All Chapters of Reborn, 72 Hours Before The Apocalypse : Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

"Mrs. Dale? It's me."Two soft knocks. Two more.Nobody answered. Gray dawn light leaked through the stairwell window, and somewhere above her a dozen people were dragging bags down the stairs. Ariana stood outside 8B with a tin cup of water and waited."Mrs. Dale? We're leaving in ten minutes. I came to carry your things."She tried the handle. It turned.The curtains were open. Mrs. Dale sat in her chair by the window with a blanket over her knees and her hands folded in her lap. Last night's tin plate sat on the sill, washed and dried. The photograph of the young soldier hung above her, still laughing."There you are," Ariana said. She set the cup down. "You look so peaceful. I hate to wake you."She crossed the room and touched the old woman's hand.It was cold."Mrs. Dale?"She said it again. Then she said it a third time, quietly, because she already knew.Ariana sat down on the floor. The cup rolled off the table and water spread across the boards. She did not move to stop it.

"Go away."Her voice came out small. The letters did not move.[Apocalypse Survival System Activated.]Ariana shut her eyes. The words were still there. She could see them pale and bright against the dark behind her eyelids, as clear as they had been in the air."This isn't happening." She pressed both palms over her face. The words stayed. "You are a stroke. Or a tumor. Or I hit my head when I woke up."Nothing answered.She lowered her hands. She turned her head to the left. The text slid left with her. She turned right. It followed. She stood up so fast the chair scraped, and walked to the window, and the letters hung at the same height in front of her eyes, patient and steady."Okay. Okay. It's in my head. That's fine. That's a normal thing for a head to do." Her laugh cracked in the middle. "People hear voices. People see things. I'll call a doctor. I'll go to a doctor."Tuesday, a small, steady part of her said. In three days there will be no doctors.She stopped."What are you?