Chapter 4: He Knows I Died

For a moment I forgot how to breathe, because Adrian Cross stood in front of me watching my face as if he had already read every thought in my head.

“How do you know that?” I asked.

He didn’t answer immediately, and Samuel was still standing beside Michael, though the smile on his face had disappeared.

“John, what is he talking about?” Michael demanded.

I ignored him, and Adrian took one step closer. “Answer me first. Did you die today?”

My hands tightened into fists, because if I admitted the truth I had no idea what would happen, and the system had already warned me about unknown players, which meant that Adrian might be one of them or something worse.

[SYSTEM ALERT: UNKNOWN INDIVIDUAL HAS KNOWLEDGE OF RESTRICTED INFORMATION.]

[WARNING: DO NOT REVEAL YOUR STATUS.]

I swallowed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Adrian’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You’re a terrible liar.”

“Then stop asking stupid questions.”

For the first time he smiled, though it was not a friendly smile, and it was the kind that made me wonder how many secrets he was hiding.

Behind him, Samuel suddenly grabbed my wrist. “Enough of this nonsense, because Michael and I have been looking everywhere for you.”

The moment his fingers touched me, memories flooded my mind of his knife, my blood, and his cold eyes as he watched me die, and I jerked away so violently that he stumbled.

“Don’t touch me!”

Everyone went silent, and Samuel stared at me before he slowly looked at Michael, and something passed between them that I first took for fear, until I remembered that Samuel Smith was not afraid of anything and that what I was seeing was calculation.

“What’s wrong with you?” he asked softly. “I’m your brother.”

And I’m your victim, I almost said, but I forced a bitter laugh instead. “Maybe I’m finally tired of pretending we’re close.”

His expression hardened, and Michael stepped forward wearing the same concerned look that had fooled me for years. “Baby, let’s go inside, you’re clearly upset.”

The word made my stomach turn, because in my previous life he had called me that only moments before my brother killed me, so I looked at him and smiled.

“Don’t call me that.”

Michael froze. “What?”

“You heard me.”

Samuel grabbed Michael’s arm. “Let’s leave him.”

Michael looked as if he wanted to argue, but one glance at Adrian changed his mind, and he pointed at me instead. “This isn’t over, John.”

“I hope not.”

They walked away, though Samuel looked back once with eyes that promised trouble.

[SIDE MISSION UPDATED: IDENTIFY THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR DEATH.]

[REWARD: 10 SYSTEM POINTS.]

[FAILURE: ONE IMPORTANT MEMORY WILL BE ERASED.]

I stared at the notification and wondered what important memory it meant, but before I could ask for details another message appeared.

[WARNING: YOUR ACTIONS HAVE ALTERED THE ORIGINAL TIMELINE.]

[APOCALYPSE COUNTDOWN: 71 HOURS, 42 MINUTES.]

I had less than three days before the world collapsed, and I still had no idea how to survive it.

“Now,” Adrian said, drawing my attention back to him, “we need to talk.”

“Why, so you can tell me how you know I died?”

“Yes.”

I studied his face. “And what do you get out of helping me?”

“Nothing.”

“Everybody wants something.”

His expression changed, and for the first time the confidence in his eyes slipped. “That’s true,” he admitted, “but what I want from you isn’t something you can give me yet.”

My heart skipped. “What does that mean?”

Adrian glanced at my left hand, where my wedding ring still sat. “Take that ring off, John.”

I looked down at it. “No.”

“Then keep wearing it when the world ends.”

He turned to leave, but I caught his arm. “Wait! What do you know about the apocalypse?”

Adrian stopped and slowly looked over his shoulder. “Enough to know that when it begins, some people will gain abilities.”

“And the others?”

His eyes met mine. “They’ll become monsters.”

A notification flashed across my vision.

[NEW MAIN MISSION: SURVIVE THE FIRST WAVE.]

[TIME REMAINING: 71 HOURS, 41 MINUTES.]

[REWARD: FIRST SKILL UNLOCK.]

Then Adrian said something that made my blood run cold.

“John, when the apocalypse starts, don’t let anyone see the mark on your chest.”

My hand flew to my shirt, because I had never told him about the mark, and I had not even known it was there.