Tallahassee, United States
5:10 a.m., August 20, 2010
The sky was beginning to brighten as Jason walked silently through the streets toward his house.
The first birds were already singing, and a cool breeze heralded the approaching dawn.
His plan was simple: climb through his bedroom window before his parents woke up.
He hoped it would work.
He had spent the entire night with Melody.
When he arrived at the Tyler residence, he found his girlfriend sitting on her bedroom floor, hugging her knees.
Her eyes were swollen from crying.
Donald had remained downstairs, trying to contact colleagues at the hospital and the university.
No news.
No clues.
No calls.
No answers.
Jason stayed beside her throughout the night.
“Do you think she abandoned me?” Melody asked, her voice choked with emotion.
Jason immediately shook his head.
“No.
Your mother would never do that.”
Melody wiped her eyes.
“Then why didn’t she call?”
Jason remained silent for a few seconds.
He couldn’t tell her the truth.
He couldn’t say that Eleanor had probably become involved in the events preceding the outbreak.
“Maybe she simply can’t.”
Melody began to cry again.
“I should’ve insisted that she take some time off.
I should’ve spent more time with her.”
Jason gently took her hand.
“Don’t do that to yourself.
None of this is your fault.”
She rested her head on his shoulder.
They sat in silence for several minutes.
Melody was the one who finally spoke again.
“Jason…”
“Hmm?”
“Do you really believe what you told me?”
He took a deep breath.
“I do.”
She closed her eyes.
“Then, if you’re right…
my mother might already be…”
Her words died before she could finish.
Jason tightened his grip on her hand.
“Until we have proof, we’re not giving up.”
Melody slowly raised her head.
“Would you really do that?
Would you look for her with me?”
Jason didn’t need to think about his answer.
“I promise.
We’ll investigate her disappearance together.
And if there’s any chance of finding her alive, we’ll find her.”
Melody’s eyes filled with tears again.
This time, however, they weren’t born solely from despair.
She knew she wasn’t alone.
“Thank you…”
Jason gave her a tender smile.
“You don’t have to thank me.
We’re a team.”
Just as they had always been.
Melody let out a small laugh through her tears.
“You sound like a Boy Scout.”
Jason chuckled softly.
“Blame the Scouts.”
They continued talking for a while.
They reminisced about the first camping trip where they had met.
Their first kiss.
Their trip to Disney, where they had taken the photograph now kept inside Jason’s pocket watch.
Gradually, the weight of Melody’s anguish gave way to exhaustion.
Without realizing it, she fell asleep against his shoulder.
Jason remained perfectly still, watching her breathe peacefully.
Even knowing that the world was about to end, all he wanted at that moment was for her to sleep in peace for a few more hours.
Careful not to wake her, Jason eased Melody onto the bed and pulled the blanket over her shoulders.
Before leaving the room, he looked at her one last time.
“I’m going to keep that promise, Mels…” he whispered.
Then he silently closed the door and began the journey home as the first ray of sunlight appeared on the horizon.
Melody didn’t come to school that day.
Her absence drew attention almost immediately.
Todd was the first to mention it during lunch.
“It’s strange for Melody to miss school.”
“She almost never misses a day,” Heather added.
Several people agreed.
Jason kept his expression neutral.
“She wasn’t feeling well this morning, so she decided to stay home.”
They accepted his explanation without asking many questions.
Deep down, however, Jason knew there was more to it than that.
When the final bell finally rang, he hurriedly gathered his things.
He had promised Melody they would investigate Eleanor’s disappearance together.
He couldn’t be late.
Before he could make it down the hallway, however, Todd stepped into his path.
“We need to talk.”
Jason tried to walk around him.
“Not now, Todd.”
Todd grabbed his arm.
“Yes, now.”
Jason stopped.
“I really don’t have time.”
“You never have time anymore.”
The words left Jason silent.
Todd took a deep breath, trying to control himself.
“You’ve been missing practice, disappearing without a word, ignoring everyone, and acting like no one has the right to ask questions.”
“I already told you—I’m dealing with some things.”
