Leon stood near the hospital window, scanning the streets below. The city was still running, for now.

The outbreak was slow, creeping its way into the population like a silent predator. The real chaos was still days away.

This was the perfect window of opportunity.

Turning to Eric and Dr. Carter, he laid out their next move.

“We need supplies. Food, water, medical gear, whatever we can get. Once the infection spreads, stores will be raided, and everything will be gone.”

Dr. Carter nodded. “Agreed. People will panic the moment they realize what’s happening.”

Eric crossed his arms. “And where do we find all that? The supermarkets will be packed with people panic-buying.”

Leon smirked. “We’re not going to supermarkets.”

Eric blinked. “Huh?”

Leon turned to Dr. Carter. “You worked in a government research facility. I assume that means there are emergency supply caches for staff?”

Dr. Carter’s expression tightened. “There are. Stockpiles meant for disasters.”

Eric’s eyes widened. “Wait, wait—like military-grade rations?”

Dr. Carter nodded. “Food, water purification tablets, even survival kits.”

Leon grinned. “Then that’s our first stop.”

They moved quickly and quietly, slipping through back alleys and avoiding the denser parts of the city.

Leon could already see signs of unease.

More police patrols. More people rushing to stock up.

But the real danger?

The unknown infections.

Some of these people would turn soon.

Leon clenched his fists. He had one week before the nightmare began.

Reaching the research facility, they found it surprisingly quiet.

Too quiet.

Leon motioned for the others to stay low as he crept toward the entrance. The doors were locked, as expected. But Leon had planned for this.

Taking out a stolen keycard from one of the dead soldiers inside the hospital, he swiped it through the security panel.

Beep!

The light turned green.

The doors slid open with a mechanical hiss.

Eric grinned. “Man, you really thought of everything.”

Leon smirked. “Always be prepared.”

But as they stepped inside, something felt off.

The air was stale.

Too quiet.

Leon instinctively placed a hand on his weapon.

Then he heard it.

A faint, wet sound.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Something was inside.

Leon motioned for Eric and Dr. Carter to stay behind as he moved forward.

The hallway was dimly lit, shadows stretching like twisting fingers.

Then he saw it.

A corpse.

No, multiple corpses.

Scattered across the floor, dressed in lab coats and security uniforms.

And standing in the middle of them—

A figure.

It was human-shaped, but wrong.

Its spine arched unnaturally, its arms longer than they should be.

And its eyes…

They glowed faintly in the dim light.

Leon’s breath hitched.

This wasn’t a normal infected.

It was one of the first mutants.

And it had sensed him.

The creature’s head snapped up, its glowing eyes locking onto Leon.

Then it moved.

Not like a normal zombie, faster.

Smarter.

Leon barely had time to react as the thing lunged...

He dodged, rolling to the side as claws slashed through the air where he had been standing.

A single thought entered his mind.

I need to kill this thing before it evolves further.

Leon’s heartbeat pounded in his ears. The mutant zombie crouched low, its elongated limbs tensed like a predator about to strike. Its glowing eyes flickered with intelligence, a cruel mockery of what it once was.

Leon knew this wasn’t an ordinary zombie. This was the next step in the infection.

In his past life, mutants like these had appeared weeks after the outbreak, not within the first seven days.

This meant two things.

One: The timeline had already begun to change.

Two: This thing was even deadlier than it should be.

Leon gritted his teeth. He had to kill it.

The mutant moved first.

One second it was still. The next, it was airborne.

Leon barely had time to react. He ducked, rolled to the side, and felt a gust of wind as the creature’s claws sliced through the space where his head had been.

Fast. Too fast.

Leon drew his combat knife, spinning on his heels just in time to block the second strike.

Clang!

Sparks flew as bone-like claws clashed against metal. Leon’s arm numbed from the impact.

He twisted his body, using the creature’s momentum to shove it aside. It skidded across the bloodstained floor, but its glowing eyes never left him.

It grinned.

A guttural, distorted laugh.

Leon’s stomach churned.

This thing was playing with him.

Leon adjusted his grip on his knife. He had absorbed a core from a mutant before, but his body was still adjusting to its power. His reflexes were sharper, his movements faster, but he was far from invincible.

And this thing, this early-stage mutant, was stronger than he expected.

It lunged again. Faster.

Leon sidestepped, slashing with his knife...

But the creature anticipated it.

It twisted midair, grabbing Leon’s wrist. The next thing he knew...

Crack!

Leon’s back slammed against the floor. The air was knocked from his lungs.

His vision blurred for half a second, just enough time for the mutant to raise a clawed hand to finish him off.

Shit!

Leon reacted on instinct.

BANG!

A gunshot roared through the facility.

Leon had drawn his pistol in a flash, firing a round straight at the mutant’s head.

The bullet hit.

The creature jerked back from the impact.

But did not fall.

Leon’s eyes widened.

The bullet had only grazed its skull.

It cocked its head at him, a chilling smile stretching across its face.

Leon cursed under his breath.

Of course. Mutants develop bone density increases. A normal shot to the head wouldn’t work unless it hit a weaker spot.

This was bad.

Leon exhaled, pushing himself back to his feet. His body ached, but he couldn’t afford to slow down.

The mutant was stronger.

Faster.

More durable.

If he wanted to win, he needed to fight smarter.

His eyes flicked across the facility. Bloodied bodies, broken equipment, scattered glass—

And then, he saw it.

An emergency fire suppression system.

A plan formed in his mind.

He fired two more shots at the mutant, forcing it to move, not aiming to kill, but to position it.

The creature dodged, just as he predicted.

Leon smirked.

He bolted toward the wall, grabbed a discarded metal pipe, and

SLAM!

He swung with all his strength, smashing into the emergency fire suppression valve.

PSSSSHHHH!!

A burst of white fog erupted as the facility’s fire suppression gas filled the air.

The mutant hissed as the chemicals stung its enhanced senses.

Leon didn’t wait.

Using the fog as cover, he moved fast, low, and silent.

He grabbed a shard of broken glass, gripping it in his free hand.

And then..

He struck.

Leon drove the glass shard straight into the mutant’s glowing eye.

The creature screamed.

It thrashed, clawing at its face.

And Leon took the opening.

He dove forward, flipping his knife in his grip.

And plunged it into the base of the creature’s skull.

Right between the spine and the brainstem.

The weak spot.

The mutant convulsed then collapsed.

Its body twitched for a moment… and then stilled.

Leon exhaled sharply.

It was dead.

Eric and Dr. Carter appeared from their hiding spot. Eric’s face was pale.

“Dude. That thing was insane.”

Leon wiped blood from his face. “Yeah. And there will be a lot more of them soon.”

Dr. Carter examined the mutant’s body. “This… this isn’t normal. This level of mutation shouldn’t have happened yet.”

Leon sighed. “I know.”

He crouched down and reached into the mutant’s skull, pulling out a core.

It was different from the one he absorbed before. Darker. Pulsing.

Leon clenched his fist around it.

He had to get stronger.

Fast.