The rooftop was their only sanctuary—for now.
Ethan, Olivia, and Noah crouched behind a rusted vent, their breathing heavy. Below them, the city was unraveling at terrifying speed.
Fires burned unchecked. Sirens howled in the distance. And the infected? They were multiplying.
Blaze sat beside Ethan, his ears twitching, golden eyes locked onto the streets below. He could sense it—the shift. The hunger. The impending storm.
Noah exhaled sharply. "Well… this escalated fast."
Olivia scanned the horizon. "The military won't be able to contain this."
Ethan agreed. In the past timeline, the government had tried. They had failed.
And now, it was happening again.
Only this time, he knew what was coming.
A New Plan
Ethan tightened his grip on his rifle. They needed to move.
"The safehouse is still the best bet." His voice was firm. "We get inside, secure supplies, and wait until the worst passes."
Noah raised a skeptical brow. "And if the worst never passes?"
Ethan met his gaze. "Then we make our own way."
Noah smirked. "I like the way you think."
Olivia stood. "Then we go. Before it gets worse."
But as they turned to leave—Blaze suddenly let out a sharp bark.
A warning.
Ethan's instincts screamed. He whirled—just as something lunged from behind a rooftop vent.
The First Variant
It was faster.
The infected wasn't like the others—this one moved with unnatural speed, closing the distance in seconds. Its limbs twitched violently, its muscles bulging unnaturally, veins pulsing beneath its skin.
A mutated variant.
It wasn't supposed to show up this early.
Ethan barely had time to react. A clawed hand slashed toward him.
Blaze leaped.
Electricity crackled as the dog collided with the infected, sinking his teeth into its shoulder. The creature let out an inhuman screech, thrashing wildly.
Noah raised his gun—three rapid shots.
The infected barely flinched.
Ethan moved. He slammed the butt of his rifle into its skull, forcing it backward. Olivia fired **point-blank—**a bullet tearing through its temple.
For a moment, silence.
Then the body slumped.
Dead.
Ethan exhaled sharply. That was too close.
Noah nudged the corpse with his boot. "What the hell was that?"
Ethan didn't answer immediately. Because he already knew.
The virus was mutating.
And if this thing had appeared already… the timeline was collapsing faster than he thought.
They were running out of time.
"We need to move. Now."
No one argued.
As they climbed down the fire escape, Blaze shook off the last sparks of energy from his fur. Olivia reloaded. Noah glanced at Ethan, eyes sharp.
The real fight was about to begin.
And this time? Ethan refused to lose.