Chapter 1:The Sudden Doom in the Grand Mansion

The bass thumped,a physical heartbeat against Isabella's silk-clad chest.Crystal chandeliers rained prisms of light onto the swirling,laughing crowd below.Another birthday,another extravagant party thrown by her father.

Champagne flowed like a sparkling river,and the air crackled with the energy of a hundred conversations,the clinking of glasses,and the sheer,intoxicating joy of too much money and too few worries.

Isabella,perched on the grand staircase,felt a familiar pang of restlessness.Then,the scream cut through the music like a shard of glass.It wasn't a playful shriek,or a gasp of surprise.This was raw,primal terror.

It ripped through the opulent ballroom,silencing the music and sending a ripple of unease through the crowd.Then,another scream.And another.

The laughter died,replaced by a confused murmur that swiftly escalated into panicked shouts.Isabella leaned over the railing,her perfectly-coiffed blonde hair swaying.Below,chaos was unfolding.

A man,his face contorted in a grotesque mask of rage,lunged at a woman in a shimmering gown.He sank his teeth into her arm,and the sound–a sickening,wet crunch–made Isabella's stomach churn.

The woman's scream was cut short,replaced by a gurgling whimper.Blood,shockingly bright against the pristine white marble floor,began to spread.

"What the…?"Isabella muttered,her perfectly-manicured nails digging into the polished wood of the railing.

This wasn't some drunken brawl.This was…wrong.Deeply wrong.

More guests were transforming.Their eyes turned a milky,vacant white,their movements jerky and unnatural.They moved with a terrifying,single-minded hunger,attacking anyone within reach.

The air,once perfumed with expensive fragrances and the sweet scent of cake,now reeked of blood and something else…something acrid,metallic,and utterly alien.

Isabella fumbled for her phone,her fingers suddenly clumsy."Dad?Mom?"No answer.Just the endless,mocking ringtone.

She tried her brother.Nothing.A cold knot of fear tightened in her chest.Where were they?

She had to get out.Now.

She turned,intending to race back to her room,to find some kind of weapon,some kind of plan.But a figure blocked her path at the top of the stairs.

It was Michael Brown,a childhood friend,a boy who'd always been gentle,almost painfully shy.Now,his face was a twisted caricature of its former self.His eyes were those milky,dead white.Drool,thick and viscous,dripped from his slack jaw.

He lunged,a low growl rumbling in his chest."Michael?What the hell is wrong with you?"Isabella's voice was a shaky whisper.

He didn't answer.He just kept coming.Isabella stumbled backward,her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.

This wasn't Michael.This was…something else.Something monstrous.

She turned and fled,her designer heels clicking a frantic tattoo against the marble floor.She burst through the French doors leading to the sprawling gardens,gasping for breath.

The manicured lawns,usually a haven of tranquility,were now a scene of utter carnage.More of the infected were staggering across the grass,their clothes torn and bloodied,their moans a chilling chorus.

Isabella was trapped.Surrounded.The knot in her chest tightened,squeezing the air from her lungs.This was it.This was how it ended.

Then,a figure materialized out of the shadows,moving with a speed that defied belief.He was tall,lean,with a shock of dark hair that fell across his forehead.His eyes,a startling,almost electric blue,burned with an intensity that cut through the surrounding chaos.

He raised a hand,and a wave of shimmering,blue energy pulsed outward.The infected closest to Isabella were thrown back as if struck by an invisible force.

Some of them slammed into the marble fountain,their bodies crumpling with sickening cracks.Others simply lay where they fell,twitching and spasming.

The man didn't hesitate.He moved like a predator,graceful and deadly.Another pulse of energy,and more of the infected were down.

The man looked at Isabella."Move."

The crystal chandelier shimmering above Isabella cast a thousand dancing lights across the polished mahogany dining table.A feast fit for royalty was laid out–roast pheasant,glistening pastries,and a rainbow of exotic fruits–but Isabella barely touched her plate.

Her mind was a whirlwind of anxieties.Her father,the CEO of a powerful biogenetics corporation,was late.Unusually,terrifyingly late.

A sudden,bloodcurdling scream ripped through the opulent silence of the Blackwood Mansion.It was Michael,her childhood friend,who was supposed to join them for the birthday dinner.

Isabella leaped to her feet,heart pounding against her ribs like a trapped bird."Michael?"

She raced towards the sound,her silken gown swirling around her ankles.The scream had come from the grand foyer.

As she rounded the corner,the sight that greeted her made her stomach lurch.Michael stood there,but he wasn't Michael anymore.His eyes,usually warm and hazel,were now bloodshot and vacant,filled with a chilling,predatory hunger.

His skin was a sickly gray,veins bulging beneath the surface like writhing worms.He lunged at one of the house staff,teeth bared in a gruesome snarl.

"Michael!Stop!"Isabella cried,her voice trembling.He didn't stop.He ripped into the staff member's throat with a sickening sound of tearing flesh.

Isabella recoiled,a scream building in her own chest,but before it could escape,a figure materialized out of thin air beside her.

He was tall,with sharp,angular features and eyes the color of a stormy sea.He moved with a lethal grace,his dark hair falling across his forehead as he shoved Isabella behind him.

"Stay back,"he commanded,his voice a low,controlled growl.His name was Alexander Blackwood,though Isabella wouldn't know this.

Before Isabella could question him,the stranger–Alexander–raised his hand.A shimmering,almost invisible energy rippled outward,slamming into the infected Michael with the force of a battering ram.

Michael flew backward,crashing into a priceless antique vase,shattering it into a million pieces.But he wasn't down.He scrambled to his feet,snarling,his body twitching unnaturally.

The energy hadn't killed him,only stunned him."What…what is he?"Isabella whispered,clutching Alexander's arm.

"No time to explain,"Alexander said,his gaze fixed on Michael."We need to get out of here.Now."

He pulled her along,navigating the sprawling mansion with a familiarity that surprised Isabella.How did he know the layout so well?But she didn't have time to dwell on it.

More screams echoed from other parts of the house.The infection–whatever it was–was spreading rapidly.They reached a side exit,a heavy oak door leading to the sprawling gardens.Alexander shoved it open,pulling Isabella out into the cool night air.

The manicured lawns,usually a picture of serene beauty,were now a scene of chaos.More infected figures,formerly staff and guests,stumbled across the grass,their moans and growls a horrifying chorus.

"They're everywhere,"Isabella gasped,her breath catching in her throat.Alexander's jaw tightened."We need to reach the wall.There's a gate…if we can get there…"

He didn't finish the sentence.A group of infected had spotted them.They were closing in,their movements jerky and unnatural,their eyes burning with that same terrifying hunger.

Alexander pushed Isabella behind him again,his body tense and ready.He raised his hand,and this time,the shimmering energy coalesced into a solid shield,deflecting the first wave of attackers.

"Run,Isabella!"he shouted,his voice strained with effort."Run to the west wall!Find the gate!"

Isabella hesitated,her heart torn.She wanted to stay and fight.She was strong,but she was untrained.This…this thing that had taken over Michael and the others was beyond anything she had ever imagined.

With a final,desperate glance at the mysterious,powerful stranger who had saved her life–twice–Isabella turned and ran.She ran faster than she ever had before,the screams and growls of the infected chasing her through the night,the image of Alexander,a lone warrior against a tide of horror,burned into her mind.

The luxurious life,the protected home,were no longer safe.The sudden doom,the deadly night had just begun.