Apocalypse: King of Zombies

The group of Zombie Kings behind Ethan all looked at the Canadian zombie like he’d just grown a second head.

Big Ears was especially pissed. He jumped up on the spot and smacked the guy upside the head.

”What kind of sidekick are you? You don’t even know where your boss went?”

”I—I really don’t know,” the Canadian zombie stammered.

Then he quickly explained. Their boss, a female Zombie King named Snowy Owl, didn’t have any kind of clairvoyant powers or anything. She’d just gotten spooked earlier. After some scouting, she found out a group of humans was also hunting for the stone tablet.

And they weren’t just any humans—they were strong. Really strong. They’d already wiped out a bunch of her underlings.

Knowing she couldn’t take them head-on, Snowy Owl panicked and bolted. She didn’t tell anyone where she was going, afraid her minions might accidentally give her away.

As for where she ran off to? Not a single soul—living or dead—had a clue.

”These humans... seriously, they screw up everything they touch,” Ethan muttered under his breath, annoyed.

It was their fault for stirring the pot too early. If they hadn’t tipped her off, Snowy Owl wouldn’t have run, and the stone tablet would’ve been practically in their hands. Now it was going to be a pain to track down.

”Humans, huh... It’s been a while since I’ve had a taste of one,” Laura said, her eyes lighting up with excitement as she licked the edge of her alloy bone claws.

There used to be plenty of humans in the northern towns.

But Redgaze had banned eating them. Said it was wasteful or something. Total buzzkill.

Lil’ Shroom tilted his head, thinking. ”Boss, the only humans still capable of hunting down the tablet now... it’s gotta be Genesis Biotech, right?”

”Yeah,” Ethan nodded.

Aside from them, there really wasn’t anyone else. Old rivals, those guys.

It had been a while since they’d crossed paths. He wondered what they were up to these days...

One thing was certain—Genesis Biotech had figured out the tablet was important. They were already sending people out to collect it.

Now, not only was the Vampire Horde from the Vampire Race moving into Canadian territory, but Genesis Biotech was getting involved too.

Things were starting to get interesting.

What Ethan really wanted to know was—how did Genesis Biotech find out about the tablet’s significance?

Had they gotten their hands on one before?

He had a hunch. Maybe they’d picked up some kind of alien signal. If that was the case, then there was probably a much bigger conspiracy brewing behind the scenes.

Ethan turned his gaze back to the Canadian zombies.

”So you don’t know where your boss is... but you do know where the humans are, right?”

”Y-yeah... we know a few spots,” the Canadian zombie replied, voice trembling.

This was life or death for them, after all. They kept a close eye on human movements.

Behind Ethan, the other Zombie Kings’ eyes gleamed with anticipation. It had been way too long since they’d had a good old-fashioned Genesis Biotech massacre...

...

Night fell fast. The already gloomy sky turned pitch black, and the snow didn’t let up—in fact, it came down even harder.

Under the cover of darkness, the zombies were scaling a snow-covered mountain.

The wind howled, whipping up clouds of white powder.

But the zombies moved with eerie grace, climbing fast and sure. They didn’t care about the thin air or the freezing cold. They were built for this—pure combat machines.

Each of the Zombie Kings showed off their unique abilities. Sprout, for example, unleashed a swarm of vines that shot into the mountain’s surface, anchoring like ropes and making the climb easier for the horde.

Elegy, the Zombie King with the haunting voice, sang softly, her melody laced with psychic energy that boosted the morale of the undead.

🎵 ”And the snow keeps coming down…” 🎵

The zombie horde moved like ghosts through the darkness, advancing steadily toward the summit.

According to the Canadian zombies’ intel, a group of humans had set up camp right at the top.

Up there, the wind and snow were even more brutal, howling like wolves and wailing spirits.

Dozens of aircraft were parked on the peak, covered in white tarps that flapped violently in the wind.

Not far from the landing zone was a full-blown base camp.

Rows of heavy-duty tents stood side by side, each one marked with the red letters ”GB”—Genesis Biotech.

Inside the tents, faint lights flickered, casting a warm glow in the otherwise pitch-black night.

In the largest tent, a group of people huddled around a heater. They were dressed in sleek nano-combat suits. Even though Awakeners could handle the cold better than most, they still preferred to stay warm when they could.

”Hey! Isn’t it your turn for night watch?” one of the Genesis Biotech Awakeners called out.

”What’s the point?” another scoffed, lounging back with a smirk. ”We’re on top of a damn snow mountain. There’s not even bird crap up here. You really think some monster’s gonna wander all the way out to this frozen hellhole?”

To be fair, he wasn’t wrong. Technically, this place was about as safe as it got. Even before the apocalypse, it was a dead zone—no people, no wildlife.

The air was thin, the cold was brutal, and the ground was nothing but ice and permafrost. Not even bugs could survive up here.

But the first Awakener wasn’t convinced. ”You never know, man. It’s the apocalypse. Anything can happen. And don’t forget—we’re hunting that Zombie King, Snowy Owl. She’s the one that can fly, remember?”

”Tch. If we actually ran into her, that’d be great. We could wrap up this shitty mission and go home,” the other muttered under his breath.

At that moment, a middle-aged man sitting near the heater—clearly the squad leader—lifted his head and cut in.

”Daniel, forget the night watch. Take a team and do a perimeter sweep. Check the area around the mountain.”

Daniel sighed and shrugged. ”Alright, alright…”

Orders were orders. No point arguing.

He stood up slowly, slinging his Crystal Core Firearm over his shoulder and sliding a blade into the sheath at his waist.

”Alright, boys. Let’s take a little stroll.”

He motioned to a few nearby teammates.

The guys groaned but got up anyway, faces full of reluctance. No one wanted to leave the warmth of the tent. It was like being yanked out of a cozy bed on a freezing morning—pure misery.

The five-man squad stepped out into the night.

The cold hit them like a punch to the face. The wind howled, and the snow was coming down even harder now, swirling around them in thick, blinding flurries.

Within seconds, their hair and shoulders were dusted white.

”Seriously, what the hell are we even looking for out here?” one of the team grumbled. ”It’s pitch black. Can’t see shit.”

The view from the mountaintop was nothing but endless darkness, like staring into the void. It was the kind of black that made your skin crawl, like something was watching from just beyond the edge of sight.

Captain Daniel’s voice cut through the wind. ”Doesn’t matter. Orders are orders. Even if we have to search every damn peak, we’re finding that Zombie King.”

”Yeah, yeah… I just hope we find her soon,” another sighed, trudging through the snow.

The squad moved in a slow arc around the camp, eyes scanning the shadows.

So far, so good. No signs of life. Just snow, wind, and more snow.

”Told you,” one of them muttered. ”There’s nothing out here. Not even a ghost.”

But then—something.

A faint rustling sound, coming from the mountain wall just below them.

”Wait… you guys hear that?”

They all froze, eyes narrowing, ears straining.

Captain Daniel raised a hand. ”Let’s check it out.”

The five of them crept forward, boots crunching softly in the snow, until they reached the edge of the summit. It felt like standing at the lip of the world.

Daniel leaned forward, peering over the side.

All he saw was darkness. A bottomless abyss. Snowflakes drifted down into it, vanishing into the void.

”Nothing…?” he murmured.

...