EXT. DERELICT GAS STATION – OUTSKIRTS – NIGHT The wind howled across cracked asphalt and shattered glass. A rusted sign dangled above the abandoned gas station. Lena, Briggs, and the Girl huddled behind a burned-out truck, watching for movement. The safe zone was gone. The girl hadn't spoken since the escape. "We need food. Water. And shelter before sunrise." Briggs checked his sidearm—two bullets left. The girl pointed toward the gas station's mini-mart. Something flickered inside. INT. MINI-MART – MOMENTS LATER The shelves were ransacked. Cans long expired. A rat darted past a pile of bones. Lena crept forward when she heard something—a metallic clink. Briggs raised his weapon. "Easy. I'm not infected. Not yet." From behind the counter rose a man in a tattered lab coat, mid-40s, with haunted eyes and a syringe clutched in his trembling hand. He wore a name tag: Dr. Hale. "You've got the girl, don't you?" INT. BACK ROOM – LATER Dr. Hale lit a small lantern. On a table: scattered notes, blood samples, and a map with red-marked quarantine zones. "I was a bioengineer. Virex Labs. We built immunity trials. Most failed… but not all." He looked at the girl. "She's not infected. She's something new." He pulled out a syringe filled with a glowing green serum. "This is what they killed for. It halts the progression—momentarily. I call it 'Stitch.'" Briggs narrowed his eyes. "Why are you here if it works?" "Because I'm out of time. I injected myself three days ago." He rolled up his sleeve—veins blackening beneath the skin. INT. MINI-MART – NIGHT Suddenly, the windows shattered. Three infected stumbled in—feral, fast, wrong. One had nails like blades. Another crawled on the ceiling. Gunfire lit the room. Dr. Hale lunged for his notes. One creature tackled him into a shelf. She reached out—then the shelf exploded into flames. The creatures shrieked, blinded. Lena grabbed the girl. Briggs yanked Hale by the collar. EXT. MINI-MART – NIGHT They burst through the rear exit. Smoke poured from the building. Dr. Hale coughed, bleeding from the chest. "Take the serum… my notes… go east. Sector 13. There's a clean lab…" He handed Lena a data chip. Then collapsed. As they vanished into the night, the girl looked back—her hand clenched around Hale's syringe.