Chapter one : Infected

The rain fell heavily, battering everything it came into contact with. Even those with an umbrella were still getting wet at the intensity.

Phillip however was bearing the full wrath of nature. He has stopped at a small bakery in order to get a cake for his girlfriend, Valerie as a birthday present.

It was also their anniversary so he had saved up all his earnings for the past few months and bought her a designer bag.

He rushed over to her apartment on foot as he didn’t have any money to board a taxi, hence his journey under the heavy rain.

After what felt like hours, he eventually got to Valerie’s apartment building. He hung his drenched coat on the rack and tried to arrange his hair as best as he could before going up.

As he climbed the stairs, he couldn’t help but smile when thinking about how happy she would be when she saw the presents he had gotten her.

He was soon standing in front of her door, about to knock when he heard something strange. It sounded like a male voice and it was… moaning?

Phillip listened more closely and to his horror, he could hear what sounded like the moans of a man and woman. Without wasting much time he brought out his spare key and opened the door, met with a stomach-turning sight.

Valerie was on top of another man, completely naked and lost in her carnal desires. They didn’t notice him immediately because of how entangled they were.

“Valerie!” Philip called out angrily.

Both of them jumped off one another, obviously startled. “What are you doing here Philip?” Valerie asked while putting on a robe.

“What am I doing here? I came to surprise you and this is what I see?” Philip asks, obviously hurt.

“Hey buddy, there’s no need to make this a scene. She was going to break up with you anyway. Too bad this is how you found out.” The man said, speaking for the first time.

“Be quiet Asher, I’ll handle this myself,” Valerie said, trying to silence him.

“Handle what? The secrets are already out. We’ve been doing this for 2 months now. I’m tired of hiding.” He said with a smile on his face.

Philip dropped the bouquet and cake in his hands on the ground and squeezed his fists. “So you’ve just been lying to me these last 2 months?” He asked.

“Ughh you’re so irritating. Yes, I have! It took you two months just to save to buy me birthday presents. Asher gets me designed bags every week.” Valerie said with a look of disgust on her face.

“Did you ever even love me?” Philip asked, his voice shaky.

“No, I didn’t! I could never love a pauper like you. The only way I would’ve truly loved you is if the world fell apart. Now get out of my apartment!” She said as she pushed Philip out the door and slammed it behind him.

***

Philip sighed and stretched.

His back ached due to constantly bending over and typing. This was made worse as he had decided to take on his colleague's workload as he had to attend his sibling's wedding.

"That's what I get for being a nice guy." He sighed again and briefly thought about his life. His break up with Valerie recently and his crappy job which he hated.

Philip Drew, an orphan. He was pretty good-looking and smart, but he was very introverted and didn't like standing out due to his messed-up childhood. As a result, he wasn't very wealthy as he purposefully ignored good opportunities.

There were times were he regretted those decisions. But then again, he was 22, so he was sure another chance would come, and by then, he'd be out of his shell. Hopefully.

His workplace wasn't too far away from his 1 bedroom apartment so he opted to walk. As he did, he passed by a set of TVs behind a glass window. On them were burning buildings and distant images of, things, that caused mayhem everywhere they went.

Philip frowned. The G-Virus appeared only 5 months ago. However, it was unlike every other Virus the human race had encountered.

It wasn't as simple as something that attacked the immune system like HIV or made your cells go rogue like Cancer. No, this virus was something else entirely.

This was because once infected, the individual would have their very gene structure changed causing them to undergo a grotesque transformation.

There was a small chance the individual would die, which was the optimal result. However, more likely, the individual would transform into something like a monster. And when they did, they'd be exceedingly violent, attacking everyone around them. Moreover, they were very resistant and usually could only be killed by heavy weaponry or a grenade.

The virus could be spread through bodily fluids and was waterborne, so it wasn't too difficult to contain to that degree. However, the biggest problem was the infected monsters.

Under their constant raging, three cities had already been destroyed and the loss of life was horrible.

Airports worldwide had shut down and no sea vessel was allowed to go anywhere. And driving would only get you sent back to wherever you were coming from.

