It happened no later than 1:30 AM. The collapse of the SB-Bridge—something no one on either side of Abdomania anticipated—was a shock. People were simply going about their daily routines, trying to get to work despite the relentless high winds and drizzling rain. But when life intervenes, no matter where we're rushing or how important our tasks may seem, we're forced to pause.

The SB-Bridge, which connected the boroughs of Summitville and Brookside, stood above the Potomac River. For the crew on the cargo ship, navigating the windy and drizzly conditions should have been routine. The Chief Mate, a seasoned mariner, was expected to manage the crew efficiently. But did things go as planned? Let's delve deeper and find out.

On the cargo ship, the Chief Mate was coughing heavily, so much so that some of the men on the deck began to wonder if he had some sort of infection. One of the crew members on the deck approached the Chief Mate and asked if he was alright.

"Sir, you're coughing up blood," the crew member said.

The Chief Mate didn't respond as he was still struggling to expel whatever was causing the coughing fit.

Another man from the deck walked by and handed the Chief Mate some napkins.

"Thank you," the Chief Mate replied.

Here's the revised text with improved grammar and sentence structure:

As the Chief Mate wiped his mouth and nose with a napkin, he glanced up to see the disgusted expressions of his crew members.

"You need immediate medical attention. Your eyes are completely red," one of the crew members said.

The Chief Mate took a deep breath of fresh air, gazed up at the sky as if seeking solace in heaven, and then fell backward. The men reacted quickly to catch him, unaware that their swift action would lead to their swift demise. The Chief Mate awoke and bit into the neck of one of the crew members, infecting him.

The remaining crew members retaliated immediately. They turned to alert the others but were startled when the door to the lower deck burst open. Three engineering crew members leaped out, their bloody teeth bared, attacking the deck crew.

It was a massacre. The entire deck was becoming increasingly tainted with a mixture of blood and water. Sadly, by the time anyone on land realized the cargo ship was reversing course, it was too late.

The cargo ship had struck one of the columns supporting the SB-Bridge, causing it to collapse. From a distance, the collapse appeared slow, but it was nonetheless catastrophic.

Approximately thirty vehicles were on the bridge at the time, and it is highly unlikely that any of the occupants survived.

...

Monica's phone was ringing. She was exhausted—all she wanted to do was sleep. The noise, especially the noise outside, didn't help. Her phone kept ringing, and so, with her eyes still closed, she reached for it on the table.

Monica picked up her phone and looked at the time: 2:03 AM. She was about to put her phone back down, but then she saw a missed call in the notification section of her screen. It was from Jessie.

It's probably another one of her trauma dumps. Eh, why not call her back? Although, I'm so tired...

Monica was about to call Jessie back, but Jessie had managed to call her again first. She quickly answered and put the phone to her ear.

"Girl, why are you calling me at 2 in the morning?"

"MONICA! GET UP RIGHT NOW AND LOOK OUTSIDE...LOOK OUTSIDE—" Jessie started.

Monica frowned.

"Hey, Jessie, HEY?" Monica said, sitting up.

Jessie had hung up.

Monica quickly threw off her covers and hopped off the bed. Barefoot, she walked towards the window and quickly pulled the curtains aside.

Outside of her apartment building, chaos reigned. Cars were on fire, people were lying on the ground, and gunshots could be heard. It couldn't be true. No, it couldn't.

Why were people trying to eat other people? To Monica, it looked like the start of a zombie apocalypse.

Holy shit...holy shit...holy shit...

She listened for anything in the halls outside of her apartment door. For all she knew, anyone could be infected with this disease. Right now, it was best for her to stay inside and barricade herself in. After that, she would call her parents.

Calm down, Moni. You got this.

She quickly put on some comfortable slippers and moved furniture in front of her windows and her main door. Based on what she had seen outside, the infected could crawl up buildings to get their prey, so there was no use in escaping. There was also no use in calling for help because that would probably attract more of them.

After setting everything up, she sat on her bed and immediately started a group FaceTime with her mother and father. It was probably about 6 in the morning for them in London.

They'll pick up. I know they will.

She waited for them to pick up her call, and they did. Her mother was the first one who picked up, then her father joined.

Mom: "MONI? Is everything alright over there?"

Dad: "Are you there, Moni?"

Monica covered her mouth and shed a tear as she heard a loud thump on the other side of her bedroom. It was probably in the hallway. Then, she slowly began to speak.

Moni: "Yes, I'm here. Mom, Dad...please pray for me. There's chaos everywhere here, and I—don't know if I'll survive...can you please tell me everything is going to be alright."

Mom: "Just STAY on the line, okay. Don't even try to leave your complex."

Moni: "Yeah, I know."

Monica was now listening more closely to the sounds coming from the hallway. Someone or something was struggling to breathe—probably struggling to walk too. As time went on, the sounds got louder, and Monica found herself getting up from her bed and going out of her room to check the locked and barricaded door.

She stared at it while breathing slowly for a long time. While she did that, she thought of getting a weapon: anything. She went straight to the kitchen and grabbed a knife and pepper spray. She shook the pepper spray a little bit as she returned to her bedroom from the kitchen.

