~ Across S-City ~
Across the city, the same nightmare was unfolding.
People injured by the meteorites were beginning to change.
At first, some simply collapsed without warning.
Others woke up confused and disoriented, unable to understand what had happened to them.
Then, without warning, their behavior changed.
They became aggressive.
They lashed out at anyone who tried to approach them, forcing terrified civilians to flee.
Panic spread through the streets.
People abandoned their cars and ran for safety.
Families desperately searched for one another while emergency sirens echoed throughout the city.
But the most terrifying part had yet to come.
Those who had died during the initial impacts were beginning to move.
One by one, bodies that should have remained lifeless slowly stirred.
Fingers twitched.
Heads lifted.
Then they rose.
Whatever had happened during the meteor shower was no longer limited to those who had survived the impacts.
Something had changed them.
Something was spreading.
And whatever they were becoming...
they were no longer human.
---
~ Miller Residence ~
"Mmm..."
Mia slowly opened her eyes.
For a moment, she simply stared at the ceiling, confused.
Then she remembered.
"Mommy...?"
She looked around the room.
"Daddy?"
No answer.
Fear immediately took hold.
"Mommy! Daddy! Where are you?!"
Her voice broke as tears filled her eyes.
"Waaah...!"
In the kitchen, Mr. Miller heard her cries.
"Mia!"
He immediately turned off the stove and hurried toward her room.
"I'm here, sweetheart. Daddy's here."
He knelt beside her and gently pulled her into his arms.
Mia sobbed against his chest.
"Where's Mommy?"
"She's right here in the next room. Don't worry."
Just then—
Thump.
Both of them froze.
A strange sound came from the bedroom next door.
Mr. Miller's eyes widened.
"I think your mommy is waking up, too."
He carefully picked Mia up.
"Come on. Let's go check on her."
Hopeful, Mia wiped her tears.
"Mommy..."
Mr. Miller slowly opened the bedroom door.
His smile disappeared.
His wife was lying on the bed, trembling violently.
"Honey?"
He quickly placed Mia down and rushed to her side.
"What's happening? Can you hear me?"
The trembling suddenly stopped.
Silence filled the room.
Then, slowly...
his wife sat upright.
Her head remained lowered for several seconds before she slowly raised it.
Her eyes were bloodshot.
She stared directly at her husband and daughter.
Mr. Miller froze.
"Honey...?"
Her breathing became heavy.
She seemed to be fighting against something deep inside herself.
Then she suddenly shouted—
"Stay away!"
Mia flinched and instinctively hid behind her father's leg.
"Mommy...?"
Mr. Miller slowly raised his hands.
"It's okay. Please calm down. It's me."
His wife stared at them.
Her hands trembled as she struggled to maintain control.
"Don't... come any closer..."
"What's wrong?"
"I... I don't know..."
She gritted her teeth.
Something inside her was urging her to attack.
She could feel herself losing control.
Her eyes slowly shifted toward Mia.
For a brief moment, her expression softened.
Her daughter.
Her little girl.
"No..."
She grabbed the blanket and wrapped it tightly around herself.
"I can't..."
"Honey, wait!"
Before Mr. Miller could reach her, she suddenly rushed toward the window.
CRASH!
She disappeared from sight.
"MOMMY!"
"HONEY!"
Mr. Miller and Mia rushed toward the window.
Mia's eyes filled with tears as she looked down.
"Mommy..."
Mr. Miller quickly turned toward her.
"Mia, stay here, okay?"
He forced himself to remain calm.
"Daddy's going to check on Mommy."
"Daddy..."
"Don't worry. I'll be right back."
He hurried out of the house.
Mia remained by the window, watching him disappear from sight.
---
~ Meanwhile — S-City Park ~
At a temporary emergency station, Mayor Smith was finally having her injuries treated.
After spending hours searching for survivors and accounting for civilians, she had finally found a moment to sit down and receive medical attention.
A medic carefully finished treating the wound on her leg.
"Madam, we've closed the wound. Try not to put too much pressure on it."
Mayor Smith nodded.
"Thank you."
Her eyes immediately moved toward her son.
Kyle was still unconscious.
She walked over and knelt beside him.
For the first time since the disaster began, a faint sadness appeared in her eyes.
She gently brushed his hair away from his forehead before reaching into her coat and pulling out her phone.
"I need to call my brother again."
She dialed the number.
Then—
A scream.
Mayor Smith's head lean toward the sound.
"What was that?"
She slowly stood.
What she saw made her blood run cold.
Several people were attacking others nearby.
They moved erratically, seemingly driven by uncontrollable aggression.
People screamed and ran in every direction.
Mayor Smith's phone slipped from her hand.
"What's happening...?"
She immediately rushed toward Kyle.
She lifted her unconscious son into her arms.
"Come on, sweetheart."
She turned and ran.
Her injured leg protested with every step, but she refused to stop.
She pushed through the crowd, desperately trying to get away from the attackers.
Then, suddenly...
a faint voice came from her arms.
"Mommy..."
Mayor Smith froze.
She looked down.
Kyle's eyes were barely open.
"Oh, Kyle!"
Relief flooded her face.
"You're finally awake!"
She held him closer.
"Don't worry. Mommy's here."
She continued running.
But she didn't notice the strange change beginning in her son.
---
~ S-City Hospital — Ward ~
Back at the hospital ward, the unconscious patients were slowly beginning to wake.
Families and friends who had been keeping watch breathed sighs of relief.
"They're awake!"
"Oh, thank goodness!"
For a brief moment, the ward filled with relief.
But it didn't last.
One of the newly awakened patients suddenly began trembling.
Then another.
And another.
Cindy noticed the strange behavior.
"What's wrong with them?"
A worried relative looked toward the nurses' station.
"Someone should call the nurses."
Before anyone could move, another scream echoed from somewhere outside the ward.
Everyone fell silent.
The relative hesitated.
"Should we...?"
Another patient suddenly began shaking violently.
His breathing became erratic.
"Someone get a nurse!"
Before anyone could reach him, the patient suddenly rushed toward the balcony.
"Wait!"
CRASH!
He disappeared over the railing.
Everyone rushed toward the balcony.
Brent looked over the edge.
His face went pale.
"He fell from the third floor..."
Katie slowly approached and looked over as well.
Then they saw movement below.
The patient was still moving.
Brent stared in disbelief.
"That... that's impossible."
Katie's instincts immediately screamed at her to leave.
She grabbed Brent's arm.
"We need to go."
"What?"
"Now."
"But what about them?"
"Brent, look around!"
The ward had descended into panic.
More patients were beginning to tremble.
The screams outside were growing louder.
Katie tightened her grip on his arm.
"We need to find somewhere safer before whatever is happening reaches us."
Brent looked around one last time.
Then he nodded.
"Everyone, let's go!"
Mike and Cindy hurried after them.
Together, the four friends left the ward.
None of them knew where they could possibly be safe anymore.
Because whatever had fallen from the sky...
was spreading.