Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”Why would the shelter be calling at a time like this?”

Leah was caught off guard. She quickly answered the video call, and an elderly man appeared on the screen. His hair was mostly white and thinning, with a classic horseshoe bald pattern. Deep wrinkles lined his face. It was Howard Reed—the administrator of the shelter.

”Uncle Howard? What’s going on?”

”Leah, it’s bad—real bad! The Awakeners from Genesis Biotech are ambushing our people. And they’ve got your photo—they’re going around hunting for your family. What the hell did you do to piss them off?”

”What?” Leah and the others looked stunned. Something like this?

It didn’t take long for her to piece it together. This had to be Richard’s revenge.

Genesis Biotech wasn’t playing around...

”What about my parents? Are they okay?”

”The migration convoy they were in got hit too. We’ve lost contact. I don’t know for sure, but... I’m afraid...” Uncle Howard trailed off, his voice heavy with dread.

Leah’s brows furrowed. Because of the zombie horde closing in on Los Angeles, their shelter had decided to relocate to the one near Mount Elbert. The survivors had been leaving in waves over the past few days.

Her parents were in one of those convoys. So was her younger sister—Lily Harper.

Leah had stayed behind instead of going to L.A. with Ethan because she couldn’t bear to leave her family.

”Uncle Howard! Don’t worry—we’re heading there right now!”

”What are you thinking?! Genesis Biotech is hunting you! If you go, you’re walking right into their trap! They’ve sent over a hundred Awakeners, and they’re armed with Crystal Core weapons. Our people don’t stand a chance!” Uncle Howard’s voice was frantic.

But Leah couldn’t stop worrying about her family—especially Lily. She was stunning, the kind of beauty that turned heads wherever she went. Everyone at the shelter knew her. If she ended up in the hands of Genesis Biotech’s Awakeners...

Leah didn’t even want to imagine it.

”Uncle Howard, please. I have to go.”

”Wait, Leah—!” But before Howard could say another word, Leah ended the call.

Going up against Genesis Biotech was no joke. Of course they weren’t going to just sit back and wait for a ransom exchange. That was never going to happen.

”Leah, that bastard Richard’s gone too far!” one of the young men said, furious.

Leah’s expression was grim, but she quickly regained her composure. Honestly, Genesis Biotech’s retaliation wasn’t exactly unexpected.

”Over a hundred Awakeners... and they’re carrying Crystal Core Armaments. If we can take them down and claim their gear, that’s worth way more than any ransom we were asking for.”

”Huh?” The others looked at her, confused. Take them down? How?

But Leah was already on the move, heading straight for the exit.

She didn’t waste a second. She went straight to find Ethan and told him everything Genesis Biotech had done.

Ethan listened quietly, his expression calm, almost lazy. But behind that laid-back look, his mind was already working.

”A big score...”

Thanks to Richard’s cowardly retreat order, San Antonio had been dead quiet lately. Sitting around here wasn’t going to get them anywhere.

What Ethan needed now was to wait for his zombie horde to arrive—and in the meantime, take out as many enemy Awakeners as possible to weaken their forces.

”Let’s go. Time to check it out.”

”Yeah!” Leah nodded eagerly, her eyes shining with determination.

One thought burned in her mind.

Genesis Biotech...

You’re done for.

...

With Leah leading the way, Ethan raced toward the site of the attack. He didn’t bring Big Ears or the rest of his zombie crew this time—they were too slow. By the time they arrived, Genesis Biotech might’ve already taken the hostages and vanished. Plus, a zombie horde was way too conspicuous. It’d give away their position before they even got close.

Leah, being an agility-type Awakener, moved like the wind. Driven by fear for her family, she left Nora and the others far behind.

She glanced over her shoulder—and sure enough, Ethan was still right behind her. His pace looked casual, almost lazy, but every step he took launched him forward over thirty feet, like he was blinking through space. It was eerie as hell.

Leah felt a chill crawl up her spine. If this guy locked onto someone as prey, there was no escaping him.

As they moved, signs of human activity began to appear—plastic bags, food wrappers, muddy footprints...

They were definitely on the migration route now.

”We’re close,” Leah said, eyes narrowing. She picked up the pace.

”Mm,” Ethan murmured in response—and then stepped forward and vanished into thin air.

About ten minutes later, the sounds of battle echoed from up ahead. The ground trembled, explosions boomed—it had to be Crystal Core Armaments.

A squad of Genesis Biotech Awakeners was attacking the migration convoy.

At the front was a young man named Kellan Drake, decked out in a sleek nano-combat suit and wielding a Crystal Core Gatling Gun. He was unloading it like a man possessed.

Pulsing energy surged from the weapon, hammering the defenders with relentless force.

”Hahaha! You idiots actually dared to mess with our company? You’ve got a death wish!”

”Kellan, I gotta say, this gig’s not bad. Low risk, high reward—we’re scoring a ton of supplies.”

”Yeah, as long as I don’t have to go up against the Zombie King, I’ll do anything. Hell, I’d even clean toilets!”

The group laughed and joked as they fought, completely at ease.

But on the other side, the shelter survivors were in hell. They had a few Awakeners of their own, throwing up dirt walls and frost barriers to hold the line—but it wasn’t enough. Civilians were getting blown apart left and right.

Blood sprayed. Limbs flew.

”Mama... Mama, wake up... I’m scared...”

Children sobbed amid the chaos. Entire families—grandparents, parents, kids—were being wiped out in the crossfire.

The sound of crying children clashed horribly with the Awakeners’ laughter. It was like two different worlds colliding—one of cruelty, the other of helplessness.

”Bastards! Why are you killing civilians?!”

A young man roared in fury, charging forward with a kukri in hand. His name was Gavin Holt, the leader of the migration convoy.

If they were targeting Awakeners for their crystal cores, that would at least make some twisted sense. But slaughtering unarmed civilians? That served no purpose. Genesis Biotech wasn’t supposed to be like the Black Hand Legion—this was pure evil.

Gavin weaved through the barrage, dodging explosions with practiced agility.

But Kellan just sneered. With a flick of his hand, wood-element energy surged—and thick wooden tendrils burst from the ground, wrapping around Gavin’s ankles.

”Ask the people who kidnapped Frank why this is happening!”

He pulled the trigger on his Gatling gun. Blazing fireballs erupted from the barrel, screaming toward Gavin.

Gavin had no time to dodge. He raised his blade to block—but the fireballs exploded on impact, sending him flying over a hundred feet, his body trailing smoke.

Kellan stepped forward, holding up a printed photo.

”Anyone recognize this girl?” he asked, showing it to the huddled survivors.

The girl in the photo had delicate features and striking beauty—it was Leah.

The shelter survivors looked at each other, eyes wide with fear. No one said a word. They clung to each other, trembling.

”No one wants to talk? Fine. Then we’ll just keep killing.”

...