The rays of a new day pierced through the living room windows, gradually illuminating the surroundings. Victor, still asleep, was soon awakened by the sun's bright glare. Raising his arm to block the sun's rays, Victor slowly sat up from the couch and rubbed his face to dispel his drowsiness. Gaining some sense of clarity, Victor headed to the kitchen sink to wash his face.
There, he met Andrei preparing a cup of coffee.
"Morning, Vic. Want some coffee?" Andrei greeted as he took a worn-out moka pot off the gas stove and poured it into his cup.
"Yeah, that'd be appreciated." Victor nodded as he approached the kitchen sink and turned the knob. Cupping his hands to catch the falling water, he splashed his face with it. Grabbing a nearby towel to dry off, Victor sat at the dining room table and engaged in small talk with Andrei.
Meanwhile, Andrei refilled the Moka pot's bottom chamber with water, then rinsed the brewing basket before wiping it dry and adding an Italian coffee roast. After reassembling the pot, he placed it on the stove burner placed at medium heat.
Nearly six minutes later, Andrei handed a cup of steaming coffee to Victor, who was preoccupied listening to a news anchor from a branch of Channel One explaining the recent events happening in the city of Kursk. Sipping on his coffee, Victor fought the urge to spit it out due to how bitter the drink was. Grabbing a container filled with sugar placed on the table, Victor started to add spoonful after spoonful of sugar into his drink. Tasting the sweetened coffee, Victor nodded in satisfaction before shifting his attention back to the TV.
On the screen appeared Governor Alexander Mikhailov, who was a slightly overweight man, his face sagging due to fat. Dressed in a modest gray three piece suit, Mikhailov was seen very animatedly gesturing his hands around as he spoke promises of the city soon returning to normal, while also reminding the public to adhere to the restrictions in place due to martial law. Soon after Governor Mikhailov finished speaking the screen switched to a female news reporter standing alongside a weathered road.
Wrapped in clothing meant to endure the cold, Katerina looked towards the live camera and spoke with an air of professionalism.
"An additional five - thousand Rosgvardiya determined by the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Nikolay Rogozhkin, has been sent to the city of Kursk and its surroundings to assist already existing law enforcement in their efforts to enforce martial law. In addition, travel to the cities of Belgorod, Orel, Voronezh, Zheleznogorsk, Stary Oskol, Lgov and Rylsk has been suspended with the Rosgvardiya and Armiya closely monitoring the motorways of each city." finished Katerina, as every word she said produced a visible air of condensation in the chilly morning.
The cameraman then panned to the road behind Katerina, revealing a long convoy of Ural 4320 general-purpose trucks driving along the M2 Russian federal motorway - connecting Moscow to cities in the south such as Tula, Oryol, Kursk and Belgorod. Standing at nearly three meters tall and eight meters long the Ural was an intimidating truck to be seen. Due to its impressive size, the whole convoy stretched for nearly seven kilometers. Designed with a v8 diesel engine it was able to reach speeds of 82 km/h and could accommodate 30 men.
As the news continued to play in the background the Belozyorov family and Victor ate in silence with the exception of occasional dialogue. Finishing breakfast, Victor helped in cleaning the table before thanking Andrei and his family for their hospitality and the light meal they provided.
Leaving the apartment, Victor discovered the streets more crowded, as people could be seen hastily walking to their destinations. Due to the twelve hour time frame, every individual or family had to make the most of their day whether going to the market to buy supplies, visiting relatives or socializing. In addition to the civilian crowd, members of the Rosgvardiya, clad in blue Surpat camouflage uniforms and armed with AK-74 or AK-74M assault rifles, could be seen converging around various checkpoints throughout the city. In other areas, Armiya personnel, dressed in similar gear but in green Surpat camouflage and equipped with a wider variety of weaponry, were observed disembarking from Ural trucks and onto rallying points.
Deciding to get some meat to eat later tonight, Victor headed to Lenta, a Russian hypermarket chain with hundreds of branches operating in various cities across the country. Upon entering the store, Victor was greeted by a bustling crowd of customers pushing carts full of produce and other miscellaneous items. The interior was brightly illuminated by LED lights hung on the ceiling, seasonal fruits were stored in refrigerated compartments alongside dairy products. Aisles dedicated to winter clothing, electronics, alcoholic beverages, snacks and toiletries could be seen crowded by overly excited customers.
Walking towards the back end of the store, Victor found the meat section and browsed through the many options available. Red meats such as beef, pork and lamb could be seen on sale for 500 rubles. Other options such as chicken, bacon and sausage could be seen as customers decided to their preference. While Victor was in contemplation, a sickly patron could be seen struggling to push her cart forward causing others behind her to be delayed. Struggling to breathe, the woman started to panic and began taking deep breathes, but to her dismay nothing worked. Unable to move forward, the customers behind her began murmuring in discontent until they gasped in surprise as the woman collapsed to the ground.
Seeing the women fall, their feelings of discontent were soon overshadowed by concern as they rushed to her side, while other patrons called for help. The sudden burst of shouting within the store soon captured people's attention, as well as Victors, who were curious as to what was happening.
"I'm a nurse from Kursk Regional Clinical Hospital, I can help!" yelled a man as he skillfully navigated through the crowd, headed towards the unconscious woman. Upon reaching the woman, the man knelt down and began looking for abnormal signs around her body. He then placed his fingers alongside the woman's carotid artery to feel her pulse, next he hovered his index finger below her nostrils to determine whether or not she was still breathing.
While the man was engrossed in his examinations, the woman's eyelids twitched open revealing a pair of vacant eyes. Rising up, the woman looked at the man, while he looked back in confusion. He had deduced that the woman should still be unconscious since she showed no signs of having a pulse or signs of breathing. Oblivious to the man's concerns the crowd started to cheer as the woman slowly sat up, believing that she recovered from the ordeal.
However, what happened next stunned everyone; the woman suddenly lunged at the man, pinning him to the floor and sinking her teeth into his throat, tearing it to shreds. The man, reeling in from shock, desperately pressed his hands against the trauma to stop the bleeding. The sickly woman then pulled away from the man's throat, her body convulsing violently before she vomited a greenish content into the man's mouth. Without pause, she turned and tackled another bystander repeating the process once again.
"HELP ME!" a woman desperately cried, her voice laden with terror as she horrifyingly watched the sickly woman consume her arm.
All hell broke loose as people desperately tried to flee, only to be pushed down by frantic shoppers behind them. Those who fell faced an uncertain fate as people trampled over them. The woman's desperate pleas for help echoed throughout the store, until it ceased a short time later. Soon after, more of those things continued to infect the other shoppers.