10:00, about 30 minutes before everyone started getting infected.
Paulo VI neighborhood, 43rd Street, Edmundo Rodrigues, almost at the end of the street, near the hill corner. That's where Anael and Raziel lived — two brothers and Bruno's cousins. Anael, the older one, was 13; Raziel, much younger, was only 8. They looked so much alike they could be mistaken for twins, with only a few features setting them apart. Anael, obviously, was twice as tall as his little brother and had a more mature look for his age. Raziel, with his big round eyes, still had a childlike gaze. Both were very thin and very dark-skinned, taking little after their mother, who had a slimmer face and a lighter, brownish complexion. Fabio, their father, was of African descent and, though not very tall, stood about 1.74 m — average height for Brazil. His sons, however, resembled him so much that they seemed like miniature versions of their dad, just younger.
Anael was at home, lying down, when everything was still about to begin. His father, Fabio, had argued with him the day before. Anael had missed school for days, and Fabio, fed up with his son's lack of commitment, was doing everything he could to push him to study. Even when he came home exhausted from work — mixing mortar and laying bricks all day under the hot sun — he still tried to talk to Anael and teach him to be more responsible.
That day Fabio had a day off because he'd twisted his foot the previous day. He was extremely angry about Anael skipping school and had reached his limit. Sweating from rage, he couldn't keep himself in check. When he heard the sound of a mobile game coming from Anael's room, he lost it. With a closed-off face and rising blood pressure, he stood up and walked to the bedroom. Entering with hatred in his eyes, he snapped:
— You're on that damn game again, Anael!
Anael, staring at the phone screen, didn't miss the chance to mock and confront his father. With a defiant grin he shot back:
— Of course… Dad can't stop playing, right… if it ain't like that, how are we gonna be the best in the world?
Fabio was losing patience, especially with the game Anael was hooked on. When his son answered like that, he had to hold himself back from attacking the kid, like Homer Simpson would. His voice turned serious and stern as he scolded him:
— Anael, you think I'm gonna let you skip class and waste your time on that Free Fire shit? Put that phone down now! Go wash the dishes and then call your brother — he needs to eat before school…
Ignoring his father's order, Anael kept fiddling with the phone, which made Fabio angry enough to grab the device from his hands and switch it off before pocketing it. On impulse, he slapped Anael on the head, making the kid jump up suddenly, even angrier at his father, and snap back:
— I'm going!
***
Further up the hill, still close to the house where Anael and his family lived, was the home of Arthur Vinícius, their second cousin. There, Raziel was playing Free Fire with Rafael, his younger cousin, who was only 9 years old and wheelchair-bound.
Raziel, wanting to provoke his cousin because of his poor performance in the match, tried to throw Rafael off his focus, saying:
— You're too bad at this, Rafa… watch out, I'm gonna headshot you! You're slacking, man!
Rafael started feeling tense and nervous during the match. Trying to come up with an excuse, he replied:
— M-my game's lagging, bro!
10:30 a.m., outbreak time.
Vanessa, Arthur and Rafael's mother, came down the stairs and walked to the gate to get her son. She approached Rafael, placing her hands on the wheelchair, and before greeting Raziel, watched the two in silence with a faint, gentle smile.
At that moment, Raziel's phone crashed and closed the game, costing him the match. He looked up at his aunt and greeted her with a smile:
— Hi, auntie. Bless me!
Vanessa glanced at the street and then at Rafael, saying:
— God bless you, son. Come on, Rafa, it's time for us to head home. Let's go…
Not wanting to leave so soon, Rafael whined, asking his mother to let him stay longer with his cousin:
— Ah, Mom, let me just finish this round?
Vanessa looked at her son with a soft smile and replied:
— No, Rafa, I think you've stayed out here long enough. You need to get ready for school…
Rafael pouted and complained:
— Ah, no, Mom, I wanna stay here!
Raziel, in turn, said goodbye to his cousin and aunt:
— Bye, auntie! Bye, Rafa! I'll come back later, okay?
Vanessa looked at Raziel and answered with a tired smile:
— Bye, son… tell your dad I said hi!
She began pushing Rafael's wheelchair toward the staircase of their house. As they started to climb, Rafael noticed Vanessa's face was flushed and sweaty, her breathing heavy—far more labored than usual. Her skin radiated heat, as if she were burning up with a fever.
Halfway up the stairs, Vanessa's expression twisted as though a sharp pain was tearing through her head. Concerned, Rafael asked:
— M-Mom… are you okay?
