"Just hold on a little longer. Only ten minutes until five o’clock."

  Adrian Vale leaned back in his office chair, rubbing his temples as he stared at the endless lines of code on his monitor. He was just another programmer at a mid-tier tech company, drowning in bug fixes, endless updates, and client demands. His life was dull but predictable—a routine he had long since accepted.

  The office smelled of stale coffee and printer ink. The rhythmic tapping of keyboards filled the air, interrupted only by the occasional sigh of frustration from overworked employees. It was just another normal day.

  “Hey, Adrian, wanna grab a drink tonight?” Logan Reed, his coworker and one of his only real friends, leaned over the divider. A former soldier turned IT specialist, Logan was always trying to pull Adrian into some social event.

  “Can’t. I’ve got a deadline tomorrow,” Adrian replied with a tired smile.

  Logan shook his head. “Man, one of these days, work is gonna be the death of you.”

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  Adrian chuckled but didn’t argue. He liked stability. It wasn’t exciting, but it was safe. What he didn’t know was that safety was about to be torn away from him in just a few hours.

  ---

  4:50 PM. The usual office chatter was interrupted by a sudden news alert on the TV.

  "Breaking news: Reports are coming in from multiple cities worldwide of an unidentified viral outbreak. Infected individuals display extreme aggression and—"

  The screen cut to a live feed outside a hospital. A visibly shaken reporter stood in front of a chaotic scene—doctors in hazmat suits restraining a man convulsing violently on a stretcher. In the background, shadows moved erratically, and distant screams echoed through the air.

  The office filled with murmurs.

  “Another virus? Great, just what we need.”

  “The media loves exaggerating these things. Remember last year? Same panic, just another flu.”

  Adrian frowned, his eyes locked onto the screen. Something felt… off. The way those infected moved—it wasn’t normal. Their stiff, jerky motions, the vacant yet predatory look in their eyes… No, this wasn’t a flu.

  5:00 PM. The moment work ended, the city-wide emergency alarms blared.

  "Attention! All citizens are advised to return home immediately. Emergency lockdown procedures will begin shortly. Remain calm and await further instructions."

  Adrian’s chest tightened. He turned toward the window and froze. The streets below were in chaos—sirens wailed, people ran frantically, plumes of smoke rose in the distance.

  A heavy sense of unease settled over him.

  “This isn’t right,” Logan muttered beside him, his military instincts kicking in.

  Adrian’s palms felt clammy. Deep down, he knew—the world as he knew it was about to change forever.