Death by Blood

THE OUTBREAK

INT. BRIARWOOD RESEARCH COMPLEX

Two figures move briskly down a metallic hallway, their lab coats rustling against absolute silence.

Dr. Ellis in his 50s, gaunt, a nervous energy radiating from him. "The council's growing impatient, Dr. Kimura. They want results they can deploy, not endless hypotheticals."

Dr. Kimura in her 40s, meticulously composed, a hint of skepticism in her voice. "Bioweaponry isn't some assembly line product, Ellis. This virus...it's re-writing the rules of infectious disease. One wrong tweak, and the results could be far more catastrophic than anything our enemies could unleash."

A tense silence hangs between the two scientists as they reach a large, reinforced door. A retinal scanner flashes green.

INT. BRIARWOOD RESEARCH COMPLEX - CONTAINMENT UNIT

The sterile white room hums with machinery. In the center, a heavily reinforced glass enclosure reveals a patient, gaunt and strapped to a gurney. His eyes flutter open, revealing bloodshot sclera and impossibly dilated pupils. He claws weakly at his restraints.

Dr. Ellis points, his voice tinged with a mix of dread and professional satisfaction. "See? The aggression pathways are stimulated superbly. But look here..."

He taps a button on the console. A muffled beeping sound fills the observation chamber. The patient's thrashing slows, replaced by a dazed, almost vacant expression.

Dr. Kimura frowns, "Delayed respiratory onset is achieved, yes. But at the cost of higher brain functions? This... this isn't a weakened soldier, Ellis. It's barely sentient."

Dr. Ellis smirks, a note of cruel triumph in his voice. "The council didn't ask for smart bombs. They wanted savagery. And look, it's obedient when we need it to be. This thing is a perfect delivery vector for the next payload."

Dr. Kimura's hands clench into fists. Her voice is tight as she responds. "The next payload..." She shakes her head. "You promised we were staying away from necrotizing agents..."

Dr. Ellis's smile broadens. "Progress has a way of... changing the terms. Now, unless you want security escorting you out, I suggest we focus on containment protocols. Accidents happen, especially with cutting-edge science."

Kimura's stomach churns. "The necrotizing agent is too unpredictable. You saw the tissue breakdown in trial subjects- "

"Unfortunate side effects," Ellis interrupts, his voice dismissive. "The council wants the ability to cripple infrastructure. A virus that rots away vital organs, shuts down power plants... a bloodless coup."

He approaches a secure cabinet, inputting a complex passcode. Inside, nestled on velvet, sits a vial of iridescent liquid, pulsing with an unsettling glow.

Kimura's protest rises in her throat, but she holds it back. Briarwood is deeply entrenched in the military-industrial complex. Speaking out could brand her a traitor, not a concerned scientist.

"Containment Protocol Delta," Ellis instructs briskly, turning towards a technician in a biohazard suit. "Subject Zero is ready for inoculation."

The technician nods, his actions mechanical. A sterile syringe gleams under the harsh fluorescent lights as he draws up the deadly cocktail. Protocol Delta, meant for isolated field testing, has never been used on a human subject.

Each step takes an agonizing eternity. The technician approaches the containment chamber, hands trembling ever so slightly. Kimura watches, unable to look away, as the needle pierces the patient's flesh.

The change is instantaneous. The patient spasms violently, eyes bulging. Blood no longer drips, but gushes from his nose, staining the restraints. An inhuman screech fills the room, chilling the researchers to the bone.

"Sweet God... shut it down!" Ellis barks, finally registering the danger.

The technician fumbles for the override controls. But before he can react, the reinforced glass of the chamber shattered. Jagged shards slice through his protective suit, drawing crimson streaks. The infected patient lunges, a grotesque blur of teeth and decaying flesh.

Alarms blare. Red emergency lights strobe as chaos erupts.

"Security breach!" Kimura yells, more in despair than command. But it's too late. The infected lab worker stumbles out of containment, spreading the contamination with every lurching movement. He's not just a carrier of the virus, but its first deadly weapon.

"Security breach!" Kimura yells, the words hollow against the cacophony of alarms and animalistic snarls. Personnel scatter, panic overriding protocol. She lunges for a console, a desperate hope blooming in her chest.

"Initiate lockdown!" she shouts, fingers flying over the keypad. If she can seal off the infected wing...

The console sparks, the emergency lights sputter and die, plunging the lab into an eerie half-darkness punctuated by flashing red strobes.

"Power surge... systems failing!" a technician screams from somewhere in the gloom.

A guttural roar echoes down the main corridor. The infected technician is no longer stumbling, but surging forward with terrifying purpose. Two security guards descend, electro-shock batons crackling. The infected lunges, a grotesque blur, and in seconds only wet crunching sounds and ragged screams remain.

"Ellis!" Kimura's shout cuts through the bedlam, voice in raw fear. "What have you done?"

She's backing away from him, a wild-eyed accusation in place of the clinical mask of ambition. He wants to scream back, explain it wasn't him, that they both damned themselves the moment they chose to play God with this virus. But there's no time.

Another figure bursts from the shadows, this one female, lab coat splattered with crimson. "Bio-hazard breach on level three!" she gasps, "They're... they're..." Words fail her, replaced by a shriek as something inhuman rounds the corner behind her.

"Run!" Kimura knows it's useless, but the primal urge to survive compels her anyway.

She barrels towards an emergency exit, the distant drone of automated lockdown procedures a pathetic counterpoint to the growing wave of snarls and wet, tearing sounds behind her. Kimura shoves through the heavy door, bursting out into the crisp open air - and almost stumbles back in horror.

A rural town sprawls before her. Quaint and utterly unprepared for the nightmare escaping Briarwood. She can already see lights flickering in nearby homes, curious figures drawn by the commotion. But not curious for long.

From the open doorway of Briarwood spills the infected lab worker, his movements jerky, but propelled by insatiable hunger. He stumbles towards the town, a single drop in a tidal wave of infection about to drown the world.

Somewhere in the distance, a police car wails its approach, utterly oblivious to the true horror they're heading into.

NEARBY COUNTY HOSPITAL - EMERGENCY ROOM - HOUR LATER

The once sterile ER is awash in blood, chaos, and the stench of fear. Nurses scream orders over the wailing of terrified patients. Several orderlies desperately restrain a thrashing figure on a gurney, his eyes rolled back, spittle flying as he gnashes at anything within reach.

A harried young doctor, eyes wide with a mix of shock and determination, barks orders. "Unknown contagion - rabies protocol! Get me a sedative and an isolation room!"

But his orders are drowned out by a bone-chilling shriek from across the room. Another infected, a housewife if her mangled clothing is anything to go by, breaks free, leaving a trail of carnage in her wake.

...

There are things you won't understand at first. Whispers in the shadows, rules twisted beyond recognition, the monsters hidden in plain sight. But trust me, survivors, the apocalypse is just the beginning. The real horror is what comes after. Ready to see how far the rabbit hole goes?

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