Apocalypse: King of Zombies

This time, LORN wasn’t going to waste any more time on the vampires. He’d made up his mind—take out the strongest Zombie King in America first. Nothing else would ease the burning rage in his chest.

At the same time, Genesis Biotech mobilized across the globe.

Every last Cyborg was deployed. Their metallic bodies gleamed with a cold silver sheen as they marched out in full force. Aircrafts roared into the sky, rising like a swarm of hornets, slicing through the dark heavens.

…

Inside the U.S., tension was boiling beneath the surface. The most powerful fighters had gathered, and millions of zombies were closing in like a tidal wave.

The air was thick with dread and the scent of blood.

But Ethan? He was still at home.

He’d just finished absorbing the energy from a crystal core, and his whole body felt light, sharp—like he could take on the world.

He stood up and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window. Outside, the sky was a dull gray, and snowflakes were drifting down in a steady, silent fall. It was December, deep winter.

The entire city—this post-apocalyptic ruin—looked like it had gone gray with age.

”It’s snowing…”

Ethan pulled out his phone and checked the calendar. Christmas Day.

Before the world went to hell, this would’ve been the time to hang up lights, decorate a tree, maybe throw a ham in the oven.

He turned to look at the wall, where an old photo from his orphanage days still hung.

Mia, Sean… their young faces frozen in time, smiling with that innocent joy only kids can have.

”Christmas, huh? Maybe I should get them together for a real meal…” he muttered to himself.

Just then, a red-eyed crow came streaking across the sky and landed on the window ledge with a flutter of wings. Its glowing eyes blinked once, then it started relaying intel.

Ethan had already gotten word that The Crimson Count’s forces were on the move—fast, aggressive, and heading straight for U.S. soil.

So he’d sent out his crow scouts to gather intel across the country.

According to Buddy Crow’s latest report, the zombie hordes landing along the U.S. coastline weren’t as massive as expected. Turns out, not many Zombie Kings had the ability to cross oceans.

Most of The Crimson Count’s forces were still coming in from the north—crossing the frozen Bering Strait into Alaska, then pushing down into Canada to regroup. Some were even coming in through Greenland.

Wave after wave of zombies were pouring in from that direction—too many to count.

The Vampire Race was leading the charge, but the majority were just regular undead.

There were a few zombie clusters forming in Mexico too, but nothing major. Not yet.

”Got it. Go. Keep scouting. Keep reporting,” Ethan said in a low voice.

The red-eyed crow gave a final flap and took off into the snowy sky.

Ethan stood there, deep in thought.

He didn’t believe purebred zombies should be taking orders from mongrel ones…

The truth was, there weren’t that many real Vampire Race members. Most of them were former Black Hand Legion soldiers who’d been turned later on.

In terms of numbers, they didn’t even make up a tenth of the purebred zombies.

They only followed The Crimson Count out of fear—his power, his cruelty.

So yeah, the Vampire Race might’ve looked like a big deal, but Ethan saw them for what they were: a bunch of disorganized thugs.

His verdict? ”All bark and no bite.”

Ding ding ding!

Suddenly, Ethan’s phone buzzed with a flurry of urgent messages.

”Man, can’t catch a break,” he muttered, picking it up.

All the messages were from Dr. Morgan.

”Zombies have breached the U.S. border!”

”The horde’s heading straight for Texas!”

”We don’t have the firepower to stop them—what do we do?!”

”Hey! Where the hell are you? Respond if you’re getting this! Respond!”

”…”

It was obvious—Dr. Morgan was freaking out. And who could blame him? Since the apocalypse began, this was the first time they were facing a full-scale, global zombie onslaught. The man was practically drowning in panic.

Ethan, not wanting to stress him out further, shot back a reply right away:

”It’s Christmas. I was thinking of putting together a nice holiday feast.”

”???”

”???”

”…”

Dr. Morgan responded with a wall of question marks.

”You’re seriously planning a holiday feast right now? Zombies are practically at our doorstep! If we can’t hold them off, I’ll have no choice but to evacuate the research team to the Mount Elbert shelter!”

”You think Mount Elbert can hold out?” Ethan asked calmly.

Dr. Morgan went silent.

He knew the answer. Against a horde of this scale, Mount Elbert wasn’t a fortress—it was a coffin with a better view.

Relocating from Texas to Mount Elbert might just mean dying somewhere colder.

”So what do you suggest we do?”

”Move to L.A.,” Ethan said, his voice steady. ”Set up shop in the old Genesis Biotech North America HQ. Rig it with traps. Give them a little surprise when they show up.”

He’d been planning this for a while.

”That’s… actually not a bad idea,” Dr. Morgan replied, thinking it over. ”But what about the heavy equipment? We can’t just toss that in a backpack.”

”Have Chris and Brandon handle it. Bring a few strength-type Awakeners with them. That’s literally what they’re built for.” Ethan replied, dead serious. It was a perfect match for their skillset.

…

Los Angeles Safe Zone.

Mia had just finished getting ready. She wore a bright red down jacket, a green scarf, and had done her makeup with care. Her skin was porcelain-smooth, her features delicate, and her long chestnut hair flowed down her back like silk.

Honestly, she could’ve walked in wearing a trash bag and still turned heads.

But today, she’d gone all out—for one reason: Christmas dinner at Ethan’s place.

She made her way to a large tent that buzzed with chatter. Inside, a group of teens were crowding around Chris, peppering him with questions.

”Instructor Chris! We heard there’s a new kind of zombie—Mutant Vampire Zombies. Did you see any out there?”

Chris smirked, playing it cool.

”Please. I’ve been all over the damn place. You name it, I’ve fought it. Back when I was on the island of Tasmania, I went in and out of a mutant zombie horde seven times and lived to tell the tale.”

”Whoa! That’s insane!” The teens’ eyes lit up with awe.

”I heard from Instructor Brandon that Mutant Vampire Zombies can disguise themselves just like parasitic monsters. Did you ever get tricked by one?”

”Uh… well… let’s not talk about that,” Chris mumbled, suddenly dodging the question.

Just then, Mia stepped into the tent.

Everyone turned to look—and jaws dropped.

Her outfit, her presence—it was like someone had dropped a movie star into a refugee camp.

Chris looked up and blinked. ”Mia? You changed your skin? Is that the Christmas limited edition or something? What’s with the festive look—got plans?”

”Ethan invited me over for Christmas dinner,” Mia said plainly, her tone calm.

Chris perked up at the word dinner. His mouth practically started watering on the spot. But then a thought hit him—was this dinner happening in a zombie nest?

”What’s on the menu?” he asked, cautiously hopeful.

”Baked ham, I think,” Mia replied after a moment’s thought.

Chris’s stomach growled on cue. Sure, the safe zone had been doing better lately—food supplies were stable—but they were still living on survival rations.

Baked ham? That was luxury.

He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

”Well, Ethan probably invited me too, right? I mean, we’re all tight. Wouldn’t be a party without me…”

”He did,” Mia nodded. ”That’s actually why I’m here. Ethan wants you to head to Texas and help Dr. Morgan move some equipment.”

”…Wait, what? Move stuff?” Chris’s face fell like a brick.

”Seriously?”

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