"What the hell do you want now?!" Sean snarled, eyes locked on Matt.
Matt gave a slow, smug smile. "Well, since your people already joined ... why don’t you three co along too?"
"In your dreams," Sean shot back, voice like ice.
Matt’s smile vanished. "Then don’t bla . In the apocalypse, I don’t leave threats behind."
He raised a hand. "Kill them."
The mont the words left his mouth, dozens of people surged forward, surrounding Sean, Big Mike, and Skinny Pete.
Just as the first blow was about to land, the ground trembled beneath their feet.
Everyone froze.
A low rumble rolled through the pavent, and then—screams.
They turned toward the sound.
A massive horde of zombies was charging straight at them from down the street.
Faces drained of color. Weapons lowered. The fight forgotten in an instant.
"Inside! Now!" soone shouted.
The whole group scrambled into the supermarket, yanking down the rolling shutter behind them with a loud tallic clatter.
"Move the shelves! Block the entrance!" Matt barked.
People rushed to obey, dragging heavy racks and displays across the floor, stacking them behind the shutter in a makeshift barricade.
Seconds later, the first wave of zombies slamd into the door.
The tal groaned under the impact. The shelves rattled. Dust rained down from the ceiling.
Everyone inside held their breath, hearts pounding in their throats.
"What the hell is this?!" Matt’s voice cracked. "There’s gotta be over a thousand of them!"
"Jesus, this is insane," soone muttered. "Where the hell did they all co from?"
Outside, the horde clawed and slamd at the shutter, but it held—barely.
Then, a roar split the air.
The Tier 4 zombie stepped forward.
Four Tier 3s peeled off from the crowd and charged the door.
BOOM!
The impact shook the entire storefront. Dust exploded from the ceiling. Shelves toppled like dominoes. People scread.
"Hold it! Hold it!" Matt shouted, as everyone rushed to brace the barricade with their bodies.
BOOM! BOOM!
The Tier 3s kept slamming into the shutter, warping the tal with every hit. But behind it, dozens of Tier 2 Awakened were pushing back with everything they had.
For now, the door held.
Then the Tier 4 zombie stepped forward.
It didn’t charge.
It crouched.
And with a slow, deliberate motion, it reached under the bottom of the shutter—gripped the edge—and lifted.
"Holy shit!" Ethan’s voice cracked from across the street. His eyes were wide as saucers.
"Did that zombie just—open the door?" Chris whispered, stunned.
Zombies had always been blunt instrunts—smash, claw, bite. They didn’t open doors. They didn’t think like that.
But this one did.
And it was lifting the shutter like it had done it a hundred tis before.
The three of them stood frozen, skin crawling, as the tal door creaked upward.
This changes everything.
Inside the supermarket, the people who’d just been bracing the barricade stared in horror as daylight spilled in under the rising shutter.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Then soone whispered, "We’re dead."
And just like that, the panic hit.
As the shutter rolled up, the horde surged in like a tidal wave. Zombies crashed through the barricade, toppling shelves and scattering supplies in every direction.
"Grab your weapons! Kill them all!" Matt roared, swinging his axe with a brutal arc that split the skull of the first zombie through the door.
The others snapped out of their panic and scrambled to fight back, blades and blunt weapons flashing as they hacked at the incoming undead.
There were over a hundred of them between the two groups—seasoned fighters, most of them. Desperate, yes, but not ready to die without a fight.
But as the shutter fully opened, the flood intensified. More and more zombies poured in, and their fragile defensive line began to buckle.
The battle spilled into the aisles. Blood sprayed across cereal boxes and shattered glass crunched underfoot. The only saving grace was the supermarket’s limited space—too cramped for the entire horde to enter at once. That bottleneck gave the defenders a sliver of hope.
From a distance, Ethan watched the chaos unfold, eyes lighting up.
"Go! We’ll hit them from the back!"
He didn’t wait for a reply—just hefted his barbell bar and charged. Chris, Henry, and Pumpkin were right behind him.
They crashed into the rear of the horde like a wrecking ball. Ethan’s barbell bar swung in wide, brutal arcs, caving in skulls and snapping spines. Chris and Henry flanked him, cutting down zombies with ruthless efficiency.
Pumpkin darted through the chaos like a streak of orange lightning, leaping and twisting, claws flashing. He wasn’t built for brute force, but his speed was lethal—Tier 1 and Tier 2 zombies dropped with their throats slashed or necks broken. Tier 3s, though, were another story.
The zombies quickly realized they were being flanked. The Tier 4 zombie let out a guttural roar, and the rear ranks turned, snarling, and charged the newcors.
Ethan didn’t flinch. He t them head-on, barbell bar spinning like a steel windmill. With the main force still tangled up inside the supermarket, these stragglers were easy pickings.
But the Tier 4 zombie was no fool. It sensed sothing was wrong. These four were doing more damage than the hundred-plus inside.
With another roar, it summoned the rest—hundreds of zombies that hadn’t yet entered the supermarket turned as one and charged toward Ethan’s group.
"Oh, co on! Seriously?!" Ethan cursed, already backpedaling. "Fall back! We’re not dying for this!"
The horde thundered after them—at least six hundred strong.
"Ethan, what now?" Chris shouted as they ran.
"Library! We lead them to the library, then jump out the second-floor window!"
Chris blinked. "Wait—are you thinking...?"
Ethan grinned. "Our target’s still that Tier 4 bastard."
"Got it!"
They sprinted into the library, the horde hot on their heels. Inside, they weaved through the maze of bookshelves, knocking them over as they went, trying to slow the undead down. Shelves crashed to the floor, pinning a few zombies beneath them.
Then they bolted up the stairs, didn’t hesitate for a second, and leapt out the second-story window.
Ethan hit the ground, rolled, and sprang up. He dashed to the front doors and slamd them shut, trapping the horde inside.
"Move!"
They raced back the way they ca, retracing their steps to the supermarket.
By the ti they returned, the tide had turned. Most of the zombies were now locked in the library. Only about a hundred remained outside the supermarket.
"Now! I’ll take the Tier 4—keep the rest off !"
"On it!" Chris and Henry shouted in unison.
The three of them—and one very pissed-off cat—charged.
The Tier 4 zombie spotted them and froze, confusion flickering in its eyes. Where the hell did my army go?
Ethan didn’t give it ti to figure it out. He swung his barbell bar in a brutal overhead arc, aiming straight for its skull.
The zombie roared and lashed out, its palm slamming into the bar and knocking it aside with terrifying force. Then it lunged.
Ethan’s eyes widened. It deflected my swing?!
But he didn’t panic. Years of combat had honed his instincts razor-sharp. As the zombie lunged, he pivoted and drove a kick straight into its gut.
BOOM.
The impact—over a ton of force—sent the Tier 4 flying.
It hit the ground, rolled, and sprang back up with unnatural speed. With a snarl, it let out another roar—and the remaining zombies imdiately abandoned Chris and Henry, turning to swarm Ethan.
"Oh, co on! Cheap shot!" Ethan growled, swinging his bar in a wide arc and mowing down the first wave.
But the Tier 4 wasn’t done. It had circled around, and now it lunged again—this ti from behind.
Ethan sensed it a heartbeat too late. He twisted, dodging the full impact, but its claws raked across his shoulder, tearing through flesh and muscle.
Blood sprayed. Pain flared.
"You sneaky son of a—!"
"Pull the others off !" Ethan shouted to Chris and Henry, gritting his teeth as he squared up again.
His eyes locked on the Tier 4.
This thing was smarter, faster, and aner than anything they’d faced before.
...
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