Kade gave a dry laugh, his lips curling into a mocking grin. "I can see the questions burning inside you," he said, voice low and teasing. Dane, still shaken, managed a whisper, "Yes… please… just tell me something." Kade tossed the pack of food aside and settled down next to him, his movements deliberate, almost too calm for the chaos that had just unfolded. "Alright," Kade muttered, his voice lowering as if sharing some secret of survival, "I'll tell you what you need to know."
Dane's curiosity surged, but his voice remained cautious. "What's your name? Why did you save me?"
The old man exhaled, eyes narrowing slightly. "Kade Mercer. Former Marine Commando. That's all you need to know about me." His voice had a gruff edge, carrying the weight of battles long past.
Dane frowned, raising his voice slightly. "Kade, what the hell is happening out there?"
Kade shot a sharp glance at him, eyes full of warning. "Shh… not so loud. These things… their senses are sharp. Hit them in the head—they go down fast." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Their eyes… they catch every little thing."
Dane, overwhelmed and frustrated, growled softly. "Stop with the nonsense. Just… tell me what's going on."
Kade took another slow sip from his flask, his eyes distant, reliving the horror of the last few days. He exhaled deeply, the smell of alcohol lingering in the air, mixing with the metallic stench of blood that still clung to the room.
"Three days... that's all it took to turn the world upside down," he muttered, his voice thick with the weight of what he was about to say. "At first, it was just sickness. People felt off—like a fever or the flu. But it wasn't normal. They got restless, twitchy... like their skin didn't fit right anymore. Then came the cravings—raw flesh. They started gnawing on animals, tearing into them like wild dogs, blood pouring down their chins, eyes wide with hunger."
He paused, rubbing his forehead as if the memory itself pained him. "It was on the news. The whole world watched in horror as people—regular people—ripped animals apart with their bare hands, snarling, covered in gore. At first, it seemed like isolated incidents. People thought it was some kind of rabies outbreak. Nobody knew just how bad it was gonna get."
Kade's face darkened, his voice dropping lower, almost a growl. "Then something changed. The hunger got worse—more savage. Animals weren't enough anymore. They started turning on each other. First it was small things—a neighbor gone missing, families finding their pets dead in the yard. But soon it spread... like a fire, burning through everything. Friends, family—it didn't matter. They went after anyone with warm blood. People were ripped apart in their own homes, dragged into the streets, screaming."
He shook his head slowly, eyes narrowing as if he could still hear the echoes of those screams. "I saw a man tear into his own brother, gnawing on him like he was nothing more than a piece of meat. They didn't just eat... they devoured. They'd strip a body down to the bone in minutes, blood spraying everywhere, soaking the ground. It didn't matter who you were. One bite, one scratch, and you were one of them—infected, ravenous. And worse than dead."
Kade leaned closer, his voice cold and hollow. "The infection wasn't just fast—it was relentless. Entire neighborhoods went dark overnight. The streets ran red with blood, bodies piling up faster than anyone could count. But it didn't stop there. No... it spread, city after city. It became a feeding frenzy, the infected multiplying like vermin. Every person they bit became a new monster, hungry for more. It was a chain reaction of death and madness."
He looked back at Dane, his eyes filled with a grim certainty. "The world you knew? It's gone. What's left now is survival. And if you're not ready to fight, to kill, to do whatever it takes... you won't last. They'll tear you apart like they did the rest."
He looked at Dane, his expression dead serious, as if the gravity of the situation wasn't sinking in yet. "It's not a joke, kid. Out there, it's not people anymore. It's monsters wearing human skin. What you saw… it's only the beginning. And the worst part? They keep multiplying. And if you're not careful, you'll end up as one of them, or worse—one of their victims.
Dane's heart hammered in his chest. His fingers gripped the scalpel tighter, his thoughts spiraling. He wasn't ready for this. "So why me?" Dane asked, voice trembling. "Why did you pull me out of there?"
Kade looked at him long and hard, his gaze intense, yet somehow unreadable. "I saved you because I saw something in you—something worth saving. Don't prove me wrong."
Dane looked at Kade, his voice filled with a mix of confusion and disbelief. "What did the government do when all of this started? How did they let it get this bad?"