DS Chapter 2

I was jolted awake by someone shaking me.

“Kylie! Get up! Kylie! Are you seriously sleeping right now?!”

The urgency in the voice snapped me out of my slumber. In the dark room, I blinked, trying to make out who was shaking me.

“Logan?”

Logan was right in front of me. What was he doing in my room? I barely had time to process the situation before I noticed a sharp, acrid smell stinging my nose. Was there a fire? My mind cleared instantly as I sat up in a panic.

But the thick smoke wasn’t coming from inside the house; it was drifting in from outside the window.

“What’s going on? Why are you in my room?”

“Get up, we need to get out of here.”

“What?”

“Just hurry and follow me!”

I had no idea what was happening or what he was talking about, but the serious, frantic look on Logan’s face left me no choice but to trust him. In a daze, I stumbled after him, rushing out of the house.

“Holy—”

Logan’s car had crashed through our front wall and was now parked on our overgrown lawn. What on earth was going on?

“Did you crash into our yard?” I asked, dumbfounded.

“This isn’t the time for that.”

Logan, who had clearly committed some serious property damage, growled at me, grabbing my hand and pulling me along. The audacity of this guy!

He practically dragged me to the car and shoved me into the passenger seat. It felt like I was being kidnapped.

Without even telling me to buckle up, Logan jumped into the driver’s seat and sped off immediately.

“Where are we going…?! Ahh!”

The car rocketed forward so fast that I nearly slid out of my seat.

“Logan!”

At this rate, if we stopped suddenly, I’d be thrown straight through the windshield. The accident I had witnessed earlier that day flashed through my mind.

Panicked, I fumbled to fasten my seatbelt, trembling all over. Had Logan lost his mind? Was he kidnapping me to kill me?

I was sweating profusely in my state of shock when—

“Huh? What is that…?”

I noticed the city outside the window, and it looked completely different from usual.

Smoke billowed from buildings, cars blocked the roads, a truck had crashed through a shop window, and an ambulance sat still, its lights flashing. A telephone pole was leaning dangerously, and road signs were bent out of shape.

Logan skillfully maneuvered the car through the narrow gaps between the wreckage.

But the strangest sight of all was the people running through the streets. Many of them staggered like they were on drugs, and it wasn’t just a few—there were several.

I watched in horror as they began attacking a homeless man sitting on a bench. The way they pounced on him, biting and tearing, reminded me of wild animals. They swarmed him like a pack of wolves, ripping into him.

Then I saw it—a gruesome sight as the man’s skin peeled away, a terrifying image that made my stomach churn, like the grotesque feeling of watching a pigeon get crushed under a tire.

I was paralyzed with fear, my body covered in goosebumps. My breath caught in my throat as one of the attackers lifted his head.

He was looking directly at me. His face was a nightmare—veins bulging, eyes wide with dilated pupils, and his expression twisted into something that no longer resembled a human being. It was as if I had come face-to-face with a demon from hell.

Something was very wrong. This couldn’t be real. Was I dreaming? Surely, this had to be some kind of sick nightmare.

My heart pounded in my chest, my lips trembled, and I could barely breathe.

I wanted to ask Logan what was going on, but the words wouldn’t come out. Sensing my silence, Logan glanced over at me.

“People are losing their minds. If they get bitten, it’s like they’re infected and start acting the same way.”

“⋯⋯.”

“I was working at the garage when I heard someone yelling to run. I raced to your house. There was a car crash in front of the donut shop, and they said there was a crazed person inside. He attacked the person trying to help him, bit them on the neck…”

The car crash in front of the donut shop. I remembered the scene I saw on my way home.

The driver having a seizure, the concerned citizen calling for an ambulance, and the Black man trying to pull the driver out of the car.

So there was a crazed person in that car? And because of him, all this chaos started?

I swallowed hard and looked over at Logan.

“B-but why did you come to me? What about your parents? And what about my mom?”

Mom was probably chatting with Logan’s mom next door, like she often did.