“What things?”
Jason looked away.
“Personal things.”
Todd let out a humorless laugh.
“Of course.
You always have the perfect answer, don’t you?”
“Todd…”
“No.
You’re going to listen this time.”
His voice grew louder.
Several students in the hallway began to stare.
“Do you think that just because you’re good at everything, you can disappear whenever you want?”
Jason frowned.
“That isn’t what this is about.”
“Isn’t it?”
Todd stepped closer.
“You’re the best student.
The quarterback.
The perfect kid every teacher praises.
The son every father uses as an example.”
Todd clenched his jaw.
“And now you think you can trample all over everyone else’s dreams too?”
Jason stood perfectly still.
“What are you talking about?”
“The team!”
Todd pointed at him.
“This exhibition game might mean nothing to you, but it means something to me.
It means something to the guys.
We train all year for a chance to prove ourselves.”
He was breathing heavily, consumed by anger that seemed to have been building for a very long time.
“I needed my best friend this week.
The team needed its quarterback.
Melody needed you yesterday, and you didn’t even notice.”
The final statement struck Jason hard.
Todd continued before he could respond.
“You’re so busy carrying the entire world on your shoulders that you don’t even look at the people standing beside you.”
Jason opened his mouth, but no excuse came out.
Because part of what Todd had said was true.
Todd shook his head in disappointment.
“You know what the worst part is?
I’m glad you’re good at everything.
I really am.”
His expression tightened.
“But sometimes it feels like no matter how hard I try, I’ll always be running in your shadow.” You are reading on g.com, the official source.
The hallway fell silent around them.
Jason felt his chest tighten.
“Todd…”
“Forget it.”
Todd stepped back.
“Go take care of your important business.”
He turned his back on Jason.
“Like always.”
Jason remained motionless in the middle of the hallway.
For the first time in days, the problem before him wasn’t the apocalypse.
It was something far more difficult to solve.
A wounded friend.
And the bitter realization that, in trying to save everyone, he might already be losing some of them along the way.
While Todd confronted Jason at school, Melody conducted her own investigation.
She had never been the kind of person who simply waited for things to happen.
If there was an answer, she would find it.
Her first stop was the university where her mother worked.
The campus was as busy as usual.
Students walked through the halls carrying books, professors spoke with one another, and researchers moved from one laboratory to the next.
At first glance, everything seemed normal.
But Melody had known that place since childhood.
And precisely because she knew it so well, she noticed the small differences.
She greeted several staff members who immediately recognized her.
“Melody!
We haven’t seen you around here in a while.”
She smiled politely.
“Is my mother here?”
The secretary’s smile faltered for a moment.
“Oh…
Dr.
Eleanor…
She had to leave.”
“Where did she go?”
The woman looked down at some papers on her desk.
“I…
don’t have that information.”
The response sounded rehearsed.
Melody thanked her and continued down the hall.
She passed the laboratories where she used to accompany her mother during school vacations.
Several researchers she knew were also absent.
She found one of Eleanor’s assistants in the hallway.
“Professor Collins didn’t come in today either?”
The man hesitated before answering.
“No…
He also had to leave town.”
“Leave town?”
“Yes.
For work.”
Another vague answer.
Another uncomfortable person.
The more questions Melody asked, the more she realized that no one wanted to talk.
Or perhaps…
They weren’t allowed to.
She decided to try one last time.
Melody knocked on the door of the head of her mother’s department.
“Come in.”
The professor looked up from his documents and smiled.
“Melody.
What can I do for you?”
She went straight to the point.
“I’d like to know where my mother is.”
The man’s smile disappeared.
He folded his hands on the desk.
“Unfortunately, I can’t discuss matters related to Dr.
Eleanor’s projects.”
“Can’t you at least tell me whether she’s all right?”
The man took a deep breath.
“All I can tell you is that she was called away for an important assignment and that several other researchers are with her.”
Melody noticed how carefully he had chosen his words.
He knew something.
Far more than he was willing to reveal.
After leaving the university, Melody stopped on the sidewalk for a few moments.
