Dexter and Sophia were deep in conversation when a figure appeared in the distanceâclothes torn, covered in dust, and wearing a face twisted with fury.
"Wait, isnât that Ravena? Sheâs back," Dexter said, turning his head.
Ravena stormed straight up to Sophia, grabbed her by the collar with one hand, and looked like she was about to explode.
"Talk! Did you team up with that Zombie King from Los Angeles?!"
"Huh???" Sophia frowned, completely blindsided.
"Iâve got a blood feud with that bastard. Why the hell would I ever work with him?"
"Then explain thisâGenesis Biotechâs North American HQ was a damn death trap! I lost over ten thousand troops there. And you told me it was a good spot?" Ravenaâs voice trembled with rage, her teeth clenched.
"Uh... well..."
Sophia looked mortified, totally speechless. She hadnât expected things to go down like that.
"Itâs all that damn Zombie Kingâs fault. Heâs too damn cunningâhe predicted Iâd predict his move."
"..." Ravena was fuming inside, but what was done was done. Sheâd just have to settle the score later.
Dexter, standing off to the side, shrugged.
"Looks like my dear sister Ravena didnât have much luck."
...
Now, all of the Crimson Countâs adopted sons and daughters had gathered at the base of Mount Elbert. The mixed Zombie Horde was growing by the hourâconservative estimates put their numbers at over half a million.
A sea of undead stretched across the land, like an army poised to crush everything in its path.
Driven mad by the scent of fresh blood and flesh, they surged upward in a frenzy.
Zombies roared. Humans fought back. The mountainside was a warzoneâblood soaked the slopes, and mangled corpses littered the ground.
The dying light of the sun cast a golden hue over the carnage, painting a brutal, unforgiving scene.
The battle raged on. Energy from crystal cores pulsed across the battlefield. Walls of frost and earth erupted from the ground, trying to slow the undead tide.
Close-combat Awakeners fought on the front lines, blades flashing as they clashed with the bloodthirsty monsters.
Steel met flesh. Blood sprayed. No one backed down.
"No matter what, we hold this line! The summitâs full of kids and womenâif those monsters break through, itâs over!" Chris shouted, rallying the troops.
"Instructor Chris, do you really think we can hold them off?" a sixteen-year-old boy asked, his voice trembling.
Even students from the Los Angeles Academy of Survival had been called into the fightâit was all hands on deck.
"Donât worry," Chris said, thumping his chest. "Iâve been around the block. Seen all kinds of hell. Weâve got this."
But just then, a deafening roar rose from belowâlike a tidal wave of screams. More zombies poured in, crawling on all fours like monstrous spiders, swarming up the mountain in a grotesque flood.
"Okay... I take it back. Iâve never seen anything like this," Chris muttered, eyes wide. The mutated Zombie King had to be close.
"Fall back!" the Awakeners shouted, retreating under the overwhelming pressure. The undead were nearly at the summit of Mount Elbert.
There was nowhere left to run. It was do or die.
Inside the Mount Elbert shelter, plenty of people had ties to Ethan. Besides Chris and the others, Leah and her younger sister Lily were there too.
Lily had become an Awakener herself, now fighting side by side with her sister, blade in hand.
"Sis, I donât think we can hold them off much longer."
"Itâs tough, yeah. But not hopeless. Just hang in thereâwhatever you do, donât give up!"
"Do you think Ethan will come help us?" Lily asked, suddenly changing the subject.
"..." Leahâs face darkened. Sheâd been trying to keep her sisterâs spirits up, but even now, Lily was still thinking about that damn Zombie King.
"I donât know. Maybe. Maybe not."
"Oh..." Lily pouted, clearly unimpressed with the non-answer.
Just then, a particularly vicious zombie leapt from a boulder like a predator pouncing on prey, lunging straight at her.
Lilyâs eyes narrowed. She swung her katana in a clean arc.
Shlick!
The blade sliced into the zombieâs neckâbut its bones were freakishly tough. The katana got stuck between vertebrae.
Lily frowned, gripping the hilt with one hand and trying to yank it free. But the zombie was wildâit twisted its neck violently, clamping down on the blade with brute force.
"Shit!"
Lilyâs heart clenched as she stared into the twisted, snarling face of the zombie in front of her. Fear crept up her spine, cold and paralyzing.
And just when things couldnât get worse, another figure lunged at her from the sideâthis one wasnât a zombie, but a member of the Vampire Race. Its face was twisted into a bloodthirsty grin, fangs gleaming, eyes wild with hunger.
"Lily!" Leah shouted, glancing back in horror. But she was surrounded too, locked in her own desperate fight, unable to break free and help.
Lilyâs eyes widened, the monstrous vampire growing larger and larger in her vision, closing in fast.
Is this it? Am I really going to die here?
Despair gripped her chest like a vice.
But thenâout of nowhereâa broad figure burst into view, throwing himself between her and the vampire. It was Gavin, one of their teammates from the same shelter.
His eyes were fierce, filled with grim determination. He wasnât going to let her die.
The vampire slammed into him instead, knocking him to the ground. The two of them rolled across the dirt in a violent tangle of limbs and claws.
"UghâAHHH!"
Gavin screamed as the vampire sank its fangs deep into his chest, blood gushing out in a gruesome spray.
But he didnât let go.
With a roar of defiance, Gavin wrapped his arms around the vampireâs neck and began to twist with everything he had.
Bones crackedâloud, sickening pops echoing through the chaos. The vampire shrieked in pain, thrashing wildly, its claws tearing into Gavinâs flesh in a frenzy.
Blood flew. His clothes were shredded. His body was quickly becoming a mangled mess of wounds and gore.
But Gavin held on.
He refused to let go.
"Lily..." he gasped, voice trembling. "After Iâm gone... you have to live. No matter what."
"Gavin!" Lily cried out, her voice breaking, eyes brimming with tears.
"And... one more thing..." he gritted his teeth, blood bubbling at the corners of his mouth. "Iâve liked you... for a long time."
He said it. The words heâd buried deep inside, finally spoken at the edge of death.
And with that, he summoned every last ounce of strength he had left.
"Die, you bastard!"
CRACK!
The vampireâs neck snapped with a brutal twist. Its blood-soaked claws went limp, and its body slumped against Gavinâs chest, lifeless.
Gavin didnât move.
He lay there, arms still locked around the creatureâs neck, frozen in that final act of defiance. His chest no longer rose. His breath was gone.
Lily stared, heartbroken, tears streaming down her face.
She hadnât expected it. In that critical moment, Gavin had thrown himself into the fire for herâand taken the monster down with him.
Leahâs face was grim, but she forced herself to stay strong. She stepped closer and placed a hand on Lilyâs shoulder.
"This is what the apocalypse looks like," she said softly. "Donât let the pain stop you. Pick up your weapon. Keep fighting."
"Mm..." Lily choked out a sound, barely able to speak through her sobs.
She didnât want to cry. She wanted to be strong. But the tears wouldnât stop.
So she criedâand fought. Blade in hand, she threw herself back into the fray, slashing through the undead with trembling hands and a shattered heart.
But just moments later, behind her, something stirred.
A figure rose slowly from the blood-soaked groundâtwitching, convulsing. His eyes glowed a deep, unnatural red.
It was Gavin.
The man who had died to protect her... was standing again.
Dripping with blood.
And no longer human.
...