Was it a virus? A bioweapon gone astray? Or perhaps the Hand of God finally raising judgment? No one knew, and no one cared. Whatever it was, it struck true and struck quickly, utterly destroying the foundations of human society, and proudly displaying its ruins to those unlucky enough to have survived.

The first case was scary enough: in broad daylight, in a city of shocked spectators, an entire park full of people dropped dead at once, their bodies contorted into impossible shapes, their faces frozen into masks of unmistakable horror.

Such a sadistic display of mortality caught the attention of the world, and as the number of cases grew exponentially, it gripped the world harder, squeezing it until nothing was left.

True, the numbers did eventually fall, but by then nobody stood to watch the news.