Vivian rested her hands on the dusty cover.
For some reason, she hesitated.
When Civilization Ends: Understanding Apocalyptic Events.
After spending hours searching for anything that could explain the apocalypse, she had finally found a book with the word apocalyptic printed across the cover.
And now she was nervous to open it. She glanced around the empty library.
"Let’s see what you’ve got." She opened the book.
It wasn’t a textbook about awakened humans or energy.
It was a survival manual, written through civilizations that had collapsed throughout history. It discussed outbreaks, famine, natural disasters, wars, nuclear events, and other catastrophes.
Vivian glanced the first few pages.
The author’s main argument was simple: an apocalypse rarely began with one event. Collapse usually happened in stages, with several problems building on top of one another until society could no longer function.
Vivian continued reading.
The book divided survival into two stages: immediate survival and long-term survival.
Immediate survival required water, food, medicine, light, and a safe place to stay.
Long-term survival was different. People needed alternative sources of electricity, water purification systems, preserved food, medical supplies, transportation, tools, seeds, farming knowledge, and skills that could replace the systems society normally provided.
Vivian slowly sat back. "Now this is useful."
She grabbed her notebook and wrote them down one after another.
According to the author, disasters were often preceded by fear and distrust. When people became frightened, they searched for someone to blame. Once different groups began seeing one another as enemies, restoring peace became difficult.
Vivian’s fingers slowly tightened around the page.
A memory surfaced.
Crowds. Thousands of people in the street shouting over one another. And then she remembered. The protests.
Her eyes widened.
They had happened before the zombies.
People started protesting against awakened humans. She remembered the signs they had carried through the streets.
AWAKENED ARE NOT HUMANS.
THEY WILL DESTROY US.
THE END IS COMING.
At the time, Vivian had thought it was nothing more than another protest that would eventually disappear.
The government tried to intervene. The group that started it called themselves The Anti Awakened.
She had never thought of that as part of the apocalypse.
She quickly wrote in her notebook.
Prepare for systems to fail.
She sighed and flipped to the next Chapter.
The book became even more practical. It explained how to calculate food requirements for long-term survival, how to store grains and dried food, how to collect and purify water, how to grow vegetables indoors, and why medical supplies were valuable.
Vivian’s eyes slowly widened. "This is actually good. Who wrote this book?"
This was the information she needed.
She pulled her notebook closer and started writing again.
Then she stopped.
Money.
She stared at the word. Everything on the list required money. None of them would appear because she knew the future.
Vivian leaned back in her chair. She had spent the last few days thinking about the apocalypse as if knowing the date was enough.
She had five months to prepare. And right now, she had nothing.
Her fingers tightened around the pen.
"Fine." Her eyes narrowed. "If money is the problem, I’ll solve the money problem first."
She wrote another line beneath Money.
Become rich before January.
She stared at it.
At least she had a direction now. There was no point panicking over everything at once. One problem at a time.
Vivian reached for the book again. She wanted to check one more section before leaving.
The words on the page gradually blurred. The exhaustion from the day finally caught up with her.
Vivian didn’t know how long she had been sleeping when the sound of a page turning pulled her out of her dreams.
She frowned. Another page turned. Vivian slowly lifted her head.
Her cheek felt warm from where it had been pressed against her arm. She blinked sleepily, trying to make sense of the blurry figure sitting across from her.
A stranger. He had one of her textbooks open in front of him.
Atomic Physics of Awakened Energy.
Vivian stared at the book. Then at him. Then back at the book. He was actually reading it.
The dim library lights caught the golden strands of his blonde hair, while his blue eyes moved calmly across the page. He looked comfortable, as if he had been sitting there for a while.
Vivian frowned. How long had he been there?
The stranger turned another page.
Then, without looking up, he asked, "Are you finished with this?"
Vivian stared at him. "What?"
He finally looked up. His blue eyes met hers. "The book."
Vivian glanced at the textbook between them. "No."
He raised an eyebrow. "No?"
"No." She reached for the book and pulled it toward herself. "I still need it."
"You were sleeping on it."
Vivian narrowed her eyes. "I was resting."
He glanced at the page. "Right."
Vivian immediately covered the page with her hand, and stared at him suspiciously.
Something about his expression told her he was enjoying this.
She pulled the book closer. "You can borrow something else."
"I wanted that one.Too bad." He looked at the book, then back at her. "You’re very protective of a textbook."
"It’s mine."
"Is it?" He chuckled, softly and raised an eyebrow.
Vivian paused. "You know what I mean."
He gave a quiet laugh. "Fair enough. You grabbed it first."
Vivian was about to close the book when she noticed something on his cheek. Without thinking, she reached across the table and poked him.
He went still.
Vivian went still too. His skin was surprisingly soft and smooth. She quickly pulled her hand back.
The stranger looked at her with an amused expression. "Checking if I’m real?"
Vivian blinked. "I was checking something."
"Mhmmm."
Before she could come up with a response, his gaze shifted toward her face.
"Although..." He pointed at her cheek. "You have a little something there."
Her hand immediately went to her face. "What?"
He pointed toward the open apocalypse book. "Actually, most of it landed on the page."
Vivian slowly looked down. A patch of drool had stained the corner of the page.
She froze.
No.
She quickly wiped her cheek with her sleeve and covered the page with her hand. She just drooled in front of a stranger.
"It’s late," he said. "We’re the only ones left in the library."
She checked the wall clock. 2:07 AM.
Her eyes widened. "Shit."
Her assessment was in a few hours. She had completely lost track of time.
She began gathering her things in a hurry, nearly knocking over the pile of textbooks beside her.
The blonde man caught one before it hit the floor. "That’s quite a lot for one night."
Vivian reached for the book. "Give me that."
He handed it over. His eyes briefly moved toward the apocalypse book in front of her.
"You’re interested in disasters?"
Vivian’s hand immediately covered the title. "Research."
"Of course."
There was something about the way he said it that made her suspicious.
But she was too tired to care. She grabbed the apocalypse book and the copy of Atomic Physics of Awakened Energy.
The problem was that both books were thick enough to create an obvious bulge beneath her oversized hoodie.
The blonde man looked at her in shock.
"Are you planning to read those in bed?"
"No."
"Then why are you hiding them?"
"I’m not hiding them." Vivian looked down. She had, in fact, shoved both books under her hoodie and was now holding them against her stomach.
She straightened. "I’m borrowing them."
"The library probably has a borrowing system. You could just check them out."
Vivian hesitated. She had no intention of explaining why she needed an apocalypse survival manual five months before the apocalypse.
She grabbed her bag.
The man slipped his hands into his pockets. "You should let me walk you back. It’s late."
Vivian immediately shook her head. "No!"
She said it so quickly that his eyebrows lifted. "I mean... thank you, but I can find my way."
The blonde guy smiled. "Alright."
Vivian nodded, then hurried toward the door before the situation could become any more awkward.
She made it into the hallway before she finally released the breath she had been holding.
"Why did I touch his face?" She covered her face with one hand as she walked. "Why did I do that?"
Behind her, the guy remained in the library, watching the doors close.
He glanced at the empty chair and shook his head with a quiet laugh.
Vivian walked faster toward D-block. She could still feel the embarrassment burning across her face as she tightened her grip on her bag.
She had spent five years surviving an apocalypse.
And tonight, she had been defeated by her own drool in front of a stranger.
At least she had found what she was looking for. The apocalypse book.
And hopefully, tomorrow, she could pretend none of this had happened.