Chapter 9.5: The Last Stand of the Alpha Union

Mark’s Team – The Last Hours

Mark’s breath came in shallow gasps.

His skin itched. Burned. Twitched.

The infection had already taken Sophie.

Now, it was inside him.

Inside Rhea.

She sat against the crumbling wall of the research facility, her rifle dropped beside her. Her fingers trembled as she looked at her own reflection in a cracked screen.

Her eyes were changing.

Black veins pulsed beneath her skin, her cheek sinking inward, like something inside was feeding off her.

Rhea: "You think it’ll hurt?"

Mark swallowed hard. "I don’t know."

His fingers twitched—his bones cracked, shifted.

It was happening.

Their bodies were breaking down.

Not quickly.

Not cleanly.

Their DNA itself was decaying, unraveling at the seams.

Mark forced himself to stand, gripping his rifle.

He didn’t know how much time he had left.

But if he was going to die, he wouldn’t sit and wait for it.

Mark: "Come on. Let’s finish this."