Manhattan General Hospital.
Emergency room overflowing.
Bodies everywhere.
Not corpses, infected.
Restrained to gurneys as straps strained while patients thrashed with inhuman strength testing metal restraints, eyes glassy, movements jerky, mouths frothing.
Dozens.
Staff exhausted after 72 hours continuous shifts with no sleep as coffee proved insufficient while hands shook.
Dr. Martinez shouted over chaos.
"—another seven incoming from Upper West Side—containment protocol failed—quarantine breached—we're at 200% capacity—ICU completely full—"
Nurses ran as sedatives proved ineffective while tranquilizers provided minutes of calm before resuming, no treatment working, no cure discovered, no understanding of pathology.
Infection spreading inside hospital.
Staff member bitten as security guard restrained patient, teeth sinking into forearm while blood drawn, guard screaming.
Twelve hours later, same guard restrained with eyes glassy, transformed.
Bite transmission confirmed.
Airborne? Unknown.
Contact? Possible.
Panic spreading faster than infection.
Hospital locking down.
But too late.
Already inside.
Already spreading.
Medical system collapsing.
Manhattan streets.
Police sirens constant as overlapping, endless wails meant emergency vehicles everywhere but insufficient.
NYPD mobilized fully as every officer worked while off-duty recalled, 12-hour shifts becoming 24-hour as exhaustion became universal.
But not enough.
Infected appearing everywhere.
Times Square incident showed businessman attacking tourists, tackled by five officers while still fighting as taser proved ineffective, pepper spray ignored, baton strikes barely slowing with inhuman pain tolerance.
Central Park, jogger transformed, attacking elderly couple.
Brooklyn Bridge, driver abandoned car mid-traffic, attacking pedestrians.
Subway, conductor infected, train derailed as passengers fled.
Reports flooded 911.
Hold times 45 minutes.
Response times three-plus hours.
System broken.
NYPD Commissioner press conference came.
"—advising citizens shelter in place—avoid all unnecessary travel—stay indoors—lock doors and windows—do not engage infected individuals—await emergency services—"
But emergency services not coming.
Cannot.
Overwhelmed.
Lincoln Tunnel.
Traffic gridlocked completely.
Tens of thousands attempting evacuation as Manhattan residents fled, cars abandoned, pedestrians ran while luggage was discarded.
Tunnel blocked as accident inside meant infected driver attacked others while panic stampede caused vehicles crashed, impassable.
George Washington Bridge, similar.
Brooklyn Bridge, similar.
Queens Midtown Tunnel, similar.
All exits clogged.
Manhattan becoming prison.
Eight million people.
Trapped.
Food supply chains disrupted as delivery trucks not entering while grocery stores emptied, panic buying proved extreme as shelves went bare within hours.
Power grid unstable as workers not reporting while maintenance was deferred, rolling blackouts beginning.
Infrastructure crumbling.
City dying.
72 hours.
From first case.
To collapse.
***
London.
NHS declaring emergency as all hospitals exceeded capacity while emergency rooms refused new patients, triage prioritized non-infected as quarantine wards overflowed.
Heathrow Airport closed as international travel suspended while passengers stranded, thousands protesting as military deployed for crowd control.
Parliament evacuated as infected individual breached security while MPs fled Westminster, government relocating to undisclosed location as continuity protocols activated.
London Underground shut down after multiple incidents with infected passengers as stations closed while transportation paralyzed.
Thames Barrier activated not for flood but containment, attempting quarantine zones via natural boundaries, futile but attempting.
Big Ben silent as clockwork stopped while workers were absent, city dying.
British stoicism cracking.
Panic spreading.
"Keep calm and carry on" insufficient.
Apocalypse undeniable.
Tokyo.
Shinkansen network halted as bullet trains stopped nationwide while passengers stranded, stations overcrowded as infections reported on multiple lines.
Tokyo Metro chaos came as Shibuya Crossing evacuated while infected individual attacked crowds, stampede injuring hundreds as trampling casualties exceeded infection casualties initially.
Imperial Palace lockdown secured government but communication with public remained minimal while orders proved contradictory, confusion reigning.
