30:12:59:02.
That was the first thing Jenna saw when she opened her eyes.
The blinking red numbers glared from the corner of her cracked screen, like a warning light in an emergency room.
Thirty-one days, twelve hours, fifty-nine minutes, two seconds.
But it wasn't just her phone.
Every student in class had gone quiet. Their phones were suddenly identical. Same numbers. Same blinking red font. Same strange glitchy ticking noise.
The classroom projector displayed the same countdown, blazing across the black screen in jagged red digits.
"Is this... a prank?" someone whispered.
But no one answered.
Even Mr. Halberd, the usually unshakable history teacher, looked uneasy. His gaze swept the classroom, every student had their phones to their faces. He glanced down at his own screen once more, brows furrowed.
"New apocalypse marketing stunt?" a boy with a bully presence shouted from the back seat, obviously sarcastic.
A girl with her uniform worn wrongly, and hair rolled on a red roller groaned, "Ugh, we're gonna die right before exams? That's what I call lucky."
That finally tipped the class and a boisterous laughter erupted from the students, instantly killing the dull mood.
Taking advantage of that, Mr. Halberd banged the podium with his textbook. "Alright, settle down everyone," he continued. "It's probably just some coordinated hoax from hackers. Let's not panic. Where did we stop?"
The class chorused.
Some booed, giving him a thumbs down, they hated history classes. Others put their phones away, focusing on their textbooks.
However, not Jenna.
She held her cracked phone, still frozen in her seat… hands trembling, face pale, breath lodged in her throat.
This wasn't a prank.
This was real.
Too real.
No, wait.
Why was she here?
She was supposed to be dead…
Her gaze shot to the calendar matted on the wall.
March 2nd, 2028.
She stared at the date in disbelief. She'd returned to five years before her death…a month before the apocalypse…?
She took in her uniform, then her slender porcelain hands… no multi colors. No burns. No bruises and scars. No calluses.
She was eighteen, again!
Her heart drummed in her chest as realization dawned on her.
She shot up from her seat like someone possessed.
"I'm alive!" she screamed.
All heads turned toward her.
But before anyone could question her…before Mr. Halberd could raise an eyebrow or a classmate could throw a snarky comment, Jenna snatched her black and white backpack and bolted for the door, chair scraping violently against the linoleum floor, leaving everyone stunned.
"Jenna Churchill!" Her teacher shouted.
She didn't stop.
Her footsteps echoed down the hallway as she ran past motivational posters, past classrooms, and down the stairs.
She drew attention as she ran. Some teachers called after her, after all, they'd just returned from lunch break not long again.
Still, she kept going.
If this was a second chance, she wasn't going to waste it sitting in class and taking history that absolutely wouldn't help anyone a month later.
Many things needed to be done. But first thing first…antique market.
That ring.
…
"Gerald Antique Square," she told the cab driver.
As the cab swept through the city, Jenna watched the busy Mega City from the window – the largest and most prosperous city in Amrika.
It was known as the city of production, wealth, and power, but sadly, none of those could hold up against natural disasters, monsters, and invaders.
Jenna had survived five years in the apocalypse with absolutely nothing — no food, no clothes, no medicine and was forced to scavenge for not just herself, but her parasite uncle's family.
She had seen these buildings collapse. She'd seen these streets turn to rubble, occupied by invaders who loathed humans. She had seen people kill themselves over expired food, even eating their dead ones.
As for Jenna, when she lost her usefulness, her uncle's family sold her for one can of sweet corn.
Just one can.
And then, there was that man…
Jenna's heart trembled at the thought of that man…
De Warden.
He ruled the apocalypse because he had a spatial ring. He hoarded supplies that could save the whole city, or worse, country, for tens of years, yet he let people starve to death.
He became one of the human superpowers, with ammunition that could rival the invaders but he used them only when his interest was in jeopardy. His side of the city was the only safe haven for humans in the east, yet no single person could make it past his highly fortified walls. Not because the city lacked space, or means to sustain humans, but because he loved seeing humans die.
It was a game for him.
He arranged a death arena outside the gates—one survival in fifty participants. When a lucky winner emerged, without battle prowess or a genius mind, he tossed them a few supplies in the presence of hungry crowd, automatically putting a target on that person's back.
As for those with battle prowess who won with sheer ability or strategy, he allowed them and their families into his city, enabling him to build an undefeatable army.
After Jenna was sold for a can of sweet corn, she escaped and ran to De Warden's city, hoping she could get in.
She begged in front of the gate for weeks. She wasn't asking for freebies. She wanted to work, maybe join the cleaners or those working in his farm, in exchange for food and protection, but instead, De Warden took her in as entertainment for his men.
Those monsters ravaged her and other powerless girls for days on end without proper food nor water. The only time she got something decent to eat, was when one of the girls shared her food with them.
Tina.
That was her name. She was good at serving multiple men at once and became their favorite. They gave her extra food and Tina shared with the girls.
She was nice, yet was stabbed in the back by one of the girls she sacrificed for, and died.
After Tina's death, Jenna couldn't last a month. She grew sick but instead of treating her, De Warden fed her to his hounds, in front of everyone in the city, as a warning to everyone, that laziness or lack of strength was not tolerated in the city.
Jenna died having her flesh torn apart piece by piece by blood-thirsty hounds.
"... countdown timers appearing on screens everywhere, experts claimed it was a protest from a group of hackers targeting the government—"
Jenna's mind drifted back and forth between the past and present. She clenched her fists on her lap. If only she could find that ring before the monster does.
But the problem was, she didn't know what it looked like or which antique store the monster got it from.