Two Days Before the End.
909 Words
✦✦✦ CHAPTER TWO✦✦✦
Two Days Before the End
Hana Aurelian woke up with a scream caught in her throat.
Her body jerked upright, breath coming in short, uneven gasps, as if she had been dragged out of deep water. Her heart pounded violently against her ribs, every beat echoing the same memory—
Gunshots.Screams.Blood.
Her hands trembled as she pressed them against her chest.“I… I was—”Her voice broke.She looked around.Her room.
Her bed.
Morning light slipped through the curtains, soft and golden, nothing like the dark chaos burned into her mind. The clock on the wall ticked steadily, mocking her panic.
This is my room.
Her eyes darted around, searching for cracks in reality, for blood on the floor, for proof that she was still dying.
But there was nothing.
Just silence.
Just home.
Her breathing slowly steadied, but her mind refused to calm down. The memories were too sharp. Too real. She could still feel the cold bite of fear, the moment her body collapsed, the sound of her own heartbeat fading—
Hana swallowed hard.
“This wasn’t a dream,” she whispered.
She swung her legs off the bed, feet touching the floor. Solid. Real.
Her gaze snapped to the calendar hanging near her desk.
January 3rd.
Her blood ran cold.
“No… that’s not possible.”
Her fingers dug into the blanket as realization crashed into her.
The trip…The attack…
It happened on January 5th.
Her breath caught.
Two days.
She had come back two days before everything ended.
A shaky laugh escaped her lips, half disbelief, half terror.
“So… I died,” she whispered. “And now I’m here again.”
Her chest tightened painfully.
Rebirth.
The word felt unreal, heavy on her tongue. She had read about things like this in stories—but living it?
That was something else entirely.
A familiar sound drifted into her room.
Laughter.Voices.Her family.Hana froze.
Slowly, as if afraid they might disappear, she stood and stepped into the hallway.
Her mother’s voice floated from the kitchen, warm and alive.
Her father was responding calmly, probably about work or planning.
Neat’s laughter rang out, bright and careless.Proud complained loudly about something trivial.
Hana’s vision blurred.
“They’re alive…” she murmured.
Her legs gave out, and she leaned against the wall, covering her mouth to silence the sob threatening to escape.
In my last life… they died.
The images tried to resurface—chaos, screams, blood—but she pushed them back violently.
“Not again,” she whispered fiercely. “I won’t let that happen again.”
She wiped her tears and straightened.
If the attack happened during the trip…
Then the answer was clear.
They still had to go.
But this time—on her terms.
Later that day, the family gathered in the living room.
Paxton sat with his tablet, Rivanna folding clothes beside him. Neat and Proud were sprawled on the floor, arguing over something useless.
Hana stood near the doorway, heart pounding.Say it, she told herself. Before it’s too late.“Dad,” she said.
Everyone looked up.
“Yes, Hana?” Paxton asked.
She hesitated. Her hands clenched at her sides.“I think… we should go on the trip earlier.”The room went quiet.
Rivanna blinked. “Earlier?”
“Yes,” Hana said quickly. “Like… tomorrow.
Not the day after.”
Paxton frowned slightly. “That’s sudden. We planned everything for later.”
“I know,” Hana said, stepping forward. “But plans can change.”
Neat tilted her head. “Why? Are we in a hurry?”Proud snorted. “Did Sister suddenly become the boss?”
Hana ignored them, her eyes fixed on her parents.
“I just… I don’t feel right about waiting,” she said carefully.Rivanna sighed. “Hana, trips aren’t decided on feelings. There are arrangements.”Hana’s chest tightened.This is exactly how it started last time.Her voice shook, but she didn’t stop.“Mom… Dad… please listen to me.”
Paxton studied her face closely. “You’re scared.”
“Yes,” Hana admitted. “I am.”
Silence stretched.
“I can’t explain everything,” she continued, forcing herself to stay calm, “but I feel like if we wait… something bad will happen.”
Paxton turned back to Hana. “Why are you so sure?”Hana’s nails bit into her palms.
Because I watched you die.
But she couldn’t say that.
Instead, she took a deep breath.
“Because I trust my instincts,” she said. “And they’ve never been this loud before.”
Rivanna exchanged a glance with Paxton.Neat suddenly spoke up, unusually quiet. “Sister looks really scared…”That broke something.
Hana’s voice cracked. “Please. Just this once. Trust me.”Paxton leaned back, thoughtful.After a long moment, he sighed.“…Alright.”
Hana’s eyes widened.
“We’ll leave earlier,” he said calmly. “If it gives you peace of mind.”
Relief hit her so hard her knees nearly buckled.“Thank you,” she whispered.
Rivanna touched her shoulder gently. “But you’ll tell us if something’s wrong.”
Hana nodded.I will, she promised silently. Before it’s too late.
As the family resumed talking, Hana stared revealing at the window.
Two days.She had two days to change fate.
And this time—
She wouldn’t fail.
To be continued…
- Writer
