The Beginning

When one of their own is stranded in a San Francisco long since claimed by the undead, Cate and the Alcatraz survivors mount a desperate rescue that goes sideways. When the mission collapses and an Abnormal takes someone else hostage, the group is pulled between an enigmatic doctor who claims to know the origin of the hyper intelligent infected and a shadowy Organization with old ties to Cate. From inside the Abnormal camp Melody realizes crucial pieces are missing from the story the captors tell, and she must race to get back to the island before irreversible choices are made. As alliances fray and loyalties are tested, Cate has to reckon with what her immunity means for her family and for the fragile idea of humanity they are trying to protect.

~ Included for its fierce portrayal of found family and queer leadership in a brutal survival story, and for how it uses speculative horror to ask who we are when the rules break down ~