~ S-City Park — Playground ~
"Kyle! I finally found you!"
Mayor Smith's voice trembled as she crawled beneath the damaged dome structure in the playground.
Her heart sank when she finally spotted her son lying unconscious beneath the debris.
"Kyle..."
She gritted her teeth against the pain shooting through her injured legs and carefully pulled him into her arms.
Despite her injuries, she managed to carry him toward a nearby bench.
Exhausted, she lowered herself onto the seat and held her son tightly against her chest.
A shaky breath escaped her lips.
Thank God...
Kyle was alive.
She gently brushed the dirt from his face before looking around.
Then she spotted a rescuer nearby.
"Over here!" she called, waving desperately.
The rescuer immediately noticed her and hurried in their direction.
Mayor Smith looked around the park.
What had once been a lively gathering place was now almost unrecognizable.
Playground equipment had been destroyed.
Trees had been uprooted.
Debris was scattered across the ground.
People cried for help while rescuers rushed from one location to another, desperately searching for survivors.
Mayor Smith slowly shook her head, struggling to process the devastation.
Then she pointed toward several damaged areas.
"Help them first!" she called out to the rescuers. "There are still people trapped around the park!"
The rescuers immediately moved toward the areas she indicated.
For the moment, the rescue operation continued.
But somewhere else in the city...
something far more terrifying was beginning.
---
~ S-City Hospital — Dusk ~
A hospital staff member had just finished his break when something caught his attention.
A figure was slowly emerging from the meteorite's landing site outside the hospital.
The person walked strangely.
Their movements were slow and unsteady, as though they were struggling to remain upright.
The staff member immediately stood.
"Hey! Are you alright?" he called out. "You look hurt! Wait there, I'm coming over!"
He hurried toward the injured person.
But just as he got close—
The figure suddenly lunged at him.
"Whoa—!"
---
~ The Emergency Room ~
Inside the emergency room, a patient who had been injured during the meteorite impact suddenly began trembling violently.
"Easy, easy..." Trish said, rushing to the patient's side.
She quickly checked their vital signs, but her expression grew increasingly concerned as the trembling continued.
"Doctor, I think something's wrong with—"
She stopped.
The patient suddenly became completely still.
Trish stared at them.
Slowly...
the patient's head lifted.
Their eyes were bloodshot.
Trish froze.
"Doctor...?"
Before she could call for the attending physician, something else caught her attention.
Across the emergency room, several other patients were beginning to display the same symptoms.
One began trembling.
Another started grinding their teeth.
Another slowly sat upright.
Trish's eyes darted from one patient to another.
She didn't know which one to attend to first.
Then—
"AAAHHH!"
A scream erupted from across the emergency room.
Trish spun around.
Her eyes widened.
One of the patients had suddenly attacked an attending physician.
"What?!"
The patient's behavior was completely unnatural.
Then another patient attacked.
And another.
Within moments, the entire emergency room erupted into chaos.
Patients displaying the same strange symptoms began attacking anyone within reach.
Doctors and nurses scrambled backward, desperately trying to escape as screams echoed throughout the room.
Trish stumbled backward.
Her patient suddenly turned toward her.
Their bloodshot eyes locked onto hers.
Trish's breath caught.
The patient lunged.
Before they could reach her, someone grabbed her arm and yanked her away.
"Trish! Run!"
"Liam!"
"Don't stop!"
Liam pulled her through the chaos, skillfully weaving between the patients attacking everyone in their path.
He reached the emergency alarm and slammed his hand against it.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The alarm immediately echoed throughout the hospital.
"We have to warn everyone!" Liam shouted.
Still holding onto Trish, he pulled her toward the broadcasting room.
Behind them, the emergency room continued descending into chaos.
---
~ The Ward ~
Brent and Cindy sat beside their unconscious friends, keeping watch over them while having their meal.
Suddenly—
CRASH!
A loud scream came from the room next door, followed by the heavy sound of something hitting the floor.
Cindy jumped.
"What was that?"
"Let me check," Brent said as he stood.
But before he could reach the door—
Cindy suddenly gasped.
"Wait!"
She pointed toward the bed.
Katie's fingers were moving.
Brent immediately turned around.
The two rushed to her side.
"Katie?" Cindy asked. "Are you awake?"
Katie's eyelids slowly fluttered open.
"Hmm..."
She blinked several times, trying to focus.
"Where am I?" she murmured. "What happened?"
"It's a long story," Brent replied with a relieved smile. "What's important is that you're awake."
He glanced toward Mike's bed.
"I just hope Mike wakes up soon, too."
As if responding to his words, Mike suddenly stirred.
His eyes slowly opened as he looked around the unfamiliar room.
"What are you guys doing?" he asked groggily. "Are you shooting a drama or something?"
Cindy stared at him in disbelief.
Then—
Flick!
She flicked his forehead.
"Ow!"
"Says the guy who just collapsed out of nowhere!" Cindy snapped, pouting. "Do you even know how worried we were? Hmph!"
Brent and Katie exchanged glances.
Despite everything that had happened, they couldn't help but laugh at Cindy's reaction.
For a brief moment, the tension in the room disappeared.
Then—
BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP!
An alarm suddenly blared throughout the hospital.
Everyone froze.
A tense voice came over the hospital's announcement system.
"Emergency! Everyone, avoid coming into contact with any patient injured by the meteorite. Repeat: do not approach or come into contact with anyone injured by the meteorite. They are dangerous!"
The announcement repeated again and again.
But beneath it, they could hear something else.
Screams.
Shouting.
Footsteps rushing through the halls.
The four friends looked at one another in confusion.
"What... is happening?" Katie whispered.
Cindy slowly scanned the ward.
"Maybe we should lock the door?"
Brent looked toward the entrance.
The ward had been assigned to patients who had fallen unconscious following the disaster. Several other patients were still lying in their beds, surrounded by equally confused and frightened families and friends.
Nobody objected.
The person closest to the door immediately stood and locked it.
Click.
Everyone fell silent.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then—
BANG!
Something slammed against the door from the other side.
Everyone flinched.
"What was that?" Mike whispered.
Another impact shook the door.
BANG!
No one answered.
The four friends stared at the door.
Another heavy impact followed.
BANG!
The door rattled violently in its frame.
Outside the ward, screams continued echoing through the hospital.
The hospital that had been a place of refuge only moments ago...
was slowly becoming a place of terror.