When the World Ends, She Begins novel Chapter 1

"Ahh!"

A sharp, searing pain shot through Natalie Ashford's wrists, and she collapsed to the ground.

Her most trusted friends had just hacked off both her hands.

The emerald bracelet on her wrist clattered heavily to the floor, yet not a scratch marred its surface.

Braxton White snatched it up with a greedy and triumphant grin.

"Nat, since you still refuse to be mine, then you don't get to live."

Tiffany Quinn, the woman clinging to his arm, snorted. "Braxton, she brought this on herself. She deserves to die!

"If we'd known her father was so heartless that he wouldn't even spare her a slice of bread, we would've acted sooner. We wouldn't have starved this long."

Natalie lay sprawled on the cold ground, staring at her two companions in disbelief—companions who had survived four long years of apocalyptic disaster by her side.

They had fought together and endured hardship to stay alive.

"What are you looking at?" Tiffany let go of Braxton's arm, gripped a boning knife, and stalked toward Natalie with malice.

"The first time I saw your pretty little face, I wanted to carve it to pieces!"

The blade came down next.

Natalie had already lost too much blood to fight back. Pain consumed her, swallowing her consciousness bit by bit. She could feel her life slipping away into the dark.

In her fading awareness, she heard Tiffany's sickly sweet voice.

"Braxton, we've got meat for tonight!"

At that moment, regret hit her like a tidal wave.

How could she have been so blind? How had she not seen these beasts for what they were?

Four years of battling through an apocalypse, only to be betrayed by the very people she trusted most.

It was too bitter to accept.

If she could live again, she would never spare them.

...

"Ahh!"

Another sharp cry tore from her lips as Natalie jolted awake, sitting bolt upright in bed.

She blinked, taking in her surroundings—and froze.

This is the place I had lived in before the apocalypse.

But ... hadn't Braxton and Tiffany killed me?

Warmth surrounded her.

She hadn't felt something like this in the past four years since the disaster struck.

She quickly grabbed the phone on her nightstand. The date flashed on the screen—July 8th, 2039.

It's three days before the apocalypse!

What? No way! I died in 2043!

On July 11th, 2039, a torrential rainstorm swept across the globe.

Within days, cities were swallowed by floodwaters, and countless lives were lost.

At first, everyone thought it was just another natural disaster. They were wrong. It was the prologue to the apocalypse.

The storms were followed by more horrors—floods, blistering heat, acid rain, choking fog, earthquakes, and freezing winters. One after another, the extremes tore the world into a living hell.

For four years, Natalie had fought tooth and nail to survive. Even at her death, the disasters had not ended.

And now ... she was reborn. She was back to three days before it all began.

Natalie's heart surged with wild joy. Her gaze dropped instantly to her wrist. The emerald bracelet was still there.

If not for this bracelet, she would never have survived her first year in the apocalypse.

Without hesitation, she bit the tip of her right finger, letting a drop of blood fall onto the cool green stone.

A flash of white light flared, and an 8,600-square-foot storage space took shape in her mind.

One side was a vast, empty expanse. The other held a bungalow of about 650 square feet.

Relief washed through her. The storage space had been reborn with her.

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