July 11, 2027 - 4:30 PM

Will stepped over to the window and peeked out the blinds. Although it was still daytime, It looked as if a star had appeared in the sky. A second bright spot in a blue canvas, next to the larger sun.

He watched the shining comet grow larger and larger as it approached the earth. When it grew to half the size of the sun, the star suddenly broke apart into countless tiny specks of light. It looked like the constellations had fallen from the sky.

With white trails following behind, those tiny specks soon grew in size as well. The light they emitted grew brighter and brighter until it was almost blinding, lighting up the entire sky. Some of those fireballs died out on their own and some of them seemed to have touched down in the distance. No doubt those fragments would be the ones spreading the virus.

A few blew up on their own in the atmosphere, and the sound of thunder quickly followed as it echoed across the entire city. Will could feel the air thrumming as multiple car alarms set off and people peeked their heads out of their homes to investigate.

Donny said in incredulity on the other side of the phone.

"It's starting."

"Change of plans. Take my grandpa to the compound instead."

Donny said.

"Drive off-road if you need to."

"What are you driving?" Will raised.

"Call me if there's an emergency but I need to finish things up on my end before it gets too hectic."

Will ended the call and began packing things up. He went into the kitchen and returned with a garbage bag. Will approached the two corpses that were now pale white as if they had no blood in their systems. He ripped out the tubes connected to their arms and sealed up the last of the blood bags he had collected before placing them in a cooler.

With that done, he cut the zip ties binding their hands and threw the clues that he had ever been there into the garbage bag. Taking the garbage bag and cooler with him, he returned to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator and shoved all the food inside out onto the floor and towards the front door.

Those would be bait to attract scavengers that would help him clean up the bodies.

Will left the front door wide open as he returned to the car and stashed everything in the back. He hit the acceleration and sped towards his next destination.

Donny put the satellite phone down and turned to his passenger. "Hang on tight, Grandpa Wong. The ride is about to get a little bumpy."

He turned the beast of a vehicle and cut between another car—who instantly honked at Donny for cutting them off, and accelerated straight into a guardrail. The guardrail bent down halfway and the jeep drove over the rest of it.

"Wah, crazy driver!" Grandpa Wong exclaimed as Broski howled from the backseat.

Donny drove off-road and cut his way to the exit ramp. He was soon speeding his way through the streets of Toronto. After about 10 minutes of driving like a madman—sometimes running red lights when the coast was clear, he suddenly spotted red and blue lights flashing in his rearview mirror.

"You gotta be kidding me, bro."

"Tsk tsk, you bad boy." Grandpa Wong shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Now big trouble."

Donny pulled over and the officer soon approached his window.

"License and registration."

"Do you think you can let me go, officer? It's kind of an emergency."

"License and registration." The officer repeated.

Donny let out a sigh and complied. The officer returned to his vehicle, Donny's information. He played with the idea of just driving off but it would be annoying if they followed him to the compound.

As he waited for the officer to return, Donny watched as a couple of kids close to his age were goofing off on the grass near where he had parked. Three girls were smiling and screaming while running away from a young man while three boys were standing off to the side laughing at them. One of them even had his camera in his hands, recording the scene.

Something seemed very wrong about this scene to Donny.

The officer returned as he was leaning in for a closer look.

"Is this your vehicle?"

The young man chasing the girls, and although he looked no different from a regular person, his movements seemed a little unnatural. He was slouched and sort of staggering. Almost like a...

"It's just a prank, bro! It's just a prank, bro!" One of the boys laughed as the girls ran by him. He pointed his phone at the young man, moving in closer for a better angle.

"IT'S NOT A PRANK, BRO!" Donny roared. "IT'S REAL, RUN!"

"What are yo-"

He turned to and cut off the officer, pointing at the group. "Look!"

The officer turned just in time to see the young man grab onto the boy with the phone and take a bite out of his neck.

"Shit!" The officer placed a hand on his holster and another on his radio as he bolted off to help the boy. "2503 to dispatch, 336 in progress..."

"We gotta go now!" Donny said, turning on the engine and hitting the acceleration as fast as possible. The wheels of the car peeled out and Donny zoomed down the street, ignoring Grandpa Wong—who seemed to be cursing in Cantonese, and a barking Broski.

After finding a secluded place to change his clothes and ditch the garbage bag, Will sped down the streets of New York. The city was already showing signs of falling apart.

Sirens blared throughout the entire city as some people stood on the streets looking around in confusion or fiddling with their phones. Cars stopped in the middle of the streets, forcing him to go into the opposing lanes, sidewalks, or even take another route altogether.

Here and there, the first Category 0s had already begun to appear as mindless husks—due to their low immunity to the virus and their minds being unable to handle the rapid changes. They were attacking other unsuspecting people in search of sustenance.

He soon arrived at his destination, hiding the car in an alley across the street. He quickly grabbed his duffle bag and cooler, running to the other side and bypassing an empty parking lot and guard post. The place was completely deserted as will entered.

Will jogged up to a helicopter parked on the helipad and placed all his things inside before climbing into the pilot seat and quickly going through the pre-flight checklist. He caught a bit of a lucky break when he saw the fuel gauge show that it was filled up.

Once he was ready, he picked up the radio and spoke in a panicked voice, "ATC! Helicopter Delta Four Seven Niner Six Foxtrot! I've got a mob of hostile...zombies or something coming at me! I'm initiating an emergency northeast departure!"

Will would have preferred not to say anything over the radio. He knew that everyone would be too busy with the mess going on currently, and even though it was unlikely someone would be paying attention to a lone helicopter, it was better to be safe than risk a visit from the air force.

To prove that everyone else was too busy for him, Will received no return communication from air traffic control.

He took off from the heliport and made his way back to Toronto. Just after he crossed the border, Will landed on an empty field and shut of the transponder. He then took out a screwdriver and unbolted the satellite GPS tracking system, tossing it aside, before resuming flight.

It was already turning dark by the time he reached the compound and as he was touching down behind the house, Will spotted Donny parking a fuel tanker just outside the walls.

Donny contacted him on the two-way radio.

"No communications while driving the fuel tanker." Will reprimanded.

After shutting down the helicopter, Will covered it up with a tarp. They would repaint it later. Donny approached him just as he finished up.

"Hehe, I almost blew myself up." Donny scratched his head.

"William, do you want to explain to me what is going on here?" Will turned around to find Broski climbing up on his leg excitedly while his grandpa gave him a look while glancing back and forth at the helicopter.

"Ah, shit..." Will let out a sigh before he looked up at his grandpa with a serious face. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Woof."