The Last 72 Hours: I Know Who Will Survive.

Chapter 2 — The First 24 Hours

Chapter 2 — The First 24 Hours

The city went dark.

For three seconds, Ethan Carter didn't move.

He stood in front of the window, staring at the black sky above the buildings.

Then the first scream came.

A woman's scream.

It rose from the street below, sharp and terrified, before being swallowed by dozens of others.

Car horns began blaring.

People shouted.

Glass shattered.

Somewhere nearby, an explosion shook the building.

Ethan's mind went completely clear.

The apocalypse had begun.

But something was wrong.

Very wrong.

He grabbed his phone.

12:03 AM.

According to his memories, the Awakening wouldn't begin until tomorrow night.

He had remembered the date incorrectly.

No.

That wasn't possible.

He had lived through the apocalypse for three years.

He had watched the first day happen.

He had memorized the timeline because knowing what came next had been the only advantage a survivor possessed.

The first black rain.

The first mutations.

The collapse of the electrical grid.

The appearance of the energy zones.

The first wave of infected creatures.

Everything should have happened tomorrow.

Not tonight.

Ethan opened his bedroom drawer and pulled out a small notebook.

The cover was worn.

He had used it during his first life to record everything he learned.

He flipped through the pages.

Day One — 11:40 PM: Power failure.

Day One — 11:52 PM: Black rain.

Day One — 12:17 AM: First Awakening.

Day One — 1:05 AM: First mutation.

His eyes stopped.

The time was different.

He looked at the clock.

12:04 AM.

Four minutes after midnight.

A drop of black liquid struck his window.

Ethan's expression changed.

"No."

Another drop.

Then another.

Within seconds, thousands of black droplets began falling from the sky.

Black rain.

It was early.

Twenty-four hours early.

Ethan immediately stepped away from the window.

He knew what the rain did.

Touching it wasn't automatically fatal.

That was the terrifying part.

Some people developed abilities after exposure.

Others became sick.

And some...

Some began changing.

Ethan grabbed his backpack from the closet.

He had less than twenty-four hours.

If the timeline had shifted, everything he knew could become useless.

But the first rule remained the same.

Survive the first night.

He opened his safe.

Inside were his passport, some cash, a flashlight, two knives, and a small emergency radio.

In his previous life, those things had meant nothing.

This time, they could save him.

He took everything.

Then he stopped.

The message.

Don't trust the woman you love.

Maya.

Ethan looked at the photograph sitting on his desk.

He and Maya were smiling.

It had been taken six months before the apocalypse.

Back then, Ethan believed he had married the woman he would spend the rest of his life with.

He had been wrong.

Maya had left him during the second month.

She hadn't simply abandoned him.

She had taken his supplies.

She had revealed the location of his shelter to another survivor group.

And she had watched from a distance while those people killed him.

Ethan had spent three years hating her.

Now he had another chance.

He could prevent it.

Or he could simply walk away.

His phone vibrated.

Another unknown message.

UNKNOWN:

If you want to live, leave your apartment.

Ethan stared at it.

Then another message appeared.

UNKNOWN:

Do not go to the hospital.

He frowned.

That was strange.

The hospital was where Ethan had found his first group in his previous life.

It had become one of the safest buildings in the city.

He had expected to go there immediately.

But someone knew that.

Someone knew what he remembered.

Someone was guiding him.

Ethan typed:

Who are you?

The message showed:

Typing...

Then stopped.

No reply.

Ethan cursed.

He put the phone away.

There was no time.

He opened the front door.

The hallway was chaos.

Neighbors were running toward the stairs.

Someone was crying.

A man was pounding on an apartment door.

"Open up!"

Another resident shouted from the stairwell.

"Don't touch the rain!"

Ethan moved quickly.

He knew what would happen next.

The elevators would stop.

The emergency lights would fail.

And the first mutation would appear inside the building.

He reached the stairs.

A loud crash came from the fifth floor.

Everyone froze.

Then came a strange sound.

A wet clicking noise.

Ethan knew it immediately.

"Run."

Nobody moved.

"RUN!"

He sprinted down the stairs.

A second later, something exploded through the apartment door above them.

People screamed.

Ethan didn't look back.

He reached the third floor.

Then the second.

Then—

A man fell from above.

His body slammed into the stairs.

Blood spread across the concrete.

The survivors screamed.

Ethan jumped over him.

The thing followed.

It moved too quickly.

A woman behind Ethan was grabbed.

She screamed as something pulled her upward.

"Ethan!"

He turned.

The creature was attached to the ceiling.

Its body was twisted.

Its arms were unnaturally long.

Its mouth opened sideways.

A newly mutated human.

Ethan knew how to kill it.

He pulled one of his knives.

Waited.

The creature lunged.

Ethan stepped aside.

It crashed into the wall.

