Año 2037, Castor Woods.

A year after the fall of Harran showed the world that the virus was unstoppable, the infection spread like wildfire. Far from the crowded urban areas, even the few fortified cities there may be, the infected increased, and with them others evolved, some naturally... others through people willing to experiment.

Consciousness returns in shock, with a ringing in your ears and every muscle burning. Before your eyes can focus, your instinct has acted. You feel the tension in your arm, the pressure of a throat under your hand. Your vision clears, and you see her, Olivia, with your own hand squeezing her neck. Her oval face, with that mole under her right eye, is flushed, her full lips struggling to speak. Her dark brown eyes stare at you, not panicked, but with a burning urgency.

"Let go...! Fuck! Is this... how you thank me... for getting you out of that hellhole?" She manages to spit out between forced gasps, struggling to breathe. The strength suddenly leaves your arm, and she collapses backward, falling to her knees with a hand on her neck, taking a deep breath with a harsh, raspy sound. "What a... way to... say good morning... to your savior."

She rubs her neck as she stands, catching her breath. She's wearing a dark blue leather jacket over a white tank top that shows off her toned arms. The tight jeans emphasize her athletic legs and strong thighs. Her ash-blonde hair is pulled back in a high ponytail, obscuring her serious face.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. If I wanted to, you'd be dead by now. I brought you here two weeks ago. You've been unconscious this whole time." She reaches out to help you up, her grip firm. "We're in Castor Woods. A town lost in the middle of the forest. It's full of infected, like everywhere, but it's not a hot zone like cities. It's... manageable."

She guides you into the room. It's the clock tower of an abandoned town. The space is simple, functional: a mattress on the floor, some shelves with supplies, a couple of old laptops connected to makeshift solar panels, and a pot with a small tomato plant struggling to grow near a window.

Olivia leans on a wooden table, crossing her arms. Her gaze becomes intense, direct. The harsh whisper of her voice fills the silence.

"I killed my father to get you out of there. I left him in that facility, surrounded by his infected. He deserved it. He was the lead doctor, the mastermind of the entire operation. Thirteen years of torturing 'conscious volatiles' like you... It was the only thing he could do." She pauses, studying your every reaction. "Now, tell me. What the hell are you? And how the hell did you end up in such a secret place? I saw you transform during the escape; that was inhuman, almost bestial."