What in the hell? Isaac thought, staring at the glowing text with wide eyes. He blinked and pinched his arm, yet it didn't go away. I must be dreaming. All of this must be a dream. No other explanation.

  Just then, a series of gunshots echoed from outside, almost making him jump. Moments later, a deafening crash followed. He quickly scrambled to his feet and ran toward the nearest window.

  "Dear God," Isaac mumbled, taking in the scene before him.

  The world outside was chaos—absolute chaos. Multiple corpses already littered the ground, drowning the streets in blood. Those who still breathed were running around in panic, desperate to escape the same yellow-eyed monsters Isaac had just fought. A few brave ones stood their ground, facing the beasts head on…

  …only to join the dead once the humans-turned-monsters overwhelmed them with sheer numbers.

  He also didn't have to search long for the source of the crash. Several cars had swerved off the road in the chaos, smashing into the buildings on both sides of the street. By some miracle, none of them had hit the shop he was inside.

  Yet.

  Shit! Isaac ducked low when one of the monsters looked in his direction. Heart pounding, he tried to come up with a plan, but his mind refused to cooperate. The glowing text still blocking a part of his vision also didn't help.

  Can you just go away!? He growled, and to his surprise, it did just that. The red letters faded like they were never there. Mental commands? But what even was it? Stages? Broken Strain? Host scan?

  Isaac shook his head. Whatever the text meant wasn't important, at least not now. There were literal zombies on steroids running outside, slaughtering the population of Galt. He had watched enough movies and TV shows to know that if he didn't act or move soon, he would join the corpses on the ground.

  I know you sometimes might think that life isn't worth the effort, but it really is, boy. So live. For me and especially for yourself. Don't you ever give up.

  Those were the old man's words—one of the last he had ever said to Isaac. He had tried to live by them ever since, doing his best to keep going no matter how hard life kicked him in the ass.

  And he wasn't about to give up today.

  I can't stay here. No matter how convenient it might have been to have constant access to supplies, this shop was far too exposed. My apartment first; I live up the street, after all. Then… then I will se—

  The universe, as always, had other plans. A deafening clap of thunder split the air, shaking both the sky and the ground beneath it. Isaac grasped the nearest shelf, fighting to stay upright. He would have succeeded, too, if not for the next tremor and the bright flash of light that poured through the window, hitting him square in the eyes.

  Blinded and with his ears ringing, he crumbled to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

  It just never ends, does it? Isaac grimaced, trying to blink away the glare from his vision. At least the earthquake seemed to stop after the second tremor, though the sudden silence outside was disconcerting.

  Never mind, it's all back, he noted as the muffled screams and other various sounds returned. Slowly, he picked himself up from the ground and took another peek through the window.

  Oh…

  While the chaos on the streets persisted, that wasn't what caught Isaac's attention now. No, that honor belonged to the vast green barrier that appeared above the entire city and stretched beyond the horizon. It was hard to tell from this angle, but it almost looked like some sort of a protection dome.

  Just how far does this thing go?

  The barrier didn't tower too high over Galt, but as he looked north, in the direction of Sacramento, he noticed it slowly gaining altitude. His limited sight might not have allowed him to see where it ended, but this alone put things into perspective.

  At least it doesn't block the sun, Isaac tried to reassure himself. The situation was bad enough; he didn't need any more negativity.

  Wait! The text! It mentioned contamination zones. Is that what this is? But if it reaches all the way up to Sacramento, then…

  Isaac shook his head, cutting off that train of thought. So much for avoiding unnecessary negativity. He had to get a grip and focus on his own problems. It was his life on the line now. It wasn’t like him to worry about strangers.

  Exit. There must be one in the back.

  He snatched the fallen broom from the floor and made his way back to the counter, his eyes fixed on the door behind it. If he were lucky, it would lead to a storage room with an exit opening onto the alley located between two rows of buildings. And if it didn't? Well, he would have to figure out a different plan—preferably one that didn't involve walking straight into the chaos on the streets.

  Isaac tried his best to ignore the corpse of Mrs. Harper that blocked his path, but once more, the world decided to take that decision out of his hands. Even if he wanted to look away, he couldn't ignore the sight of black veins spreading across her pale, lifeless face.

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  "No way…" he muttered.

  His gaze drifted lower, stopping at her neck—freshly healed and unblemished. Even the blood was gone. If that weren't proof enough of what was happening, nothing short of Mrs. Harper rising from the dead would convince him.

  Which just might happen if he didn’t act.

  His hand tightened around his flip knife, raising it without conscious thought. Isaac didn't force it away—he couldn't. Even if there was a tiny chance that the woman would return as herself and not as one of the monsters, he couldn't risk it.

  "I'm sorry," he mumbled, stabbing the dead woman right above her heart. He then yanked the blade out and plunged it in again, just to make sure.

  The effect was instantaneous. The black veins stopped in their track before receding and disappearing completely. Isaac pulled out his knife again but didn't move from his spot, his gaze fixed on the lifeless body, waiting for something—anything—to happen.

  Nothing did.

