Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”Squeak, squeak, squeak… squeak…”

Out of nowhere, a strange noise echoed from behind Mia.

Everyone froze, startled, and quickly turned to look. To their shock, it was Sean. His sharp, calculating eyes were locked on the creature, and he was… squeaking? Not only that, but he was waving his arms around, mimicking the movements of the creature’s tentacles.

”Uh…”

Beads of sweat formed on everyone’s foreheads. Their nerves tightened as they silently cursed Sean for messing around at such a critical moment. Now they were sure they’d be exposed even faster.

But just as their anxiety peaked, something unexpected happened.

The creature glanced at Sean briefly, then turned and walked away without a second thought, disappearing into the distance.

”You’ve got to be kidding me. That worked?” Everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Sean crossed his arms, a smug grin spreading across his face.

”See? This is why you need me. You think anyone else could’ve pulled that off?”

”What did you even say to it?” Chris asked, his curiosity piqued.

Sean shrugged nonchalantly. ”No idea.”

Everyone: ”…”

Sean was the kind of guy who occasionally stumbled into brilliance. By sheer luck, his random mimicry of the creature’s sounds had somehow matched its secret signal.

Ethan, watching this unfold, couldn’t help but recall a memory from their childhood at the orphanage. Back then, Sean had kept a pet hamster. Whenever he was bored, Sean would mimic the hamster’s squeaks with uncanny accuracy, and the hamster would actually respond.

Ethan had found it fascinating at the time, even wondering if Sean and the hamster had some kind of telepathic connection.

That was, until the hamster got sick one day, and Sean decided to ”help” by feeding it rat poison.

It was then Ethan realized… they didn’t share a connection at all.

”Alright, let’s move. Time to meet up with the others,” Mia said, snapping everyone back to the present. With the immediate danger gone, she was quick to refocus on their mission.

Their group had already agreed to rendezvous with other survivors at a prearranged location: the Hyatt Regency Valencia, a once-luxurious four-star resort in Santa Clarita. From there, they planned to coordinate an attack on the parasitic creatures’ leader.

As they made their way toward the hotel, they moved cautiously. Even with the help of their camouflage potions, they avoided direct encounters with the creatures whenever possible.

Occasionally, Sean would let out a couple of squeaks to throw off any nearby monsters. Surprisingly, it worked like a charm, and they managed to stay undetected.

Chris couldn’t help but feel a bit impressed.

He thought to himself, If I could learn that, it’d be a pretty handy survival skill. Who knows? It might save my life someday.

”Hey, Sean, how’d you even learn the parasite language?” Chris asked, genuinely curious.

Sean gave him a look like it was the most obvious thing in the world. ”The creature said it twice. How could I not pick it up? Smart people only need to hear it once. Wait… don’t tell me you didn’t catch it, Chris?”

”Uh… of course I did! Haha…” Chris laughed awkwardly, clearly bluffing.

...

Before long, they arrived at the rendezvous point. The Hyatt Regency Valencia, once a symbol of elegance, was now a shadow of its former self. The grand building was in ruins—shattered glass littered the ground, cracks ran along the walls, and weeds had sprouted from the windowsills.

A cold wind swept through, rustling the overgrown plants and adding to the desolate atmosphere.

”Let’s head inside,” Mia said, her sharp eyes scanning their surroundings.

The group followed her lead, stepping through the shattered revolving glass doors into the dark, cavernous lobby.

The interior was even more haunting. Dim light barely illuminated the space, which was littered with skeletal remains. The marble floors were stained with dried, bloody handprints, and the walls were streaked with dark, ominous smears.

Here and there, remnants of the hotel’s former grandeur remained—potted plants, decorative fountains, and artificial rock formations. But these only served as grim reminders of what had been lost.

When the apocalypse hit, hotels like this had become death traps. It wasn’t hard to imagine the horrors that had unfolded here.

