*Three days before the first incident.

Nothing was wrong.

At least, that's what everyone thought.

It was just another ordinary morning. People were going to work, students were heading to school, traffic filled the streets, and businesses opened like they did every other day. The news played quietly in the background, mostly covering politics, weather, and the usual stories nobody paid much attention to.

There were rumors, though.

A few strange reports had surfaced about people becoming violently ill. Hospitals in other cities were supposedly treating unusual patients. Videos were circulating online, but most people dismissed them as fake or exaggerated.

Nobody was panicking.

Nobody was preparing.

Nobody knew that the first real signs of the collapse had already begun.

For the next few days, life would continue almost normally.

Then something would happen that couldn't be explained away.

And everything would change*