He drove the knife into the soft area beneath its jaw.

Black blood sprayed across the stairs.

The creature convulsed.

Then collapsed.

Everyone stared at Ethan.

The young man standing beside him whispered:

"How did you know where to stab it?"

Ethan wiped the blade against his jacket.

"I got lucky."

He didn't wait for another question.

He ran outside.

The city looked like hell.

Black rain covered the streets.

Cars had crashed into each other.

People were running in every direction.

The power grid was completely dead.

Ethan pulled up his hood.

He had one destination.

The supermarket three blocks away.

In his first life, it had been emptied within two hours.

This time, he would get there first.

He ran.

The rain hit his jacket.

Even through the fabric, he felt a strange warmth.

His heartbeat accelerated.

Something was happening inside him.

Ethan ignored it.

He reached the supermarket.

The automatic doors were open.

Inside, dozens of people were fighting over food.

Someone had already started stealing bottled water.

Ethan grabbed a shopping cart.

He didn't hesitate.

Water.

Canned food.

Batteries.

Medicine.

Lighters.

Protein bars.

Salt.

Matches.

Everything he could carry.

A man shoved him.

"Get your own food!"

Ethan looked at him.

"You're wasting your time."

"What?"

"The power will be out for weeks."

The man laughed.

"You're crazy."

Ethan walked away.

He didn't have time to convince anyone.

He had another destination.

The sporting goods store next door.

He entered through the back.

There were no customers.

Perfect.

He grabbed backpacks, camping equipment, climbing ropes, thermal blankets, portable stoves, water filters and flashlights.

Then he saw something that made him stop.

A metal case.

The label read:

EMERGENCY RADIOACTIVE HAZARD PROTECTION — RESTRICTED USE

Ethan remembered this product.

In his previous life, it had saved a group of survivors during the third month.

He grabbed it.

Then he heard footsteps.

Someone was behind him.

Ethan turned.

A young woman stood at the entrance.

Dark hair.

Black jacket.

Blood on her cheek.

She was holding a metal pipe.

Ethan recognized her.

His heart stopped.

Mia.

She was supposed to be dead.

Not just dead.

She had died on the first day.

Ethan remembered carrying her body.

He remembered her final words.

Don't leave me.

But now she was standing in front of him.

Alive.

Watching him.

Her eyes widened.

"Ethan?"

He couldn't answer.

Mia slowly lowered the pipe.

"I've been looking for you."

Ethan took a step backward.

"Why?"

She stared at him.

"Because I had a dream."

His expression hardened.

"What kind of dream?"

Mia swallowed.

"I saw this city three years from now."

Silence.

Ethan's blood ran cold.

"What did you see?"

"You."

She took another step.

"You were standing in front of a huge black tower."

Ethan felt his chest tighten.

Mia continued.

"You were older."

"You were covered in blood."

"And there was a woman beside you."

Ethan's eyes narrowed.

"Who?"

Mia shook her head.

"I couldn't see her face."

Then she whispered:

"But I heard her say something."

Ethan waited.

Mia's voice trembled.

"She said..."

She looked directly into his eyes.

"You promised you'd find me when we came back."

Ethan froze.

The exact words from his vision.

Before he could speak, his phone vibrated.

A new message appeared.

UNKNOWN:

Do not trust Mia.

Ethan stared at the screen.

Mia noticed his expression.

"What happened?"

Ethan slowly locked his phone.

"Nothing."

Outside, thunder shook the building.

Then every surviving phone in the city received the same emergency alert.

Ethan's phone lit up.

NATIONAL EMERGENCY WARNING

DO NOT TRAVEL TO MEDICAL FACILITIES.

DO NOT APPROACH GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS.

DO NOT TRUST INDIVIDUALS CLAIMING TO HAVE INFORMATION ABOUT THE APOCALYPSE.

Ethan's face changed.

The warning was impossible.

In his first life, the government had remained silent for the first twelve hours.

This time, someone was already broadcasting instructions.

Then the final line appeared.

IF YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED MEMORIES OF THE FUTURE, REPORT IMMEDIATELY TO THE NEAREST AWAKENING CENTER.

Ethan stared at the screen.

Awakening center?

He had never heard those words before.

Mia looked at him.

"Ethan..."

"What?"

"Do you know what an Awakening Center is?"

He slowly shook his head.

"No."

Another message appeared on his phone.

This time, it contained only four words.

UNKNOWN:

They found you already.

Ethan looked toward the store entrance.

Outside, through the black rain, three vehicles stopped in the street.

Their doors opened simultaneously.

Men in black uniforms stepped out.

Each one carried the same symbol on their chest.

72.

Ethan's hand tightened around his knife.

He had spent three years believing he knew how the apocalypse worked.

Now he understood the truth.

He hadn't been given a second chance in the same world.

He had been sent into a different one.