Meanwhile - Miracle Drug Pharmacy Laboratory 9:00 PM
"Doc! The test subject escaped!"
The laboratory doors burst open as a scientist rushed inside, breathing heavily. Panic filled his voice.
Dr. Miles looked up from the documents scattered across his desk, confusion quickly turning into shock.
"What?!" he shouted. "Find him! Don't let him get out of the basement!"
The scientist didn't hesitate. He spun around and ran back into the hallway, immediately triggering the facility alarm.
Red emergency lights began flashing across the laboratory walls.
Warning sirens echoed through the underground facility.
"Security breach in the basement level. All guards respond immediately."
Armed guards rushed through the corridors while the heavily equipped executioner unit prepared their weapons.
Inside his office, Dr. Miles slammed his palm against the table.
"No... no... no!" he muttered, pacing back and forth.
"This can't be happening..."
Sweat formed on his forehead as dread crept into his voice.
"That monster will destroy everything," he whispered.
He gripped the edge of the table tightly.
"If I had known this would happen... I should have never accepted that proposal in the first place."
Far below the laboratory...
In the dark basement corridors...
Something was already moving.
And it was no longer human.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The morning sunbeam slipped through the window and landed directly on William's face.
"Ugh..."
William groaned as his eyes slowly opened. His face looked tired, his body still heavy from sleep.
"I should get going to work..."
He began to sit up from the couch.
Then he suddenly froze.
"Oh... right."
"I got fired yesterday."
William sighed and stood up anyway. He walked toward the small mirror hanging on the wall.
For a moment, he stared at his reflection.
His body was average at first glance, but lean muscles were clearly visible beneath his skin. His hair had grown long and messy, and the stress and exhaustion in his eyes were impossible to hide.
Three shifts a day.
No proper rest.
Still, the hard work had shaped his body into surprisingly good form.
William ran a hand through his hair.
"Damn... I forgot I even had this kind of body."
He grabbed a pair of scissors and began trimming his hair and beard. Strands of dark hair fell into the sink as he cleaned himself up. Afterward, he removed his old shirt, stretching slightly as the muscles in his arms and shoulders flexed.
Not bad.
After getting dressed again, William headed downstairs and stepped outside his apartment building.
He was about to walk to the nearest convenience store when several loud sirens cut through the quiet morning.
Five ambulances sped past him down the street.
William frowned slightly.
"Hmmm... did an accident happen?"
Curious, but not concerned enough to investigate, he simply continued walking toward the store.
As he approached the entrance, he noticed a crowd gathered nearby. People were talking loudly, some looking worried.
William ignored them and walked straight into the store.
He grabbed a basket and began picking things up from the shelves-food supplies, batteries, canned goods, and bottled water.
Enough for about a week.
Just in case.
He was about to head toward the cashier when suddenly-The store doors burst open.
People rushed inside in complete chaos.
They were screaming.
Running.
Pushing each other.
One man stumbled and fell hard onto the floor.
Before he could even stand, another person lunged at him.
CRUNCH.
The attacker bit directly into the man's neck and tore into it violently. Blood sprayed across the floor.
"Fuck!"
William immediately rushed forward, grabbing the attacker by the collar and pulling him away.
"Hey! Why did you-"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Something was wrong.
The man's eyes were bloodshot and pale. Dark veins spread across his face like cracks under his skin. Blood covered his teeth as he snarled like an animal.
William slowly released his grip and stepped back.
The man suddenly lunged at him.
Without hesitation, William threw a fast punch.
His fist slammed into the attacker's head, then followed with a sharp strike to the liver.
The blows should have dropped any normal person instantly.
But the man didn't even flinch.
"What the hell?"
The attacker rushed at him again.
William quickly dodged.
"What the fuck? I hit his liver..."
Thinking fast, William planted his foot and delivered a powerful kick straight to the man's head.
The attacker flew backward.
His skull slammed violently into the sharp metal corner of a cleaning mop rack.
CRACK.
The body collapsed to the floor.
This time...
It didn't move.
William stared at the body on the floor, his chest rising and falling heavily.
Something was terribly wrong.
Behind him, the store had already descended into chaos.
More screams erupted from the aisles. Shelves crashed to the floor as people shoved each other, trying desperately to escape. Somewhere near the entrance, another horrifying scream echoed as someone else was attacked.
William clenched his jaw.
"This is bad..."
He grabbed the bag of supplies he had just bought and quickly scanned the store for a way out.
The front entrance was already a nightmare. People were trapped there, fighting their way through the crowd and the infected.
No way out.
Then he spotted it.
A red metal door near the back of the store.
FIRE EXIT.
William didn't waste a second.
He sprinted toward it, pushing past overturned carts and scattered groceries. The sound of growling echoed behind him as another infected person stumbled into the aisle.
William shoved the fire exit door open.
The alarm immediately began screaming.
A cold gust of outside air hit his face as he rushed into the narrow alley behind the store.
He didn't stop running.
Sirens wailed in the distance. People were shouting somewhere down the street. A car crashed loudly nearby, metal grinding against metal.
The city was falling into chaos.
"What the hell is happening..."
William tightened his grip on the supply bag and ran faster.
His apartment building was only a few blocks away.
If something crazy was happening out here, the safest place he knew was his own room.
He turned the corner and sprinted down the street toward his building, his heart pounding harder with every step.
Behind him, somewhere in the city...
More screams filled the air.
The calamity had begun.
And William was running straight back into the only place he could call safe.
For now...