Vanessa started gasping, like she was on the verge of a panic attack, and then shouted her eldest son's name:
— Arthur! Arthur!
Arthur, who had been playing Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 on the Xbox 360, instantly heard the desperation in his mother's voice. He dropped the controller and ran toward the door leading to the backyard staircase.
Vanessa, already weak, cried out once more, clinging to what little strength she had:
— Help me, Arthur… I'm not feeling well!
Her vision blackened completely. She lost consciousness while still upright, halfway up the stairs. Her body tilted backward, nearly collapsing, but with her left hand she managed to clutch the railing, barely keeping herself from falling. Her right arm, however, remained steady—holding Rafael close against her chest.
Terrified, Rafael screamed:
— No, Mom, stoppppp!
At that moment, Arthur pushed the door open—and froze at the sight. Vanessa, now completely unhinged, sank her teeth into Rafael's neck. The boy gurgled, choking on his own blood as he struggled to breathe, while his mother viciously tore a chunk of flesh from him.
Arthur stood paralyzed, horrified, as blood sprayed from Rafael's severed artery. Vanessa, veins bulging and eyes glassy with madness, turned her gaze toward him—cold, hollow, and inhuman. She released Rafael's small body, letting him tumble lifelessly down the steps, gasping faintly in the final throes of life.
As Rafael's head struck his mother's leg during the fall, the weight of his body made Vanessa stumble. She tripped, crashing down the staircase in a chaotic roll. On the second-to-last step, her skull slammed against a jagged edge of broken flooring, striking the pterion—the thinnest, most fragile point of the skull. The impact was brutal.
Rafael, in the chaos of the fall, landed twisted at the bottom. His neck snapped with a sickening crack, leaving his body motionless.
***
Fabio, silently struggling with all the unease he felt, began noticing the symptoms of the virus spreading through his body. He felt dizzy, with a strange sense of lethargy, and decided he needed to lie down to see if the dizziness would pass.
Lying on the bed, he closed his eyes and began praying softly, searching for some comfort in the words.
Shortly after finishing his prayer, his eyes snapped open, and he lost consciousness. Moments later, he rose, now fully transformed and infected, his eyes red and lifeless—a pure reflection of what he had become.
He moved silently, making no sound as he approached Anael. Anael didn't even need to look back to sense his father's presence. He was still in the kitchen, finishing rinsing the dishes he had refused to wash the day before. He took a deep breath, irritated, and said with disdain:
— Hey, don't bother me, I'm almost done here!
Fabio, in a sudden movement, lunged to grab him by the neck. Startled, Anael managed to break free, stepping back in fear. He looked at his father, confused and worried by his behavior, and asked:
— Dad… what's going on… are you losing it? What happened to your eyes?
Anael noticed Fabio's eyes were red and inflamed, with a kind of white, pus-like discharge running from them.
Completely infected now, Fabio began chasing him through the house. Anael ran from side to side, still unable to understand what was happening. His instincts screamed at him to flee, and he decided his only option was to get out of the house. Desperate, he ran toward the stairs leading down to his grandmother's house. As he reached the top of the stairs, he paused for a moment and glanced back.
That's when he saw his father stumble, stepping wrong at the very beginning of the staircase. Fabio lost his balance and fell uncontrollably, but seemed unfazed by the impact—he quickly got back up and continued his pursuit, more determined than ever.
Desperate, Anael leapt to the side of the staircase, dodging his father, who was still getting up with erratic, threatening movements. His heart pounded in his chest, and he didn't have time to check if Fabio was okay or had been knocked down. The only thought in his mind was to escape.
He ran toward his grandmother's house, his legs moving faster than he ever thought possible. When he reached the door, he shoved it open forcefully, only to be met with a horrifying sight. His aunt, his mother's sister, and his grandmother advanced toward him, their eyes now red and glazed over, just like his father's. Their mouths were smeared with blood, a clear sign they had already hunted—and probably attacked—someone.
Anael froze for a second, his mind spinning as he tried to process what was happening. He saw his father behind him, still getting up, the same fury burning in his eyes. He turned and ran, his feet cutting across the large backyard filled with overgrown grass and mud, a desperate flight from something impossible to comprehend.
As he ran, his hands trembled, and his mind struggled to make sense of the nightmare that had become his reality. He whispered to himself, his voice low and tense:
— They're like my father… their mouths are covered in blood. Did they kill Nicolas and Brenda? Is that it? Are they going to do the same to me?
Fear tightened like a knot in his throat. He needed to run. He needed to get out of there. But the images of his mother, his father, and now his grandmother and aunt—all consumed by the same madness—made him question how far he could go. More importantly, he wondered if he would even survive this hellish reality.
