~~~~~~~~~~~ Four weeks ago ~~~~~~~~~~~

John was having a nice day, his siblings and him were all in the town center, having a picnic. His older brother, Kevin, was running around with John's niece, Catherine, while his younger sister, Jenny, was teasing John about being the only one who isnt married, despite his two adopted children, Katelyn and Joshua.

"Dad! Dad! There's a man who wants to do a performance! Come on!" Joshua called excitedly to John, grabbing his hand and trying to pull him to the stage in the middle of the park.

Smiling at his childrens antics, he let his son drag him over to the stage, where a man in a large trenchcoat is standing with a clear box, filled with a black substance that seems to slosh about on its own.

"Hello, and welcome to my show." The mans gravely voice began, "I have a most special show for you today, so gather round. Come close, see if you can find my tricks."

The children around begin clapping, chattering about how cool the man is, or how spooky he looks.

"For the first act, we have to break this box," The man announces, "Can anyone give me a guess for how to do this?" The man looks out over the children.

Joshua raised his hand, standing tall. The man chuckles, "We have a taker! How do you propose we open the box, little one?" The man stares at Joshua from under his cowl, a smile on his face.

"We could smash it!" Joshua exclaims excitedly.

"What a lovely idea!" The man responded with equal enthusiasm. "Now, I have just the tool to smash this box!" The man says, putting the box down on the stage, pulling what seems to be an ice pick from inside his coat. "Now, parents, don't worry. This box doesnt shatter into sharp bits." The man announced, before raising the ice pick, "And now, for the grand opening!"

The man slamed his pick into the box, shattering it into small cubes like safety glass. The black sludge dripped across the stage.

"Now, do any of you want to come take a look at this little fella?" The man asks the children, bowing with his arm out towards the slime.

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Of course, being a young child who didn't know better, Joshua pushed his way to the front, ignoring John's calls to stay near.

"Can I touch it, mr?" Joshua asked the man.

"Sure, little one." The man's smile sent shivers down John's spine.

"Joshua, come back here please." John called.

"Aww, come on dad, it's just one little poke!" Joshua said, reaching to touch the slime.

Joshua immediately screamed, as did all the other kids who touched the slime, as his skin blackened. Lumps burst from under his skin, forning rough, coarse mushrooms as Joshua ballooned to a massive size, easily dwarfing the man in the coat, while the other children suffer a similar fate.

"Joshua!" John screams in anguish, pushing towards his child, only to be ignored by the beast as it reached back, and crushed the man in the coat underfoot, who was mid-laugh.

John drops to the ground, stunned by what just happened, as the other 'children', or the beasts that replaced them, started to fling the sludge into the crowd, causing everyone to panic as more people turned into these monsters.

And yet, John just stays there, on his knees, crying openly. The creatures seemed to swarm around, and John finally got up, and ran to the nearest house, hoping against hope that it would be safe. The creatures seemed to ignore him, prioritising the other people getting into cars and vehicles.

The things didnt follow him into the house, or down to the cellar, or when he grabbed food from the cellar fridge, or when he loudly barricaded the door to the cellar.

John felt empty. Like an empty pit, with nothing but hatred and regret fueling him to care about survival over revenge. Hatred at the man in the cloak, hatred at the things killing his friends and family, and regret that he cannot save them. John, by all means, had lived a calm and peceful life. he had never broken bones or suffered in the same way he knew many did.

John didn't know how long he sat there, sitting in the corner of the cellar, trying to hide. The light bulb, after years of not being maintained, fizzled out and died, leaving John in the dark. When John heard, and almost felt, the sound of the cellar door being rammed against. So John hid, as low and back as he could, in the darkness. He hid behind a shelf, hoping it would hide him, as he huddled underneath old clothes, matresses and sheets, muffling the sounds of people, or things, breaking into the cellar. He barely gathered the courage to look out from under the sheets, just enough to see a military man in uniform standing by the entrance. He could hear the rumbling of heavy vehicles overhead, and

In that moment, John had an idea. If these people could survive those monstrosities, then maybe if he joined them he could do the same.

Maybe he could save someones family.

Maybe, just maybe, his family had escaped and he could find his siblings.

And in that moment, John gripped that feeling with the jealous zeal of a man willing to dedicate his life and limb to a cause.