The bus stop was never this quiet.
Ananya hugged her backpack tightly as the streetlights flickered above her. It was 8:45 PM. The last bus should've come ten minutes ago.
Her phone had no signal.
No people.
No vehicles.
Just… silence.
Then she heard it.
A slow dragging sound.
Scrrr… tap… scrrr… tap…
"Hello?" she called out, her voice shaking.
From the dark corner near the closed tea shop, a man stumbled into the light. His shirt was torn. His face looked pale… grey almost.
"Uncle, are you okay?" she asked, stepping forward.
He lifted his head.
His eyes were cloudy white.
And there was blood running from his mouth.
Ananya froze.
The man let out a low growl — not human, not animal.
Behind him, more shapes began to move in the shadows.
Phones started ringing inside their pockets.
Car alarms went off in the distance.
Dogs barked wildly.
The city wasn't quiet.
It was empty.
Because everyone was running.
The "man" lunged.
Ananya screamed and ran down the road, her footsteps echoing loudly. She didn't look back, but she could hear them now — many footsteps, uneven, chasing.
She spotted a small grocery shop with its shutter half-open.
She slipped inside and pulled the shutter down just as cold hands scraped against the metal from outside.
Bang… bang… bang…
She covered her mouth to stop herself from crying.
Her phone suddenly buzzed.
1 New Emergency Alert:
"Stay indoors. Do NOT approach infected individuals. The virus spreads through bites. Military help is delayed."
Outside, the banging stopped.
There was only growling.
Waiting.
Ananya looked around the dark shop, breathing fast.
Food packets. Water bottles. A cricket bat near the counter.
She picked it up.
"If I'm surviving this," she whispered, "I'm not going down without a fight."
Outside, dozens of pale faces slowly turned toward the shutter…
And the night had just begun.