  The black veins didn't return, nor did the body flicker out of existence like the monster's corpse did. Mrs. Harper just remained on the floor, her clothes stained with fresh blood flowing out of the new wound on her chest.

  Isaac turned away.

  "I'm so sorry."

  With this final mutter, he opened the door next to him and slipped through, closing it behind him for now. Just as he had hoped, this new room was indeed a storage—a quite large one at that. Metal shelves lined the walls, all filled with boxes or packed products. He also spotted a desk and a cabinet in one of the corners, but he didn't really care about those.

  What he cared for was the large door on the opposite side of the room.

  That should be it, Isaac thought, approaching the exit and slowly turning the key to unlock it. The lock clicked, and with the same amount of care, he slid the metal door open, but only enough to create a small gap. He wasn't planning to go outside just yet.

  At first, the alley behind the shop appeared empty, but that also changed within seconds when a group of three sprinted past the door. They were shouting at each other, so it didn't take long to identify them as humans.

  What chased them, however, was anything but.

  Hell no! Isaac shut the door and locked it with the key. No way in hell he was risking going out when a literal horde just ran into the alley. The three survivors were on their own. He couldn't help them.

  It's already a miracle that nobody has barged into the shop yet. I need to hurry.

  Isaac slipped off his backpack and went around the storage area, picking up items on the way. Dry food with a long shelf life, bottled water, and other necessities. He also grabbed a crowbar that was leaning against one of the shelves. It should serve him much better than the wooden broom.

  "What else? What else?" he whispered, his eyes darting around the room. His backpack was already full, but it didn't matter. The storage had plenty of stuff he could use to carry more. He didn't want to forget something and then regret it. He had no idea when he would return here, if ever.

  Can't really think of anything else now. What's new...

  He sighed and zipped up his bag. Time to move; he had overstayed his welcome here anyway.

  Though…

  Isaac reached into his other pocket and pulled out his phone. The screen lit up when he pressed the button on its side. The signal was strong, but there were no new notifications—no emergency alerts, no news of an apocalypse tearing the world apart.

  Is it too early? Did the government already fall? No… That can't be it.

  Dropping the phone back into his pocket, he hoisted up his bag and approached the exit door once more. Without making a sound, he slid it open just enough to let him through.

  He peeked out and counted to five.

  Nothing.

  It's now or never.

  With the crowbar in hand and his knife waiting in his pocket, Isaac stepped out into the open and made his way up the alleyway. Each step was slow and measured, careful to avoid making any sound. While the city was anything but quiet now, he wasn't risking alerting any monsters waiting on the other side of the building.

  Close now, he thought, spotting the fire escape attached to his apartment building near the end of the alley. Careful...

  Isaac hugged the nearest wall and leaned out to take a look into another much smaller alley that led back to the main street. He didn't even last a second before jerking back and pressing his back against the wall.

  Shit.

  Of course, the tiny alley wasn't empty. Though, the situation also wasn't that bad. There was only one monster waiting there, and it was busy clawing at a large metal trash container. It didn't take a genius to figure out why.

  I should go. It's distracted.

  Yet Isaac hesitated. He wasn't that heartless. If there were two or more human-turned-monsters there, he wouldn't have even entertained the idea of helping. But with only one?

  Quick in and out. That's all.

  He nodded to himself, turned the corner, and crept toward the unaware creature, raising the crowbar as he closed the distance. Once only a few feet separated them, he swung with all his might.

  The crowbar smashed into the monster's skull, cracking it like an egg. The ex-human crumbled to the ground, only a low hiss escaping its lips.

  By all means, it should have been dead, but Isaac wasn't taking any chances.

  His knife jumped into his hand, and in one swift motion, he plunged its blade into the beast's heart. Life instantly left its yellow eyes.

  Fast!

  Isaac didn't even close his knife as he lifted the heavy lid of the trash container. He looked into the darkness and whispered, "Anybody here? Quick! We don't have time."

  Instantly, a movement to his left caught his attention. He leaned back just in case, crowbar at the ready, but he didn't need to. A man, maybe a bit older than him, crawled out, peering outside through the open lid.

  "You killed her? It?" he whispered back, a bit too loud for Isaac's liking. His gaze darted to the monster's corpse. "Thanks, man. Thought I was a goner for sure."

  "Quiet," Isaac hissed, giving the man a hand to help him out of the container. "Got anywhere close by to hide?"

  The older man shook his head. "I live on the outskirts. We should stick together. Strength in num—"

  “No,” Isaac cut him off. "There is a shop at the end of the alley if you go left. I left the back door to its storage room open. Hide there until things calm down."

  "But—"

  "I said no." Isaac's tone was firm. "Take it or leave it, but you're not coming with me."

  Even if almost everyone would tell him that there was strength in numbers, Isaac disagreed. Or at least he disagreed with grouping up with people he didn't know or trust. Better to stay alone for now and see how things progressed.

  Still, the other man scowled. "Fine, whatever. Do you at least ha—"

  Whatever he wanted to say died in his throat when a growl reached both their ears. Isaac's head snapped toward the end of the narrow alley. Three yellow-eyed ex-humans stood there, one of them already locked onto them.

  "Run!"