After the brief comment Lucy had made to her brother. Lincoln, who had previously had a calm and serene expression on his face, was now staring at her with a serious expression, but without letting anything show.

"I'm glad you found that..."

Said Lincoln as he paused briefly in what he was saying, but still with a serious expression on his face.

Said Lincoln, as he paused briefly in what he was saying, but still with a serious expression on his face.

"After all, that means I'm already prepared for what's to come."

After Lincoln had said those words, which had aroused his younger sister's curiosity, she began to wonder what could be happening or was about to happen that was so tragic that her brother had to change so much in such a short space of time. Lucy, already apprehensive because she wasn't being able to reach any conclusions with her assumptions, decided to go in search of answers. She was about to ask her brother. However, as soon as Lincoln saw what she was about to do, he interrupted her before she could ask anything.

"Now, do me a favor... Stop following me. If you want to know something about me or if you want to ask me something, instead of spying on me, it's easier for you to come to me and ask me. Don't you think?"

Lucy was momentarily surprised by Lincoln's rebuke, but realized that he was right.

After Lincoln noticed a slight expression of sadness forming on his sister's face, which was almost imperceptible, since she hardly ever smiled and hardly ever expressed any other emotion, and coupled with her pale skin, it was almost impossible for anyone to distinguish any different expression on her. However, having learned to live with and love them. Lincoln, in some way that he still couldn't explain, could feel what each sister was feeling.

After letting out a brief sigh of exhaustion, Lincoln slowly approached his sister, while emanating calm, and with a gentle gesture, stroked the young woman's head. She raised her face, expressing her confusion at the unexpected gesture.

With a gentle gaze, Lincoln tried to reassure Lucy.

"I'm not angry, if that's what you're thinking. But I just want you to know that if you want to ask me something, instead of hiding in the air ducts to find out something about me, it's easier for you to come to me and ask. I'll be happy to tell you, but of course, if it's not so personal."

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Said Lincoln, as he took his hand out of his sister's hair with a gentle gesture, then gave a small smile. Surprisingly, instead of the fake smile he was used to. This one, for some unknown reason that he couldn't explain, was real.

After Lucy witnessed that sincere smile her brother had given her, she ended up blushing slightly. Fortunately, her brother hadn't noticed anything different because of her neutral expression. After pulling herself together, she looked back at her brother and, with a smile on her face, replied.

"Thank you..."

Lucy said, a little shyly, as she gave her brother a small smile. This reaction surprised Lincoln for a moment, as he had never seen his sister make such an expression, except for the time they had been together before he lost her to the evolved.

"I promise that next time I won't spy on you. If I want to know anything, I'll ask you myself."

After saying those words, Lucy quickly said goodbye to her brother and, just as she had entered his room, left. However, before she left, Lucy did something that took her brother by surprise. When Lincoln thought his sister had left the room, he ended up doing something that even he couldn't believe. She took him by surprise with a kiss she gave him on the cheek.

Before Lincoln could snap out of his shock or say anything, Lucy managed to outrun him, and in a split second, she was no longer in the room.

After that shocking event, Lincoln had even stopped reacting. After recovering from the shock, he looked at the clock on his bedroom wall and saw that it was already getting late. After that, nothing much had happened and he went to sleep.

December 24th

1 day before the apocalypse...

As today was Christmas Eve, everyone was really looking forward to the big party on the 25th. However, I knew that wasn't going to happen.

After I got out of bed and went to the bathroom to do my personal hygiene. The only solution I came up with to keep everyone safe that day was to call my closest friends' families and, of course, Ronnie Anne's family to spend Christmas at our house. That was the only way I could not only protect my family, but also my friends' families, without them getting in the way.

10 MINUTES LATER...

After Lincoln had finished his morning toilet, he was about to leave the bathroom. However, as soon as he stepped in front of the mirror, he began to stare at himself with a serious expression on his face, and made a promise to himself.

"This time, I promise I'll protect everyone..."

Lincoln said as he stared at his reflection in the mirror with a serious face.

"Even the devil himself won't be able to stop me from keeping these people alive."

After saying these words to his own reflection, Lincoln left the bathroom and went downstairs. Once in the kitchen, it was a real screaming zone, and the culprit for all this, or rather, the culprit for all this were his sisters, who had been having a real party since early morning, and all because of the Christmas party that was going to happen the next day, or as we already know, the one that wasn't going to happen.

After I'd finished my coffee, I went into the living room to help my parents with the preparations for the party.

> WARNING: From chapter 26 onwards... this story will be written in the first person.