Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Bulldozer glanced over and noticed the dorsal fin cutting through the water at an insane speed, churning up massive waves in its wake.

Sprout caught sight of it too but didn’t flinch. After guarding the river bridge for over a month, they’d seen their fair share of water monsters. This wasn’t anything new.

Without hesitation, Sprout sent dozens of vines surging toward the splashing waves.

But the moment the vines hit the water, a tremendous force yanked at them. In just a few seconds, they snapped apart with a series of sharp cracks.

”Oh? Not bad,” Sprout thought to themselves, intrigued.

The creature in the river, seemingly provoked, suddenly leapt out of the water, sending a cascade of spray into the air.

Both Bulldozer and Sprout got a clear look at it now, and their faces showed genuine surprise.

It wasn’t a fish. The thing looked like a massive lizard, easily 20 feet long, its body covered in dark green scales that gleamed like armor. Its head was grotesque, with a maw full of jagged teeth, razor-sharp claws on its front limbs, and a thick, muscular tail trailing behind it.

”Whoa, a new flavor!” Bulldozer’s eyes lit up with excitement.

The lizard launched itself out of the river and landed on the shore with a heavy thud. Its piercing yellow eyes glared at the two zombie kings, and it let out a shrill, ear-splitting screech.

”This one’s mine,” Bulldozer said, cracking his knuckles, clearly itching for a fight.

”Wait…” Sprout held him back, their tone cautious. Ordinary monsters wouldn’t dare challenge zombie kings. Most would instinctively avoid them, driven by sheer survival instinct. But this lizard? It was different. It had come straight for them, like it had a plan.

Sprout’s gaze shifted downstream, and their suspicions were confirmed. The river was churning violently, waves crashing as more dark shapes moved beneath the surface. Through the water, they could make out massive black shadows—and some of them were disturbingly humanoid.

”This isn’t just some random monster. We’ve got an invasion on our hands,” Sprout said grimly.

As if on cue, the shadows began leaping out of the water one by one, sending sprays of water everywhere. Hideous heads emerged, snarling and snapping. And it wasn’t just the lizard creatures—zombies were crawling out of the river too.

But these weren’t your average zombies. Their fingers and toes were webbed, like they’d evolved specifically for swimming. They looked grotesque, their faces twisted and monstrous, and they let out guttural growls as they joined the lizard monsters on the shore.

The group began to close in on Bulldozer and Sprout, their numbers growing by the second.

”Well, well, they’ve got some nerve showing up here,” Bulldozer said with a smirk. Fear wasn’t even in his vocabulary. Los Angeles had been way too quiet lately—no rival factions, no real threats. It was almost boring.

And being invincible? It was so lonely.

But now? These invaders were just what he needed to blow off some steam.

With a thunderous roar, Bulldozer charged forward, his massive frame barreling through the enemy like a runaway freight train.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Zombies that had just crawled out of the water were sent flying as Bulldozer plowed through them. He reached one of the lizard monsters, grabbed it by the neck, and slammed it into the ground with bone-crushing force. Then, without missing a beat, he stomped down hard, crushing its skull under his boot.

Another lizard lunged at him, its jaws snapping. Bulldozer swung around and landed a devastating punch, sending it sprawling. He grabbed its tail, swung it like a club, and used it to knock over several more creatures in front of him.

His movements were swift, brutal, and efficient. Bulldozer was a one-man wrecking crew.

But the river wasn’t done yet. More monsters and zombies kept pouring out, relentless in their assault.

Sprout, seeing the endless tide of enemies, unleashed a swarm of vines from their body. The vines shot out in every direction, thick and countless, piercing through the zombies and skewering the lizard monsters. The vines drained the creatures of their blood and flesh, leaving behind shriveled husks.

A deafening roar suddenly echoed from behind the two zombie kings, shaking the ground beneath them. The earth trembled as an army of feral zombies surged forward, their snarls and growls filling the air. Among them were elite zombies, including Snowy, the massive zombie tiger, leaping into the fray.

The invaders had no idea what they’d just walked into. The local zombie horde, led by Ethan’s subordinates, was a force to be reckoned with. Within moments, the two sides clashed in a chaotic, bloody battle.

