Her younger sister had always been fascinated by the supernatural.
Ghost stories, unexplained disappearances, strange weather phenomena, unidentified creatures, and predictions of the end of civilization.
Most people treated those subjects as entertainment.
Selina treated them as research.
Her bedroom was practically a command center, filled with notes, screenshots, bookmarked articles, and theories connecting events that other people dismissed as coincidences.
She spent hours in online forums discussing unusual sightings with people from different countries.
And over time, she'd built a following.
Not everyone believed her theories.
Some visited her pages simply to argue.
Others followed because they enjoyed the mystery.
But there were people who genuinely listened.
People who took her warnings seriously.
Her family, however, had never been among them.
Whenever Selina brought up another strange sighting at dinner, someone inevitably made a joke. Their parents would listen for a few minutes before changing the subject, and Jules had been no better.
She remembered rolling her eyes whenever Selina tried showing her another video.
Once, she'd told her sister that if she spent half as much time studying as she did looking for ghosts, she'd probably discover something useful.
Selina hadn't spoken to her for the rest of that evening.
At the time, Jules had thought she was being dramatic.
Now, staring at her sister's contact, she wondered how many times Selina had tried to share something important only to be laughed at.
Jules pressed the call button.
It rang several times.
"Hello?"
"Hey. What are you doing?"
"Why?"
Jules frowned. "Can't I call you?"
"You can. You just don't usually call to ask what I'm doing."
"Okay, never mind."
"No, wait. What do you want?"
Jules heard clicking in the background.
"Are you on your computer?"
"Obviously."
"Doing your research?"
The clicking stopped.
"...What?"
"Your supernatural stuff. Are you working on it?"
"Are you making fun of me?"
"No."
"Because I'm not in the mood, Jules."
"I'm not making fun of you."
"Then why are you asking?"
Jules glanced at the passengers nearby.
"I wanted to talk to you about it."
"About what?"
"Your research."
There was a pause.
Then Selina laughed.
"Oh, that's funny."
"Selina."
"No, seriously. What happened? Did you see a ghost on the train?"
"Can you stop?"
"Can you stop? You literally told me last week that I needed to find a hobby that involved leaving my room."
Jules winced.
She remembered saying that.
"Yeah. I know."
"So?"
"So I want to talk."
"About my research?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I think you might be onto something."
Silence.
Jules pulled the phone away from her ear to check whether the call had disconnected.
"Hello?"
"I'm here."
"Then say something."
"I'm trying to figure out what you're doing."
"I'm not doing anything."
"Jules, you've spent years telling me this stuff is nonsense. Now you suddenly think I'm onto something? What am I supposed to think?"
Jules rubbed her forehead.
"Look, I know how it sounds."
"No, I don't think you do."
"Selina.."
"Did somebody put you up to this?"
"What? No."
"Because if Tavian told you to call me..."
"Nobody told me to call you."
"Then what's going on?"
Jules looked toward the train window.
"I'll explain when I get home. I want to come to your room."
"You're coming to my room?"
"Yes."
"Voluntarily?"
Despite herself, Jules smiled.
"Don't make it weird."
"You're the one making it weird!"
A few passengers glanced in her direction.
Jules lowered the phone slightly.
"Just don't go anywhere, okay?"
"Where would I go? According to you, I never leave my room."
"Selina."
"Fine. But you better not be messing with me."
"I'm not."
The line went quiet for a moment.
Then Selina spoke again, her voice noticeably softer.
"Jules?"
"Yeah?"
"Is something wrong?"
Jules looked down at her hands.
"Yeah."
"With Mom? Dad? Is someone hurt?"
"No. Everyone's fine."
"Then what?"
Jules hesitated.
"I think I know something about what's coming. And I think you should hear it."
Selina didn't answer immediately.
When she finally spoke, the teasing had disappeared from her voice.
"Okay. I'll be here."
By the time Jules reached home, the sky had begun to darken.
She entered quietly, half expecting to find her father waiting in the living room with a list of bank transactions.
