Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”Oh man, let’s get moving. This forest doesn’t feel safe at all,” Wade said, glancing around uneasily.

”Yeah,” Ethan nodded.

Without wasting time, he led the group—over a hundred Awakeners—out of the woods.

Since they were still a good distance from Richard’s Genesis Biotech facility, everyone had already braced themselves for a long trek.

”Ugh, these days, if you wanna get anywhere, you gotta walk.”

”The company’s got aircraft, but of course, we’re not allowed to use ’em.”

”Hell, I’d settle for a few trucks.”

”Trucks? You see any roads left to drive on?”

”Quit whining and save your breath for the hike.”

”...”

The Awakeners grumbled among themselves.

It had been a year since the apocalypse hit, and ground transportation was basically a thing of the past. Roads were either destroyed or overrun, and vehicles were mostly useless now.

Even with their enhanced speed and stamina, it would still take them the better part of a day to reach their destination.

Luckily, Awakeners were built different—tougher, stronger. A long walk didn’t faze them.

Ethan scanned the group as they moved. They were well-equipped, most of them having already formed their crystal cores. Killing them outright would be a waste of firepower.

No—he had bigger plans. If he played this right, he could use them to pull off something major.

He remembered passing near the Blackhand City region on the way here. There were signs of Black Hand Legion activity there—maybe even a small outpost.

So, he subtly shifted their route, leading the Genesis Biotech Awakeners in that direction.

Wade kept a sharp eye on their surroundings, clearly on edge. He’d done some homework on the location of Genesis Biotech’s main base and noticed something was off.

”Wait a sec… this route doesn’t look right.”

”Yeah, I changed it,” Ethan replied smoothly, not missing a beat. ”The original path’s been compromised. There’s a good chance Black Hand Legion’s set up an ambush, so I rerouted us.”

Wade blinked, caught off guard. ”What? The Black Hand Legion’s got the balls to ambush us?”

”Yup. You heard about Sophia defecting, right?”

”Yeah, saw the announcement on Nathan Corp’s site,” Wade said, nodding.

Sophia’s defection had been the biggest bombshell of the year. Everyone inside Genesis Biotech was talking about it—it was the hot gossip of the moment.

Ethan went on, ”Richard’s furious about it. Things between us and the Black Hand Legion are worse than ever. They’re not just rivals anymore—they’re enemies. Their people are actively hunting down our Awakeners.”

”Damn…” Wade muttered, the pieces clicking into place. It actually made a lot of sense.

Genesis Biotech and the Black Hand Legion had always been on opposite sides. Sure, there’d been some cooperation here and there, but it was always transactional—use each other when convenient, then back to killing. That was the norm.

”Unbelievable! Those filthy punks from the Black Hand Legion think they can take us on? They’ve got a death wish,” Wade growled, clearly pissed.

To Genesis Biotech’s Awakeners, the Black Hand Legion was a joke—uncivilized, dirty, chaotic, and completely lacking discipline. Like a pack of wild animals.

”If I run into one of those bastards, I’ll blow his damn head off.”

”Yeah, if they try to block us, we’ll wipe every last one of them out,” someone from the back added, voice full of venom.

Ethan smiled to himself. These guys were fired up—exactly what he wanted.

Up ahead, the terrain started to shift. The land grew dry and cracked under the relentless sun, the ground splitting into jagged plates. Scattered among the dust were bones and rotting corpses, half-buried in the dirt. Dried bloodstains streaked the earth like old battle scars.

They were close now—on the outskirts of Blackhand City. Not far off was a small town, one of the Black Hand Legion’s known outposts.

Even from this distance, Ethan could sense it—human presence.

”Hold up. We’ve got company,” he said sharply.

”...Huh?” Wade froze, then quickly raised a hand. The entire group of Awakeners behind him came to an immediate halt.

An ambush?

Everyone tensed, eyes scanning the horizon, hands drifting toward weapons.

The air grew still.

Meanwhile, in the small town up ahead, a group of Black Hand Legion members had already gathered. The land around them was dry and barren—no trees, no grass—just cracked earth stretching for miles. With such an open view, they spotted the incoming group of over a hundred Awakeners from far off.

”Holy shit… that’s a lot of people.”

The Black Hand Legion members exchanged uneasy glances. The approaching group was fully armed, scanning the area like they were hunting for something—or someone.

”They’re not… coming for us, are they?”

”No way, right?”

”We haven’t even beefed with Genesis Biotech lately…”

”Yeah, not that I know of…”

Despite their words, tension hung heavy in the air. In the post-apocalyptic world, you didn’t need a reason to kill—sometimes it was for supplies, sometimes just for the crystal cores or Neurocores inside someone’s skull.

”Maybe we should go talk to them,” one of the Legion members suggested, clearly unsettled.

Their lieutenant nodded. ”Yeah. Round up everyone. Let’s go see what the hell they want.”

”Got it!”

Soon, the entire outpost was buzzing. Black Hand Legion members poured out of buildings, gathering in a loose formation as they headed toward the edge of town.

From the distance, Wade and the others spotted them immediately—another group, just as large, heading their way.

The Black Hand Legion crew looked rough—tattoos, scars, weapons slung over shoulders, and eyes full of menace. Just one glance and you could feel the hostility radiating off them like heat.

”There they are. No doubt about it—Black Hand Legion,” Wade said grimly.

The Awakeners behind him tensed, brows furrowing.

”They must’ve had eyes on us. Even after we changed course, they still managed to intercept.”

”Feels like they’ve been waiting for us…”

”Yeah… something’s off.”

Wade’s expression darkened. The whole situation reeked of something twisted, something wrong. Then, like a lightbulb flicking on, it hit him.

”I know what’s going on!”

”Oh?” Ethan shot him a sideways glance, a flicker of concern crossing his face. Did Wade figure it out? He didn’t seem like the sharpest tool in the shed…

The rest of the Genesis Biotech Awakeners turned to Wade, waiting for him to explain.

Wade took a breath and said, ”There’s a mole in our team. Someone tipped off the Black Hand Legion.”

The group fell silent, eyes darting around suspiciously.

Then, slowly, heads began to nod.

”Yeah… that actually makes sense.”

But there was no time to dwell on it. The Black Hand Legion members were already within shouting distance.

Their lieutenant stepped forward—shirtless, massive, with a thick neck and a face like a bulldog. Just looking at him made your fists itch.

”What the hell are you doing here?” he barked.

Wade’s eyes narrowed. He’d trekked all the way across the wasteland to Texas to help fortify the front lines, and now these bastards were trying to flip the script?

”We’re here to stop the undead. What the hell are you doing here?”

”We… we live here,” the lieutenant replied, confused. He could see they were outnumbered and outgunned, and clearly didn’t want to start a fight.

”Bullshit!”

Wade snapped. As a strength-type Awakener, his temper was always on a short fuse. What were the odds they just happened to be living right along their route?

No way. This was a setup. They were trying to lull them into a false sense of security, then strike when their guard was down.

”You’re here to ambush us, aren’t you? Screw this—boys, take ’em down!”

”Wait, what?!”

The lieutenant’s face went blank with shock.

...