Chapter 1
During our graduation trip up the mountain, the leader, Ryan Porter, snatched the last bottle of medical oxygen I had left.
He turned around and handed it to Jessica Rivers, the school's queen bee who always played the innocent, even though she was only a little out of breath.
"Jessica's fragile. You're pretty in good condition, can't you tough it out for a bit? Come on, have a little team spirit, will you?" Ryan said.
In my previous life, I passed out in the snow from lack of oxygen, and everyone crowded around me, accusing me of pretending just to get noticed.
In the end, I was left in a vegetative state from brain damage, while Ryan and Jessica went viral overnight thanks to their video, "Breathtaking Mountain Rescue".
Now, given a second chance, I watched as Ryan reached out his hand, acting like he had every right to take it.
Instead of fighting back, I grabbed my ice axe from my backpack and smashed the oxygen tank, destroying it completely.
"Team spirit, huh? Fine. Let's all die together at 5,000 meters," I said.
Everyone fell into a shock, not believing what they had just saw.
*****
Jessica screamed and stumbled back.
She yelled, "Nina, are you insane?"
Ryan rushed forward, trying to grab the tank, his fingers red from the cold, but he could only watch as the last bit of oxygen leaked away into the wind.
The other students stood frozen, terror written all over their faces.
No one mentioned team spirit anymore.
No one brought up how good condition I had anymore.
Alex, who had been filming me just moments ago, froze, his fingers trembling, with his phone still aimed at the spot where my ice axe had struck.
I looked up at him.
"Keep filming," I said.
Alex swallowed hard.
"Nina, are you trying to kill us?"
The cold wind whipped across my cheeks, sharp as the needles by my hospital bed in my last life, stabbing right into my bones.
Ryan suddenly stood up and grabbed the collar of my jacket.
"Do you even know what happens if there's no oxygen at 5,000 meters?" he vented his anger.
I looked at him.
"Yeah, I know."
"If you knew, why'd you smash it?" Ryan asked.
"And didn't you know when you snatched it from me?" I shot back.
He was left speechless.
Jessica clutched her chest, her face pale as she leaned into Charlie's arms.
"Ryan, please don't blame Nina. She might've just been really frightened."
Her voice was gentle as cotton, but her words gave Ryan all the ammo he needed to come after me.
Ryan gave a cold, mocking laugh.
"Did you hear that? Even Jessica's defending you now," Ryan said.
"And you? You just had to get even, and now you've ruined everyone's chance to survive."
People started whispering among themselves.
"She's got stamina, couldn't she just hold out a little longer?"
"Now there's nothing left. If things go south, who's to blame?"
"She's so selfish."
Those words were all too familiar, echoing in my ears.
In my last life, I collapsed in the snow, my lips were blue, my nails clawing desperately at the ice.
Everyone gathered around me, just like now.
Alex stuck his phone right in my face, accusing me of being dramatic.
Jessica sobbed, clutching the oxygen mask, saying she'd give it back to me, but Ryan stopped her, calling me manipulative.
In the viral video, all that was left of me was my silhouette lying far away in the snow.
The caption read: [The most beautiful thing on the mountain isn't the view, it's the way we look out for each other.]
It got three million likes.
My mom was kneeling in the hospital corridor, begging them to take the video down.
Ryan said, "Ma'am, your daughter's already in this state. Please don't ruin our futures as well."
That hurt more than the lack of oxygen ever did.
Snowflakes hit my eyelashes as I pulled the ice axe out of the tank.
The sound of metal scraping made Jessica flinch.
Ryan saw the ice axe in my hand and took a step back.
I laughed.
"What are you so scared of?" I asked.
"Let me make this clear, a life-saving stuff isn't some bargaining chip for you to win favors."
Just then, someone from the back of the group shouted.
"Ryan, the satellite phone's got no signal!"
Ryan's expression changed instantly.
He shoved me aside and rushed to the pile of backpacks, desperately rummaging through them.
When he reached the last one, his hands suddenly froze.
The red waterproof bag that was supposed to hold the emergency battery had a precise, clean cut running across it.
Inside, it was completely empty.
The wind howled as Ryan spun around and fixed his gaze on me.
"Did you do this?" he demanded.
The tip of my ice axe was still frosted over.
His hand shot out, reaching for the zipper of my backpack.