5: 10 AM.
Jenna woke up with a sharp gasp, her chest rising and falling rapidly as her eyes darted around the room. Sweat drenched her hairline, her sheets tangled around her legs like chains.
It was a dream...no, not quite a dream.
It was the apocalypse. The memory of how she was torn apart by hounds. It felt so real, like she was reliving it for the second time.
Jenna clutched her chest, her fingers curling into her nightshirt. She forced herself to breathe. Long, slow breaths.
'She was back now. Such things won't happen again.' She told herself, still, she couldn't shake the feeling of restlessness. The feeling that something terrible was about to happen to her.
Perhaps, it was the trauma of the apocalypse. She thought.
She didn't recall the last time she slept so peacefully for a few hours. For five years, she slept with her mind awake. When an ant crawled over her, she jolted awake, instinctively grabbing the rusted knife she kept on her, ready to fight.
That was how paranoid and traumatized she was in her previous life. Now, waking up to a clean room, no disaster yet, and no evil humans waiting to take advantage of her, it felt surreal.
Unable to sleep after the nightmare, she raised her right hand to wipe her face, then she caught sight of the red string her mother had tied on hers and her siblings' wrist as a good luck charm many years ago.
Ever since, she'd worn it and never took it off. In the apocalypse, after losing her siblings, the string became her only source of comfort. She'd sit and think of her parents and siblings while caressing it. Sometimes, she spoke to herself while crying. And she convinced herself that her family had reunited in heaven, promising to join them soon.
However, when the disaster in the apocalypse became much deadlier and every second became a luxury, she lost the string.
Staring at it now, Jenna caressed it softly. "I'll protect you too," she promised.
Then, she reached for her phone beside the lampstand. Pressing the 'on' button softly, her screen came on. Unlike yesterday, the apocalypse duration didn't cover the whole screen. It had lodged itself like a permanent notification on the quick panel.
[ 29:18:49:10 ]
"29 days remaining." She mumbled. "I don't have much time. That warehouse must be raided today. I have to look for a way, somehow—"
"Jeje!" a tiny voice, tinged with sleep called from behind the door.
Jenna sat up straighter, instantly alert. She recognized that voice. It was her sister, Little Gumi.
"Jeje!" the little girl called again, pounding softly on the door with her tiny fists.
"I'm up," Jenna called out, rising from the bed. She wiped her clammy forehead, tossed off the tangled sheets, and quickly padded across the room. When she opened the door, Little Gumi stood there in her oversized nightgown, blinking up at her with round, sleepy eyes and a pout.
"You weren't in the kitchen," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "We're going to be late for school."
Jenna's heart clenched. In her past life, she hadn't heard Little Gumi call her like this in years. The little girl had died too early.
"I'm sorry, Mimi," she whispered, crouching and gathering her into a tight hug.
"I'm sorry for disappointing you. I'm sorry for being weak. I'm sorry for being a terrible older sister.... I'm...." her voice trailed off, throat tight as if her uvula had expanded.
"Jeje? What are you talking about?" her small voice sounded with slight difficulty, as if she couldn't breathe properly.
Only then did Jenna realize she'd almost squeezed the life out of her sister. She quickly pulled away, wiping the tear that had slipped down her cheek.
"Jeje overslept a little." She tried to smile.
Mimi nodded, then hugged her, but this time, Jenna didn't dare to hold her too tight. The child's tiny arms cling to Jenna's neck.
"You didn't come back early from school yesterday," she mumbled into Jenna's shoulder. "Did you go to see Dada and Mama again?"
Jenna closed her eyes, nodded fervently, even though what she wanted to do was cry. "Yes, they sent their regards," she said softly, brushing the child's soft hair.
In the past, Jenna often visited the cemetery on her way back from school, and returned home late. That was why the siblings didn't bother to wait for her return before they went to bed.
A shuffling sound came from down the hall. Stanley stood by the door, hands folded on his chest.
"You're up late. Are you sick? Did anyone hit you in school again?" he said, frowning slightly.
Jenna stared, dazzled at the sight of her brother. At the sound of his voice. The little brother she never thought she'd ever see again. Remembering how she lost him, tears began to gather once again in her eyes, but she bit her lip, forcing the tears back.
Stanley's sharp eyes were already narrowing in concentration at the sight of his sister's watering eyes. He may be ten, but his perception and intelligence shouldn't be overlooked. He was as protective of his siblings as Jenna was.
