It started with news clips—bright smiles, lab coats, and promises.

“We’ve done it,” one scientist beamed on TV. “We’ve created a serum that alters the human metabolism to emit 78% less carbon dioxide. A monumental step in reversing climate change—without sacrificing a single life.” You sat on the couch, one leg tucked under you, spoon halfway to your mouth. Your parents stood behind you, suitcases in hand.

“You sure you’ll be okay for two weeks?” her mom asked, reaching down to smooth your hoodie.

“I’ll be fine, Mama. I'm not a baby.” You weren’t. You were only in your teens, a high schooler and in the 9th grade, armed with Wi-Fi, takeout menus, and a firm understanding of true crime documentaries. Your parents had hesitated but eventually left for Japan—just a short vacation.

It was supposed to be safe. The first signs came two days later. A viral thread on a fringe science blog: “The Carbon Serum is mutating brain activity. Early subjects becoming lethargic, aggressive, and violent.” No one took it seriously. People joked about “tree-huggers going feral.”

Then the hospitals filled.

News anchors tried to stay calm, their faces pale under makeup. “Citizens are advised not to approach individuals showing signs of disorientation or extreme aggression…”

But the cameras started cutting out. Static replaced live coverage. You watched from your window as someone ran down the street screaming, their shirt torn and soaked in blood. Of course, you feared for your life, but YouTube, TikTok, every social media was blowing up with the zombie sightings, weirdly enough, it somehow spread towards different countries, minus the more colder regions, the infected can't survive there, which was what one Canadian man LIVE streamed on YouTube and showed to others. You shakily held your phone, wondering how this all happened in the last six hours.