Self-Defense Forces mobilized as constitutionally limited military deployed domestically for first time since post-war era, unprecedented.
Orderly society fragmenting.
Cultural discipline insufficient against biological horror.
Apocalypse recognized no culture.
São Paulo.
Favelas unreachable as densely packed communities with narrow streets meant emergency services could not enter while infections spread uncontrolled, death toll unknown as estimates terrified.
Military Police overwhelmed as violent crime normally high meant infected indistinguishable initially from violent criminals while response delayed, outbreak accelerated.
Congonhas Airport stormed as desperate crowds attempted evacuation while flights cancelled, passengers rioted as military fired warning shots, chaos.
Tietê Bus Terminal abandoned as buses not running while drivers fled, millions stranded.
Twenty-three million people.
Megacity collapsing.
No evacuation possible.
No containment possible.
Survival individual.
Government absent.
Mumbai.
Hospitals burning as arson attacks by panicked mobs believed infected contaminated facilities while patients died in flames, medical staff fleeing.
Local trains derailed as Mumbai's lifeline was destroyed while infected conductors caused crashes, transportation paralyzed as millions stranded.
Dharavi slum, world's largest, unreachable as infections spread through million-plus residents with no tracking, no treatment, no hope.
Boats fled into Arabian Sea as desperate evacuations meant overloaded vessels sank while drownings exceeded infection deaths.
Twenty-one million people.
Infrastructure medieval in places.
Modern outbreak.
Medieval response.
Catastrophic.
Lagos.
Power grid completely collapsed as entire city went dark with no electricity while hospitals became generator-dependent, fuel running out as life support failed.
Cell networks down as towers were abandoned while maintenance proved impossible, communication lost as coordination became impossible.
Lagos Island isolated as bridges blocked while intentional demolition attempted quarantine, trapping millions as starvation became imminent.
Twenty-four million people.
Megacity.
No power.
No communication.
No coordination.
No government response.
Darkness.
Literally.
Figuratively.
Complete.
Lagos dying silently.
World unaware of scale.
***
World Health Organization, Geneva.
Emergency Director addressed virtual assembly as 189 member nations attended, most remotely due to travel restrictions.
"—pathogen remains unidentified—no bacterial cause detected—no viral agent isolated—no fungal presence—transmission vectors unclear—bite confirmed, airborne unconfirmed, contact suspected—"
Pause.
"—no treatment effective—sedatives temporary—antivirals ineffective—antibiotics useless—quarantine protocols failing—infected displaying extraordinary strength—pain insensitivity—cognitive degradation—aggression universal—"
Another pause.
"—case numbers doubling every 18 hours—currently estimated 50,000 globally confirmed—actual numbers likely 200,000-plus—modeling suggests one million within 96 hours—ten million within one week—"
Silence.
No questions.
What questions existed?
No answers available.
Medical science helpless.
Pandemic protocols designed for identifiable pathogens.
This?
Unknown.
Unknowable.
Unstoppable.
Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta.
Laboratories operating 24/7.
Samples analyzed continuously as infected blood, tissue, cerebrospinal fluid attempted pathogen isolation.
Results: nothing.
No bacteria.
No virus.
No prion.
No identifiable infectious agent.
Electron microscopy showed normal cellular structure.
PCR testing found no foreign DNA.
Cultures remained sterile.
"It's as if they're physiologically normal except for behavior. No infection we can detect. No pathogen we can isolate. No disease we can name."
Epidemiologist stared at screens.
"—containment requires identifying patient zero—tracing contacts—quarantine before symptoms—but this spread too fast—multiple origins simultaneously—no pattern—no source—appeared everywhere at once—"
Containment designed for single outbreak.
This?
Thousands of outbreaks.
Simultaneously.
Globally.
Containment impossible.
United Nations, virtual emergency session.
Security Council convened as representatives from 194 nations attended, most remote while some were absent as governments collapsed or proved unreachable.
Secretary-General spoke.
"—international coordination essential—disease recognizes no borders—humanity must unite—"
But nations dividing.
Borders closing as 73 countries suspended international travel while land borders became militarized, shoot-on-sight orders for unauthorized crossings remained unconfirmed but rumored.