Logan didn’t answer right away. There was a tense silence as sweat dripped down his temple. His tightly clenched jaw only made my anxiety worse.

“…Logan?”

“I’ll tell you later. Let’s get out of the city first.”

My head was spinning. It felt like I was sinking into a deep, black swamp. My legs felt unsteady, and my breathing was labored.

Where is my mom? We can’t just run away like this. We have to save our parents.

We have to go back. Turn the car around. I can’t just run away on my own!

I should have screamed those words.

But instead, I stayed silent, like a coward. Maybe, deep down, I already knew.

The tense grip on the steering wheel, the bulging veins in his hands, the strained muscles in his neck, his clenched jaw trembling as if holding back tears, the bloodshot eyes, and the cold sweat dripping down his face—they all answered my question.

Logan had gone to his house first. And he had seen something.

Yes, he saw something. And then he ran. He ran so fast that he crashed through our fence, too numb to care, gripping the wheel in a daze.

* * *

A heavy, oppressive atmosphere settled in the car. The only sound breaking the silence was the harsh rhythm of our breaths.

The car swerved between the stop lines and the center lines, speeding recklessly down the chaotic road.

I wanted to escape the fear that threatened to engulf us. But no matter how hard I pressed the accelerator, I couldn’t shake off the dread. It clung to me, a thick, black, suffocating terror that chased us relentlessly.

The city, with its exploding gas tanks and burning buildings, gradually faded into the distance. The red flames and thick smoke lit up the dark night sky.

We remained silent, unable to utter a single word until we had completely escaped the hellish city.

* * *

Why did Logan come to get me? He could have escaped on his own.

I didn’t bother to ask him. What good would it do? The events had already unfolded.

The yellow headlights illuminated the dark road ahead.

Surprisingly, it seemed that not many people had chosen to leave the city. The road stretching outside was quiet and serene.

Everyone else was probably heading back home to lock their doors and pray for their families. If Logan hadn’t dragged me along, I might have done the same.

But Logan said there was a madman in his house, so he had no choice but to flee.

Still, where were we headed? Would going to another city provide any solutions? Was our town the only one experiencing this chaos?

Just as those thoughts crossed my mind, Logan pulled the car over to the shoulder. He rested his forehead against the steering wheel and took a few moments to catch his breath.

I waited patiently for him to calm down. This was the first time I had seen him like this.

He usually remained composed, even in stressful situations, keeping his cool in tight games…

Then again, how many people could remain calm after witnessing such horrors?

“Logan, are you okay? If it’s too much, just tell me. I can drive; I got my license last month, so I can handle it now.”

“⋯⋯.”

“Let’s think it through. We need to figure out what to do next.”

My gentle encouragement caused his shoulders to heave. Beneath his sweat-drenched shirt, I could see his muscles tensing with anxiety.

Maybe he had seen something even more horrific than I had. After all, I had been so absorbed in my own fears that I’d blocked my ears when the sirens blared outside.

Through the headlights, I could see the desolate fields and black road stretching endlessly outside the window.

It felt like something terrible could leap out from the open fields.

If the crazed person we saw in the city suddenly dashed onto the road… Ugh, no wonder imaginative people are easily frightened.

To shake off those unsettling thoughts, I fumbled to turn on the radio. In the rush to escape, I hadn’t even grabbed my phone.

[Crackle-]

As I tuned in, breaking news began to stream through the static.

* * *

[We have continuing shocking news. An acute virus is rapidly spreading in Camden, and just moments ago, authorities declared a state of emergency.

Residents of Camden are advised to stay safely indoors and evacuate in an orderly manner under military guidance.

Once again, we urge Camden residents to follow military instructions to minimize chaos.

The military has been deployed to find the source of the virus, and authorities are conducting thorough checks to assess the situation.

All roads leading to Camden are blocked, and access is prohibited.

We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.

The situation in Camden is extremely serious, and caution is needed for everyone’s safety. Please stay alert.]