Apocalypse: King of Zombies

The group moved through the pitch-black corridor, the floor littered with monster corpses—clearly the aftermath of Thomas’s earlier rampage.

Along the stone walls on either side, ancient murals began to appear. They depicted humans, beasts, and scenes from a time long past. The carvings were worn and faded, their lines blurred by age.

Ethan and the others walked slowly, taking it all in like tourists on a strange, grim sightseeing tour.

Then Sean stopped, squinting at one of the murals. Something about it caught his eye.

”Wait a sec… Did ancient people really draw this? Why the hell does that look like an astronaut?”

”An astronaut?” The others turned, curiosity piqued. They followed his gaze—and sure enough, one of the figures in the mural did look oddly humanoid, wearing what resembled a space suit.

”No way,” Oliver muttered, eyes wide. ”He’s not making it up this time.”

Brandon leaned in for a closer look. ”Could just be a coincidence. There’s a ton of these drawings—bound to be one or two that look familiar.”

”Not necessarily,” Thomas chimed in. ”These murals were how ancient people recorded real events. If that’s true, then maybe humans were aliens to begin with.”

He paused, then added, ”I mean, we still don’t really know where humans came from, right?”

”Hmm… fair point,” Oliver nodded, and the others followed suit, thoughtful.

Back before the world went to hell, these murals might’ve been worth serious study. But now? Survival came first. No one cared where they came from—only where they were going.

Chris, meanwhile, wasn’t paying much attention to the walls. His eyes kept drifting to Jenny. Her face was pale, her eyes swollen and red, streaked with dried tears. She looked like she might shatter at any moment.

”Jenny, you hungry?” he asked softly.

She shook her head, barely whispering, ”No.”

Her husband had just died. She wasn’t in the mood to talk, let alone eat.

Chris, still trying to be helpful, offered, ”Well, if you change your mind, let me know. I’ve got a spicy sausage stashed away. Emergency rations. Was saving it for when things got really bad, but you can have it.”

”…What?” Jenny finally turned to look at him, frowning.

Spicy sausage?

That sounded… off.

Was he seriously hitting on her?

She didn’t say anything. Just turned her face away, expression unreadable.

Chris didn’t catch on. He figured she was just being shy.

”Seriously, don’t be polite,” he said with a chuckle. ”It’s big, thick, and super tasty. I had to hide it from Sean—guy’s a total food monster. I’ll grab it for you right now.”

He reached toward his waistband, starting to pull it out—

”Don’t… perv…” Jenny muttered, still not looking at him.

”…Huh?” Chris scratched his head, confused. ”What’d I say?”

…

The rest of the journey went surprisingly smoothly.

After a while, a faint light appeared ahead—finally, the exit.

Outside, the wind howled through the dunes. The exit was tucked beneath a massive sandhill, surrounded by scattered human skulls and the long, bleached bones of a snake—easily over twenty feet long.

”We’re finally out!” Chris and the others let out a collective sigh of relief. They’d been trapped in that underground temple for what felt like forever—starving, exhausted, and at one point, seriously considering eating… well, let’s just say things got desperate.

Stepping out of the darkness into the blinding sunlight, their eyes struggled to adjust. The brightness was almost painful.

They squinted, shielding their eyes with their hands, scanning the landscape.

Still nothing but endless yellow sand, shaped by the wind into rippling waves.

”Your friend,” Thomas said, ”was probably taken by the Giant Sandworm. If you want to find her, we’ll have to head into its territory.”

He’d spent a lot of time wandering the desert—he made a decent guide.

Ethan nodded. ”Then let’s go.”

”Yeah… alright,” Thomas sighed.

Truth was, once the Giant Sandworm dragged someone underground, they were as good as gone. This trip was more about closure than rescue—just a chance to say goodbye.

Another journey into the unknown. Another brush with death.

”Oh, by the way,” Thomas asked as they trudged through the sand, ”how long have you known the teammate who got taken?”

”We grew up together,” Ethan replied without hesitation. ”She’s my best friend—more like a sister, really.”

Thomas gave a slow shake of his head.

Well, that’s even worse, he thought.

But he didn’t say anything to discourage them. Sure, going after her was dangerous—but not going? That kind of regret could haunt a person for the rest of their life.

So he led the way, heading toward the Giant Sandworm’s territory.

The desert heat was brutal, and everyone was trying to conserve energy and moisture. Even Chris, usually the group’s chatterbox, had gone quiet.

They walked for what felt like forever, each step sinking into the sand, until they finally crested a tall dune.

From the top, they scanned the horizon.

Then they saw it—dust and sand billowing into the sky, massive shapes thrashing in the distance.

”What the hell…” Thomas’s eyes went wide.

That was the Giant Sandworm’s nesting ground.

But it didn’t look anything like it should.

The entire area was soaked in green blood, the sand stained like a toxic sea. Chunks of insectoid flesh were scattered everywhere—some piled so high they looked like grotesque little hills. It was a slaughterhouse straight out of hell.

And in the middle of it all stood a slender figure, her back to them, drenched in bug blood, a long Tachi sword in her hand, radiating raw, terrifying power.

She was still fighting.

Right in front of her, two Giant Sandworms—massive, snake-like beasts—were writhing through the sand, their circular maws wide open as they lunged at her.

Mia didn’t flinch.

Her Tachi crackled with lightning, the glow intensifying as she charged forward instead of backing down.

She leapt into the air like a hawk diving from the sky, landing squarely on the head of one of the worms.

BOOM!

The creature let out a shriek of pain and slammed into the sand, creating a massive crater.

Using the recoil, Mia launched herself at the second worm.

Her blade moved so fast it left afterimages in the air.

In the blink of an eye, the second worm was torn apart, green blood spraying everywhere like it had been shoved into a meat grinder.

Its body convulsed, then collapsed in a heap.

Both monsters—dead. Just like that.

”Holy shit…” Thomas and the others stood frozen, jaws slack.

”That’s your friend?” Thomas asked, still stunned.

”Pretty sure,” Ethan nodded slowly, eyes locked on the scene.

But Mia didn’t stop after killing the two worms. She stood still for a moment, scanning the ground like she was sensing something.

Then, without warning, she stomped her foot down hard.

BOOM!

The sand exploded outward, revealing a massive pit beneath her. Another Giant Sandworm had been hiding there—but now it was exposed, wriggling in panic.

It saw Mia and actually hesitated—its body trembling, letting out high-pitched screeches as it tried to retreat.

But Mia wasn’t about to let it go.

She slammed her foot down again, pinning the creature’s body to the ground. The force made it writhe in agony, its head and tail lifting involuntarily from the sand.

That was all she needed.

”Die.”

In a blur, she vanished from sight—then reappeared beside the worm, her Tachi slicing clean through its massive head.

A geyser of green blood erupted, spraying into the air like a grotesque fountain.

Mia didn’t even pause. She kept moving, stalking through the battlefield, eyes sharp, scanning for more threats.

In the distance, several sand dunes began to shift—something beneath them was fleeing, fast.

Thomas watched, completely dumbfounded.

”Your friend… what the hell is she doing?”

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