Chapter 4-Better survival chances

Chapter 4: 4-Better survival chances

"Nathaniel, I’m here."

He didn’t hear her because the words were simple mutters under her breath. She almost stepped forward but she stopped herself.

’No, not yet,’ she thought.

There was too much preparations to be made and with how sour their relationship was, it would take time to mend it. Time she couldn’t waste while the end of the world was around the corner.

She had learned one thing from dying in the past; trust no one especially not when the entire world was about to collapse.

She needed resources. A ship, plenty of food, medicine Incase they fall sick at sea because it would take a while for civilization to rebuilt after the apocalypse, if they ever do.

She would need weapons to fend off sea monsters, pirates and foes. It would also be a way to protect Nathaniel and prevent the first ending from repeating itself.

Aymara couldn’t simply walk into his room and say, "Hello, I died and came back seven days before the apocalypse," she would sound insane.

Besides, Nathaniel didn’t know what was coming and Aymara couldn’t afford to waste time explaining. They would have plenty of time for that in the ship.

She watched him for another minute and then another. Having a hard time turning away. His gentle appearance reminded her of the look in his eyes when he assured her that she was safe.

Nathaniel turned a page on his iPad. Unaware that he had company.

Aymara smiled faintly through her tears. "I’ll come for you," her voice was barely a whisper. "But not yet... after I have ensured our survival."

She turned around and left to make the necessary arrangements for the upcoming apocalypse.

At that exact moment, Nathaniel’s fingers stopped moving. A strange sensation crawled over his skin.

He felt like he was being watched. He slowly lifted his head. His pale gray-blue eyes turned toward the door, through the clear glass. He found nothing and no one there, only an the cold door he had gotten used to.

Nathaniel stared for several seconds.His brows drew together. For the briefest moment, he thought he had seen someone standing there.

A woman with long dark brown hair, a familiar silhouette. His heart gave an inexplicable squeeze. "Aymara...?"

The name left his lips unconsciously. It was the first person he thought about, but he quickly blinked when the bitter memory of her leaving him in the rain resurfaced. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

When silence answered him, Nathaniel shook his head. He looked down at his iPad again. He dismissed it as perhaps he was imagining things.

After all, why would she be here? She hadn’t visited him in years.

He lowered his eyes and continued reading. He had no idea that the woman he longed to see had already returned and this time, she had no intentions of leaving him ever again.

---

Aymara returned to her car. She sat behind the wheel. For several moments, she simply stared ahead without making any moves.

She thought back to the cold water that fateful day, how despite his illness and weakness, Nathaniel showed up for her. The thought made her feel extremely guilty for abandoning him in the past.

A tear ran down her face. Nathaniel deserved a better ending than having Dylan blow him to pieces. And this time, she would give him that.

Then her expression changed, the softness disappeared and the tears dried. Her eyes became sharp and focused.

She had six days before the world drowned, before money became meaningless, before the law collapsed, before people stopped being neighbors and started becoming threats, before food, supplies and drinkable water became scares and she intended to use every second wisely.

Suddenly she felt a vibration and looked down at her phone. To her surprise, the phone hadn’t received any notification.

"Strange," she whispered.

DING!

Aymara froze and glanced around her. "Did I get another phone and don’t know about it?"

Before she searched around for where the sound was coming from, a translucent blue screen appeared before her.

It had no device attached to it, no projection whatsoever, it simply floated in the air.

Her eyes widened with shock but she forced herself to remain calm.

[SURVIVAL SYSTEM ACTIVATED.]

[Congratulations, Host.]

[You have successfully returned to the critical point before the Global Apocalypse.]

[Survival probability in the original timeline: 0.0003%.]

[Current survival probability: 12%.]

[Would the Host like to bind with the Survival System?]

Aymara stared at the blue screen. She wasn’t frightened because she had read a lot of novels about system and seeing the screen meant better chances on survival.

After being quiet for a long while, she laughed. "Of course, bind."

[Binding successful.]

[Welcome, Host.]

[Survival is no longer a possibility. It is now your objective.]

Another screen appeared alongside the one she was seeing. It was like a second slide and it spoke with the same mechanical voice as the first one.

[Beginner Rewards:]

[1. Personal Storage Space.]

[2. Basic Agricultural Space.]

[3. Cruise Ship Integration Function.]

[4. Survival Points.]

[5. System Mission Function.]

Aymara’s eyes widened. "Storage space?" it was the one feature that stood out the most to her. She had read about spaces and how amazing they were.

Getting a space was literally receiving a cheat into the supplies problem during the apocalypse.

"What does this space look like?"

A new interface opened and she got a view of the inside. It was an enormous empty white space, there was no visible ceiling, no visible walls and no horizon.

Aymara’s breathing quickened. She understood immediately; food, medicine, water, fuel, weapons and seads could be stored and grown inside.

Everything she bought could be stored without anyone seeing it and if the system could upgrade her ship... Aymara’s lips slowly curved upward.

"Dylan," her voice was soft. "Sarah," she marked her enemies.

She remembered the ocean, the sharks, Nathaniel’s bloodied body and her enemies sailing away victoriously. Her smile disappeared.

"Dylan and I... We’ve rekindled our love and... I’m afraid we can’t be separated," Sarah’s words echoed in her ears. "Dylan and I have loved each other for years, Aymara. The one who isn’t loved is the other woman... you were the other woman, Aymara!"

She closed her eyes, containing her anger. Those words had struck a nerve and they still did. All her effort and years of love was reduced to her being called the other woman.

"You’ve been useful, Ayma. I’ll give you that. You had the money, the ship and were able to stock up on the supplies needed for survival, not to mention the crew to run the ship and fight monsters," his words replayed on repeat. "The storm is getting worse. We don’t have enough supplies for unnecessary passengers."

For six years, she had loved him with everything she had. She put him before everyone else, trusted him above anyone, and built her entire world around the man she believed would never abandon her. But to him, her love was nothing more than a resource... something he could exploit whenever he needed it.

He took her devotion for granted, manipulated her emotions, and used the fact that she was an orphan against her.

Slowly and deliberately, he drove a wedge between her and the people she cared about, convincing her to cut ties with her friends until there was no one left for her to turn to. No one except him.

He made himself her only source of comfort, her only family, and the one person she believed she could depend on and then came the day she was no longer useful to him but a hindrance to his and Sarah’s love.

Without hesitation, the man she had loved for six years abandoned her at sea, leaving her to drown and die or be eaten by sharks as though the years of devotion between them had meant nothing.

But even that wasn’t enough for his cruel heart. When someone came to save her, he destroyed their chance of survival too by blowing up the rescue vessel and watched as the only person who had reached out to her was swallowed by the flames and the sea.

She had loved him like he was her entire world and he had treated her like something disposable. As she sank beneath the waves, she finally understood the horrifying truth: the man she had spent six years loving had never loved her at all.

"You should have killed me properly, Dylan. I’ll ensure that my survival becomes your doom!"