People were also meant to stay at home. Though Leaf City, the place where Philip stayed, was among the safest cities so far and so their protective measures weren't as strict. Hence, Philip could go to work in person.

The measures in general were working for the most part, and the armed forces of different countries were doing their best to keep the monsters at bay.

Still, this virus came out of nowhere. How can a cure be made if we can't ascertain the source? Philip mused. Naturally, though, there was no way he could come up with an answer, so he just discarded the thought.

It was at that moment he passed an alleyway and heard a noise. He looked in with narrowed eyes.

He was just about to leave when he heard a soft meow. He let out a sigh. Just a cat.

He dug into his pocket brought out a half-eaten piece of jerky and slowly walked into the alleyway, his hand stretched out.

"Come out little guy. I'm sure you're hungry." He said in a soft voice. The meow came closer, though he couldn't see the cat due to the darkness.

"It's alright, I'm not gonna hurt you. Just come and eat." He squatted and waited patiently. A minute later, a stray cat that looked emaciated slowly emerged from the darkness, its body trembling.

Poor guy. Philip sighed seeing the cat's poor state.

It sniffed and warily approached Philip's hand. Philip smiled reassuringly and didn't try to press.

Soon, the cat was right in front of his hand. It looked at the jerky and then at him. And then in one quick motion, it swiped the jerky out of his hand and ran back into the darkness.

"There you go." He smiled before looking at his hand, a small trace of blood from a place the cat bit while grabbing the food.

"You nicked me a little though." He muttered and cleaned the blood on his pants. They were black so no one would notice. Not that there was anyone out by this time to notice.

He continued walking to his apartment at his usual pace. However, as he walked, a hint of dizziness slowly emerged in his head.

He tried to shake it off and decided to go a little faster. However, the more he walked, the dizzier he became.

Geez, did I overdo it at work today? He thought and put his hand on his hand. Thankfully, he had reached the bottom of the apartment building.

He unsteadily went up the stairs as if he were drunk and tripped several times before making it to his apartment.

He clumsily brought out his keys and just barely managed to get the door open. Now, in addition to the dizziness, his body felt uncomfortably hot like he had a fever.

He closed the door behind him and tried to take another step. However, he tripped on himself and fell. He tried and failed to get up and just laid there.

I think... I'll... Just... Sleep here. That was the last thing he thought before he lost consciousness.

***

“My head.” That was the first thing Philip thought of the moment he woke up.

His head throbbed and his eyes squeezed shut. He waited for a few minutes until the horrible headache finally subsided, and then he slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was his ceiling. He was confused for a moment, but then his memories came back.

"Right, I passed out on the floor." He muttered to himself. Then he sat up. The instant he did, he noticed something was off.

He knows that he didn't turn off his lights before he passed out. But they were off. Moreover, dust and cobwebs covered the walls and floor.

Philip looked around and his frown deepened. His room was super dirty and everything looked like it hadn't been used in months. It was almost as if the place had been abandoned.

But that can't be right. Even if I was sick, I should've only been out for a day at most. He thought in confusion.

He then looked down and realized that his own body was covered in dust and dirt as well. He grimaced. This had to be some sort of prank.

He fully stood up and stretched, his joints popped loudly and his body felt incredibly stiff, Asif he hadn't moved for an incredibly long time.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and tried to switch it on. However, the red light indicating a dead battery was all that met him.

Philip was stunned. His phone had been at 68% when he last checked. And he hadn't had any battery-draining apps on.

The more he thought about it, the weirder the situation became.

He quickly went into his room and went into his bathroom to go and wash up. He needed to get clean before he did anything else.

When he got into the bathroom, he turned on the tap on the sink. However, he recoiled as a brown liquid came out instead of the usual clear water.

"Just what the hell is going on!" Philip's voice caught as he looked at himself in the mirror. He looked largely the same, however, the issue was his hair and eyes.

His hair had turned pure white as if someone had dyed it, and his eyes had turned grey. But that was impossible. Philip was blonde with brown eyes. He was so used to seeing himself with those traits that he didn't recognize the person in the mirror at first.

It was only when he grabbed a tuft of hair did he realize that it truly was him. His heart thundered. Something very, very wrong had happened while he was unconscious.