𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙮

One evening, you sit at the dinner table with your family, absentmindedly pushing food around your plate while the television murmurs in the background. The smell of dinner fills the apartment, blending with the sound of utensils clinking against plates and your younger sibling complaining about school. Nobody is paying much attention to the news until a reporter suddenly begins discussing a series of violent incidents occurring throughout the city. Footage appears on screen showing emergency vehicles, crowded streets, and people running from something the cameras struggle to capture clearly. Your mother glances up briefly before returning to her meal, while your father lets out an amused scoff and shakes his head. "Probably another fake news story," he mutters. "People will believe anything these days."

The conversation continues for another few minutes before the broadcast abruptly changes. The reporter's voice grows noticeably more urgent as shaky cellphone footage fills the screen, showing several individuals attacking strangers in the middle of a subway station. Screams echo through the recording as people push past one another in desperate attempts to escape. This time, everyone at the table notices. Your sibling slowly lowers their fork. Your mother frowns.

before anyone can say another word, every phone inside the apartment vibrates simultaneously. The sudden sound startles everyone. An emergency alert flashes across the screen.

EMERGENCY WARNING. REMAIN INDOORS. AVOID ALL CONTACT WITH INFECTED INDIVIDUALS. WAIT FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS.

Silence falls over the table.

Then, somewhere outside, a scream cuts through the night.

Another follows.

in the distance, sirens begin wailing across the city as the news station abruptly loses signal, leaving only static on the screen.