The moment the infected man bit into the officer’s neck, the world fractured. Blood sprayed across the windshield. The officer screamed—raw and broken—as the crowd around them erupted into chaos.

Phones dropped. People screamed and scattered like ants. Some ran toward the scene, others fled. And in the middle of it, Kaito stood frozen, his face pale, lips parted.

“Sakura!” he called, his voice barely audible over the shouting.

Masaru didn’t stop to look back. He pulled Sakura behind him, weaving through parked cars and confused civilians. “Don’t stop, just keep going!”

Sakura stumbled, still in shock, eyes wide and watery. “W-What’s happening?! He bit the—he bit him!”

Masaru grit his teeth. “I told you. It’s not just some flu, Sakura. Whatever this is… it’s spreading. Fast.”

Suddenly—A loud blast of horn blared through the noise.

Masaru looked up.

A massive freight truck, coming from the opposite direction of the jam, was barreling down the shoulder, moving in a zigzag way, swerving to avoid stranded cars. The driver’s face was visible for a split second—eyes wide, mouth shouting something Masaru couldn’t hear.

Too fast. Too late.

CRAAASSSHHHH!!

The truck collided with the stalled vehicles at the edge of the traffic jam, flattening a sedan and throwing a small car into the air. Metal twisted. Glass exploded. A series of crashes ripped through the roadway, with vehicles twisting, sliding, and crashing into each other like dominoes.

A car behind them erupted into flames. The fire spread fast.

BOOM.

Another explosion knocked Masaru and Sakura off their feet. They hit the pavement hard. Masaru instinctively shielded her with his body, the heat from the fire curling around them.

From behind, Kaito screamed.

"SAKURA! WAIT!”

Masaru whipped his head around—Kaito was still back at the scene, pushed to the ground by fleeing pedestrians, dodging a man who stumbled into him mid-run.

“Get your ass over here!” Masaru shouted, voice hoarse.

Kaito scrambled up, terrified, brushing broken glass off his arms. His eyes locked on the infected man.

People were still recording, but now they were also running, realizing this was not a prank or some protest stunt as the huge accident took place.

Masaru pulled Sakura to her feet again. “We need to go from here!”

He turned and saw Kaito pushing through the crowd, panting, red-faced, freaked out of his mind.

“Why the hell did I come with you guys!?” Kaito screamed.

Masaru rolled his eyes.

“I nearly pissed myself back there!”

“You nearly pissed?" Masaru shot back, "You totally pissed off.”

Kaito caught up, gasping for air. “This is different! That guy bit a cop! I saw it, I saw it!”

Masaru grabbed both their arms. “We’re going through the alleys. Now. Before the whole street goes up in flames.”

Behind them, a second car exploded, A shockwave rippled down the area, The windows rattled, and broken glass and twisted metal clattered everyware.

Flames danced over the pavement. Smoke curled into the sky. Sirens wailed somewhere in the distance, growing faint.

The three of them sprinted into the nearest alleyway, vanishing into the narrow shadows between buildings as the sun set.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

News alerts popped up across phones, desktops, and TVs. The viral clip—grainy, shaky, and drenched in panic—was now looping on dozens of screens.

[LIVE FOOTAGE] "Man Bites Traffic Cop in Broad Daylight!"

Possible Prank? Crowd Reacts in Chaos.

Cut to a local reporter standing in front of a news van, clearly trying to keep up with the madness.

“Just minutes ago, a shocking video surfaced online showing what appears to be a violent incident during a traffic jam near East Highway. A man inside a car is seen convulsing, then—reportedly—biting a traffic officer.”

The screen split—showing the clip of the man slamming his head on the window, then cutting quickly as blood splashed onto the glass.

The anchor in the studio chimed in.

“Now, we should note—this could be part of a viral stunt. You might remember ‘J-in’s Mass Panic Prank’ from just two weeks ago, which involved paid actors, fake police, and even a simulated car crash. That video was viewed over 11 million times before being taken down.”

