REBORN 9 HOURS AFTER BETRAYAL

The last thing I felt was the sting of cold spit on my face and the sound of my own ribs snapping like dry twigs. It hurts like a bitch. I remember the smell most, that nasty metallic stank or old blood and wet rot. Then there was Anna. My “loving” girlfriend. I can still see her face, all sweaty and pale, as she shoved me backward into the dark. 

“Sorry, Mateo! Better you than me!” She snapped and ran away.

That cunt. After ten years of me paying her bills and kissing her ass while being her bodyguard in disguise as boyfriend, she used me as a shield to get away from a pack of shamblers. She didn't even look back. She just bolted, leaving me to get ripped apart while she ran for her life. 

Then, everything went black. I thought I was dead. I should have been dead.

Gasp! 

I sat up so fast my head spun. I wasn't on the cold, dirty pavement. I was in bed. The sheets were clean, and the room smelled like those vanilla candles I always buy. 

I looked around, my heart hammering against my chest like a trapped bird. The sun was peeking through the blinds, hitting the messy pile of clothes on the floor. On the nightstand, my phone buzzed.

8:12 AM.

I stared at the dates. Tuesday. My brain felt like it was melting. This was Day Zero. The day the world went to crap. In exactly nine hours, that purple “Black Must” would roll into the city and turn everyone into a “Standardized Hive”.

“Babe? You okay? You're making weird-ass noises over there.” 

I froze. That voice. I wanted to puke just hearing it. 

Anna walked out of the bathroom, running a towel over her head. She looked so…normal. No scars, no blood. Just the same arrogant, “pretty girl” face I’d been swallowing sandpaper.

“Well, get over it. We're supposed to meet folks for brunch at ten, and you know my mom's a total psycho about being late.” She didn't even look at me. She was too busy checking herself out in the mirror, fixing her hair like she was some kind of movie star.

I looked at my hands. They were shaking, but it wasn't fear anymore. It was pure, unfiltered rage. I remembered the way her hands felt when they pushed me. I remembered the sound of her sneakers hitting the pavement as she ran away. 

“Mateo? Hello? Earth to Mateo?” Anna turned around looking annoyed. “Did you iron my gray slacks or what? I can't go to brunch looking like a hobo because you decided to sleep in.” 

I looked at her, really looked at her. I saw the “Narcissistic Parasite” she really was. In my first life, I would've jumped up, apologized, and ironed those stupid pants. 

Not today. 

“Iron ‘em yourself, Anna,” I said. I kept my voice low and cold. 

Anna's jaw dropped. “What did you just say?” 

“I said I'm not your damn maid. And I'm definitely not going to brunch with your fake-ass parents.”

I got out of bed, my legs feeling like jelly but my head clearer than it had ever been. I grabbed my big camping backpack from the closet and started throwing stuff in. I didn't have much time. Nine hours is nothing when you're trying to prepare for an apocalypse.

“Are you having a mid-life crisis or something?” Anna laughed, that annoying chuckle. “Look, if this is about me missing dinner last night, get over it, I'm gonna be a doctor, Mateo. I have real pressure.”

I stopped and walked right up to her. I'm way taller than her, when I looked her in the eye she actually stepped back. 

“In nine hours, Anna, nobody's gonna give a damn about your medical degree,” I whispered. “And honestly? Nobody's gonna give a damn about you.”

I reached past her and grabbed her wallet off the dresser. 

“Hey! Give that back!” 

“No, this is the money I gave you for your ‘textbooks’ that you actually spent on hair and makeup,” I said, flipping it open. I took the credit cards and every single twenty-dollar bill inside. “Think of it as a jerk tax for the last ten years.” 

“Mateo, I'm not kidding! Put that back or I'm calling the cops!”

I didn't even blink. I grabbed a heavy glass award from the desk and I slammed it into the wall mounted mirror. The glass exploded. Shards flew everywhere, and Anna screamed like a little girl, tripping over her own feet. 

“Don't follow me,” I told her, my heart finally finding a steady beat. “If I see you again today, I'm not gonna aim for the mirror. I'll aim for your teeth.”

I walked out of the apartment and slammed the door. I was halfway down the stairs when a sharp ping echoed right inside my brain. 

A glowing blue screen popped up right in front of my eyes. 

[Eros- Survival System Initializing…]

[User: Mateo Ambrose]

I stared at the screen, my mouth hanging open. I wasn't just lucky. I had accidentally bound a high level AI meant for the “Architects” of the new world.

I looked at the timer on the edge of the screen. 

08:42:15