CHAPTER ONE
"The Day the World Went Silent"
The world didn't end with a bang. It ended with a cough.
At first, it was just the sound of someone clearing their throat _distant, forgettable buried beneath the thunder of jets flying low across the city. Ezekiel didn't even notice. He was too busy in the corner of the bar, his jacket halfway unbuttoned, a bottle of whiskey in one hand, his phone buzzing with messages he didn't care to answer.
He had always been good at ignoring warnings.
A soldier once, before the world started unraveling. Now, just another handsome mistake draped in a leather jacket and regret. He had medals once _ now they were rusting somewhere in a drawer he'd never open again.
Then came the sirens.
A single blare that cut through the laughter, then another, until the sound became a scream echoing across the city.
The bartender froze. The woman beside Ezekiel's table whispered something under her breath — a prayer or a curse, he couldn't tell. Then the screen behind the bar flickered.
"BREAKING NEWS: UNKNOWN VIRAL OUTBREAK. CITIZENS ADVISED TO REMAIN INDOORS—"
The transmission cut out.
Someone in the crowd coughed _wet, rough, dragging like a blade through the throat. Then another joined. And another. Within seconds, the air filled with the sound of panic _chairs scraping, bottles shattering, voices rising.
Ezekiel stood, his soldier's instinct snapping awake from years of sleep. He scanned the room _one man on the floor convulsing, another vomiting blood. His heartbeat thundered, but his eyes stayed cold.
"Everybody, out the back door!" he barked, grabbing the nearest stool and smashing the window open. "Move!"
The crowd surged. Screams bled into each other. A woman slipped _Ezekiel caught her arm and pulled her through the shattered glass, cutting his hand in the process. Blood dripped down his knuckles, but he didn't stop.
Outside, the streets were chaos. People ran in every direction _ a sea of fear and confusion. Sirens wailed, but the city had already become something else _ something feral.
A man stumbled toward him, clutching his chest.
"Help....." he gasped, but before the word finished, his eyes rolled back, and his body jerked violently. Bones cracked, veins darkened, his mouth split open in a scream that wasn't human.
The transformation took seconds.
And when it was over, the thing that had once been a man lunged.
Ezekiel ducked, swung his arm, and drove his elbow into its jaw with soldier precision. The creature fell _but didn't stay down. Its head snapped sideways, neck twisted, eyes glowing faintly under the flickering streetlight.
He froze for a heartbeat. This wasn't a man anymore.
Then he reached down and grabbed the fallen metal pipe from the ground.
"Sorry, buddy," he muttered and drove it straight through the skull.
The body twitched, then stilled.
Silence.
For the first time that night, the city held its breath. The wind carried the smell of iron and ash. Somewhere in the distance, a child screamed _ then nothing.
Ezekiel leaned against the wall, panting. His reflection stared back from a shattered car window _ blood on his cheek, eyes too calm for what he'd just done.
He looked up. The skyline was burning. Planes circled above like vultures, dropping flashes of light that weren't bombs but containment flares. Streets below glowed red with fire and chaos.
The world he knew _ the one filled with laughter, music, and meaningless hookups _ was gone.
And deep inside, something in him _something he thought had died long ago _ stirred awake again.
The soldier.
He picked up his jacket, slung it over his shoulder, and began walking toward the smoke.
If the world was ending, he wasn't going to die running.
He was going to fight.