There was no warning.
No sirens. No breaking news. No escape.
One night, the world slept in peace.
The next morning, something inside us changed.
It didn't begin in a school hallway.
By then, it had already begun — quietly, somewhere far away.
A strange sickness. Vanishing people. Rumors that never made the news.
But for Arthur, it started in that hallway.
With a scream that shattered everything.
Four years have passed since the world last shook.
People had grown used to ignoring headlines — trusting technology, trusting science. But no one saw this coming. Not this.
Something that could steal control of your mind.
Something that could make you turn on your own kind.
The year is 2025.
The world feels stable again.
And America— a country that once led the race in vaccine-making — is quiet.
California, a massive and influential state in America, holds within it the leather city — San Francisco.
And San Francisco holds a loser who's about to fight the battle of his life.
It was just a normal Wednesday morning.
With the dim light of the sun, someone wakes up.
Someone who never imagined this might be the last peaceful sleep they ever got.
His name is Arthur Knox.
He's a 14-year-old boy, in class 9, from a regular middle-class family.
He follows his daily routine: bath, brush, uniform. Nothing unusual.
His parents are Dr. Marcus Knox, an orthopaedist, and Julia Knox, a housewife.
Out of curiosity, Arthur goes to his mother and asks, "What's for breakfast, Mum?"
"Sandwich for breakfast and pasta as your lunch," she replies immediately.
Arthur, satisfied with her answer, starts watching TV — but his dad snatches the remote.
"Go fill your water bottle," Dr. Knox says.
Arthur controls his temper and goes. Meanwhile, his mom asks if he's packed everything.
He's going to school after a whole month — summer vacation just ended, and it's his first day back.
That's why he's excited, even a little nervous.
Suddenly, a news alert flashes on the TV:
A virus outbreak has been detected in Kanpur.
It is not lethal to humans, but authorities advise safety measures…