Chapter 2: A New Nightmare

Sophia woke with a start. Her head throbbed from what felt like hours of restless nightmares. Groggily, she took in her surroundings.

Something wasn't right.

The bed wasn't hers. The blanket wasn't hers. And there, by the door, was a strikingly handsome stranger buckling his belt.

Her breath caught.

"What...?" she whispered, her voice cracking.

The man turned at her noise, his blue eyes narrowing in concern. "Sophia? Are you okay?"

Her pulse quickened. Who is this? Where am I?

Before she could speak, the man stepped closer, his golden hair catching the light. Leaning down, he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before turning to leave.

"Wait!" Sophia blurted, panic flaring in her chest.

The man froze, looking at her with mild confusion.

"Who... who are you?" she stammered.

His brows furrowed. "Sophia, it's me—Ethan, your fiancé. Are you feeling alright?"

The name hit her like a truck.

Ethan. Fiancé.

Oh, no.

She wasn't just anywhere. She was in the book.

And not as the heroine. She was the doomed villainess.

Sophia forced herself to smile, masking the storm brewing inside. "Oh... Ethan. I was just joking! You know, to... lighten the mood."

Ethan looked puzzled, his blue eyes scanning her face. He tilted his head slightly, clearly sensing something off. After all, the original Sophia Smith—the character he believed her to be—was a docile, love-struck fool who worshiped the ground he walked on.

"Joking?" he repeated cautiously. "Are you sure you're okay? You've been acting strange since the fight with Emma."

Emma. The heroine of the story. The original Sophia's supposed "best friend" and the reason for her ultimate downfall.

Sophia's mind raced. If she was right, she'd been dropped right into the opening act of The Apocalypse Chronicles: A Lustful Rebirth.

The timeline clicked into place. This was right after Emma had "accidentally" knocked the original Sophia unconscious during a confrontation over Ethan. It was the inciting incident that led to everything going wrong in the villainess's life.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," Sophia replied quickly, waving a hand as if brushing the matter away. "I just need a little time to think."

Ethan hesitated, but the relief on his face was clear. "Alright, if you say so. But remember, Emma didn't mean to hurt you. She was just scared."

Scared? Sophia's jaw tightened. "Right. Scared."

Of course, in the original story, Emma could do no wrong. Everyone adored her, excused her flaws, and enabled her selfish behavior. Sophia Smith, on the other hand, was nothing but a punching bag—literally and figuratively.

Not anymore, Sophia thought grimly.

Ethan turned to leave, but Sophia stopped him with a casual tone that belied the tension in her chest. "By the way, I've decided to call off our engagement."

He froze.

Sophia continued, her voice light and deliberate. "Don't worry, I'll handle my father. You're free to be with Emma. No need to thank me—just call me Saint Sophia."

Ethan turned back, his face pale with shock. For a man used to having two women wrapped around his finger, this was clearly not the response he expected.

The door clicked shut behind him, and Sophia let out a long breath, her composure cracking. She was in the book. The same book she'd just mocked the night before. And worse, she was stuck in the shoes of a character doomed to fail.

"Great," she muttered, flopping back onto the bed. "I'm not just in a nightmare. I am the nightmare."

**Escaping the Script**

The next morning, Sophia had a plan. She wasn't going to sit around waiting for tragedy to strike. If this story wanted her to suffer, she'd flip the script and make her own way out.

Her first move? Escape.

The Quantum Base, where she was currently holed up, was the largest of the four human settlements left standing in this apocalyptic world. It was her father's domain, and while that meant she had resources and safety, it also meant she was in the story's central danger zone.

Sophia's goal was clear: get far, far away from Quantum Base.

The perfect opportunity came with the morning supply run. The base regularly sent teams into the zombie-infested wilderness to scavenge for food, medicine, and weapons. It was risky, but Sophia knew the mission routes and where they intersected with the plot.

More importantly, she remembered a crucial detail from the book: the location of a secret lab where a vial of anti-zombie serum was hidden.

This serum, created by the infamous "Z," the story's mad scientist and ultimate antagonist, was a game-changer. A few drops of the liquid emitted a scent that repelled zombies, making the user invisible to the infected.

In the original story, Sophia's father discovered the serum by accident, but it was wasted in his futile attempts to protect her. Now, it was Sophia's turn to claim it and rewrite her fate.

**A Risky Gamble**

As the supply team geared up, Sophia joined them, strapping on a small pistol.

Ethan intercepted her at the gates, his expression skeptical. "Are you sure you should be coming? You've barely recovered from the fight."

Sophia rolled her eyes, brushing past him. "I'm fine. Besides, I want to help. Isn't that what Emma would do?"

The mention of Emma was enough to shut him up.

The group set out, leaving the safety of the base's perimeter. The world outside was bleak—a wasteland of crumbling buildings, overgrown streets, and the ever-present threat of the undead.

Sophia kept to the back of the group, her mind focused on her plan. The lab wasn't far—a decrepit factory just off their usual route.

When the group paused to rest, she slipped away, darting toward the factory.

The building loomed before her, its broken windows and rusted doors a stark reminder of the apocalypse. Taking a deep breath, Sophia slipped inside.

The lab was just as the book described: dusty, cramped, and filled with abandoned equipment. Her heart pounded as she searched, each creak of the floorboards sending a chill down her spine.

Finally, in a small drawer near the back, she found it—a tiny glass vial, shimmering faintly in the dim light.

"Bingo," she whispered, tucking the serum into her bag.

**A New Direction**

With the serum secured, Sophia rejoined the group unnoticed. Back at the base, she prepared for the next phase of her escape: leaving Quantum Base for Molecule Base, a smaller settlement far removed from the story's chaos.

Her plan was risky, but she had no choice. Staying meant death—slow, humiliating, and inevitable.

As she packed supplies, she whispered to herself, "Goodbye, Quantum. Let's see if I can survive this story after all."

With that, she stepped into the night, the vial of serum her only ally in an unforgiving world.