THE FLICKER

**Chapter 1: The Fall** The sirens were the first sign that something was wrong. Elena Carter had heard plenty of ambulances in her five years as a paramedic—had even driven most of them—but never like this. Not a chorus of them, wailing in unison, overlapping in a dissonant symphony of panic. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel as her rig tore through the streets of downtown, her partner, Rick, barking updates over the radio. *"Multiple calls coming in—civilian attacks, possible mass hysteria. PD’s requesting all available units."* Elena flicked her eyes to the rearview mirror. The back of the ambulance was empty for now, but she had a feeling that wouldn’t last long. "Any details on the attacks?" she asked, voice steady despite the knot in her stomach. Rick shook his head. "Dispatch just said people are… biting each other." Elena almost laughed. *Biting?* Like some kind of rabid animal outbreak? But then she turned the corner onto 5th Avenue, and the laugh died in her throat. Chaos. Cars were abandoned in the middle of the road, doors hanging open like the drivers had simply bolted. A woman in a torn business suit staggered down the sidewalk, her mouth smeared with something dark. Blood. And then Elena saw the man on the ground near her, writhing as two others—their movements jerky, unnatural—ripped into his arm with their teeth. Her foot slammed the brake. "What the hell—?" Rick’s voice was sharp, but Elena was already throwing the ambulance into park. "We need to help him." "Elena, wait—!" She was out before he could stop her, grabbing the trauma kit from the back. The bitten man was still moving, his screams gurgling into wet, choking sounds. The attackers—no, not attackers, *things*—twisted their heads toward her as she approached. Their eyes were glassy, pupils dilated too wide, veins blackened beneath their skin. One of them lunged. Elena sidestepped, but its fingers clawed at her sleeve, tearing fabric. She swung the med kit hard, cracking it against the thing’s temple. It stumbled but didn’t go down. Didn’t even seem to feel it. *Not human. Not anymore.* Rick was shouting from the ambulance, waving her back. The bitten man on the ground convulsed once, then went still—only to jerk back to life a second later, his own eyes rolling white. Elena ran. She barely made it back inside before the infected slammed into the rig, fists and teeth pounding against the metal. Rick hit the gas, swerving wildly to throw them off. "Did you see that?" Elena gasped, hands shaking as she fumbled for the radio. "They just—they kept coming. Like they didn’t feel pain." Rick’s face was pale. "We need to get back to the hospital. Now." But when they pulled into Mercy General, it was already overrun. The ER doors were shattered, bloody handprints smeared across the glass. Doctors and nurses sprinted through the parking lot, chased by figures that moved too fast, too *wrong*. Gunshots rang out—security trying to hold the line—but the infected didn’t stop. Not unless the bullet hit the brain. Elena’s heart stopped. *Liam. Noah.* Her husband and son were supposed to be here. Liam had brought Noah in for a flu shot this morning. She was out of the ambulance before Rick could react, sprinting toward the entrance. Someone grabbed her arm—a nurse, her scrubs soaked in red. "Don’t go in there!" the woman screamed. "They’re *everywhere*!" Elena yanked free. "My family’s inside!" The hospital was a warzone. The infected dragged down orderlies in the halls, their teeth sinking into flesh. A doctor swung a fire extinguisher at one, crushing its skull, but three more took its place. Elena dodged past them, screaming Liam’s name. She found him in Pediatrics. Or what was left of him. His body was slumped against the wall, throat torn open. Noah was nowhere. The immunization chart on the floor—smudged with blood—showed her son had been here. Had been taken. Elena fell to her knees, a scream building in her chest— —until she heard the small, familiar voice. "Mommy?" Noah stood in the broken doorway, his tiny frame trembling. Unharmed. She grabbed him, holding him so tight she feared she might break him. But the relief lasted only a second. Because behind Noah, the infected were coming. And this time, there was no ambulance to escape in. --- **End of Chapter 1**