Caryn strode from the walk-in closet directly to the antique vanity her grandmother had given her. She ignored the neatly arranged makeup and perfume bottles, her hands going straight to the bottom drawer.
Her fingers dug through the clutter, a frantic edge to her movements. She was searching for the one thing that mattered, the one piece of her past that might secure her future.
There.
Tucked into a worn-out cigar box was a small, tarnished silver locket on a delicate chain. It was Victorian, intricately carved with faded floral patterns. It was the only thing her grandmother had left her from her own mother.
She snatched it up, the metal cool and heavy in her palm. In the last life, during a desperate escape, she had encountered bandits; a sharp blade sliced her neck, blood staining the pendant, and then she entered a strange space.
She had to know. This time, she would not wait until her dying breath to unlock what was rightfully hers.
Her eyes darted around the room, landing on a small pair of eyebrow scissors on the vanity. She reached for them, desperate to activate the locket the way -with blood.
In her haste, her hand scraped against a rusty staple on the edge of the old cigar box. A sharp sting, followed by a surprising well of crimson.
A single, perfect drop of blood welled up on the tip of her index finger.
Before she could even think, it fell.
The drop landed squarely in the center of the locket's carved surface.
It didn't just sit there. It vanished, absorbed into the silver as if the metal were a sponge. The tarnished surface pulsed with a faint, ethereal blue light.
A wave of heat, intense and sudden, radiated from the locket, making her gasp.
The air in the room began to feel thick, distorted, like looking through heat haze. A powerful, silent force tugged at her from within, a feeling like the world's strongest magnet was pulling on her very core.
Her bedroom dissolved into a blur of swirling colors.
The sensation of falling, weightless and disoriented, lasted only a second. Then her feet hit solid ground with a soft thud.
The sudden silence was absolute.
Caryn opened her eyes. She was standing on a smooth, gray floor that stretched out in every direction into a misty, undefined horizon. There were no walls, no ceiling, just an endless expanse of neutral gray under a soft, sourceless light. The air was clean, still, and a perfect, neutral temperature.
It was real. The legend was real.
A choked, hysterical laugh escaped her lips. She dropped to her knees, her hands pressing flat against the solid floor. It was real. This was her secret weapon. Her ark. In the last life she had stumbled through the apocalypse with nothing but the clothes on her back and a locket she didn't know how to use. Now, she had thirty days and a space where time itself stood still. The contrast was so sharp it left her breathless.
She focused on the memory of her bedroom, on the scent of her perfume and the feel of the plush rug under her nightstand. The pulling sensation returned, and in the blink of an eye, she was back, standing in front of her vanity. The locket in her hand was warm to the touch, its surface now gleaming as if freshly polished.
Her heart hammered against her ribs. She had to test it.
Her eyes landed on the heavy, oversized makeup case on her vanity-a monstrosity filled with dozens of palettes and brushes, easily weighing twenty pounds. She wrapped her hand around its handle, the locket still clutched in her other fist, and thought, In.
The case vanished from her grasp. Her hand was suddenly holding nothing but air.
She took a shaky breath and thought, Out.
The case reappeared in her hand with a solid, reassuring weight, exactly as it had been.
A wild, triumphant grin spread across her face. She glanced at the digital clock on her nightstand. The numbers hadn't changed. Not a single second had passed.
Time was frozen inside the space.
The implications of that discovery hit her with the force of a physical blow. Hot food would stay hot forever. Fresh produce would never rot. Medicine would never expire.
The gnawing, soul-deep terror of starvation that had been her constant companion for five years began to recede, replaced by a surge of intoxicating power. This space wasn't just for storage. It was a guarantee. A promise of life.
Her brain, now clear of panic, kicked into high gear. She needed to fill this space. She needed money. A lot of it. And she needed to get out of Seattle, out of this city destined to be the epicenter of the first great disaster. She needed to get to her grandparents in Portland.
Caryn walked back to the closet and pulled out a large, black duffel bag. She moved with a new, decisive energy, throwing in her passport, her birth certificate, a stash of emergency cash she kept hidden, and a few changes of practical clothing. Everything else was disposable.
She zipped the bag shut and walked to the window, pulling aside the blinds. Below, the city was waking up. People were jogging, walking their dogs, lining up at coffee shops. They were living in a world that had thirty days left on its lease. They had no idea the ground beneath their feet was a ticking time bomb.
A coldness settled over her. She felt no pity. No desire to be a savior. She couldn't save them all. She had died once trying to help others. Never again.
This time, she would save her grandparents. She would save herself.
And she would make Ford Nichols, and his manipulative father, pay for the privilege of funding her survival.
She let the blinds fall, plunging the room back into shadow. The world outside, with its false peace and oblivious citizens, no longer concerned her.
Her new world was just beginning.
