Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Dexter and Sophia were deep in conversation when a figure appeared in the distance—clothes torn, covered in dust, and wearing a face twisted with fury.

”Wait, isn’t that Ravena? She’s 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.

”I’ve got a blood feud with that bastard. Why the hell would I ever work with him?”

”Then explain this—Genesis Biotech’s North American HQ was a damn death trap! I lost over ten thousand troops there. And you told me it was a good spot?” Ravena’s voice trembled with rage, her teeth clenched.

”Uh… well…”

Sophia looked mortified, totally speechless. She hadn’t expected things to go down like that.

”It’s all that damn Zombie King’s fault. He’s too damn cunning—he predicted I’d predict his move.”

”...” Ravena was fuming inside, but what was done was done. She’d just have to settle the score later.

Dexter, standing off to the side, shrugged.

”Looks like my dear sister Ravena didn’t have much luck.”

...

Now, all of the Crimson Count’s adopted sons and daughters had gathered at the base of Mount Elbert. The mixed Zombie Horde was growing by the hour—conservative 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 warzone—blood 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 summit’s full of kids and women—if those monsters break through, it’s 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 fight—it was all hands on deck.

”Don’t worry,” Chris said, thumping his chest. ”I’ve been around the block. Seen all kinds of hell. We’ve got this.”

But just then, a deafening roar rose from below—like 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. I’ve 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 don’t think we can hold them off much longer.”

”It’s tough, yeah. But not hopeless. Just hang in there—whatever you do, don’t give up!”

”Do you think Ethan will come help us?” Lily asked, suddenly changing the subject.

”...” Leah’s face darkened. She’d been trying to keep her sister’s spirits up, but even now, Lily was still thinking about that damn Zombie King.

”I don’t 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.

Lily’s eyes narrowed. She swung her katana in a clean arc.

Shlick!

The blade sliced into the zombie’s neck—but 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 wild—it twisted its neck violently, clamping down on the blade with brute force.

”Shit!”

Lily’s 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 couldn’t get worse, another figure lunged at her from the side—this one wasn’t 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.

Lily’s 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 then—out of nowhere—a 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 wasn’t 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.

”Ugh—AHHH!”

Gavin screamed as the vampire sank its fangs deep into his chest, blood gushing out in a gruesome spray.

But he didn’t let go.

With a roar of defiance, Gavin wrapped his arms around the vampire’s neck and began to twist with everything he had.

Bones cracked—loud, sickening pops echoing through the chaos. The vampire shrieked in pain, thrashing wildly, its claws tearing into Gavin’s 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 I’m 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. ”I’ve liked you… for a long time.”

He said it. The words he’d 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 vampire’s neck snapped with a brutal twist. Its blood-soaked claws went limp, and its body slumped against Gavin’s chest, lifeless.

Gavin didn’t move.

He lay there, arms still locked around the creature’s 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 hadn’t expected it. In that critical moment, Gavin had thrown himself into the fire for her—and taken the monster down with him.

Leah’s face was grim, but she forced herself to stay strong. She stepped closer and placed a hand on Lily’s shoulder.

”This is what the apocalypse looks like,” she said softly. ”Don’t 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 didn’t want to cry. She wanted to be strong. But the tears wouldn’t stop.

So she cried—and 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 ground—twitching, 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.

...