Maritime quarantine came as navies patrolled waters while vessels turned away, refugees drowning attempting illegal entry.
Airspace restrictions meant commercial aviation collapsed as only military or emergency flights were authorized.
Blame spread.
"—bioweapon from [nation]—"
"—intentional release by [rival nation]—"
"—divine punishment for [policy]—"
Accusations replaced cooperation.
Unity fractured.
Every nation alone.
"Humanity must unite."
Beautiful sentiment.
Impossible reality.
Self-preservation overwhelmed solidarity.
UN powerless.
International order collapsing.
No global response.
Only fragmented national survival attempts.
All failing.
***
CNN live, Manhattan.
Reporter stood outside Manhattan General, exhausted after five days continuous coverage.
"—behind me you can see—oh god—infected individual breaching hospital perimeter—security attempting—viewers discretion advised—"
Camera shook.
Screaming audible.
Broadcast cut to studio as anchor went pale.
"—we've lost connection with our Manhattan team—attempting to reestablish—"
Never reestablished.
BBC live, London.
"—Prime Minister's office has issued—wait—reports of—I'm being told to evacuate immediately—"
Camera dropped.
Broadcast ended.
Al Jazeera, Cairo.
"—infections now confirmed in every major city—no continent spared—"
Reporter cried on air.
Professional composure gone.
TikTok, Instagram, Twitter showed millions of posts.
Smartphone footage everywhere.
Paris showed infected attacking café patrons as tourists filmed instead of fleeing initially while entertainment became horror.
Sydney showed Opera House evacuated with infected inside venue causing panic stampede.
Mexico City showed subway incident as passengers trapped underground with infected, screaming echoing.
Dubai showed Burj Khalifa incident with infected in world's tallest building causing evacuation chaos.
Every video similar.
Glassy eyes.
Jerky movement.
Inhuman strength.
Relentless aggression.
No pain response.
No reasoning.
No humanity remaining.
Comments sections read:
"This is real"
"God help us"
"End times"
"Where is government"
"We're alone"
Billions watching.
Billions terrified.
Twitter trending worldwide.
#Zombies, 1.2 billion tweets.
#Apocalypse, 890 million.
#WhereIsGovernment, 654 million.
#PrayForHumanity, 543 million.
#TheEnd, 487 million.
Misinformation spreading as cures advertised proved fake while safe zones claimed were nonexistent, conspiracy theories rampant as religious prophecies multiplied.
But truth undeniable.
Videos everywhere.
Evidence overwhelming.
Reality inescapable.
Seven billion people watched world collapse.
Real-time.
Live-streamed.
Documented.
Unstoppable.
Social media captured humanity's final days.
Potentially.
Apocalypse verified.
Crowdsourced.
Undeniable.
***
Five days since NYC first case.
Confirmed infected: 200,000-plus globally.
Actual infected: estimated one million-plus as tracking collapsed.
Deaths: 50,000-plus from trampling, accidents, violence, overwhelmed medical.
Cities in chaos: 50-plus major metropolises.
Borders closed: 100-plus nations.
International travel: suspended.
WHO: helpless.
CDC: helpless.
UN: powerless.
Hospitals: overwhelmed.
Police: overwhelmed.
Military: deploying.
Infrastructure: crumbling.
Supply chains: disrupted.
Power grids: unstable.
Communications: failing.
Governments: retreating.
Public: panicking.
Order: collapsing.
World: dying.
Five days.
From first case.
To global catastrophe.
Exponential.
Unstoppable.
Apocalypse.
Confirmed.
Seven billion people.
Sheltering.
Praying.
Waiting.
For government solutions.
For medical breakthroughs.
For military salvation.
For something.
Anything.
But nothing coming.
Order crumbled.
Civilization fragmenting.
Survival individual.
Humanity alone.
Each person.
Each family.
Each community.
Alone.
Against impossible threat.
Against zombie apocalypse.
Against Fate's Revenge.
Though calling "Fate's Revenge," nobody knows.
Just catastrophe.
Unexplained.
Unstoppable.
World ending.
💖 Enjoying the story?
👉 Support me on Patreon: patreon.com/sa2quasar