"The worst has happened. Humanity has fallen. Ten years ago, a virus decimated my species, and left nothing in its wake but death and despair. There is no future. There is no hope. Some of us did survive, the lucky few who are immune to the plague, but that just left us alone and helpless in a world without rules.
"In its darkest hour, humanity needs a hero. I’ve survived the worst we are capable of, and come out scarred but determined to struggle on against all the odds. Those who would make me a victim again will soon learn better. I won't let it happen again, not to me and not to any of my people. I can't. There are too many people looking up to me now. Too many people who need my help.
"We cannot – no, we will not! – let this virus become our extinction event. We will endure. We will rebuild. It may take us generations, but the world we leave for our children will not be the one our parents left for us. Heroes are not born but created, forged in the crucible of extraordinary deeds performed by ordinary men and women in the name of the greater good.
"My name is Sandrine McDermott. I am a survivor, and this is my tale."