Another commentator joined in:

“Exactly. Given how realistic pranks have gotten, local authorities haven’t confirmed whether this is an actual emergency or another extreme viral hoax.”

The news alerts continued pouring in.

[BREAKING] “PRANK GONE WRONG? Traffic Jam Turns Deadly Near East Highway!”
[WATCH NOW] Uncensored Footage of the Biting Incident – Viewer Discretion Advised.

TVs in homes, restaurants, and office lobbies across the city displayed the same feed.

ON THE NEWS BROADCAST –

The reporter, visibly rattled but maintaining composure, stood amid the flashing lights of emergency vehicles. Smoke billowed behind her.

“—several eyewitnesses describe the moment a man inside a vehicle began thrashing violently before assaulting a traffic officer. The incident triggered widespread panic across the highway.”

The video looped again behind her:
The infected man, eyes glassy, smashing his head against the car window, the growing crack, the cop leaning in—then screaming as teeth sank into his neck.

“This… just happened less than twenty minutes ago.”

“The chaos that followed led to a multi-vehicle collision involving nearly twenty cars. One of them, a freight truck, lost control and collided head-on with stalled vehicles—causing a massive explosion.”

The screen now cuts to new aerial footage, shot from a news drone.

A MASSIVE CRASH ZONE –

Smoke poured out of twisted wreckage. The fire was still burning. A car, completely overturned, was engulfed in flames.

BOOM!

Another blast went off as a fuel tank ignited, sending a wave of heat across the highway.

Bodies and debris scattered across the area—emergency personnel barely managing to get through the growing crowd.

People ran from the scene, coughing, covering their mouths. Sirens screamed. A young woman collapsed from smoke inhalation. Another man shouted that “the dead guy got up!”, but no one listened.

BACK IN THE STUDIO –

“Authorities are currently treating this as a potential prank gone wrong—though they haven’t ruled out a mental health incident or substance reaction.”

The host adjusted his earpiece.

“Again, no official confirmation whether this was an actual attack or an elaborate stunt—but the resulting crash has left at least four confirmed dead, several critically injured, and multiple fires still burning as we speak.”

A new alert flashed across the screen:

[JUST IN] HOSPITAL NEAR EAST HIGHWAY EVACUATING AFTER UNRELATED SECURITY BREACH

The anchor continued:

“Authorities are urging the public to remain calm and avoid spreading misinformation until details are confirmed.”

Just as the commentator nodded, the screen behind them suddenly switched to LIVE aerial traffic footage—a news drone capturing the aftermath unfolding in real-time.

Back in the studio:

“We’re getting reports now that the collision has led to multiple casualties… we don’t have confirmed numbers yet, but emergency services are being dispatched—”

Another alert flashed across the bottom of the screen:

[UPDATE] Viral Prank Turns Tragic: At Least 3 Dead, Dozens Injured After Traffic Incident Escalates

“Whether this began as a prank or not, it’s clearly become something far more dangerous—”

Meanwhile… in alleyways, across apartments, inside classrooms—

The city buzzed with curiosity and amusement.

On sidewalks, groups of strangers huddled around smartphones, watching the video over and over.
In internet cafés, laughter rang out as teens shared theories, mocking the "zombie dude."

Inside family homes, parents shook their heads in disapproval while sipping tea.

“Some viral prank again?"
 "The things people do for attention…”
"I don't know what's going on with social media these days."

In college dorms, students tried to reenact the twitching man for TikTok.
In offices, coworkers crowded around a monitor, arguing over whether it was real or staged.
Even in classrooms, teachers paused to let students finish watching.

And no one—not yet—understood what they were actually watching.

Not the news anchors reading off scripts.
Not the police assuming it was drug-related.
Not the online commentators dissecting every frame.
Not even Masaru, who was still running from chaos with blood pounding in his ears.

They all thought it was a prank.
A joke.

The city was still laughing.