Chapter 1

Five years into the apocalypse, our entire office building had been on the run.

To survive, I gave myself to Marcus, our former head of corporate security.

Right after a brutal skirmish, Marcus handed me a ration of bread.

But when my eyes landed on the packaging, my heart skipped a beat—the expiration date was stamped just three days ago!

How was that even possible?

Five years of wasteland hell had shut down every factory on the continent.

Everything we scavenged was stale, moldy, and years past its prime.

Yet here was freshly baked bread!

I frantically checked the manufacturing label. The bakery was less than six miles away!

Was this apocalypse... staged inside our studio walls?

A violent shudder ran down my spine. I opened my mouth to tell Marcus, but bit my tongue just in time.

When the outbreak first erupted, Marcus was the one who pulled me out of a walker’s jaws.

I stayed by his side after that. He wasn't particularly gentle, but he wasn't cruel either. As long as I pulled my own weight, he protected me—which was infinitely better than the women forced to sell their bodies for stale crusts of bread.

But if this entire nightmare was a lie... would Marcus ever let me walk away?

I choked down the bread, shoved the wrapper deep into my pocket, and followed him back to the compound. We turned in our scavenged haul and received our daily allotment: another bun and a small carton of milk.

This time, I examined the carton meticulously. Fresh date. A local dairy farm I used to buy from every week before the collapse.

This made zero sense.

"Spacing out again? I've been calling your name!"

Marcus's harsh voice snapped me out of my trance. I met his hardened gaze, hesitated for a second, and finally handed him the packaging.

"The date is from three days ago. The production facility is six miles down the highway. And this milk? It came from the exact same dairy plant I bought from before the world ended."

Marcus froze. He stared at the wrapper, his eyes narrowing dangerously. Without a word, he turned on his heel and marched toward the barracks. Panic surged through my chest; I hurried after him.

"Marcus!"

"Where are you going?"

He didn't answer. He stormed straight to his inner circle. By the time I caught up, the guys were gathered in grim silence.

After what felt like an eternity, Marcus cursed under his breath. "Damn it. You're telling me we've been played like fools for five whole years?"

"Fucking bastards! Someone's watching us right now. Let's hunt down whoever's directing this sick show!"

"And who the hell is the director? There are hundreds of people here. Even if you're right, do we stand a chance against them?"

"Don't forget—the apocalypse might be staged, but the weapons are real as hell!"

Five years of hell had carved scars into every single one of us.

My thigh bore a jagged, ugly gash, the flesh torn and scabbed over.

Marcus had survived actual gunshot wounds.

His words silenced the room instantly.

I glanced out through the reinforced fence. Night was falling fast. The compound searchlights swept across the perimeter, illuminating the low snarls of walkers wandering in the dark. I clenched my jaw and took a step toward the gate.

Marcus grabbed my arm in a vice grip. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"Real or fake, I have to know! I can't keep living like this for another second!"

"Hiding like rats every single day, risking our lives on supply runs, begging for scraps like dogs... I'm done!"

I fought like a wild animal, desperate to break through the wire, but Marcus's open palm cracked across my cheek, making my vision swim. He twisted my arm behind my back and shoved me into our quarters.

"Lynn, are you trying to get us all killed? Even if you hate this, you keep your damn head down!"

Leo, his right-hand man, stepped in to calm things down. "Lynn, please, take a breath. We believe you, but we can't just charge out blindly. We need a plan."

"Yeah, honestly, does it even matter if it's real or fake?" another guard chimed in.

"You're just bitter because you had to shack up with Marcus. But be real—without the apocalypse, you'd never find a man willing to put his life on the line for you every single day!"

Tears burned my eyes. No better life?

I was a lead creative director before this! Now I was playing house with a corporate security guard! Even if he was the chief, he was still just a damn guard!

Marcus scoffed, eyeing me with contempt. "Don't act like you're doing me a favor. Dragging you around hasn't been a walk in the park for me either."

"If the world hadn't ended, I'd have a house in the suburbs and a kid in school by now. My high school sweetheart was eighteen when she got with me. Look what happened to her."

My face burned with humiliation and fury.

Leo quickly stepped between us. "All right, all right, drop it. What matters now is figuring out our next move."

Marcus snorted. "What move? We go find proof, obviously."

"Tomorrow's supply run. I'll scout the route. We talk when I get back."