when people ignore the warning signs.”

That answer raised more questions than it answered, and before I could stop myself I asked, “Have you seen the marks?”

For the first time, Adrian looked genuinely surprised. “What did you say?”

I froze while he studied me carefully. “John, who told you about the marks?”

Nobody had told me, and the question was dangerous precisely because I had no idea what the marks were supposed to look like or why Adrian seemed to recognise the term, so I needed to change the subject at once.

“Forget it.”

He didn’t look convinced, but a loud crash came from the hotel entrance before he could press me, and I turned to see Michael running toward us with Samuel close behind him.

“There you are!” Michael shouted, his expression full of anger disguised as relief. “John, what the hell are you doing?”

Samuel’s gaze shifted to Adrian, and his face went pale for half a second before he quickly recovered, which I noticed and so did Adrian.

“Samuel?” I called. “Do you know him?”

My brother forced a laugh. “Of course not, why would I know some stranger?”

Adrian said nothing, but the look he gave Samuel made my stomach tighten, and Michael grabbed my arm before I could think about it any further.

“We’re going back inside, the guests are waiting.”

I pulled away. “I’m not going back.”

His jaw tightened. “Stop embarrassing me.”

I stared at him. “Embarrassing you?”

“Yes, John! You disappeared without telling anyone, and now you’re standing here with some random man.”

I looked at Samuel. “Tell him to let me make my own decisions.”

My twin said nothing, and instead he reached into his jacket, and I recognised the movement immediately as the same knife he had used to kill me.

My breath caught. “Samuel, don’t.”

His hand froze, and Michael looked between us in confusion. “Don’t what?”

Samuel quickly withdrew his hand and smiled. “Nothing, John is just being dramatic.”

I took another step away from them as the system flashed red.

[HOST WARNING.]

[HOSTILE INTENT DETECTED.]

[RECOMMENDED ACTION: ESCAPE IMMEDIATELY.]

Adrian moved beside me. “Leave him alone,” he said quietly.

Michael scoffed. “And who exactly are you?”

“Someone who doesn’t like repeating himself.”

For a moment neither man spoke, and then Samuel smiled at Adrian with a strange smile that never reached his eyes.

“You should be careful. John has a habit of getting people into trouble.”

Adrian’s expression remained cold. “Then perhaps you should stop being one of those people.”

I almost smiled, while Samuel’s face twisted with anger and Michael seized his arm before he could respond.

“Enough, we’re leaving.”

They turned toward the hotel, but before Samuel disappeared inside he looked back at me with a hatred in his eyes that was unmistakable, and I understood that he knew something had changed and that he would not let me live long enough to discover what it was.

[NEW MISSION UNLOCKED.]

[OBJECTIVE: SURVIVE THE NEXT 24 HOURS.]

[REWARD: FIRST SKILL UNLOCK.]

[WARNING: A MAJOR EVENT WILL OCCUR BEFORE THE APOCALYPSE.]

I stared at the message. “What major event?” I whispered.

Adrian heard me, and he looked at my face and then toward the hotel. “Your wedding,” he said.

My blood turned cold, and then he added the words that made my entire body go numb.

“John, in your previous timeline, you died today, didn’t you?”