Mike AKA “Urban Gap Explorer” finished his fast food and caught a cab out of times square back to his hotel. Unknown to him with each person he met the more the new much more infectious strain of the animal transformation virus spread.
Later researchers would be able to Identify the origins of this outbreak not to just a region of a nation but the actual fast-food restaurant in Times Square. Unknown to Mike just coming with a couple of feet of him was close enough to spread the virus and worse of all it spread rapidly within the body but didn’t do much until around day 7 or 10, until then a person just kept spreading the virus. The virus also lingered in the air and everything he touched. Those poor unlucky souls who sat in the booth he had left in the food joint had the same chance of being infected five hours after he left then the people who sat down right after him.
Mike got out of the cab and paid the driver and headed into his hotel, the unlucky family who got in after him to go to a Broadway play had no chance and they spread it just as quickly and as efficiently as Mike did.
Mike road in the elevator up to his room trying to ignore the looks of disapproval from the Japanese businessmen whom he shared a ride up to his room while they headed up to the 5 star restaurant on the top floor of the hotel. When they headed back to Japan tomorrow the virus would travel with them and linger on the plane and passed on to everyone who they came into contact with at the airport which would spread it around the world before Mike or anyone else would start to turn.
Mike went into his hotel room and showered/cleaned up unaware that his final moment as a human was likely coming ever closer.
There was still a chance he may not turn.
Later research would show that unlike the first strain of the virus which only turned 1 in 1,500 and 1 in 1,500,000 of the vaccinated. The new strain transformed 7 in 10 and the vaccine was next to worthless. The only good news if you called it that was that the percentage of gender change only went up to 1 in 10 from 1 in 12 and that number dropped to almost zero in children. Even those who are luckily and do not transform still spread the virus even if they show no signs. Only those who have already transformed are immune to the virus and do not spread it.
The world was about to change forever, with the amount of people who come to Times Square and how this new strain spread there was no way to stop it before it was too late. A storm was only days away and if the virus spread uncheck humanity would be the minority race on planet Earth.