***
Arthur ran out of the house. As soon as he stepped outside, he saw Raziel arriving at his own gate, still glued to his phone. Arthur shouted desperately, calling for help for his mother and brother.
Raziel, hearing the shout, stopped and yelled back:
— What's wrong, Arthur?
Anael flung open the gate, ran out, and slammed it shut behind him. Spotting his younger brother Raziel, terrified, he grabbed his hand and ran up the hill toward Arthur, shouting to both of them:
— Run, kid! Run, damn it!
Fabio and the others started pounding on the gate, making a deafening racket. The screams of teenagers and children echoed through the streets. As Anael reached Arthur, more infected began pouring out of their homes, and some children appeared as well, running and screaming for their lives.
Anael looked at Arthur, wide-eyed with fear, and said:
— We have to get to Aunt Nádia's house now!
Arthur, Anael, and Raziel hadn't realized yet, but a growing crowd of infected was already chasing them. Raziel glanced behind and, seeing the advancing horde, yelled at Anael:
— Step on it, damn it! There are too many of them behind us!
From a distance, Anael and Arthur spotted their Aunt Cecília's house. Seeing João running toward it, they pushed themselves to the limit, giving everything they had to put some distance between themselves and the infected. Exhausted but driven, the sight of the house gave them a surge of hope.
Adrenaline coursed through the three youths as they ran with all their might. The sounds of gates being smashed, children screaming, and chaos spreading through the neighborhood seemed endless. The once-peaceful streets had become a nightmare, and the only thing that mattered now was one thing: escape. Survival.
Arthur, sweaty and panting, glanced back at the sound of heavy footsteps and approaching screams. He didn't need to turn fully to understand: the infected were close. Too close. They were spreading through the streets, and the gates were just a temporary barrier.
Anael yanked Raziel along, his heart pounding wildly, but he knew he couldn't stop. He looked at his younger brother, visibly terrified, and shouted:
— Run, kid… run, damn it!
Raziel, still clutching his phone, no longer caring about the game he'd left behind, quickened his pace. Every second, more infected drew closer. The screams blended with the pounding of feet on the ground, and they knew they had to reach a safe place.
When Anael, Arthur, and Raziel finally reached Aunt Nádia's house, their desperation grew. They paused for a moment to catch their breath, but soon realized they weren't alone. The number of infected chasing them kept growing. The sight of a crowd running behind them, some children now joining the chaos, froze them for a moment. Raziel, looking back, began shouting in a mix of fear and urgency:
— Step on it, damn it! There's too many of them behind us!
Arthur, sweating and terrified, stared at Anael, panic evident in his eyes. They couldn't stop, couldn't hesitate, or everything would be lost. Suddenly, in the distance, Anael spotted Aunt Cecília's house, and with a burst of effort, he yelled to the others:
— Let's go! Aunt Cecília's house!
The three of them ran with everything they had, breathing heavily, their bodies exhausted, but the sight of their aunt's house gave them a last surge of hope. As they drew closer, they saw João running inside—a final hope, perhaps.
They gained a temporary advantage over the infected, the distance between them and their pursuers slowly increasing. But the relief was fleeting, as they knew they still weren't far enough.
Reaching the corner near their aunt's house, they saw João and Guilherme coming out of the gate. Guilherme, spotting the three of them, immediately noticed the horde of infected rushing toward them.
— We're screwed for real! Oh PH, get your ass outta there, damn it!
Guilherme yelled at his brother as the infected closed in, watching his mother die before his eyes, collapsed at the back of the Fiorino.
João Paulo, panicking, threw himself into the passenger seat of the Fiorino, seeing Bruno and Pedro running toward them. As he got out of the gate, Arthur and the others caught up, while Bruno and Pedro watched in disbelief as the situation worsened. Anael and the others jumped into the car, slamming the door behind them. Bruno got in, already trying to start the engine.
— Holy fuck… we're screwed, damn it! — Pedro shouted from the back seat.
João, looking at the infected catching up, exclaimed desperately:
— What the hell is happening?!
Bruno struggled with the ignition, cursing and yelling furiously:
— What a fucking car, goddamn piece of shit, start already, damn it!
Finally, the engine roared to life. Bruno let out a sigh of relief and cheered:
— Finally, damn it, you piece of junk!
João, terrified and agitated, snapped:
— Dude, stop cursing and get the hell outta here, damn it!
Bruno floored the accelerator, running over the infected trying to block their way, without hesitation.