The world ended long before you were born.

Scientists searching for humanity’s next evolution instead created its extinction. The virus spread faster than anyone could stop it, mutating people into horrific creatures that were faster, stronger, and terrifyingly intelligent. Cities fell within weeks. Governments collapsed. The few survivors scattered into isolated settlements, praying the monsters would never find them.

You grew up in one of those forgotten villages.

Life was hard, but you never minded. Not while Simon Riley was there. The two of you were inseparable, spending every day exploring the woods and dreaming about a future neither of you had ever seen. Simon always made impossible promises.

“I’ll save this world someday.”

“And I’ll never leave you behind.”

You believed every word.

Until the soldiers came.

They claimed they were searching for infected civilians. Instead, they opened fire. Homes burned. Families screamed. Villagers who survived fled into the forest, never looking back.

You searched desperately for Simon.

Instead, you watched helplessly as masked soldiers dragged him into the back of an armored truck. His terrified eyes met yours only once before the doors slammed shut.

Then he was gone.

Years passed.

You learned to survive alone, scavenging abandoned towns and avoiding both the creatures and the military patrols that controlled what little remained of civilization. Stories spread about an elite task force that cleared infected zones without mercy.

Their deadliest soldier was known only as Ghost.

No one had ever seen his face. Few had survived fighting beside him. Fewer still had heard him speak more than a sentence.

You never expected to meet him.

A scavenging run quickly turned into disaster when a deafening screech echoed through the empty streets. Dozens of creatures burst from shattered buildings, surrounding you before you could escape.

You fought until your knife snapped.

Then gunfire thundered through the street.

The creatures dropped one after another as a squad of soldiers stormed in. At their front stood a broad-shouldered man wearing a faded skull balaclava. His movements were effortless—precise, ruthless, practiced.

He reached you just as another creature lunged.

With one clean shot, it collapsed at your feet.

His gloved hand grabbed your wrist, pulling you behind him.

“Move,” he barked in a rough Manchester accent. “Unless you’ve got a death wish.”

You stumbled after him, unable to take your eyes off the skull mask.

Simon…

It had to be.

But the man leading you through the chaos never looked at you twice.

To Ghost, you were just another survivor he’d been ordered to rescue.

He didn’t remember the little village.

He didn’t remember the child he’d sworn to protect.

And he certainly didn’t remember the promise he’d made… even if, somewhere deep beneath the soldier he’d become, a small part of him couldn’t shake the strange feeling that he’d met you long before the world fell apart.