Eva didn't sleep.
Not after Zeke.
Not after that text.
She sat in her room, surrounded by pages—maps of Pier Seven, news clippings of bridge disasters, headlines from other supposed Final Destination-style incidents.
But it wasn't enough.
Because something didn't add up.
Maya should've died second. She didn't.
Carmen died in her place. But Carmen wasn't even on the pier when Eva had the vision.
That meant… there was room for deviation. The order wasn't as strict as she'd believed.
She flipped through her notebook.
Red circles.
Arrows.
Names crossed out. Timelines.
The message came back to her:
"You can't run from pattern. You can only delay."
Eva whispered to herself, voice trembling:
"What if I can break it?"
11:43 AM – Library Archives
Eva broke into the closed archives beneath the town's historical museum. No one came here. Not anymore.
She flipped through old newspapers, digging into stories of survivors: A mine collapse in '83. A train derailment in '97. A mall fire in 2010.
In every case, one person had a vision. Pulled others away. Then… the deaths began.
But in one case—the train derailment—a woman named April Nair survived, even after being last on the list.
There was no record of her dying mysteriously later.
Eva blinked. "She beat it."
She scanned every detail.
April had gone to each person after the accident. Tried to help. Even sacrificed herself once to save someone mid-pattern. They survived. April didn't.
But something changed.
Death reset the order.
Some of them lived.
Eva took a photo of the article. Her hands were shaking now—but for the first time, it wasn't from fear.
It was from hope.
2:12 PM – Back at the House
Jonas looked like a man already digging his grave.
Imani was praying. Maya was asleep on the floor near the window.
Eva burst in, holding the file.
"There's a way."
Jonas stared at her, hollow-eyed. "You said I was next."
"You are," Eva said. "But that doesn't mean you have to die."
He scoffed. "So what? A lucky coin? A prayer?"
"No. Intervention."
She opened the article. "This woman—April—she interfered with the sequence. Saved someone who was about to die, took the hit herself. It shifted the pattern. Delayed it."
"Wait," Imani said, standing. "You're saying if someone willingly takes another's place—?"
"Then the list rewrites."
Jonas shook his head. "That's suicide."
Eva looked at him.
"Not if we work together. Not if we prepare."
Maya rubbed her eyes. "But how? We don't know how Death will strike."
"That's the game. Death hides it. Buries it in noise. Disguises it as accidents. But if we're watching closely—maybe we can see it coming."
Eva circled Jonas's name in the book.
She added one word next to it:
"Intercept."
4:30 PM – Outside
They walked together for the first time since Carmen's death. To a public square. A controlled space. Open. Bright.
Eva had premonitions buzzing behind her eyes, but nothing sharp. Not yet.
Jonas looked at every car like it might explode.
They sat by a fountain. Took deep breaths.
Eva watched the birds. The reflections. The light.
Something felt off.
Then she saw it—
A cracked tile near the fountain base. Loose wiring sparking near the edge. A city worker had left it exposed.
A toddler waddled toward it.
Eva saw a glint of something metallic.
She knew.
It was meant for Jonas.
She yelled his name—grabbed his arm—and pushed him back.
SNAP.
The wiring broke loose—landed in the water.
A surge of electricity arced out.
Eva cried out and fell.
The pulse burned near her but missed her heart.
The lights exploded.
Water boiled.
People screamed.
And Jonas was on the ground—alive.
Eva trembled.
Pain in her side.
But no blood.
Not this time.
Later That Night
Jonas stared at her across the room.
"You saved me."
Eva, pale but smiling faintly, nodded.
"I think we bought time."
Maya leaned against the wall. "So who's next now?"
They all looked at the list.
Eva turned the page.
Pattern Interrupted.
Chain Splintered.
But she knew… it wasn't over.
Only paused.
Somewhere, Death was watching.
And planning its next move.
End of Chapter Six