Chapter 3 – The Awakening
Doomsday Rewind: No More Mercy
Chapter 3 – The Awakening
Serena sat at her desk, flipping through pages of survival guides and emergency preparedness manuals. The dim glow of her lamp illuminated her face as she scribbled down notes—supplies she needed, locations to scavenge, and backup plans in case things went wrong.
Her fingers trembled slightly. Not from fear, but from the overwhelming weight of what she had to do.
She had three months to prepare for the apocalypse.
A soft rustling noise caught her attention.
She turned, eyes narrowing at the strange, dust-covered box she had pulled from her father's old storage unit earlier that evening. It was old—far older than anything she had ever seen in their family belongings.
With a hesitant breath, she lifted the lid.
Inside was a small, glass vial filled with a swirling golden liquid. There was no label, no instructions—only a faint inscription on the side, written in a language she didn't recognize.
Something about it called to her.
Curiosity and instinct warred inside her, but in the end, she did what any desperate survivor would do when faced with something unknown.
She drank it.
The Change
The moment the liquid touched her tongue, a sharp, burning sensation spread through her throat. Serena gasped, clutching her chest as heat seared through her veins, her body convulsing as if every cell was being rewritten.
Her vision blurred. Her pulse pounded in her ears. The world around her tilted.
Then—
Silence.
When she opened her eyes, everything felt… different.
The air smelled sharper, the fabric of her hoodie rougher against her skin. She could hear the faint buzzing of a streetlight outside, the subtle creak of the apartment settling.
Serena raised a trembling hand and—
It disappeared.
Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at her now-invisible fingers. She waved her hand, and the effect remained—her body fading in and out of sight at will.
Her heart raced.
She wasn't just stronger now.
She was evolving.
The Portal
Still reeling from her newfound ability, Serena paced her small apartment, testing the limits of her invisibility. It lasted as long as she concentrated, and the moment her focus wavered, she reappeared.
But then—something else happened.
She reached for a nearby notebook, but as soon as her fingers brushed against it, a strange pulling sensation formed in her palm.
A dark void ripped open before her, swirling with energy, as if the very fabric of space had been torn apart. The notebook slipped from her grasp—only to vanish into the portal's depths.
Serena's breath hitched.
She willed the portal to close. It obeyed.
Her hands shook as she willed it open again, and the notebook tumbled out, completely unchanged.
Her mind raced.
If she could store things in this space, if time didn't affect whatever was inside…
She had just gained the perfect survival tool.
The Shopping Spree of the Century
For the first time since waking up in the past, Serena felt hope.
No more worrying about food spoiling. No more struggling to carry supplies. She could store everything she needed and no one would ever find it.
She needed to move. Now.
Throwing on a hoodie and mask, Serena slipped out into the city.
She made her way to the nearest 24-hour supermarket, grabbing a cart and moving with a purpose. Bags of rice, dried beans, canned meats—everything she could get her hands on. She grabbed vitamins, painkillers, antibiotics, and medical supplies.
People gave her weird looks as she loaded ten carts full of food.
She didn't care.
She strolled into the self-checkout lane, pretended to scan a few items for show, then—
She vanished.
In the blink of an eye, Serena disappeared, and so did every single cart.
The store cameras wouldn't catch anything. The people around her wouldn't understand what they just saw. By the time anyone reacted, she was already blocks away.
And that was just the beginning.
Phase Two: Weapons & Gear
Supermarkets were easy. Now, she needed something more dangerous.
Weapons. Armor. Tactical gear.
She headed toward an outdoor survival store, one of the largest in the city.
Knives, crossbows, bulletproof vests—she cleaned out the entire shop. Every tent, every sleeping bag, every hiking boot.
By the time the sun began to rise, she had enough supplies to last years.
And it was all safely stored inside her portal, untouched by time.
The Hunter, Not the Prey
Serena walked home as the early morning light painted the city in hues of gold. The world continued as if nothing had changed, as if it wasn't three months away from the end.
But Serena had changed.
This time, she wouldn't be a helpless victim.
This time, she wouldn't beg for scraps or trust the wrong people.
She had power. She had time. She had knowledge.
The old Serena died in the apocalypse.
The new one would thrive in it.