The day everything changed, Kali woke up early as usual. He moved through his absurdly large kitchen, preparing breakfast, then sat down with his coffee, skimming the newspaper.
His phone buzzed, the name of his assistant flashing on the screen. Her voice trembled with fear. "Doctor, you need to get to the clinic immediately. There are a lot of patients, and... it looks like a new virus is spreading."
A virus? Kali frowned. How could that be? There hadn't been any warning signs of infection. But he didn't waste time. "I'm on my way," he said, already sprinting to his car.
As he sped through the streets, he noticed the growing panic gripping the city. People were rushing, faces anxious. This must be serious.
When he arrived at the clinic, it was utter chaos. He quickly donned his coat and badge, signaling to his assistant. "Tell me everything—how bad is it?"
The first patient he saw was an elderly woman, unconscious and fragile. Her vital signs were stable, but she was unresponsive, trapped in a deep sleep with no indication of waking soon. He ran tests and sent blood samples to the lab for further analysis.
Trying to maintain control, he managed the frightened crowd, prioritizing care for the elderly and children, and gave directions to his staff to restore order.
Amid the chaos, his phone chimed—a reminder about tonight's dinner with Noah and his family. It was a routine gathering, a tradition they kept once or twice a week. But suddenly, a thought struck him: I need to check on Noah.
He quickly dialed, and after a few rings, Noah answered. His voice was tense, panic seeping through. "Kali, I can't talk now—Lucy isn't okay. I'm taking her to the hospital."
Kali's heart sank. The virus has reached Lucy.
"Bring her here," he instructed quickly. "I'll be ready."
It took Noah longer than expected to reach the clinic, but when Kali finally saw him at the entrance, his heart skipped a beat. Noah looked utterly broken—his wife slumped across his back, unconscious, and his daughter clutching his side with wide, terrified eyes.
"You look like you've been hit by a truck," Kali muttered, trying to mask his shock with a weak nod of acknowledgment. Without wasting another second, he took Lucy from Noah's trembling arms and handed her off to the ER staff. He then motioned for his assistant to take Judy, gesturing urgently for Noah to follow him to a private room.
Kali's eyes darted to Noah's arm—badly twisted, swollen, and mangled with big wound and blood flooding like a thick river. If they didn't act soon, he'd risk losing it. But Noah barely seemed to care.
His mind was elsewhere, entirely focused on his wife and daughter. As Kali began prepping to treat his arm, Noah spoke, his voice a mix of desperation and exhaustion, recounting everything that had happened. He looked at Kali, expecting answers—hoping, praying, for something that could make sense of the chaos unraveling around them.
But Kali knew all too well what this meant. The first patients of any new virus, any pandemic, were always the most vulnerable. Most wouldn't survive the first 48 hours if the outbreak was severe. His stomach churned at the thought. The virus was spreading faster than they could react. Despite all the advances in science, the world still wasn't equipped to face something like this head-on. We're always too late. No matter how far we've come, we're still not ready.
He glanced up at Noah, seeing the raw fear in his eyes. The man was falling apart but holding on for the sake of his family, completely ignoring his own injuries. He's stronger than I'd ever be, Kali thought. I don't know how he's even standing right now.
Kali cleared his throat, forcing himself to speak calmly, even though dread gnawed at his gut. "It's a virus," he explained, "we know that much. It's spreading fast, and we're still waiting for test results to know more. But I promise you, Noah, I'll do everything I can for Lucy."
He offered a reassuring nod, though the words felt hollow. Deep down, Kali wasn't sure if he believed his own promises. But in that moment, Noah needed hope, even if it was fragile—just something to cling to amid the storm.
Kali stitched up Noah's mangled arm with steady hands, though his mind was anything but calm. "You need to rest. Go check on Judy," he advised, his voice gentler than he felt. Once Noah nodded and left, Kali made his way to the ER, his stomach tight with dread. He could only hope—pray, even—that some sliver of fate would intervene, saving Lucy, saving Noah, maybe even saving the world. Maybe.
As he ran more tests on Lucy, his confusion deepened. The virus made no sense. It worked in ways he couldn't understand, couldn't predict. How was it spreading? How could they stop it? The answers felt maddeningly out of reach. We need more time... but do these patients have time? Kali's eyes flickered to Lucy's monitors. For now, her vitals were stable, no immediate danger—so maybe, just maybe, we have a chance.
But every patient he saw was the same: first, they lost control of their legs, and then they slipped into a deep, unnatural slumber. No one woke up. There was no pattern, no clue to break the cycle. Kali's frustration mounted. I need to be useful. Damn it, how can I call myself a doctor if I can't help them?!
That burning thought fueled him, driving him to work even harder, meticulously testing every patient, grasping at any lead, any clue. But his mind kept circling back to Noah, Lucy, and Judy. He decided to check on them again.
Then everything went wrong.
The frenzied firefighter broke to the clinic killing and mutating bodies here and there, chaos hit. They were trapped—five frantic men, strong and crazed, were barreling toward them. If they found Kali, Noah, Judy, and Lucy, there was no doubt their fate would be far worse than anything Kali had feared.
His pulse pounded in his ears as he scanned the room, his eyes darting to the window where the men were closing in. I have to do something. For Noah, for Judy, for Lucy. For myself. For the research. He leaned close to Noah, voice barely a whisper, "I have a plan."
