Chapter 2

My mind was in complete chaos, but I still rushed out instinctively to grab supplies.

The moment I reached the entrance, they were already there waiting.

Delilah, Everett Kingsley, and her brother, Brock Carrington.

Without a word, they lunged at me, tearing off my jacket and snatching the supplies from my hands.

"You’re built tough. You can handle the cold." Hooking her arm around Everett’s, she kicked me straight out the door.

The biting wind swallowed me whole. Half-naked, I could only watch as the three of them disappeared into the blizzard.

The cold drained my consciousness, little by little. My last thought before everything went dark was that if I could do it over again, I would never have stepped out of that warehouse.

"Declan! Are you even listening? Those cherries are way too sour!"

The exact same voice drilled into my head.

I jolted upright from my desk, gasping for air, my throat still burning with the phantom sting of freezing cold.

I looked around. I was back in the office.

On my phone screen, the call was still ongoing.

It was Delilah.

The calendar read 8:00 a.m. on the morning of the day I died.

Her impatient voice continued from the other end.

I cut her off. "Go to hell."

Then I hung up and blocked her.

I didn’t seal the warehouse immediately because there were still hundreds of employees and drivers in the compound.

I switched on the internal broadcast system.

"Emergency notice! We’ve received a confidential alert from higher authorities. There’s a highly contagious mutated flu outbreak in this area. All non-essential personnel must evacuate within one hour. I repeat, this is not a drill!"

Then I triggered the fire drill alarm recording. The piercing siren tore through the entire compound.

Workers dropped everything and rushed out.

I stood in the surveillance room, watching the crowd with cold detachment. Picking up the radio, I called Rhys Calder, the head of security.

"Lock down the entrance. Let everyone out. No one comes back in. In thirty minutes, I want every gate sealed. I don’t care who’s still inside."

I paused, then added, "Garrick’s on the second floor. Leave him alone."

Rhys and Garrick were both physically strong, single, and obedient. They were the most suitable allies I could pick.

Clang!

With one final thunderous crash, the massive alloy shutters slammed shut. Silence swallowed the warehouse.

I exhaled slowly, the air in my lungs carrying a faint metallic taste.

When I turned back, the backup locks were already in place.

Garrick still stood there, dazed, clearly not fully processing what had just happened.

"Stop standing around." I clapped my hands once, rubbing my temples.

For a moment, I thought things would finally settle.

A fortress.

Three men.

Simple. Controlled.

However, before that thought could fully form, a muffled cry came from the women’s restroom on the second floor, followed by frantic banging on the door.

"Help! Is anyone there? The door won’t budge..."

The three of us froze, then exchanged looks.

Rhys grabbed a baton and kicked the door open.

Inside, Tamsin Larson, a young intern from customer service was slumped on the floor. The moment she saw me, she scrambled forward and clutched my leg.

"Mr. Mercer! I’m sorry! I thought it was just a drill! My boyfriend is still outside waiting for me. Please let him in! He’ll freeze to death!" Her words tumbled out between sobs. "He has food in his car! He can help us!"

I looked down at her.

All I felt was irritation.