Apocalypse: King of Zombies

This zombie was different.

Its aura was fierce—brutal, even. Kaelen could feel it from a distance. No doubt about it, this one had reached SS-class strength.

And it was wearing a full suit of alloy armor, which made it look downright bizarre.

”What’s with these zombies? Can’t just one of them be normal?” Kaelen muttered under his breath, annoyed.

Luckily, they had the numbers. Even an SS-class Zombie King wasn’t enough to make them flinch.

”You guys handle this one,” Kaelen ordered, pointing at the armored zombie. ”I’ll take a squad and chase down the ones that ran. We can’t let them lead a whole horde back here.”

Zombies these days weren’t as brain-dead as they used to be. Some had enough awareness to run back to their nests and alert the others. If that happened, they’d be facing a full-blown zombie stampede—and that was the last thing they needed.

”No problem, Captain Kaelen,” a lean young man replied, eyes gleaming with sharp focus. His energy signature was strong—another SS-class, and a speed-type Awakener at that.

He gave the armored zombie—Bulldozer—a quick once-over and immediately pegged it as a power-type.

Perfect. He could use his speed to run circles around the brute, wear it down, and then finish it off with the team.

Kaelen gave a nod and took off with his squad, heading in the direction Big Ears had fled.

The rest of the team stayed behind, energy pulsing around them as they prepared to strike.

”Let’s do this!” the lean youth shouted, launching forward like a bullet, leaving a trail of afterimages in his wake.

”I hate you skinny little speed freaks the most!” Bulldozer growled, his beady eyes flashing with menace. But instead of backing off, he charged straight at them.

His alloy chestplate gleamed under the light, and his massive arms swung like wrecking balls as he ran. Every step he took made the ground tremble.

”Damn, this Zombie King’s a beast!”

The team’s eyes widened in shock, but they didn’t hesitate. Elemental energy surged around them—walls of ice, stone, and water erupted from the ground, trying to block his path.

But Bulldozer didn’t even slow down. He plowed through them like a freight train.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The elemental barriers shattered one after another, their energy dispersing into chaotic streams that whipped through the air.

In the chaos, the speed-type youth had already closed the distance.

His short blade gleamed with a cold light as he lunged straight for Bulldozer’s neck.

But Bulldozer tilted his head just enough to dodge it—barely.

At the same time, his massive fist came swinging up, aiming straight for the youth’s skull.

”This guy’s fast for a tank!”

The youth frowned, but his reflexes were sharper. He blinked out of the way in a flash, letting the punch slam into empty air.

Then, using his momentum, he zipped behind Bulldozer, reversed his grip on the blade, and drove it straight toward the back of the zombie’s head.

”Let’s see you dodge this one!”

The blade sliced through the air with a high-pitched screech, the force behind it enough to tear through steel. He was confident—maybe it wouldn’t kill the Zombie King outright, but it’d definitely leave a mark.

But just as the blade was about to strike, something completely unexpected happened.

The alloy plating on Bulldozer’s back shifted—mechanically—and a small, dark opening appeared.

From it, a mechanical tentacle shot out.

The youth’s eyes went wide. He was too close—there was no time to dodge.

The tentacle wrapped around his arm like a steel vice, locking it in place.

Then came the pressure—bone-crushing force that made his arm feel like it was about to snap in half.

”Ever heard of advanced tech, dumbass?” Bulldozer sneered, clearly enjoying himself. He yanked the youth forward and slammed him hard into the ground.

From a distance, it looked like a brutal judo throw.

BOOM!

The impact was massive. The ground cracked and trembled, a crater forming beneath the youth’s body.

He lay there, dazed, pain shooting through every nerve like fire. It felt like every bone in his body had shattered.

Before he could even catch his breath, Bulldozer raised one massive foot and brought it down on his head.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

He stomped again and again, the crater deepening with each blow. Cracks spiderwebbed out across the ground.

The youth’s body was half-buried in the pit, like a nail hammered into the earth.

And from the looks of it, he wasn’t getting back up.

”…What the hell…”

The Awakeners watching from a distance were completely stunned.

What was that thing?

None of them had expected the Zombie King to suddenly sprout a damn bionic tentacle.

”Quick! We’ve gotta help him!”

There was no time to hesitate. The team surged forward, activating their powers, trying to close the distance and provide backup.

But Bulldozer wasn’t about to let that happen. Using the surprise advantage of his mechanical appendage, he had already taken down an SS-class speed-type Awakener in one brutal move. The others, now wary, didn’t dare get close. They were forced to hang back, launching ranged attacks instead, trying to wear him down from a distance.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield…

Big Ears and the other three zombies had gone back to doing what they did best—running for their un-lives at full speed.

”Big Ears,” Shrimpy called out, panting as he ran, ”are we really just ditching Bulldozer like that? Feels kinda messed up, doesn’t it?”

Big Ears shot him a look. ”What, you wanna go back and help him?”

Shrimpy’s head shook so fast it was a blur. ”Nah, forget I said anything. Let’s keep running.”

”Relax,” Big Ears said, his oversized ears twitching. ”Buddy Crow’s still back there. He’ll help Bulldozer out. He’ll be fine.”

But even as he spoke, his ears twitched again—this time with urgency. ”Shit. We’ve got humans on our tail. They’re closing in fast. We need to focus on saving our own asses.”

Behind them, the thick black mist they’d left in their wake was being torn apart.

A powerful psychic force was sweeping through the area, probing, searching for them.

Mist’s expression tightened. ”This isn’t working. They’re gonna catch up at this rate. Time to switch tactics.”

”How?” Shrimpy asked, glancing nervously over his shoulder.

”One of the golden rules of survival,” Mist said, already veering off course, ”never run in a straight line!”

As he spoke, he released another wave of dense fog, then sharply changed direction, darting off at an angle.

The others didn’t hesitate—they followed him immediately.

The thick mist was their best cover, and they knew it.

Back with Kaelen’s squad, visibility was shot. The fog was everywhere, forcing them to rely on psychic tracking.

”These zombies are slippery as hell,” Kaelen muttered, scanning the haze with narrowed eyes.

”Don’t worry,” said a woman beside him, her voice calm but focused. ”My psychic field will lock onto them soon enough.”

She was an S-class Awakener, and her power was nothing to scoff at.

She closed her eyes, concentrating. A moment later, her psychic energy exploded outward like a shockwave, tearing through the mist like a hurricane.

In an instant, the black fog was shredded, revealing the faint outlines of the four fleeing zombies.

”There you are,” she said coldly. ”Let’s see how far you get now.”

Big Ears’ ears twitched again—this time in alarm. The sound of pursuit was getting louder, and he could feel the oppressive weight of psychic energy closing in around them.

”We’re screwed,” he said, panic creeping into his voice. ”They’ve locked onto us!”

”Oh shit!” Shrimpy yelped, glancing back to see the humans gaining fast.

They were fast, sure—but the humans were stronger. Way stronger. The gap in power was too big to outrun for long.

Just when things were looking hopeless, Big Ears’ eyes lit up. He looked ahead—and spotted a dense forest up ahead.

”Home sweet home… finally…”

His face broke into a grin, and he straightened up, energized. ”This way! Into the trees!”

”Got it!”

The others didn’t need to be told twice.

Mist stopped generating fog entirely and focused on pure speed. In a blur of motion, the four zombies darted into the forest, their figures quickly swallowed up by the thick canopy and tangled underbrush…

Gone from sight.

...