Without hesitation, Kali burst into the clinic's dimly lit corridor, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. He froze, staring at the five towering men before him, their massive frames dwarfing the narrow hallway. "Damn it!" he cursed under his breath, his thoughts spiraling in chaos. What the hell am I doing?
The firefighters loomed over him, grotesque in their blood-soaked uniforms, the crimson stains giving them a nightmarish, almost demonic presence. Kali's pulse quickened, and in a desperate gamble to stay alive, he forced the words out—"Praise Chaos, Praise the Void," their twisted mantra. His voice wavered as he waited for a response, dread pooling in his stomach. I'm screwed… Why am I even trying to play the hero?
The silence hung heavy, suffocating. Then, the leader stepped forward, cold and merciless, demanding Kali drink the infected blood as tribute. For a moment, time froze. His mind raced, panic clenching his throat as he searched for a way out. There was no escape, no plan—just the cold realization that this could be the end.
But then, from seemingly nowhere, a deafening crash shattered the tension. Noah hurled an oxygen tank through the window, the explosion that followed hurling Kali several meters back. Stunned but alive, Kali scrambled to his feet, adrenaline surging through him.
"Thank God," he gasped, barely able to catch his breath, sending a silent thanks to Noah before bolting towards the parking lot, his only thought now survival.
The ground trembled beneath their feet as the monstrosity thundered after them. The firefighter leader, relentless in his pursuit, was far more than just a man now—he was something primal, something monstrous. Noah turned to Kali, his face hardened but calm. "Take Judy. Get the car to the front of the clinic. I'll hold him off. Buy us some time."
Kali's heart twisted as he scooped Judy into his arms, sprinting towards the car. His breaths came ragged and shallow. How can I be so useless? How is Noah so calm—sacrificing himself without a second thought? Damn it!
Every step felt heavier, weighed down by guilt and frustration. His mind raced, searching for a way to help, but Judy's safety was all he could focus on. Reaching the car, he placed her inside, hands shaking as he fumbled with the seatbelt. He knew what he should do—pull up to the clinic and wait for Noah—but his gut twisted violently at the thought. Noah wouldn't survive. He could feel it in his bones. Noah's in no shape to face that thing alone.
Without hesitation, Kali slammed the car into gear. His decision made, his thoughts cleared. He glanced at Judy, making sure her seatbelt was secure before flooring the accelerator, tearing back to where Noah was fighting for his life.
As the car screeched into the parking lot, he saw Noah sprawled on the ground, battered and struggling to rise. Above him, the firefighter—twisted now into something resembling a spider from hell—clung to the ceiling, preparing to strike. Time seemed to slow, each second a sharp, agonizing beat in Kali's chest. I need to reach him. I need to make it in time.
But the distance seemed impossible, the car still too far. Kali's knuckles whitened around the steering wheel as fear gripped him, his worst nightmare unfolding before his eyes. The monster lunged from the ceiling with inhuman speed and strength, plunging down toward Noah.
Kali's heart stopped. But just as the beast crashed to the ground, Noah rolled out of the way, narrowly dodging death. He's still alive. But for how long?
Kali yelled for Judy to brace herself. The firefighter towered over Noah, ready to deliver the final, crushing blow. In that split second, Kali floored the accelerator, the car surging forward. The beast turned too late—Kali slammed into it with a bone-crunching impact.
The creature hit the ground with a sickening thud, its body crumpling under the force of the car. No matter how powerful it was, it wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. "Get in! Now!" Kali screamed, his voice raw.
Noah staggered to his feet and collapsed into the car. Somehow, against all odds, they escaped,
aths shallow and uneven. But they were alive—for now.
It took three long days for them to reach a point of calm, or at least as close to calm as they could get after everything that had happened. The villa was quiet, almost too quiet, but Kali didn't mind. It gave him time to think, time to reflect. Noah was recovering from his injuries, and while Kali kept busy with his research, he couldn't shake the thoughts that lingered beneath the surface.
Finally, on the third day, they found themselves in the garden, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows across the ground. Noah sat beside him, going over their plan to return to the clinic and find his wife. But as Noah spoke, all Kali could feel was a dull, nagging ache in his chest—a slow burn of jealousy that he couldn't ignore.
Kali never had what Noah had. A family. A purpose. A reason to fight that went beyond mere survival. They had started out the same, both orphans, both struggling through their early years. They'd been like brothers. But Noah—Noah had built something out of that pain. He had a family that loved him, something Kali had always longed for but had never been able to find.
Kali's fists clenched in his lap as Noah continued talking. He couldn't understand it. Why would Noah risk it all? Why was he so willing to throw away the one thing Kali had never been able to have? It made him angry, furious even. How could someone so lucky, someone who had everything, choose to gamble it all away?
But the more he thought about it, the more it sank in. Noah wasn't doing this out of recklessness. He was risking his life because of his family, not in spite of them. He was ready to sacrifice everything because, to him, they were worth it. It was a kind of love Kali couldn't fully grasp. He'd never had anyone in his life he'd be willing to die for, and the harsh truth was, no one had ever felt that way about him either.
As that realization settled, a strange comfort washed over Kali. He could at least help Noah protect what he cherished, even if it was a bitter reminder of his own loneliness. Maybe that was why he was so determined to stand by Noah's side—because, in helping his friend, he could convince himself that his life still had purpose.