Morning Routine

Mariza checked her purple backpack one more time. Canned beans, water bottles, granola bars, and her phone charger were all tucked inside. She adjusted her purple hat and gripped her baseball bat tighter.

"Miku? Teto? Neru?" she called out to the empty apartment. Her voice echoed back from the kitchen where cereal bowls sat unwashed from yesterday morning.

Her phone buzzed. A news alert flashed across the screen: "STAY INDOORS. AVOID ALL CONTACT." The reporter's panicked voice crackled through the speaker about some kind of outbreak downtown.

Mariza peered through the blinds. The street below looked normal enough. Mrs. Chen was watering her flowers. A delivery truck rumbled past.

But where were her friends? They were supposed to meet here an hour ago for their weekend adventure plans. Miku never missed anything. Teto always arrived early. And Neru would text if she was late.

The news kept repeating the same warning. Something about a virus. Something about staying away from infected people.

Her phone rang. Unknown number.

The Unexpected Call

Mariza answered the phone with shaking fingers. "Hello?"

"Mariza! Thank goodness!" The voice belonged to Dr. Sarah Kim, the scientist who lived in the apartment building next door. "I need your help. Something terrible has happened."

"Dr. Kim? Where are you?"

"I'm trapped in my lab. The virus I was studying—it escaped. People are getting sick and... changing. I saw your friends Miku, Teto, and Neru heading toward the music festival downtown just before everything went wrong."

Mariza's heart pounded. "The Spring Street Festival? But that's where all the crowds are!"

"Exactly. Listen carefully—I have an antidote, but I need someone brave enough to get it to the festival before it's too late. The infected people, they're not thinking clearly anymore. They're dangerous."

Through her window, Mariza watched Mrs. Chen suddenly drop her watering can. The elderly woman stumbled toward the delivery truck driver, moving in jerky, unnatural steps.

"Dr. Kim, I think it's already starting here."

"Then there's no time to waste. Can you get to my lab? Third floor, blue door. I'll unlock it remotely."

Mariza grabbed her bat tighter. Her friends needed her.