The convoy thundered down the cracked highway, kicking up dust and the smell of old death. In the back of the medical truck, Elias was wrestling with some poor bastard's leg, who kept cursing under his breath.
"Motherfucker," he growled, tying the last knot on the tourniquet.
The soldier whimpered like a kicked dog.
Too bad.
"Knock it off. You're not going to die." He yelled and rolled his eyes to the side. "Unless I screw up..."
Elias wiped his hands on his pants, which were already soaked in blood, sweat, and fuck knows what else. His rifle leaned against the seat next to him, clattering and banging with every pothole they hit.
This wasn't a mission. It was a fucking death march.
Plain and simple.
"Get the President's daughter to Haven Base," they said.
"She's the cure."
"You're humanity's last hope."
Fuck that. Humanity had already rolled over and died the day the first city fell. They were just picking through the bones now.
The radio crackled.
"Entering Red Zone. Weapons hot, boys"
Elias didn't even bother looking up. He just grabbed his rifle and yanked the bolt back with a satisfying clack.
*Click-clack*
The dead were always waiting in the Red Zones. Always hungry and looking for someone to rip out their flesh.
The truck slowed. The tyres crunched over broken glass. Through the slats, he could see the city... if you could still call it that. Blackened shells of buildings. Cars burned out and rusting. Streets painted in dried blood.
It looked like hell decided to settle down and start a family.
Then he heard it. Ugh.
The low, rumbling moan that was like a thousand dying throats all singing the same off-key song.
"Here we fucking go."
The first body hit the hood of the lead truck. Then all hell broke loose.
Gunfire erupted. Screams. Metal grinding against metal. The convoy bucked and jerked as drivers swerved, trying to get away from the tide of bodies spilling into the streets.
"Contact left! Fucking left!" someone screamed over the radio.
Elias slammed the side door open and fired into the horde without thinking. Zombies shrieked as bullets punched through their rotted skulls, spraying black blood like busted ink pens.
The truck jolted hard. Elias stumbled, catching himself on a strap.
Some other poor bastard wasn't so lucky. A zombie yanked him from the truck like a ragdoll; his screams were cut short.
"Fuck this," Elias growled. He jumped down into the chaos.
Burning vehicles. Screaming soldiers. And zombies... hundreds of them, tearing through flesh and steel like paper.
"Fall back!" someone shouted.
"Protect the package!"
"Cover the retreat!"
Elias staggered forward, coughing from the smoke. He saw the President's van speeding away down the main street. Alone.
They'd abandoned them.
He cursed and spun around, searching for anyone alive. A few soldiers still fought, back-to-back, faces grim under their helmets.
And in the middle of it all, pinned against an overturned jeep, was Lira Vex.
Elias's heart did a goddamn backflip.
She was trying to reload her rifle, her hands were shaking so hard she could barely hold it. Blood was running down the side of her face. She was surrounded.
"No fucking way. Not her."
Adrenaline hit him like a shot of pure fire.
He ran straight toward her, shoving zombies out of his way, firing without aiming. One tried to grab him. He hammered it in the face with his pistol so hard he felt his jaw crack. Nasty.
Another came at him. He shot it straight through the eye without slowing down.
He reached Lira just as one of the bastards tackled her, claws ripping at her gear.
Elias roared and yanked the zombie off her, throwing it to the ground and stomping its head until it was a paste.
"Move, goddammit!" he barked, grabbing her arm.
In the chaos, his hand slipped—straight onto her chest.
Soft. Fucking hell, soft.
Elias blinked, heat rushing to his face even as bullets whined past his ears.
"Not the fucking time, dumbass!"
He shoved her behind him. Another zombie leapt, and he caught it mid-air, slamming it into the side of the truck.
Lira stared at him, wide-eyed.
"You saved me—" she started.
"Move your sexy ass, Vex!" he barked, shoving her again, this time with his hand squarely on her firm ass.
Another accidental grab.
Elias swallowed a groan.
"Goddamn, she feels even better than I dreamed."
He turned, firing, covering her as she limped toward the retreating convoy, secretly hiding her flushed face.
He watched until she disappeared around the corner—safe.
And for a second, even in all the fucking madness, Elias felt something weird.
Pride.
"Saved her. Saved my goddamn crush. Guess there are worse ways to kick the bucket."
Because dying was exactly what was about to happen.
The horde turned on him.
Ten... twenty... thirty of them, closing in fast. Snarling. Eyes glowing like coals.
He tried to reload. Dropped the clip.
"Eat crap!" he growled.
No time.
He flipped his rifle around and swung it like a club. Cracked open skulls. Knocked out teeth. Kicked ribs into mush.
But they just kept coming.
Claws tore down his back. Teeth went into his shoulder, ripping his flesh.
He screamed, swinging blindly, rage and fear and stubbornness blending into one.
But it was a losing fight.
A zombie latched onto his side, ripping a chunk out. Another slammed him down onto the pavement. He felt ribs crack. Blood filled his mouth.
He still fought, like a true idiot.
He didn't know how to fucking quit.
But even he had limits.
As the weight of the dead crushed him down, as teeth and claws tore him apart, Elias looked up at the burning sky.
Lira's face flashed through his mind—smirking, brave, fucking gorgeous even covered in blood.
"At least she made it."
A final breath left his lungs.
A final thought.
"Fuck this world."
And then...
Darkness.
---
> [SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]
[Soul Binding: 87%]
[Detecting Host Soul: Confirmed.]
[Mortality: Confirmed.]
[Critical Damage Detected. Searching for Compatible Vessel...]
[Vessel Found: Vark Draven — Sovereign-Class Zombie.]
[Injecting Core Protocols...]
[Warning: Morality Sync Detected.]
[Forcibly Uploading Consciousness... 5%... 23%... 47%...]
Everything around Elias changed.
He wasn't dead. Not really.
He wasn't alive either.
Somewhere, deep in the dark, something old stirred.
Watching... waiting.
The system's voice whispered into the abyss:
[Welcome back, Elias.]
[Let's tear this fucking world apart.]
[END OF CHAPTER ONE]