Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”Did you guys drive the monster in this direction?” Sean asked.

”Uh...”

The three strangers looked momentarily stunned. Clearly, they hadn’t expected to run into other people here—though, to be fair, they couldn’t be sure these folks were even human.

”Our teammate got snatched by that thing. We came here to try and rescue him,” said the middle-aged man leading the group.

Sean pointed off to the side. ”There’s someone over there. But he’s already dead.”

The trio turned to look. In the shadows along the base of the wall, they spotted a body—what was left of one, anyway. The corpse had been badly corroded, the skin sloughed off, exposing stark white bone. It was a gruesome sight.

One of the women gasped and immediately ran over.

”Honey! Nooo... What am I supposed to do without you? Don’t leave me... please...” Her sobs echoed down the dark corridor, raw and heart-wrenching.

Sean muttered, ”Guy’s that far gone and she still recognized him? Hope she’s not crying over the wrong body.”

”Could you not?” Chris shot him a look. ”Show some respect.”

The woman looked to be in her early thirties—slim, attractive, with that mature, graceful vibe. Definitely had that ”young widow” energy now...

Chris leaned toward Brandon and whispered, ”You think she’s one of those parasite freaks?”

Brandon shook his head. ”Nope.”

”You sure?” Chris pressed.

”Positive,” Brandon replied, already guessing what Chris was thinking. They’d been through enough together that he could read him like a book.

Chris nodded, satisfied. ”Alright, good.”

Brandon’s ability, Blood Burst, let him detect whether someone was human or not by reading their blood flow. Of course, if something was mimicking a human too well, that was a different story.

The third member of the group, a teenage girl, stepped forward to comfort the grieving woman.

”Jenny, I know it hurts, but you’ve got to stay strong. He’s gone... you have to let him go.”

”I know... I know...” Jenny sobbed, tears still streaming down her face. Her grief was real, no doubt about it.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged man stayed alert, eyes scanning the area. He noticed the blue blood splattered around and the shredded remains of monsters.

Did these people take them all out?

They must be pretty capable...

”We’re still missing one teammate. Have you seen anyone else?” he asked.

”Actually...” Oliver spoke up, pulling something from his pocket. It was a gold bracelet they’d found earlier. ”This belong to your teammate?”

The man’s eyes widened. ”Yeah... that’s hers.”

He clenched his jaw. ”So she’s...?”

”Yeah,” Oliver said grimly. ”She got it the worst. Only thing left was half an arm. The rest got digested.”

The man fell silent, grief flickering in his eyes before he forced it down. In a world like this, death was just part of the daily routine. People died all the time. You couldn’t afford to fall apart every time it happened.

Ethan looked at the three newcomers. ”Where are you guys from?”

”The Oasis,” the man replied without hesitation. ”There’s a patch of green out in the desert. It’s the last safe haven for humans.”

”Oh yeah?” Ethan nodded. He’d heard something like that from Jerky, their pet zombie. Supposedly, there was a place in the desert where people were still alive. Guess that rumor was true after all.

”What about you guys?” the man asked, clearly curious now.

Chris answered, ”We came from L.A.”

The man’s eyes widened. ”That far? There are still survivors in the cities?”

”Yeah, not a ton, but enough. Most cities have set up shelters. They’re still holding on,” Chris explained.

The man looked stunned, like his whole worldview had just shifted. He’d assumed the cities were long gone, overrun by zombies and monsters.

Back in the Oasis, they had no comms, no signals—completely cut off from the outside world. It was like living in a bubble, thinking they were the last ones left.

”There are still people out there… That’s incredible,” the middle-aged man said, his voice thick with emotion, eyes glistening.

He’d truly believed humanity was on the brink of extinction. So hearing Chris say there were still survivors out in the cities—it hit him hard, in the best way.

”So, what brings you guys here?” he asked.

”We’re looking for something,” Chris replied. ”But before that, we need to find one of our teammates. She got taken by a monster too.”

The man winced. For a second, he felt a strange sense of kinship—same nightmare, different faces. In this hellish world, people getting snatched by monsters was just... normal.

”Well, I’m sorry to hear that,” he said sincerely. ”Hope you find her. But... you know how it is. Once they’re taken, chances of making it back alive are slim. And even if you do find them... it’s usually just pieces.”

Brandon shook his head. ”Nah. We’re not mourning anything yet. Mia’s not the type to go down easy. If anything, she’s probably carving her way through those bastards right now.”

The man blinked, caught off guard by Brandon’s confidence.

Then again, Jenny had been the same way earlier—muttering to herself that her husband would come back alive, that he’d find a way. And now... all that was left of him was a half-melted corpse.

”Believing in your teammates is important,” the man said gently. ”But... don’t let it break you if things don’t go the way you hope.”

Jenny was still quietly sobbing, her shoulders trembling, but she seemed to be calming down.

Chris stepped up beside her, lowering his voice in what he probably thought was a comforting tone. ”Ma’am, come on now. What’s done is done. You gotta keep moving forward, right?”

Jenny glanced at him, then immediately turned and buried herself in the younger girl’s arms.

”...Seriously?” Chris muttered under his breath. ”What, is she shy or something?”

After a bit more small talk, the two groups had at least gotten familiar with each other.

Ethan was already thinking ahead. He wanted to check out this so-called Oasis—maybe someone there had heard of the stone tablet. If not, then odds were the Star Map tablet never made it to this region at all.

Which would mean this whole mess was Mia’s fault.

”Alright,” Ethan said, brushing dust off his coat. ”Let’s go find that crazy woman first.”

”Yeah, got it,” the others replied quickly.

Jenny and her group knew the area pretty well. If they retraced their steps, they could lead the way back to the exit of the underground ruins.

According to them, this place really was an ancient site—some kind of underground temple built who-knows-how-long ago, used for rituals and sacrifices.

Now, though, it was crawling with venomous creatures and twisted monsters. They’d taken over the place completely.

The monsters hated sunlight, preferring to lurk in the pitch-black depths.

The people from the Oasis had a name for this place: the Serpent Pit.

”Stay sharp,” the middle-aged man warned. ”They say there might be an S-Class monster deeper in the Serpent Pit.”

His name was Thomas Duan—an Earth-type Awakener, ranked A-Class. Back at the Oasis, he was considered one of the stronger fighters.

”S-Class, huh...” Ethan’s eyes narrowed. If the Star Map tablet wasn’t in the desert, then maybe taking down an S-Class monster would make this trip worth it anyway.

At least they wouldn’t be leaving empty-handed.

...