"Now bringing you the local news. According to our correspondent, early this morning, police discovered more than thirty bodies inside a large nightclub called B-Club in Atlanta. This marks the fourth similar case in recent days.
Authorities revealed that the incident likely occurred late last night, but details are still under investigation and cannot be disclosed at this time.
Up next, we'll take you to the scene with our reporter, Anthony Brown. Don't go away."
In a room at a roadside motel, the television was broadcasting the news. The bathroom door stood half-open, with the sound of running water echoing out.
Sunlight filtered through the curtains onto the bed.
It should've been a warm, peaceful scene, if not for the cold gleam of metal weapons and gear laid out on the bed, filling the room with an ominous tension.
Samuel stepped out in a bathrobe and walked to the bed, pulling several large backpacks from underneath.
Money, most of the bags were filled with crisp twenty-dollar bills, with a smaller portion of hundreds. Altogether, it was around five million.
"Funds are ready. Time to finish everything while there's still time."
As he packed away the weapons and gear, he was also mapping out the next steps in his head.
Before long, a second-hand pickup truck rolled out of the motel parking lot.
He first drove to several secluded spots in the outskirts of Atlanta and rented a few residential properties.
Then he swept through every grocery market, supermarket, and pharmacy in the city.
He bought food seeds, drinking water, alcohol, cigarettes, rice, flour, cooking oil, all kinds of canned goods, sugar, salt, chocolates, instant noodles, vitamins, and common medicines, everything he could think of.
Why not just rent a warehouse? In the apocalypse, warehouses and supermarkets would be the first places looted by survivors.
Over the next few days, he divided up the supplies and stashed them in the basements of each rental property.
He carefully camouflaged them, confident that no ordinary survivor could find the caches even if they tore the houses apart.
Of course, nothing is ever guaranteed. That's why he rented multiple properties, never put all your eggs in one basket.
Finally, he made a large purchase of weapons and ammunition on the black market, hiding them in batches as well.
With that, the initial phase of preparation was complete.
It had been over half a month since he arrived in this world. With no certainty about when exactly the outbreak would begin, Samuel was racing against time.
He wanted to get all the labor-intensive tasks done now, there were more critical things to do later.
'The only variable left is the precise timing of the outbreak. How close am I to it now?'
'If I want answers, I guess I'll have to pay the CDC a visit.'
He was clear about his next move. So far, everything had gone according to plan.
He climbed into his old pickup and drove toward the CDC building in Atlanta.
Half a month later.
Inside the CDC building, two people stood by a window, a man and a woman.
"Jenner, honestly, I don't have much faith left in 'Project Wildfire.' We're running out of time."
"Darling, you're going to make it. You're the most capable virologist I've ever known. If even you give up, then this world really has no hope."
The man, Jenner, stepped closer and took the woman's hands tightly in his, hoping to pass on some of his strength.
"You know me, I'm not someone who gives up easily, am I?"
Jenner smiled gently, pulling the woman into a hug. She leaned into his shoulder, and the two stood quietly, savoring the moment of peace and comfort.
"This is the Candace I know…" Jenner murmured.
Candace straightened up and grabbed his shoulders, her expression turning serious.
"Jenner! A lot of people are thinking about quitting. If we're going to keep pushing forward, then we need to do everything we can to retain key personnel.
We split up, you go talk to Jonathan and Leonard's teams, I'll go to Eli and John's. Convince as many as we can to stay."
Snapped out of his daze by her firm tone, Jenner looked into her resolute eyes and quickly gathered his thoughts. He nodded, no trace of hesitation on his face.
…
Across the street from the CDC, on the rooftop of an office building, a man was watching the couple through a pair of binoculars, Samuel.
Through the lenses, he had a clear view of Dr. Jenner's face.
'Looks like it won't be long now.'
Samuel had been observing the CDC for over two weeks.
In the first three days, he had mapped out the entire building inside and out, even snatched an access card from one of the staff. He'd tailed Dr. Jenner back to his home as well.
Over the following days, he bugged their house, their cars, even their personal items.
He had to admit black market had its perks. If you had money, you could get just about anything you wanted.
Samuel put away the binoculars, ran to the edge of the rooftop, and leapt. The six-story drop and the five-meter gap between buildings meant nothing to him.
He extended his arms, grabbed the fire escape on the opposite building's wall, and swung himself smoothly onto the landing.
Using his strength, he flipped himself over and landed steadily on the lower stairs.
Less than twenty seconds later, he was in the driver's seat of his pickup, which was parked in an alley between the buildings.
He pulled out a notebook and jotted down everything he'd just heard. Then he began calculating.
'So the Project Wildfire is in its final stages. CDC personnel are about to start quitting. That means the story is about to begin.'
He glanced at his watch. June 27th, 2010. 5:21 PM.
'One month and four days… I wonder if Mom and Dad have noticed I'm missing.'
For a moment, he was lost in thought, thinking of his parents. But he quickly snapped out of it.
Right now, reality demanded his full attention. As for why he ended up here, there would be time to investigate that later, once things were under control.
With that, Samuel refocused on the CDC's exit.
Time passed unnoticed. By 6:30 PM, CDC staff had begun heading home for the day. Just then, a black BMW sedan pulled out from the CDC gates.
Vrrrm!
Target acquired. Samuel started his engine and followed. The car belonged to Dr. Jenner and his wife.
He trailed them at a distance as they drove toward their home, which was about twenty minutes from the CDC. He wasn't in a hurry, until they approached a curve near their neighborhood.
That's when he accelerated.
Bang!
The pickup rammed straight into the back of the BMW at the curve.
Startled by the sudden collision, Jenner turned to his wife. "Candace, are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
After confirming she was unhurt, he got out of the car to check the situation. The pickup had completely smashed the rear of his BMW.
"What the hell happened?"
Jenner's heart ached for his car, but when he saw a man slumped over the steering wheel in the pickup, he quickly ran over and opened the door.
"Sir, are you alright?"