Marvel: Umbrella Corporation

A few minutes later, Ruth brought her injured boyfriend back to the surface, successfully reaching their car.

With a roar, the SUV sped toward the nearest city at full throttle.

Behind them, a group of pursuers appeared. Two vehicles tailed them, each carrying men in black suits armed with rifles.

*Ratatatat!*

Bullets rained onto the SUV, forcing Ruth to swerve wildly, dodging the incoming fire.

The pursuers were closing in fast. Glancing at the unconscious Jack slumped in the passenger seat, Ruth bit her lip and transferred a surge of life energy into him.

Years ago, when Ruth's mutation first manifested, she was a police officer.

During one incident, she saved a drug addict and discovered her unique ability to transfer life energy. This gift had saved many lives since, but it always came at a cost—each use weakened her significantly.

Now, with Jack's life hanging by a thread, she had no choice but to risk it.

"Ughh..."

The transfer revived Jack slightly, and Ruth's eyes lit up with hope.

"Jack! Are you okay?"

Jack's face was pale, with dark circles under his eyes and parched lips.

"I feel... something tearing me apart inside..."

"Hold on, Jack. We're almost at Arne City."

*Ratatatat!*

A hail of bullets shattered the windshield. Jack, summoning the last remnants of his strength, activated his ability.

In a flash, the SUV disappeared from the road.

The pursuers' vehicles skidded to a halt. Men with rifles disembarked, scanning their surroundings in confusion.

"Where did they go?"

"No clue. What now?"

"How do we explain this when we return?"

"Report it exactly as it happened."

......

On the other side of the highway, Ruth sighed in relief.

"You did it, Jack. You're amazing."

Her relief was short-lived. Jack remained unresponsive. Panicked, Ruth grasped his hand, transferring more of her dwindling life energy into him.

She had no way of knowing that this act would create something monstrous in the future.

Seconds later, Jack still hadn't stirred. Ruth's anxiety deepened. Flooring the gas pedal, she sped toward Arne City, disregarding any obstacles in her path.

........

Half an hour later, Ruth arrived at Arne City's top medical facility: Redemption Hospital.

A team of doctors quickly wheeled Jack into the emergency room, leaving Ruth waiting anxiously outside.

Minutes passed before harrowing screams erupted from within.

"AHHH!"

The blood-curdling cries raised goosebumps on everyone nearby.

Weak and drowsy from the energy she had expended, Ruth struggled to process what was happening.

"HELP!"

Another scream followed, and the emergency room doors burst open. A blood-soaked man stumbled out.

"There's a monster!"

*Whoosh!*

Before anyone could react, a sharp blade of light sliced through his neck. His head fell to the floor, but his body was snatched back into the room by a massive, grotesque hand.

The sickening crunch of bones echoed, accompanied by the sound of flesh being torn. A suffocating stench of blood filled the air.

The onlookers screamed and fled, leaving only Ruth standing frozen in place.

Though she hadn't seen it clearly, Ruth instinctively knew the truth: the hand belonged to Jack.

"What's happening to him?"

"CRASH!"

The sound of shattering glass pulled her from her daze. Distant screams rose from the lower floors.

Steeling herself, Ruth rushed into the emergency room to uncover the truth. What had the doctors done to Jack?

Inside, the scene was a slaughterhouse. Corpses and pools of blood littered the room.

"What happened here?"

Suddenly, one of the bodies twitched.

Hope flared in Ruth's chest as she hurried over.

"Are you okay? Do you need help—"

Her words caught in her throat as she stopped dead in her tracks, retreating in horror.

The figure before her was no longer human.

Its head had been cleaved nearly in half, brain matter spilling out. Its torso bore gaping holes the size of bowls, exposing its insides.

No human could survive such injuries, let alone move.

"ROAR!"

The creature lunged at her with a guttural snarl.

Ruth didn't flinch. Balling her fist, she punched it with all her strength.

*BAM!*

To her shock, the creature withstood her ten-ton punch, merely slamming into a wall and leaving a crack.

"My energy's drained too much; my strength is fading."

As Ruth prepared to finish it off, the other corpses began to stir.

Snarls and growls filled the room.

Realizing she was outmatched, Ruth retreated. The monsters, now without a target, turned on the rest of the hospital.

In minutes, Redemption Hospital became a living nightmare, and the chaos spread to all of Arne City.

........

The next day, at SHIELD's headquarters in New York, superheroes gathered around a grim projection of the events in Anei City.

Maria Hill stood at the forefront, briefing them.

"According to our agents, a new zombie virus broke out yesterday in Baldwood, originating at Redemption Hospital in Arne City.

Now, let's examine these new zombies."

Images flashed on the screen, eliciting grimaces from the crowd.

"These are what I call 'Rift Zombies.' Their distinguishing feature is their grotesquely splitting mouths, capable of extending bizarre tongues."

The pictures revealed twisted, horrifying creatures.

"Their brains are no longer their weakness. Bullets to the head don't stop them. To kill a Rift Zombie, you must sever its shortest tongue.

The good news is that breaking their necks still immobilizes their lower bodies."

The images grew more grotesque, prompting some, particularly SHIELD's newer mutant recruits, to look away.

The war against these new horrors was just beginning.

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