Apocalypse Domination: A Cold Rebirth

"Open the door, Chloe. I have the food." Liam pressed his bleeding knuckles against the frosted glass.

He stood shivering on the concrete porch of his own home. The polar storm buried the city for three months. The temperature hovered near negative sixty degrees. In this white hell, being locked outside guaranteed death.

Just four hours ago, Liam ventured into the subzero blizzard to scavenge for supplies. He fought starving strays and traded blows with desperate looters to secure a single plastic bag of instant noodles. A man with a rusted screwdriver slashed his forearm over a frozen can of beans.

Liam ignored the pain and ran through the blinding snow. His hands bore deep defensive gashes. His boots soaked through with freezing slush. He suffered through the biting wind to keep his girlfriend alive.

The moment he returned, she opened the door just wide enough to snatch the plastic bag from his frozen fingers. A wave of fireplace heat washed over his numb face. It felt like paradise.

"Thank you for the food," Chloe said. Her face held zero sympathy.

"Let me inside," Liam wheezed as his teeth cracked together. "My skin is turning black, and I cannot feel my legs."

"Julian is stressed out," Chloe replied. She pointed into the warm living room.

Julian lounged on the velvet sofa. He was the wealthy transfer student who promised Chloe a spot in a luxury military bunker once his uncle arrived. For now, he squatted in Liam's house.

Julian wore Liam's thick winter coat and scrolled through a dead phone out of sheer habit.

"You are the one who knows the streets, Liam," Chloe spat. "You are supposed to endure the outside work. Stop acting selfish."

"Chloe, I will die out here," Liam begged while reaching weakly for the wooden doorframe.

Chloe slapped his hand away. She planted her heavy boot squarely on his chest and shoved him backward.

Liam let out a breathless whimper. He collapsed down the frozen steps and tumbled into a deep snowdrift.

"Just let him freeze, Chloe," Julian called out from the sofa. He did not even look up from the blank screen. "A few hours in the cold will teach him some respect. Tomorrow morning, he will still be your obedient dog."

Chloe sneered at Liam. She slammed the heavy steel door shut, and the deadbolt locked with a loud click.

Liam lay paralyzed in the snow. He stared through the large living room window. Inside, Chloe draped a second blanket around Julian's shoulders and kissed his cheek.

I was just a tool, Liam thought, while a bitter tear froze solid on his face.

He remembered the long days he spent working double shifts at the campus cafeteria just to buy her textbooks. He remembered selling his bicycle to afford her birthday present. He gave her everything, but she never saw him as a human being. The cold began to shut down his organs. First came the violent shaking, followed by the terrifying numbness. His vision blurred at the edges.

As the ice froze his lungs, a singular violent thought burned in his mind.

If I get another chance, I will watch you both freeze.

Liam gasped and shot upward in bed.

He grabbed at his throat. There was no suffocating ice. His fingers brushed against warm skin and soft cotton sheets. He inhaled huge gulps of clean air and threw the blankets off his legs.

He swung his feet over the edge of the mattress and planted them on the hardwood floor. The wood felt remarkably warm against his bare soles.

He blinked blankly. He was in his own bedroom inside his apartment on Maple Street. The bedside lamp cast a warm glow across the room.

Liam stood up and walked to the attached bathroom. He gripped the edges of the porcelain sink and stared into the mirror. His face lacked the sunken cheeks and gray pallor of starvation. He turned the faucet handle. Clear water poured into the basin. In his previous life, the pipes froze solid on the second day of the disaster. He splashed the water on his face and relished the feeling of liquid moisture.

"Are you having a nightmare?"

Liam turned his head. Chloe stood by the bedroom mirror. She applied a fresh coat of red lipstick. She wore a tight black dress and tall leather boots.

He walked back into the bedroom and snatched his phone from the bedside table. November twelfth flashed on the screen. Exactly thirty days remained before the global temperature plummeted and the ice age swallowed the earth.

A hollow laugh escaped his chest. He was really back.

The memories of his past life played out like a horror film. He remembered the starvation and the brutal betrayal. He remembered the exact feeling of his blood turning to sludge while the woman he loved warmed another man.

He looked around the room. The heating vent blew warm air across his face. His desk was cluttered with textbooks and loose papers. The radiator hummed in the corner. It was the ordinary life he had lost.

Now he had thirty days.

His chest tightened as he looked at Chloe. She dated him for two years simply because he was a dependable student who paid the rent and bought her meals. When the disaster hit, she traded his loyalty for Julian's empty promises of wealth.

"You look terrible," Chloe said. She picked up her designer purse from the dresser and adjusted her posture. "I am going to a brainstorming class with my classmates. We have a group project due next week."

Liam stared at her while his mind raced. In his previous life, he rolled over and went back to sleep. He believed her lie without question and even made her breakfast the next morning. But the horrific memories of the frozen wasteland told a different story.

This was the exact night she met Julian at the Sterling Hotel. This was the night the affair started. Julian used his family wealth to impress her, and she took the bait.

Liam remained silent. He needed to be sure. He needed to know if the freezing death was a hallucination or a genuine memory of the future. He looked at her dress and noticed the expensive perfume she wore. He bought that perfume for her anniversary present just two weeks ago. She was using his gift to smell nice for another man.

"A brainstorming class at nine in the evening?" Liam asked, keeping his voice calm.

Chloe paused. She avoided his gaze and adjusted the strap of her purse. "Yes. Everyone is busy during the day. We have to meet at the campus library now to get the work done."

"You are dressed up for the library," Liam noted.

"I have standards, Liam," Chloe snapped. "Just because you wear the same sweatpants every day does not mean I have to look like a slob. Do not wait up for me. I might crash at Sarah's dorm if the project takes too long."

She walked out of the bedroom without a second glance. The front door clicked shut.

Liam did not chase after her or demand an explanation. He felt no anger toward her insult. He felt profound clarity. He walked to his closet and pulled out a pair of dark jeans and a black hooded jacket. He tied his shoes and grabbed his keys from the kitchen counter. He needed to verify his memories. If he found her with Julian, he would know the ice age was coming.

Liam stepped out of the apartment building and into the crisp autumn night. The air felt like a gentle breeze compared to the negative sixty-degree winds burned into his memory.

As he walked down the street, Liam looked at the oblivious crowds. In thirty days, these same laughing students would break into homes with kitchen knives. The pretzel vendor would freeze to death on this exact corner. The glowing city would become a massive tomb.

He remembered Julian's background. The wealthy transfer student lived in a luxury suite at the

Sterling Hotel in the downtown district. Julian bragged about the room during their campus lectures. He loved to flaunt his family money to anyone who would listen.

Liam hailed a passing taxi. He gave the driver the address and leaned back against the leather seat.

The taxi pulled up to the Sterling Hotel. Liam paid the fare and stepped onto the pristine sidewalk. He bypassed the main reception desk and joined a group of businessmen entering the elevator. He pressed the button for the eighth floor.

The elevator doors chimed and slid open. Liam stepped out into the quiet, carpeted hallway. The air smelled of expensive cleaning supplies. He walked past several doors until he reached

Room 804. This was the suite Julian boasted about.

Liam stood in the shadows of the corridor and waited. He did not have to wait long. He approached the heavy wooden door and pressed his ear against the frame.

The sounds were unmistakable. He heard Chloe laugh, followed by the wet sound of kissing. He heard Julian murmur something low, and Chloe responded with a soft sigh.