𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐂𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄: 𝐒𝟏 - Chapter 13: The Gold Virus

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4:30 a.m. – Dhammawitaya School – Basement Corridor

The fluorescent lights buzzed dimly above Lada’s body as she sat upright, spine rigid, blood drying on her uniform like cracked paint.

She breathed in.

And smiled.

“Phase two,” she whispered.

The infection in her veins didn’t crawl anymore.

It glowed.

Her blood shimmered gold beneath her skin.

Not decay.

Evolution.

---

4:32 a.m. – Second Floor – Infirmary

Jet was eating canned tuna with his fingers, sitting on the desk like a goblin. Tae sat beside him, wide-eyed and a little scared.

“You sure you’re okay?” Tae asked.

Jet didn’t answer right away.

Then:

“I can hear things.”

Tae flinched. “Voices?”

“No. Heartbeats.”

Tae blinked. “You serious?”

“I can hear yours.” Jet leaned in close. “It’s fast. Because you’re scared.”

“I’m not scared."

“You’re terrified.” Jet smirked. “But not of me.”

Tae looked away.

Jet grew quiet.

“…Of what, then?”

Before Tae could answer, Rin burst into the room.

“Guys,” he panted. “Something’s happening. With the bodies.”

Jet stood. “What bodies?”

“All of them.”

---

4:36 a.m. – Ground Floor – Science Wing

Eli stood before the reanimated corpse of one of the teachers they’d burned yesterday.

It was twitching.

Not moving—but… twitching.

Gold veins pulsed beneath its ruined skin.

Sol and Mew stood nearby, stunned.

“This isn’t the same virus,” Mew said softly.

Eli nodded. “It’s a mutation.”

“Lada,” Sol growled.

“She’s not just a host anymore,” Eli murmured. “She’s creating.”

Mew glanced at the corpse. “What do we do?”

Eli’s voice turned cold. “We finish this.”

---

4:40 a.m. – Basement

Lada stood now.

She walked barefoot across shattered glass and crumbling concrete, blood leaving golden footprints.

Behind her, four former students rose—

each one glowing gold-eyed, silent and smiling.

“Let them come,” she said.

“They need to see the light.”

---

4:44 a.m. – Third Floor – Library

Rin searched through the emergency boxes for supplies when he froze.

A soft footstep.

He turned.

And saw a boy he hadn’t seen since before the outbreak.

“P’In?”

The older boy stepped from the shadows—tall, elegant, handsome.

His school blazer was still neat.

His smile was familiar.

“You’re alive?” Rin gasped.

P’In didn’t answer.

He reached out a hand.

“Come here.”

Rin blinked. “…What?”

“I missed you.”

It wasn’t right.

His voice. His eyes. The way he didn’t blink.

Then Rin saw it—

Gold. In his veins.

His heart dropped. “No.”

P’In stepped forward. “It doesn’t hurt. Not like love did.”

Rin backed away. “You’re infected.”

“I’m blessed,” P’In whispered. “Let me share it with you.”

Rin ran.

---

4:49 a.m. – Rooftop

Jet stood in the wind, eyes closed.

He could feel it.

The gold virus was like static in the air.

He turned to Tae.

“I need you to promise me something.”

Tae blinked. “What?”

“If I start to change again—if I stop being me…”

“Don’t,” Tae whispered.

Jet stepped closer.

“Don’t save me. Don’t hope. Just kill me.”

Tae grabbed his shirt. “Shut up.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I!” Tae’s voice broke. “I just got you back. Don’t ask me to lose you.”

Jet stared at him for a long moment.

Then leaned in.

Kissed him.

Slow. Fierce. Desperate.

“I’m scared,” Jet whispered.

“So am I,” Tae whispered back. “But I’m not letting go.”

---

4:53 a.m. – Basement

Eli, Sol, Rin, and Mew found the golden trail.

It led to the old bomb shelter.

“Whatever she’s doing down there,” Sol muttered, “it ends tonight.”

Rin gripped his crowbar.

Eli’s eyes flared black.

The door creaked open.

And four golden-eyed students turned toward them—

Smiling.

Lada stood in the center.

“Welcome,” she said, glowing.

“To the beginning.”

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