”Looks like the others haven’t arrived yet,” Mia said, her gaze sweeping the room. There were no signs of recent activity.

Chris nodded. ”Figures. No one’s as fast as us.”

”Uncle Chris, you’re quick, but I’m not as fast as you…” Brandon teased with a mischievous grin.

Chris shot him a look. ”What’s that supposed to mean, kid?”

”Nothing, just taking it literally…” Brandon replied, smirking.

Now that they’d reached their destination and the area seemed quiet, the group allowed themselves to relax a little. The tension eased, and they even exchanged a few jokes. After all, staying on edge for too long could break a person. A bit of humor was necessary to keep their sanity intact.

But Ethan’s nose twitched. His heightened sense of smell, a side effect of his zombie-like condition, picked up a faint, sickly stench.

He tilted his head back, his sharp eyes scanning the ceiling. That’s when he saw it.

The lobby’s high ceiling was covered in thick, tangled webs. Dozens of fist-sized spiders clung to the strands, motionless like statues. But their eight eyes, arranged in two vertical rows, were all fixed on the humans below.

These weren’t ordinary spiders—they’d been parasitized. And judging by the way their eyes gleamed, the group’s conversation had already given them away.

”These things… they don’t even spare spiders,” Ethan muttered under his breath.

”What?” Chris and the others frowned, immediately sensing something was off. The brief moment of relaxation vanished as their nerves tightened once more.

Following Ethan’s gaze, they looked up—and froze.

”Oh my God! That’s… so many spiders…”

”Squeak… squeak…”

The spiders began making strange noises, but instead of attacking, they scattered in all directions. It was clear—they were trying to alert others.

Panic flashed across everyone’s faces.

”Damn it! They’re parasitic creatures! We can’t let them get away!”

But the ceiling was too high. Chris and the others could jump all they wanted, but they couldn’t reach the spiders. Only a few elemental Awakeners in the group had abilities that could harm them.

The problem was, there were too many spiders, and they were scattering too quickly. Killing them all in time seemed impossible. If even one escaped, it could bring a swarm of mutated creatures down on them.

”What do we do?” Anxiety gripped the group.

Just as the tension reached its peak, Ethan’s eyes glowed with a crimson light. A chilling aura spread through the room as his Domain of the Dead activated.

The spiders on the ceiling froze mid-scuttle, as if someone had hit a cosmic pause button.

Then, with a sickening series of cracks, their bodies began to contort and collapse. One by one, they fell from the ceiling, raining down onto the lobby floor.

For a moment, it was like a grotesque storm of spiders.

In no time, the ground was littered with their lifeless bodies.

The spiders’ corpses quickly shriveled up, revealing the tiny parasitic creatures inside. These parasites were only about C-rank in strength, fragile and undeveloped, without even a crystal core to harvest.

”New flavor…” Ethan muttered, waving his hand to collect the spider corpses into his spatial storage ring. Waste not, want not—even spiders could be useful.

Spider-flavored snacks, anyone?

”Damn, that’s impressive!”

The group stared at Ethan, their expressions a mix of awe and relief.

At the same time, they couldn’t help but feel a wave of gratitude. If Ethan hadn’t been there, they’d have been exposed for sure.

”That was way too close. Almost got taken out by something so small.”

”Yeah, who would’ve thought we’d nearly blow our cover right at the rendezvous point?”

”These monsters… they’re everywhere. You can’t let your guard down for a second.”

”…”

The group exchanged uneasy glances, the weight of what could’ve happened sinking in.

Mia turned to Ethan, her sharp eyes scanning him. ”Are you sure none of the parasites escaped?”

”Pretty sure,” Ethan replied casually, his tone nonchalant.

Mia nodded. ”Good. We really owe you for this one. Thanks.”

”Come on, no need to be so formal with me,” Ethan said with a wave of his hand, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

”Oh…” Mia tilted her head slightly, her expression thoughtful. ”Alright then—responsibility halved.”

”…”