Date: July 24, 2173Location: New Sunset CityA group of scientists led by the prestigious Doctor Elana Brown were researching an organism that was recently discovered on the inner surface of a meteorite that struck Earth.The virus showed various characteristics that fascinated the researchers. It could adapt to almost any environmental circumstance it was placed in, from temperatures as high as 300°C to temperatures as low as -47°C.Most importantly, it could create antibodies to protect itself from any and all foreign substances. They exposed it to many viruses and bacteria, but none proved effective against its resilience and will to survive.The scientists believed that this organism—which they later called the Sanguine virus—could very well be the key to finding a universal cure. Doctor Elana believed it could even conquer death itself.Scientists from different fields—biologists, genetic engineers, medical physicists, and many more—were called up to research this organism, all

The cold chill of the morning woke me up. Somehow, I had managed to fall asleep.The skies were still dark, and the people were still resting. I decided to take a walk and shake the thoughts that I had.Walking around, I saw Benson. He stood just above the wall fence, staring at the city outside.He seemed focused, like he was looking at something. No—like he was looking for something.He saw me down below and waved at me to follow him."Wilton. Up so early?" Benson said, with the hint of a smile."Yeah. Too many thoughts woke me up."Benson laughed and chuckled. "Ah, yes. Wilton, do you believe this world will one day return to the way it was?"I stared at the city Benson was looking at. A broken city. Collapsed buildings and all."I don't know. But I would like to believe it's possible."Maybe Doctor Elana was working on a cure? If I could find her, we could fix our mistakes.I saw a bunch of men walk towards us."Ah. Looks like they're here," Benson said. "Come, I want to show you

Hours passed. The sanguis didn't give any signs of slowing down. They tore through building after building in search of us."If we sit idle, they will find us eventually. We have to do something," Marshal spoke. He was right. It was only a matter of time before they found us.Benson seemed lost in thought."We could use the same diversion plan as before," Marshal said."It won't work. There are too many of them, and they're scattered in all directions. You'd get killed before you could even create enough distance to throw the grenade," Benson replied."Well, do you have any better ideas?"I was also thinking of a way to escape.I stared out the window. The building where we conducted the experiment was just up ahead—not more than a kilometer away. If I wanted to find Doctor Elana, the lab was the best place to start.I could feel my arm getting worse. Maybe it was the excitement. Maybe it was reacting to the other sanguis. But I knew if nothing was done, things would get really bad—no

The sanguis talked. It was not fluent speech, but it talked still.I didn't know they could do that. On further inspection, I noticed this one was far different from the others.I realized why there weren't any sanguis in the building. It was because of the monster in front of me. I had just stepped into its lair.The very sight of it brought fear unto me. Its upper body was still human-like, though its skin peeled off and its ribs ripped from its body. It bared fangs, and its arms ended in claws.Its lower body was like that of a spider, with many claw-shaped legs that pierced through the very ground as it walked."You... Come... Me..."It spoke again.I immediately turned back. I wasn't foolish enough to fight it, but upon trying to run, it lunged forward, blocking the door."You... come... meeee!!"It lunged at me again. I was quick to jump away. Its claws pierced through the concrete ground like it was wet paper where it landed.I pulled out the UMP and started shooting at its fac

Chapter 10We formed parties of two and departed for New Sunset City.The coverage for the mission included the outer parts of the city—from the water and sewage pipelines, stretching all the way to Manstand Bridge.New Sunset City was an island, with only four bridges leading out of it. The colony shelters were located just west of the city, still inside the island but away from the buildings.Old warehouses, factories, and schools that were meant to be demolished for the extension of the city outwards ended up being our shelters. The same places we deemed abandoned and useless were now a safe haven.Margery and I were assigned to search through Bedrock Street. It was a scarcely populated neighborhood back then, hence it had very little sanguis activity.We started off around seven in the morning.At first, the walk there was awkward. Neither of us spoke to the other. Whenever we talked, it was always the three of us—and now, it kind of felt weird just walking the two of us.I wanted