She took a deep breath and organized her thoughts.
Her mother had disappeared.
So had several other researchers.
No one would say where they had gone.
And everyone seemed to be following the exact same script.
That wasn’t a coincidence.
Someone had come for her mother.
And not only her.
Now Melody needed to discover where they had been taken.
She looked across the street.
She already had a lead.
The previous night, her father had mentioned that patients and staff members had been removed from the hospital under extreme secrecy.
If there was one place capable of connecting all those pieces…
It was Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.
Without wasting another moment, Melody crossed the street and headed toward her next destination.
When Jason finally arrived at the hospital, it was 6:40 p.m.
After scanning the street, he found Melody hiding behind a row of bushes on a small rise overlooking part of the main entrance.
She was holding a pair of binoculars.
She was so focused on the activity below that she didn’t notice him approaching.
“Mels…”
Melody spun around in alarm.
When she recognized him, she breathed a sigh of relief.
“You took your time.”
Her voice carried a mixture of concern and frustration.
Jason sat beside her.
“I’m sorry.
Todd stopped me after school.”
Melody remained silent.
“We had an argument,” Jason continued.
He preferred not to explain the details.
This wasn’t the time.
Melody merely nodded.
“All right.”
She raised the binoculars toward the hospital again.
Jason followed her gaze.
At first glance, the building appeared to be operating normally.
Ambulances came and went.
Doctors hurried through the entrances.
Family members waited outside.
It took Jason only a few seconds, however, to notice what was wrong.
Armed men guarded practically every entrance.
Far more than a hospital would normally require.
Some wore police uniforms.
Others were dressed in unmarked tactical gear.
Jason narrowed his eyes.
“What did you find out?”
Melody handed him the binoculars.
“My mother isn’t at the university anymore.
Neither are several other researchers.
They all disappeared on the same day.”
Jason remained silent.
“I spoke with staff members, researchers, and even the head of her department,” Melody continued.
“They all knew something, but no one was willing to talk.”
“Or they weren’t allowed to,” Jason added.
He carefully studied the hospital entrance.
Melody discreetly pointed toward one of the side access points.
“Then I remembered what my father told me yesterday about the patients who had been transferred, so I decided to come here.”
She let out a sigh.
“I’ve been watching the hospital for almost two hours.
Ambulances go in.
Trucks go in.
Government vehicles go in.
But hardly anyone comes out.”
Jason slowly swept the binoculars across the building’s facade.
There was indeed an unusual amount of activity.
Besides the police officers, armed men controlled every entrance.
Even the rear of the hospital appeared to be under surveillance.
“I tried to get inside three times,” Melody continued.
“They said visiting hours had been suspended.
The last time, one of the guards practically threw me out.”
Jason frowned.
“Guards?”
“Yes, and they weren’t just hospital security. Visit novelping.com for the full chapter.
Some of them were carrying assault rifles.”
The information made Jason’s chest tighten.
In the show, the government hadn’t begun deploying troops on a large scale until the situation had already grown much worse.
That meant events were accelerating.
Or…
He had underestimated how quickly the outbreak would spread.
Melody lowered her head.
“I’m almost certain my mother is in there.”
Her voice faltered.
“But I have no idea how to find her.”
Jason remained silent for a few seconds.
Then he gently placed a hand over hers.
“Then we’ll figure it out.”
Melody raised her eyes.
“How?”
Jason studied the hospital again.
His mind was already mapping routes, calculating schedules, and searching for gaps in the security perimeter.
“First, we’re going to find out why a hospital needs so many armed men.”
He lowered the binoculars.
“Then we’ll decide how to get inside.”
As they watched the activity from a distance, an unmarked ambulance passed through the main gates.
The guards immediately cleared a path for it.
Jason followed the vehicle with his eyes until it disappeared into the hospital’s interior complex.
A terrible feeling came over him.
This was no longer merely an investigation.
They were getting dangerously close to the origin of the nightmare that would change the world.
After spending nearly half an hour watching the hospital and discussing their options, Jason and Melody finally came up with a plan.
