codesolanum
No one knew when the world ended.
There was no nuclear war. No terrorist attack. No warning from the government. It started quietly-with insects.
At first, people noticed strange swarms appearing across the country. Mosquitoes, flies, beetles, and other insects began behaving differently. They became unusually aggressive and seemed drawn to human blood. Hospitals soon began reporting patients suffering from high fevers, confusion, violent seizures, and sudden changes in behavior.
Then the patients started dying.
But death wasn't the end.
Within minutes or hours, some of the dead began moving again. Their bodies were still human, but whatever had returned was something else. They were driven by an uncontrollable hunger and an instinct to attack the living.
Scientists initially believed it was a new virus carried by mosquitoes. But as the outbreak spread, they discovered something far more disturbing.
The insects weren't simply carrying the virus.
They were part of it.
The infection had altered the insects themselves, turning them into living carriers. Every bite, sting, or contact with an infected insect could transmit the disease. And as the number of infected people grew, so did the swarms.
The virus spread faster than anyone could contain it.
Cities fell within days. Emergency broadcasts became increasingly desperate before eventually going silent. Highways became graveyards filled with abandoned cars. Entire neighborhoods were left empty except for the sounds of the infected wandering through the streets.
But there was something even stranger.
The infected weren't all the same.
Some were slow and mindless. Others could run. Some seemed capable of remembering places they had once lived. And a few appeared to be changing into something entirely different.
As Anthony Salaria struggles to survive alongside Charlie and the remaining survivors, they begin to realize that the outbreak isn't random.
The insects are disappearing.