"Those bullies hit you again?" his voice came out cold and authoritative, like an overprotective older brother.
Jenna chuckled. She genuinely missed this.
Releasing Mimi and rising to her feet, she replied, "That's not the case."
"Then why are you crying?"
Jenna paused. She couldn't tell him the truth now, could she?
"I remembered mom and dad." she paused. "It's nothing serious. Why did you wake up late?"
The siblings woke up 5:00 on dot, on school days. That way, Jenna could get them ready, prepare their lunchboxes and drop them off at school before going to her own school. The earlier they got things done, the better for Jenna.
"I was checking on Riri. She's still sleeping, but she's pale again. I think she needs more rest," he said.
Jenna's smile faded. "Did anything happen while I was away?"
Before Stanley could speak, Mimi beat him to it.
"Cousin Sister Hazel pushed Riri away and she stopped moving—"
"Mimi!"
Stanley cried but it was already too late. Jenna heard it loud and clear.
"Stan?" Jenna growled through gritted teeth, her voice deceptively calm. Too calm.
The kind of calm that made even Stanley's expression shift uneasily.
Jenna could take a beating and mistreatment without uttering a sound, but when her little ones were harmed, that was crossing the line, and she always fought back in the only way she knew, which always resulted in more torture for her.
Something Stanley couldn't stand.
"Tell me what happened," she demanded sternly.
Stanley pressed his lips into a thin line. He didn't want his sister to get into trouble, but with how angry she looked, he had no choice but to speak up.
"Riri fainted after the push. They called the doctor, and he said she was fine."
Jenna turned and stormed out of the room.
"Jeje!" Mimi called nervously.
"I'll be right back," Jenna said without looking back. "Stan, go brush her teeth and wake Riri gently. I'll fix breakfast afterwards."
She didn't wait for a reply as she headed straight towards the West Wing where the main family lived.
Jenna burst into the West hallway. She walked past her older cousin, Blake's room—one that used to be Stanley's and continued down the hallway until she reached the room that used to be hers, now occupied by Hazel.
Without knocking, Jenna swung the door open with a kick, sending the door slamming against the wall with a loud crash!
The room reeked of sweet assorted perfume, wealth, and entitlement.
Hazel sat on her bed, still in her frilly pink pajamas, legs crossed, scrolling through her phone with wired earphones plugged in. Her perfect nails, painted matte black, tapped on the screen in rhythm with whatever bubblegum song she was listening to.
Jenna wondered when the girl started waking so early, even in the apocalypse. She was that lazy.
For this bitch, she was pushed through hell. When Jenna joined the scavenger team, this bitch would stay under everyone's protection. But when Jenna returned with supplies, Hazel would be the first to jump on her and steal her ration.
The team leader, Maxwell, would turn a blind eye because he loved Hazel. The second in command was Blake. And the third in command had a crush on Hazel. In fact, all the men loved and protected her and most of them died just to protect her.
The man Jenna was sold to originally had interest in the pretty Hazel, who remained beautiful, clean, and well fed in the apocalypse. He offered three cans of sweet corn, a pack of jerky, and two bottles of water, but her lovers, brother, and parents vehemently refused, and instead, Hazel suggested offering Jenna.
But how could an unkempt, sun-burnt, worn out, and smelly Jenna compare to Hazel? The man begrudgingly offered a can of sweet corn.
Now, reborn and meeting this girl again, Jenna felt the urge to squeeze the life out of her, but restrained herself, knowing that hurting her right now would get in the way of her stockpiling, and could even create a butterfly effect. Until apocalypse hit, Jenna would restrain herself.
However, the murderous look in her eyes refused to be restrained. She walked straight to the bed and yanked out one of Hazel's earphones with a snap.
Hazel flinched and finally looked up. Seeing who it was, irritation flashed across her gorgeous features. "How dare you?"
Jenna's eyes glinted with malice as she asked rhetorically. "You pushed Riri?"
Hazel blinked.
"So what? That brat is always stumbling around like a baby deer. I barely touched her."
"She passed out," Jenna said, her voice growing dangerously soft. "Were you aware that you could have sent her into shock?"
Hazel rolled her eyes and scoffed. "She's too weak anyway. What's the point of her still living if she can't—"
Crack!