It wasn’t a good plan.
It was merely the only one they had.
Jason approached two young men talking near a bus stop.
“Can I ask you for a favor?”
The two regarded him suspiciously.
Jason pulled two fifty-dollar bills from his pocket.
“I need you to put on a little show.”
A few minutes later, the two young men walked toward the hospital’s loading gate.
At the agreed-upon moment, they began arguing.
The shoving quickly escalated into a fight.
One of them grabbed the other’s arm and pretended to bite him.
“Help!
He bit me!
He’s crazy!”
The shouting immediately caught the guards’ attention.
“Hey!
Break it up!”
Two police officers and a security guard rushed over to stop the fight.
While everyone was focused on the commotion in the street, Jason and Melody slipped through the loading gate and disappeared into the storage area.
Once inside, they hid behind several crates.
Jason waited a few seconds.
No alarms.
No shouting.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
“We made it.”
Melody merely nodded.
They moved toward the door leading into the rest of the hospital.
Jason turned the handle.
Nothing happened.
A magnetic keycard reader was mounted beside the lock.
“Damn it…”
Melody tried to peer through the window.
“We can’t open it.”
At that moment, footsteps echoed from the other side of the storage area.
They looked at each other.
With no time to think, they ran into a small office used by the loading-dock staff.
Jason slowly closed the door behind them.
The footsteps drew closer.
He quickly surveyed the room.
Cabinets.
Desks.
Computers.
Nothing that could help them.
Then he looked up.
A maintenance hatch was set into the ceiling.
An air duct.
He pointed overhead.
“There.”
Melody followed his gaze.
“You have to be kidding.”
“I’m not.”
“Jason…
that thing is probably full of dust, cobwebs, and who knows what else.”
“Would you rather explain to whoever’s coming why we broke into a hospital?”
She released a defeated sigh.
“I hate you sometimes.”
Jason smiled.
“You go first.”
After removing the metal grate, they climbed into the duct.
The space was narrow.
They could barely crawl through it.
With every movement, a thin layer of dust fell onto their clothes.
Melody made an enormous effort to ignore the cobwebs that occasionally brushed against her face.
After several minutes of crawling, they found another exit.
Jason carefully removed the grate and looked down.
The room below was completely dark.
He climbed down first and then helped Melody.
She searched the wall for a light switch.
“Found it.”
Before Jason could stop her…
Click.
The lights came on.
They both froze.
It was an isolation ward.
The walls were completely white.
The sharp smell of disinfectant mingled with the metallic scent of blood.
Dried blood stained the floor and walls.
At the far end of the ward stood a row of rooms sealed behind thick, reinforced glass.
They looked like former patient rooms.
Now…
They resembled prison cells.
A low moan broke the silence.
Melody slowly turned her head.
A figure stood inside one of the rooms with its back to them.
It was wearing a hospital gown.
Deep wounds covered its body, and dark blotches spread across its arms.
As though sensing their presence, the creature turned its head at an unnatural angle.
Its eyes were utterly empty.
Its skin had taken on an ashen hue.
Dried blood covered its mouth.
Melody felt the air leave her lungs.
As a scream began to escape her throat, Jason clamped a hand over her mouth.
“Shh!”
Too late.
The creature released a guttural howl.
With a violent burst of movement, it charged into the glass.
BANG!
The impact shook the entire structure.
Melody jumped backward.
The creature continued slamming itself against the glass again and again, completely oblivious to its own pain.
Jason stared at it, his eyes wide.
That wasn’t a sick person.
It wasn’t a person at all.
It was exactly like the undead he had only ever seen on television.
Before either of them could react…
The door behind them flew open.
“Who’s there?”
The voice was firm.
Authoritative.
Melody froze.
She knew that voice.
Slowly, she turned around.
“…Mom?”
Standing in the doorway, dressed in a white lab coat, was Dr.
Eleanor Tyler.
I’m using AI to translate this story.
English is not my native language.
If you would prefer to read it without an AI translation, you can find the original Portuguese version on this same profile.