But Ethan’s forces were overwhelming. The invaders—whether they were aquatic zombies or lizard monsters—were no match. They were torn apart, devoured, or smashed into pieces with ruthless efficiency.

The fight lasted barely five minutes. By the time it was over, the shore was littered with mangled corpses, and the river ran red with blood.

And then, cutting through the carnage like a shadow, a figure appeared.

Laura.

She moved like a phantom, her razor-sharp claws slicing through the aquatic zombies with deadly precision. Wherever she went, blood sprayed and chunks of flesh flew.

Bulldozer glanced back, his small, round eyes widening. ”Weren’t you supposed to be patrolling the edge of the territory? What are you doing here?”

”Got bored,” Laura replied with a grin.

Her post wasn’t exactly close to this area, but the moment she caught wind of a fight breaking out, she made a point to show up.

”...,” Bulldozer was speechless.

He hadn’t even had his fill of smashing things yet, and now she was here, stealing his thunder.

Annoying.

With the combined efforts of the zombie kings, the invaders were quickly wiped out. No more Aqua Zombies or lizard monsters crawled out of the river. The battle was over.

To be fair, the enemy’s numbers weren’t overwhelming—about a hundred or so of those lizard creatures and maybe two thousand zombies. It felt more like a probing attack or a nuisance raid than a full-scale invasion.

”Where the hell did these things come from?” Bulldozer scratched his head, clearly puzzled.

”Probably the ocean,” Sprout guessed, wrinkling their nose. ”They reek of saltwater.”

”Oh, that’s great.” Bulldozer stepped forward, grabbed one of the lizard corpses, and took a massive bite out of it, chewing noisily as blood dripped from his mouth.

Laura raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued. ”What are you doing?”

”Boss said eating fish is good for your brain,” Bulldozer replied, his mouth full of raw flesh.

”Uh… you’re calling that a fish?” Laura’s face twisted in disbelief. She stared at him like he’d lost whatever few brain cells he had left. ”You know what? Never mind. I don’t think there’s any saving your brain at this point.”

...

The creatures were, in fact, from the ocean. They were a mutated species—Marine Iguanas. Small skirmishes like this weren’t uncommon along the edges of Ethan’s territory, but this time felt different. The scale of the attack was larger, and the creatures had clearly traveled a long way to get here. There was intent behind it.

Ethan, sitting comfortably at home, heard about the incident not long after it happened. He swirled the wine glass in his hand, the deep red liquid catching the light as he took a slow sip. His sharp, narrow eyes glinted with thought.

He wasn’t surprised. In fact, he’d been expecting something like this.

It was obvious where the creatures had come from—Santa Monica. The once-bustling city had been mostly swallowed by the ocean, leaving behind a half-submerged wasteland.

Zombies were nothing if not adaptable. They evolved to suit their environment. The ones in Santa Monica had been submerged in seawater for so long that their fingers and toes had developed webbing, making them perfectly suited for life in the water.

This attack was likely the work of Santa Monica’s zombie king, testing the waters—literally—for an expansion into Los Angeles.

But Ethan wasn’t concerned.

”Let them come,” he murmured, a faint smirk playing on his lips.

...

Just as Ethan suspected, Santa Monica was a drowned city, its skyline of high-rise buildings now jutting out of the ocean like the skeleton of a forgotten world. Beneath the waves, Aqua Zombies swarmed through the ruins, moving with the grace of fish. They darted between the submerged buildings, their movements swift and fluid.

But atop one of the tallest buildings still standing above the water, a figure stood.

It was a child—or at least, it looked like one. He appeared to be around seven or eight years old, but his eyes were pitch black, voids of endless darkness. Tendrils of black mist coiled around him, giving him an aura of something far more sinister than his small frame suggested.

This was the Zombie Fetus, the offspring of the Pregnant Zombie King. Months ago, he had been carried downriver, eventually ending up here in Santa Monica.

And in just over a month, he had grown at an unnatural speed, now resembling a young boy. But despite his outward appearance, the hatred burning inside him was anything but childlike.

The memory of the woman who had killed his mother was seared into his mind. Her cold, expressionless face haunted him, a constant reminder of his loss. And then there was the zombie king who had taken over his mother’s territory. The rage he felt toward them both was all-consuming.

”I will have my revenge...”

..