Instead, the house was filled with ordinary evening sounds.
Voices drifted from another room.
Someone was moving around in the kitchen.
For a moment, Jules stood near the entrance and listened.
Her family was home
Then she headed upstairs.
Selina's bedroom door was closed.
Light spilled through the narrow gap beneath it.
Jules knocked.
"Who is it?"
"Who do you think?"
"Oh. Come in."
Jules opened the door.
Selina sat at her desk, surrounded by screens, notebooks, and papers covered in handwritten notes.
Several browser windows were open. A map displayed clusters of marked locations, while a discussion forum beside it was filled with messages from users exchanging theories and reports.
Selina swiveled around in her chair.
She looked Jules up and down.
"Wow. You actually came."
"I told you I was coming."
"Yeah, and I thought you were joking."
Jules closed the door.
"Can I sit?"
Selina narrowed her eyes.
"Okay, now you're really scaring me."
"Why?"
"Because you never ask permission to sit in my room. You usually just come in, steal something, and leave."
Jules pulled out the chair beside the desk.
"Can we be serious for five minutes?"
"Depends. Are you going to tell me my computer's possessed?"
"Selina."
"Okay, okay."
Selina turned back toward her screens.
"So, what do you want to know? Ghosts? Cryptids? Government cover-ups? Because if you're finally interested in the underground tunnel theory, I have an entire folder..."
"The apocalypse."
Selina stopped.
Slowly, she turned her head.
"What?"
"I want to talk about the apocalypse."
Selina stared at her.
Then she laughed.
"You're kidding."
"I'm not."
"Jules."
"What?"
"Last month, you told me the only apocalypse I needed to worry about was the one happening in my laundry basket."
Jules remembered.
Selina had been explaining a theory about unusual animal behavior, and Jules had interrupted to complain about the pile of clothes beside her bed.
"Yeah," Jules admitted.
"And when I showed you those videos of people disappearing near the northern forests, you said I needed to stop watching edited clips."
"I remember."
"And now you want to talk about the apocalypse?"
"Yes."
Selina leaned back in her chair.
"Okay. Who are you, and what have you done with my sister?"
Jules didn't laugh.
Selina watched her for another moment before sitting upright.
"Wait. You're actually serious?"
"Very."
"Why?"
Jules looked toward the screens.
"How many people follow your forum?"
Selina blinked.
"That's what you came here to ask?"
"Just answer me."
"Why?"
"Because I need to know."
Selina crossed her arms.
"Thousands. Depends on which page you're talking about. Some posts get shared outside the forum, so I don't know the exact number."
"And people listen to you?"
"Some do."
"How many?"
"I don't know, Jules. I don't exactly send out a survey asking who thinks I'm crazy."
"I'm asking because it's important."
Selina's expression tightened.
"Important to who?"
"To me."
"Oh, now it's important to you?"
Jules sighed.
"Can you please stop doing that?"
"Doing what?"
"Turning everything I say into an argument."
Selina gave a short, disbelieving laugh.
"Are you serious right now?"
Jules looked at her.
"You come into my room, ask me about something you've made fun of for years, and now you're annoyed because I want to know why?"
Jules opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
Selina shook her head.
"You know what? Never mind. Just tell me what you want."
The words stung more than Jules expected.
She looked at the cluttered desk.
The handwritten notes.
The printed maps.
The articles Selina had spent hours collecting.
She had never really looked at any of it before.
"I'm sorry," Jules said.
Selina frowned.
"For what?"
"For making fun of you."
Her sister stared.
Jules continued before she could interrupt.
"I shouldn't have treated something you cared about like it was stupid. I didn't understand why you spent so much time on it, and I never bothered to ask."
Selina looked away.
"Okay."
"Selina."
"What?"
"I'm serious."
"I heard you."
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Selina reached for her mouse.
"Fine. What do you want to see?"
Jules leaned forward.
"Everything you've found recently. Anything you think is connected."
Selina hesitated, then opened a folder.