She grabbed her bag and started packing. Once she had all the essentials, she checked back in with her parents.

Dad:  Tell us what you see, Moni. We turned on the TV, and, well...the  SB-Bridge collapsed. Idiots...made the wrong turn. Moni?

I can't get to Summitville unless I take the backroads. I...I  won't be able to meet up with Jessie. God knows the highway out of here  is clogged.

Moni: Yes?

Dad: (Whispering) Is someone trying to break into your room?

Mom: Defense. Something, Moni, something. Please, baby.

Moni: I'm trying, Ma. I...yes, I think someone might try to break in soon...

Monica  starts to cry silently. At that moment, she  hears a large explosion outside, and all the lights in  her house go out. She looks at her screen but doesn't even get to  say anything back to her mother and father because their line was cut  off—she has no service. Outside, and even in her bedroom, it is mildly  dark.

Calm down. Stop shaking...

Monica tries to  stop, but she can't. She grips the knife so hard that it leaves a  mark on her palm. A few seconds later, there is another thump. This  time, it's on the other side of her main door. She makes  little to no noise as she sneaks towards the barricaded window to peek outside.

The havoc outside has lessened, but it hasn't stopped. People are probably  suffering and being tortured in silence, and if Monica doesn't do  anything, she will face the same fate...

No...

Something  knocks at her main door. It's an abnormal knock, almost as if the  person knocking wants to punch a hole through the door  instead. Monica shivers.

What if there are more of those things in the hallway? I won't be able to take on more than one...

She  quickly turns around and begins removing the barricades covering the  window. As she's about to open the window, the banging grows louder.

"OPEN UP! OPEN THE FUCK UP! I NEED HELP! YOU'RE JUST GONNA LET ME BLEED OUT?", a man yells.

Monica isn't convinced. She's watched too many movies.

"C'MON! OPEN UP, THEY'RE COMING TO GET ME!", he screams again.

Based  on what Monica saw outside and on the perron, she assumes  that she would be relatively safe if she managed to make the jump to the  roof of the next building.

He must have come from outside and tried to get into other rooms in this building.

Monica can't trust him. If she needs to be a lone wolf to survive, then a lone wolf is what she'll be.

"THAT'S IT! I'M CHARGING THROUGH!", he screams.

Even  with the barricades, Monica is sure he would break through if he gained enough momentum. With her bag on her back, she opens the window,  gets on the stairs, and closes it. She wastes no time.

Putting  her right foot on the railing, she pushes herself forward and manages  to land on the next building with little to no injuries. She doesn't look  back. Since she doesn't have a flashlight, she will have to be quick.

Hope these freaks didn't come from the woods. That's where I'm going.

She looks down at the street and begins her journey.

...

The woods, then the back roads—that was Monica's main goal. As she snuck through the alleys and around vehicles on the streets, she began to feel dizzy. Smoke was everywhere, and it would be hard to find any sort of shelter that wasn't burnt up or already burning if the sub-humans cornered her.

Almost there. Just a few more blocks and I'm practically free.

Still gripping the knife tightly, she was sneaking past another one of the sub-humans when she accidentally stepped on glass from a broken wine bottle.

CRAP!

The sub-humans knew exactly where she was and didn't hesitate to approach. Monica quickly got up and started running down the blocks. Out of nowhere, a sub-human tried to grab her, but she evaded the attack. She didn't stop running until she reached the end of the block.

Wait, are those gunshots?

Monica looked to the right and listened closely. They were gunshots, and they were coming from a truck. Could it have been a military truck?

Perfect.

Monica felt more sub-humans gaining on her. She couldn't stay immobile for too long—that would simply mean death. Up ahead, she saw a military truck approaching; at the same time, she heard a helicopter coming from not far away.

"HEY, GET ON!" One of the military men shouted as the truck drew closer until it came to a halt.

Monica approached the man reluctantly, the knife still in her hand. What would they do to her if they brought her back to their base? Would they run multiple tests on her to see if she was infected? How would they treat her?

"There's no need to be afraid," the man said, reaching out for Monica.

Be a lone wolf or risk it all...

"Are you infected?" the man asked.

Before Monica could reply, the man quickly confiscated the knife. It happened so fast that she didn't even notice.

"No," she said cautiously.

She reluctantly hopped on the vehicle and didn't look back, nor did she say anything to the men who were inside. Regardless, she was taken like a criminal, but she survived, and for that, she should be deeply grateful.

Let's see where we're actually headed now.

Monica looked through the thin window inside the military truck as they drove around the block. She noticed that on the west side of Brookside, there were fewer infected but more run-down shops and vehicles.

The truck moved past all the chaos smoothly. Nothing could stop it. As they got far enough from Brookside (and the entirety of Abdomania, which made up four boroughs), she couldn't see anything. However, she could see plenty of helicopters gradually hovering over the city in an effort to look for survivors. That was good. At least she could leave the city knowing there was still hope for Jessie being alive.