7:32 PM on a hot summer evening in Chicago.
Costanza was training at the gym with Lara, as she did every day.
"I'm completely exhausted, I've pushed myself to the limit today!" said Lara.
"You mean I pushed you, right?" replied Costanza, after their long sparring sessions.
"Stop being cheeky and let's go get changed, we've done enough for today," Lara insisted, heading to the locker rooms with Costanza.
Once they changed, the two girls headed for the exit, then split ways at their usual intersection.
"Thank goodness we don't have university tomorrow, I'm so tired, I just want to sleep all day," said Costanza.
"Seriously, thank goodness it's Sunday… Talk to you later," replied Lara.
They high-fived and went their separate ways.
Arriving home, Costanza prepared a quick dinner, a frozen pizza… usually she wasn't a bad cook, but she was too tired to make an effort. After eating, she flopped onto her bed, relaxed while scrolling through TikTok… and eventually fell asleep.
11:44 PM, Costanza woke up to strange noises: screams and car horns. She grabbed her phone and saw two missed calls from Lara.
"What now…?" Costanza wondered as she got up and peeked out the window. What she saw was total chaos: two cars involved in an accident, people running, even fire… but the strangest thing was the people walking strangely, limping. Some moved slowly toward the carcass of a dog, others toward the large fire, and some tried to reach other people.
"What the hell is happening!?" Costanza whispered to herself, then picked up her phone to call Lara.
"Come on, answer…" she hoped, and finally a response came through.
"You've reached the voicemail—"
"F**!"* Costanza yelled, throwing the phone onto the bed. She ran to the kitchen where she kept a combat knife, a gift from her grandfather when he was in the military, given to her before her flight to Chicago, to protect herself. Costanza went around the house, locking all the windows, then went to the door and locked it.
A few minutes later, someone banged loudly on Costanza's door...