"Well, there's been some weird stuff happening. People have been posting sightings from different countries. Some are probably fake, but a few have multiple witnesses. And the weather reports have been strange."
She opened several articles.
"I've been trying to see whether there's a pattern, but it's hard because half the people online just make things up."
Jules studied the screen.
She recognized some of the locations.
Not every report.
Not every detail.
But enough.
Selina pointed toward a map.
"See these? Different places, different dates. I thought maybe there was a connection, but I haven't figured it out yet."
Jules remained silent.
"Well?" Selina asked.
"What?"
"You're the one who wanted to see it. What do you think?"
Jules looked at her younger sister.
"I think you should keep looking."
Selina blinked.
"That's it?"
"No."
Jules pulled her chair closer.
"I also think you need to start telling people to prepare."
Selina stared.
"Prepare for what?"
Jules took a breath.
"For what's coming."
Selina slowly set down her mouse.
"Okay, you've said that twice now. What exactly is coming?"
"The apocalypse."
For a moment, Selina simply looked at her.
Then she let out a small laugh.
"Okay. No. Seriously."
"I am serious."
"Jules, you can't just say 'the apocalypse' like you're telling me it's going to rain tomorrow."
"I know."
"Then explain."
Jules glanced toward the closed door.
"In about three months, things are going to start happening. Disasters. Not just one country. Everywhere."
"What kind of disasters?"
"Earthquakes. Flooding. Extreme weather. Things people won't be prepared for."
Selina frowned.
"That's not exactly new. Natural disasters happen all the time."
"Not like this."
"What does that mean?"
"It means they're going to get worse. Much worse."
"How do you know?"
Jules looked away.
There it was.
The question she'd been dreading.
How do I explain eight lifetimes to someone who has never lived through even one?
She couldn't.
Not yet.
"I can't tell you how I know."
Selina stared at her.
"You're joking."
"I'm not."
"So you come into my room, tell me the world's ending, and when I ask how you know, your answer is that you can't tell me?"
"Yes."
"Jules!"
"I know how it sounds."
"No, you don't! Because if I came downstairs tomorrow and told everyone the world was ending in three months, you'd all laugh at me."
Jules flinched.
Selina pointed toward the door.
"Mom would tell me to stop spending so much time online. Dad would probably ask whether I'd finished my homework. And you..."
She stopped.
Jules waited.
Selina shook her head.
"You'd tell me to go outside."
Jules lowered her eyes.
She couldn't argue.
Because Selina was right.
"I would have," Jules admitted.
Her sister looked surprised by the answer.
"But I'm not laughing now."
"That doesn't make it true."
"No."
"Then give me something, Jules. Anything. Because you're asking me to believe something huge, and you're not giving me a reason."
Jules was quiet.
She could tell Selina about the disasters.
She could describe the first earthquakes, the floods, the strange gas, and what would come afterward.
But the more she revealed, the more questions Selina would ask.
Questions that would eventually lead back to the System.
To her previous lives.
To everything she'd been hiding.
"I can tell you what I think is going to happen," Jules said carefully. "I can help you figure out what people should prepare for. But I can't explain where the information came from. Not right now."
Selina rubbed her face.
"You're unbelievable."
"I know."
"No, I don't think you do."
She stood and walked toward her bed, then turned around.
"Do you know how many times I've wanted somebody in this house to take me seriously?"
Jules didn't answer.
"Even once? Just once, without making a joke?"
"I know."
"No, you don't."
Selina's voice cracked slightly.
She cleared her throat.
"You don't get to suddenly show up and act like we're on the same page."
Jules sat quietly.
Her sister was right.
For years, she'd dismissed Selina's interests without giving them much thought.
Now she needed the very thing she'd once mocked.
"I'm not asking you to forget that," Jules said.
"Then what are you asking?"
"For your help."
Selina looked at her.
Jules continued.
"I don't expect you to believe everything I say. You can question me. You can be angry with me. But I need you to think about what happens if I'm right."
Selina folded her arms.
"And if you're wrong?"
