Chapter 2 — Thirty Days Earlier.

“Rue, wake up! You're going to be late!”

Rue jerked upright with a strangled cry, clutching her throat as she scrambled backward against the headboard. Her hands flew over her neck, her chest, and her arms, searching for the wounds she remembered feeling as the Hollow tore into her.

“Get away from me!” she gasped. “Don't touch me!”

Her mother stood beside the bed, staring at her in alarm. “Rue, what is wrong with you? You've been sleeping for almost ten hours, and now you're screaming as if someone is trying to kill you.”

Rue stared at her, unable to breathe properly.

“Mum?”

“Yes, it's me. Who else would be standing in your bedroom at this hour?”

“But you were…” Rue's voice failed as she reached for her mother's hand, touching her fingers as though she needed proof that the woman was real. “You were gone. I saw you. I thought you were gone.”

Her mother's expression softened.

“Sweetheart, you've been having those strange dreams again, haven't you? You've been under so much pressure lately that I'm beginning to think you need a proper holiday.”

Rue shook her head and looked around the room. Her curtains were intact, sunlight streamed through the window, and her old dressing table stood against the wall with the same collection of cosmetics and books she had left there months ago. There were no reinforced walls, no emergency lamps, and no signs of the desperate life she remembered.

“What day is it?” she asked.

“Tuesday. Why?”

“What date?”

Her mother frowned. “The sixteenth. Are you sure you're feeling all right?”

Rue snatched her phone from the bedside table, nearly dropping it as she checked the screen. The date matched what her mother had said. She opened her calendar, then her messages, searching for anything that could explain the impossible situation.

Her fingers stopped when she found a message from Clark.

Dinner tonight? I miss you.

Rue stared at the words until they blurred.

“No,” she whispered. “This can't be happening.”

Her mother sat beside her. “Tell me what you dreamed about.”

“I can't explain it.”

“Try. You look as if you've seen a ghost.”

Rue swallowed hard. “Mum, what would you do if you knew something terrible was going to happen, but nobody would believe you?”

“That depends on what the terrible thing is.”

“What if it was something that could kill everyone?”

Her mother studied her face. “I would find a way to protect the people I love, even if they thought I was being unreasonable. But first, I would make sure I wasn't frightening myself over something that hadn't happened.”

Rue nodded slowly. She understood the advice, but she also knew that the Hollow were real. She had felt their claws, heard their shrieks, and watched the bunker door close between her and the only man she had trusted.

She needed proof that she had returned to the past, and she knew exactly where to begin.

“Mum, do you remember the news about those strange tremors that happened near the northern districts last month?”

“Of course. They said the engineers were investigating them. Why?”

“Have there been any more?”

“I haven't been following it closely. Rue, you're worrying me.”

“I need to check something. Can you give me a few minutes?”

Her mother sighed but stood. “I'll make you breakfast. Please come downstairs when you're ready, and don't spend the entire morning staring at your phone.”

The moment she left, Rue searched the news archives. She found the reports she remembered, including footage of a street collapsing after a series of unexplained underground vibrations. In her first life, she had seen that same footage again after the invasion began, when people desperately searched for clues about where the creatures had come from.

She checked the date of the first confirmed attack.

Thirty days remained.

Rue covered her mouth as the room seemed to shrink around her. She had not imagined her death. She had returned to the exact period before the world fell apart, and she had a month to prepare.

Her phone rang.

Clark's name appeared on the screen, and Rue watched it vibrate across the bedside table before finally answering.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he said warmly.

“You disappeared on me last night. I sent you several messages, but you didn't reply. Are you angry with me?”

Rue closed her eyes. Hearing his familiar voice was almost worse than seeing his face.

She remembered the way he had looked at her before pushing her outside, as though her terror was an inconvenience he wanted to finish dealing with.

“Why are you calling?”

There was a pause. “That's an interesting way to greet your boyfriend. Did something happen?”

“I had a bad dream.”

“About what?”

“About you.”

He chuckled. “Should I be worried? Was I doing something terrible, or were you dreaming about how handsome I am?”

Rue's fingers tightened around the phone. “I was dreaming that I trusted you, and you betrayed me when I needed you most.”

His amusement faded. “Rue, what is that supposed to mean? If someone has been telling you things about me, I'd rather you ask me directly instead of making accusations.”

“Nobody told me anything. I just wanted to hear what you would say.”

“Then let me reassure you. I love you, and I'm not going anywhere. You know that, don't you?”

Rue looked toward the window, where ordinary people moved along the street without any idea of the horror approaching them.

“No, Clark,” she said quietly. “I don't think I know that anymore.”

He was silent for a moment before attempting to laugh it off. “You're being strange today. Have you eaten anything? Perhaps you need to get out of the house and clear your head. We can have dinner tonight, and you can tell me all about this nightmare.”

“I can't have dinner tonight. I have things to do.”

“What things?”

“Things that matter to me.”

“Rue, you're talking as though I'm a stranger. Whatever is going on, you can tell me.”

“I know. That's the problem.”

She ended the call before he could respond, then sat motionless until her breathing steadied. She would not confront him about a betrayal he had not yet committed in this life.

She would not waste precious time trying to punish him for a future that could still change. She would simply remove him from her plans and make sure that, when the apocalypse arrived, he had no power over her survival.

Downstairs, her mother was setting breakfast on the table.

“You look better,” she observed. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”

Rue sat opposite her. “Mum, I need you to listen carefully. I know this will sound impossible, but I need you to trust me for a little while.”

Her mother's hands stilled. “What are you planning to do?”

“Prepare for an emergency. A serious one. I need food that can last for months, medical supplies, water, batteries, tools, and a vehicle that can survive damaged roads. I also need you to keep some things ready in case we have to leave quickly.”

“Rue, what kind of emergency requires all of that?”

“The kind where waiting until everyone else understands could get us killed.”

Her mother stared at her for a long moment. “Are you certain?”

Rue thought of the bunker door closing and the creatures emerging from the darkness.

“Yes,” she said. “I've never been more certain of anything in my life.”

She rose, collected her bag, and headed for the door.

She had thirty days to prepare, and she intended to use every single one.