Chapter 1

When the apocalyptic extreme cold descended, my mother showed up at the village entrance with my half-brother, begging to be taken in.

But no one expected that they would seize the tunnels the entire village depended on for survival, driving the other villagers and me out into a blizzard at 76 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, where we froze to death.

"Jenna, these tunnels are mine now. For the sake of family, you can go out there and fend for yourself," my mother said coldly.

The last thing I heard before I died was them laughing inside the warm tunnels, mocking us for our worthless lives.

Then, I opened my eyes again.

The familiar sound of my hometown dialect reached my ears. "Jenna, wake up. We're butchering a pig later; come help out."

I stared at the calendar on the wall. There were only ten days left until the apocalypse struck.

This time, I would lead all the villagers to dig and fortify tunnels, erect fortifications, and stock up on supplies.

As for those ungrateful wretches, I would make sure they didn't even deserve the right to beg from us.

*****

The moment I woke up, I smacked myself hard.

Ouch. That hurt.

It was not a dream.

I rushed into the yard and grabbed the butcher's knife right out of Vernon Ward's hand. He was our village leader.

"Jenna, what's going on?" Vernon asked.

Seeing Vernon's familiar face, I felt my eyes burn with emotion.

In my previous life, he gave everything to protect me, only to be frozen solid by my little brother, Roger Flores, and left as a statue at the village entrance.

But now, he was standing right in front of me, alive and well.

I still had a chance.

"Vernon, get everyone together at the threshing ground. I've got something to tell everyone," I said.

After some convincing, ten minutes later, the threshing ground was packed with people.

Seeing all those simple, puzzled eyes staring at me, I took a deep breath and slammed the butcher's knife down on the millstone with a loud bang.

If I blurted out that I had traveled back in time, they'd probably think I'd gone crazy from too much book learning.

If I wanted them to believe me, I'd have to pull off something a bit supernatural.

I pointed at Wilbur Stein and spoke with absolute certainty.

"Wilbur, your old sow is going to give birth to nine piglets at exactly noon today," I declared.

Gwen Clark, the village clerk, burst out laughing.

"Jenna, have you lost your mind, or are you channeling some spirit now? You dragged the whole village out here just for this?" she said.

I said, "I'm not out of my mind.

"If I'm wrong, I swear I'll cut off my own head right here with this knife."

The villagers all gasped, staring at me in utter astonishment as I wore a solemn and earnest expression.

I continued, "I'm heading to the nearby town to buy a lottery ticket. In two days, I'll be back with 3 million dollars.

"If I really bring it back, I want everyone to do exactly as I say for the next ten days."

With everyone still stunned, I bolted toward the nearby town.

Right at noon, Wilbur's old sow gave birth to nine piglets, just like I said.

The whole village started to think I was really channeling spirits.

Two days later, I walked into the village council office and slammed a backpack full of cash and a bank card down on the table.

Everyone just stared, jaws dropping. There was no way they could doubt me now.

In that moment, I wasn't just Jenna, the orphan raised by the whole village.

I had become the real miracle worker.

I said, "Vernon, in eight days, we're going to face extreme cold: 76 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. The whole world will be frozen solid, and a deadly virus will spread everywhere.

"Everything I'm saying is real. If we want to survive this disaster, we have to start preparing right now.

"I'm willing to use all the prize money to help the village stockpile supplies, build tunnels, and fortify our defenses."

Vernon stared at me for a while.

Finally, he tossed the cigarette in his hand aside.

He said, "From now on, we'll do what Jenna says.

"Starting today, the whole village is on full lockdown."

Some folks might still have their doubts about what I said, but the money I brought was undeniable.

With Vernon rallying everyone, the whole village, young and old, got to work.

Some started repairing the tunnel, while others went out to stock up on supplies.

With me pouring in the cash, the village was in full swing.

As I stood at the village entrance, directing the cement trucks, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

"Hello? Jenna?" The voice on the other end was one I hated with every fiber of my being.

It was Roger, my half-brother.

He was also the bastard who pushed me into boiling water in my previous life.

Roger said, "I heard that tunnel in your village is kind of interesting. I'm bringing a few friends over this weekend to check it out.

"Make sure you get someone to clean it up. I don't want the place reeking of shit, you hear me?"

My fingers tightened around the phone until my knuckles went white, and my teeth were grinding so hard I thought I'd crack them.

Back in my previous life, I was nothing but his lapdog, always jumping at his command. I even spent my own living money to buy him good cigarettes and booze.

I sucked in a breath, then started cursing him out without holding back.