"Then people have extra food, water, and emergency supplies."
"And if you're right?"
Jules looked at the screen.
If I'm right, people will die.
She swallowed.
"Then some of them might survive because they listened."
Selina said nothing.
Jules leaned forward.
"I'm not asking you to tell everyone to quit their jobs or run into the woods. Just tell them to prepare for emergencies. Tell them to keep food and water. Medicine. Batteries. Anything they'll need if stores close or the power goes out."
Selina glanced toward her computer.
"And you want me to post that on my forum?"
"Yes."
"With what proof?"
"Your research. The reports you've already been collecting. You don't have to tell them everything at once."
Selina looked back at her.
"You're really not going to tell me how you know?"
"Not yet."
"Do Mom and Dad know?"
"No."
"Are you going to tell them?"
"In two weeks."
Selina gave her an incredulous look.
"Two weeks? Why two weeks?"
"Because I need some time to get things ready."
"Ready for what?"
"For us."
Selina studied her face.
"Jules, what have you been doing?"
Jules hesitated.
"Preparing."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"I know."
Selina stared at her for another moment before letting out a frustrated sigh.
"I swear, you're going to drive me insane."
Despite everything, Jules almost smiled.
"Probably."
"Don't smile. I'm still mad at you."
"I know."
Selina returned to her chair.
She stared at the forum for a long time.
Then she opened a blank document.
Jules watched her.
"What are you doing?"
"Thinking."
"About?"
"How to write something without sounding like I've completely lost my mind."
Jules let out a quiet breath.
"So you'll help?"
Selina didn't look at her.
"I didn't say I believed you."
"Okay."
"And I'm not posting that the world is ending in ninety days just because you said so."
"Okay."
"I'm going to check what I have first. And if I find enough to make a proper post, I'll tell people to prepare."
Jules nodded.
"That's all I'm asking."
"No, it's not."
Jules looked at her.
Selina turned slightly in her chair.
"You're asking me to trust you."
Jules had no answer.
After a moment, Selina turned back to the screen.
"Just... don't make me regret it, okay?"
Jules felt something loosen inside her chest.
"I won't."
She stayed beside her sister for a little longer, helping her sort through the reports and discussing which emergency supplies people could reasonably begin collecting.
For the first time, Selina didn't have to defend every article she opened.
And for the first time, Jules listened.
Eventually, Jules stood.
"I should go before Dad starts looking for me."
Selina snorted.
"Good luck with that. If he checked his bank account today, you're already dead."
Jules froze.
Selina turned around.
"Wait. What did you do?"
"Nothing."
"Jules."
"I'll tell you later."
"Oh, you've definitely done something."
Jules headed toward the door.
"Goodnight, Selina."
"Don't 'goodnight' me! What did you buy?"
Jules slipped out before her sister could ask another question.
Behind her, Selina called, "I'm telling Dad you were acting suspicious!"
For the first time that day, Jules laughed.
She closed the door and walked down the hallway, feeling a little lighter than she had that morning.
Selina was going to help.
She hadn't believed everything, but she'd listened.
And maybe that was enough for now.
What Jules failed to notice was the way her sister's hands had begun trembling the moment she'd opened the blank document.
Selina sat motionless for several minutes after the door closed.
The cursor blinked on the screen.
She placed her fingers on the keyboard, but they wouldn't stay still.
She pressed her lips together, trying to control the shaking.
Jules had looked so certain.
That was what frightened her most.
Her older sister, who had laughed at every ghost story, dismissed every strange sighting, and never once entertained the possibility of an apocalypse, had come into her room and told her the world was going to end.
And she hadn't smiled.
Not once.
Selina blinked rapidly as her eyes began to water.
She wiped them with the back of her hand before looking toward the closed door.
For years, she'd wanted her family to believe her.
Now that Jules finally did, she wished she could go back to being the only one who was worried.
She looked at the blank document again.
Her fingers hovered over the keys.
What if she's right?
Selina swallowed.
Then, with trembling hands, she began to type.