chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Wall Between Us

​I stood frozen on the oil-stained concrete floor of Derrick’s garage, my hand burning where he had struck it away. The smell of gasoline and metallic rust filled my nose, but all I could focus on was the icy rage radiating from the man standing in front of me.

​In my past life, Derrick had looked at me like I hung the moon. When we were together, he would pull me into his arms after a long shift, completely unbothered by the grease on his clothes, and tell me that everything he built was for our future. Now, he stood tall and rigid, his shoulders tense, looking at me like I was a stranger who had sneaked into his home to steal from him.

​"Derrick, please," I begged, taking half a step forward before his sharp glare pinned me in place. "I know how this looks. I know what I said to you when we broke up, and I know I don't deserve to even stand in your shop. But you have to listen to me. Something terrible is coming."

​Derrick let out a harsh, dry sound that wasn't quite a laugh. He picked up a heavy metal wrench from his workbench, his knuckles turning white around the iron handle.

​"Save it, Evelyn," he said, his voice flat and hard. "Did Julian run out of money? Or did he send you here to mock me again? You made it very clear three weeks ago where you stood. You stood on his side, calling me a loser who would never amount to anything. You told me you were tired of smelling like motor oil."

​Every word he threw back at me felt like a brick hitting my chest. I remembered that day all too well now. I had come to this exact shop, wearing expensive clothes Julian had bought me, and I had handed Derrick back his ring. I had insulted his livelihood, his dreams, and his family. I had done it all to prove my loyalty to Julian, who sat in his sports car outside, laughing at us.

​"I was wrong," I choked out, tears running down my cheeks. I didn't care that I looked messy or unhinged. "I was stupid, Derrick. Julian lied to me. He’s taking advantage of my family. But that isn't even the worst part. In three months, the whole city—the whole world—is going to collapse. People are going to get sick. They're going to turn violent. You need to start buying food, water, and medical supplies. You need to fortify this garage."

​Derrick stared at me for three long seconds. There was no fear in his eyes, no curiosity—only complete, absolute disgust.

​"Are you insane?" he asked softly. "Is this your new game? You come here making up crazy stories about the world ending just to see if I’m still stupid enough to run after you?"

​"It's not a story!" I yelled, taking a step closer, my hands clasped together in desperate entreaty. "June fourteenth. Ninety days from today. A virus is going to hit the city. It spreads through bites and scratches. The government will fail in less than a week. Please, Derrick, I know you hate me, and you have every right to hate me forever. But I need you to survive. You and your sister."

​At the mention of his younger sister, Maya, Derrick's face went completely dark. He slammed the wrench down on the metal table with a deafening CRACK that made me jump.

​"Leave my sister out of your mouth," Derrick growled, pointing a grease-covered finger straight at my face. "Do not talk about Maya. Do not talk about my family. You lost the right to care about any of us the day you tried to get my shop shut down so Julian could buy the land for cheap."

​My stomach dropped. In my past life, I hadn't known Julian was trying to push Derrick out of his business. Julian had handled all the paperwork while I blindly signed whatever he put in front of me. I had actively helped ruin Derrick's life before the virus even started, and I hadn't even realized it.

​"I didn't know," I whispered, my voice breaking. "I swear to you, I didn't know he was doing that."

​"I don't care what you knew," Derrick said. He walked around the pickup truck and grabbed my upper arm. His grip was firm, not hurting me, but completely unyielding as he dragged me toward the open garage door. "Get out."

​"Derrick, wait! Just let me give you some money! Let me help you stock up!"

​"I don't want your money, Evelyn," he said, shoving me gently out onto the sidewalk before stepping back into the shade of his workshop. "I don't want your help, and I don't want your excuses. If I see your car parked outside my shop again, I'm calling the police for trespassing. We are done. We were done the moment you chose him."

​He reached up, grabbed the heavy chain of the garage door, and pulled it down with a loud, final rattle. The metal door hit the pavement, shutting me out completely.

​I stood on the hot asphalt, staring at the closed metal shutters. The morning sun was beating down on the city, people were walking past me on their way to work, and cars were honking in the street. Everything looked completely normal. No one knew that in ninety days, these streets would be littered with bodies and burning vehicles.

​I wiped my face with the back of my sleeves and took a deep breath.

​Derrick hated me. He had every reason to. He thought I was crazy, manipulative, and cruel. Talking to him wasn't going to work. Words were completely useless after everything I had done to him.

​If I wanted to save him, I couldn't just tell him about the apocalypse—I had to prepare everything myself and force him to survive when the time came. And more than that, I had to earn his trust back through action, not empty apologies.

​I turned around and walked back to my car.

​First, I needed money. Lots of it.

​I sat in the driver's seat and pulled out my phone, dialing my family’s head lawyer.

​"Evelyn?" Mr. Vance answered on the third ring. "I was just about to call you. Julian’s legal team sent over the final transfer documents for your father’s estate in the valley. We just need your signature this afternoon."

​"Cancel the transfer, Mr. Vance," I said, my voice steady and cold. "In fact, I want you to start liquidating all my personal stocks immediately. Pull every cent out of the investment accounts my father set up for me."

​There was a long pause on the line. "Evelyn, that’s millions of dollars. Your father put those stocks in place for your long-term security. What are you planning to do with that cash?"

​"I'm going to build a fortress," I said plain and simple. "And I need it done in eighty days."

​"What about Julian?" the lawyer asked, sounding confused. "He said you two were using that land for a joint venture."

​I looked at my reflection in the rear-view mirror. The swollen, tear-stained girl from five minutes ago was gone. In her place was someone who had already died once in the jaws of monsters.

​"Tell Julian the deal is off," I replied. "And if he has a problem with it, tell him he can come talk to me himself."

​I hung up the phone and started the engine. The clock was ticking, and I had ninety days to turn myself from a victim into a survivor.