THE PANDEMIC KING

The rain fell long before dawn.

It hammered against rusted rooftops and flooded the narrow streets of Ashvale, turning alleys into rivers of black water. Thunder rolled across the sleeping city while most people remained hidden inside their homes, unaware that their lives were about to change forever.

Ethan Cole was already awake.

He sat beside the small window of his bedroom, watching droplets race down the cracked glass. The room was barely large enough for a bed and a wooden desk. The ceiling leaked whenever it rained hard enough and tonight was no different. A metal bucket sat beneath the steady drip.

Plink, Plink, Plink.

The sound filled the silence, a cough echoed from the next room. Ethan glanced toward the wall, then came another cough, and another.

His father's. The sound had started two days ago but his mother insisted it was nothing.

Everyone in Ashvale had been coughing lately, the weather was changing, that was all, at least that was what people said.

Ethan stood and stepped into the hallway, the smell of boiled herbs drifted from the kitchen, His mother stood over the stove while steam curled toward the ceiling.

"You should be asleep," she said without turning.

"So should Dad."

Her shoulders stiffened.

"He'll be fine.

Another cough came from the bedroom and this one sounded worse, much worse, Ethan walked toward the door, but his mother stepped in front of him.

"Let him rest."

For a moment neither moved, then Ethan sighed and stepped back.

Outside, sirens wailed through the city, and his mother froze, the spoon slipped from her hand and clattered against the floor, the sirens had become more frequent over the last week, every day another ambulance raced through Ashvale.

Every day another rumor spread, some said it was a new strain of flu, others claimed it came from contaminated water while few whispered something far stranger.

They spoke about an animal. A creature nobody had seen before, something that appeared in the northern forest a month ago and the hunters who found it never returned home.

Ethan didn't believe those stories, at least not yet. A loud knock suddenly rattled the front door, three sharp bangs His mother hurried forward, when she opened it, their neighbor stumbled inside.

Mr. Harris looked terrible, his face was pale, sweat soaked his shirt despite the cold rain his hands trembled violently.

"Call someone," he gasped, blood dripped from his nose, his knees buckled, Ethan lunged forward and caught him before he hit the floor. The man's skin felt like fire. His body shook uncontrollably.

"What happened?" Ethan asked.

Mr. Harris grabbed his arm, the strength behind the movement shocked him and fear filled the older man's eyes.

"They all died." The words barely escaped his mouth.

"What?"

"My wife." His breathing quickened, "My son." Blood spilled from his lips.

"My daughter." His body convulsed, then suddenly went still silence swallowed the room, rain hammered the roof, nobody moved nor spoke.

Ethan stared at the lifeless body in disbelief, Mr Harris had been healthy yesterday, He had been laughing with neighbors outside his house, Now he was dead. Just like that.

His mother slowly backed away her hands covered her mouth, a scream erupted from somewhere outside, then another and hen another.

The city suddenly felt different like something invisible had slipped through every street and every doorway. A shadow nobody could see, a fear nobody could stop. Ethan rushed toward the window.

People were running, some carried bags, others dragged family members through the rain. Police vehicles sped down the road, a helicopter thundered overhead, then every phone inside the house vibrated simultaneously.

Ethan pulled his phone from his pocket, a government emergency alert filled the screen.

PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.

ALL CITIZENS ARE ADVISED TO REMAIN INDOORS.

DO NOT LEAVE YOUR HOMES.

DO NOT APPROACH INFECTED INDIVIDUALS.

His stomach tightened, another cough came from his father's room, this time it sounded wet, painful and wrong.

Ethan ran toward the bedroom, the door burst open, his father sat upright on the bed, blood stained the blanket, His eyes were bloodshot, His breathing came in ragged bursts.

"Ethan"

The single word sounded like sandpaper scraping against stone.

"Dad."

Ethan rushed forward, his father reached toward him then his arm suddenly froze, His entire body locked in place. A horrible choking sound escaped his throat. His mother screamed, the room exploded into chaos. Ethan grabbed his father as he collapsed sideways, blood splattered across the floorboards but the coughing wouldn't stop, it kept coming.

Again, again, again each burst worse than the last, His father clawed at his own chest. His fingers dug into his shirt.His face twisted in agony, then everything stopped. His body went limp,the silence that followed felt impossible.

Ethan's hands shook.

No!!! No!!!

This wasn't happening, His father couldn't be dead, not this fast not like this.

A siren blared outside, another emergency alert appeared on his phone, this time the message was different.

CITYWIDE QUARANTINE INITIATED.

ALL ROADS ARE CLOSED.

LEAVE YOUR HOMES AT YOUR OWN RISK.

The words blurred before Ethan's eyes, he barely noticed them. His mother had collapsed beside the bed,tears streamed down her face, the world outside continued moving.

Cars raced through flooded streets, helicopters circled overhead, people shouted, people cried and somewhere nearby, gunshots echoed.

Ashvale was unraveling and nobody understood why, hours later darkness settled over the city, the rain finally stopped. But the silence that replaced it felt worse.

Ethan sat on the front steps of the house,the street was nearly empty now, most homes had gone dark. A foul smell drifted through the air, something burned in the distance. Red smoke climbed into the night sky.

His phone buzzed again.

A news broadcast automatically opened. The reporter looked terrified.

"We are receiving unconfirmed reports that the infection is spreading at an unprecedented rate. Authorities are asking citizens to remain calm while investigations continue."

The screen suddenly glitched, static consumed the image for a split second another picture appeared a photograph, Dark forest,Trees, Blood and standing between them. A massive creature. Its glowing eyes stared directly into the camera, then the feed vanished.

Ethan sat frozen.

The image had appeared for less than a second, but he knew what he saw, An animal, no not an animal something far worse,something unnatural.

A low growl suddenly drifted through the darkness, Ethan slowly looked toward the end of the street every light nearby flickered then died.

One by one the growl came again, closer this time. A shadow moved between the houses, far too large to be human.

And as Ethan stared into the darkness, the shadow turned toward him.

Two glowing golden eyes opened in the night.