‘How should I proceed?’ Mathew asked himself while pulling Nadia along.

It was something that his former self would never dare to do.

To grab and then hold a hand of a childhood friend? What was this kind of sacrilege? He wouldn’t consider himself worthy of such luxury.

But current Mathew was different. The two weeks of the apocalypse he went through changed him drastically.

‘There is no time for shyness or hesitation,’ he thought, checking the second timer in the corner of his vision.

Roughly fifty minutes remained.

Nadia didn’t seem to notice Mathew’s mental state. She was too immersed in the joy of ditching lessons with her friend for that.

‘Seeing her jump around like that,’ Mathew thought, overwhelmed with the challenges that waited ahead. Just gazing at this cheerful joy of his life was enough to lift his spirits.

‘Still, I guess there is no other way,’ Mathew thought.

He was guilty of never fully growing out of his delusional phase. Ever before the apocalypse, Mathew would imagine himself in different scenarios.

One of which turned out to be a perfect plan for his current situation.

‘I will either end up a hero or a mental case,’ Mathew thought before releasing a deep breath.

The second he knew what exactly to do, a massive burden disappeared from his back.

The two reached the first and most important point on their journey.

The infirmary.

“I’m sorry,” Mathew turned his head to the girl. “Would you mind waiting here for a second?” he asked with a small, slightly uneasy smile.

“Oh,” Nadia jumped a little, forced out of her momentary daze. “Sure, no problem,” she then replied, smiling from ear to ear.

‘She is just too bright,’ Mathew thought, turning his eyes away from the glorious sight of Nadia’s cheerful expression.

He took a step. And then another.

With every pace he made, he could feel the atmosphere changing.

It wasn’t a gift that he received from his former system. It was an instinct that only the survivors could develop. An innate feeling unlocked by those who balanced on the line between life and death.

Mathew reached the doors. Its two wings both had a blurry plane of glass in their middle, allowing one to peek inside. While the image would be distorted, it was still enough for Mathew’s purpose.

‘It’s crowded,’ he thought. He then attempted to make out the rough shapes and then count people inside. ‘Just like back then,’ he thought, backing away from the door.

He then rested his back against the wall. Yet, before his eyes could fully rest, Mathew caught a glimpse of a box.

The treasure of the world that would begin in less than an hour. A cheap box of commodities in the current world.

‘No,’ Mathew bit his lips. ‘Not yet. It’s too risky to blow a fuse so early,’ he decided, turning his eyes away from the box of medicinal supplies handing on the wall of the infirmary.

He froze in place for a moment. Even though Mathew already knew the exact path he had to take, he still required a moment to sort his thoughts out.

Because what he just saw basically confirmed his worries.

The apocalypse wasn’t just a hyperrealistic dream. The clock in the corner of his vision wasn’t some kind of illusion or hallucination.

For now, everything checked out.

‘I really traveled back in time,’ he thought, taking deep breaths to calm himself down.

‘The situation calls for the desperate measures,’ Mathew thought, closing his eyes.

He then pushed his back against the wall, propelling himself forward and returning to Nadia’s side.

“Can I borrow your phone for a bit?” Mathew asked while approaching the girl.

“Sure,” Nadia turned her head sideways, giving Mathew a cute look before passing her cell.

“Let’s go,” Mathew muttered, typing out a relatively short number on the phone.

For a moment, the two of them continued to climb the school’s stairs in silence.

Nadia was simply happy to enjoy her time alone with Mathew. Mathew didn’t have the luxury to think about anything but his current mission.

They reached the second floor in no time.

“One more stop,” Mathew said, patting the girl’s shoulder as he went ahead. Yet, after just a few steps, he suddenly stopped.

He then pulled out his wallet and then grabbed a single, thin coin.

‘Come out,’ he thought, pushing the coin into a small gap between the glass cover of the fire equipment storage box and its frame.

This box quality was just like the rest of the school. Shitty and too cheap to be of any use.

But the fire ax hidden inside was of top quality.

‘I remember the guy who took it before,’ Mathew thought, recalling a certain bloody scene from the beginnings of the apocalypse.

For some reason, this ax became a blessed weapon.

Just some people would receive systems, some zombies would evolve, certain weapons and items, in general, would also become stronger than ever.

“What are you doing?” Nadia finally noticed a reason for concern and asked.

“Just wait a second,” Mathew replied, pulling the weapon out.

It was a sturdy piece of equipment designed to break walls and doors alike.

‘And in the near future, it will get some nasty abilities,’ Mathew thought before approaching the girl.

This was the one decision that made him freeze before.

Not the idea of blowing the whistle and starting the apocalypse several minutes prior to the world.

It was the decision to reveal everything he knew to this one girl.

She was the one that saved him on many different levels.

‘She deserves to know,’ Mathew thought.

But this decision forced a moment like the current one to appear.

“Nadia, please,” Mathew said in a firm voice. “Do you think I’m crazy?” he asked, looking the girl directly in the eyes.

For a moment, Nadia stared down into Mat’s eyes.

She was startled and shocked, for sure, but she didn’t outright refuse his request. Instead, she opened her eyes wide and looked for any signs of craziness in Mathew’s pupils.

“I don’t think so,” she muttered a moment later, lowering her eyes.

“That’s why I can only ask you for one thing,” Mathew said, putting his weapon down on the floor before kneeling down. “For the next hour, I need you to trust me.”

“Mathew, what’s going on?” Nadia asked. And she used Mat’s full name while doing so.

This only indicated how serious the girl became.

“You won’t believe me if I explain it with words,” Mathew said, shaking his head. “I will explain everything as we go,” he promised, only to lower his eyes. “But right now, we are on the clock,” he said, his eyes glancing over to the corner of his vision.

“And the time is really running out.”

Once again, Nadia simply stared down into Mathew’s eyes.

She then raised her hand and placed it on his cheek. Once again, the two of them froze at the moment.

“Fine,” Nadia whispered with her soft fingers. She kept looking into Mathew’s eyes. “What are we going to do next, then?” she asked in a mesmerizing tone, pulling Mathew’s mind into the abyss of her alluring lips.

“We are going to visit the director of the school,” Mathew forced himself to reply. He then picked up his ax, smiled cheerfully, and looked at the girl. “Shall we go?”

“Yeah,” Nadia nodded her head. “But are you going to tell me why?” she asked.

“Why are we going to the director’s office?” Nadia repeated her question a moment later.

Mathew didn’t refuse the answer. He just had to take a moment to sort his thoughts out to figure out the simplest way to explain it.

“Right now, I just need another confirmation,” he said, forcing himself to look ahead instead of scouting out Nadia’s reaction. “Because I wish to be wrong from the very bottom of my heart.”