Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Room 308...

”Looks like they’re all gone,” Ethan said, peering out the window.

”Yeah, probably,” Chris replied. ”Feels like we’re the only ones left in this whole dorm building.”

”Wake Henry up. We’re heading out to scavenge the other dorms.”

”...”

”Wait—Ethan, don’t tell me the only reason you wanted to stay an extra day was for this.”

”Of course not,” Ethan said with a grin. ”Mostly, I just sleep better in a real bed.”

Chris rolled his eyes.

”Besides, now that the zombies have cleared out, those other guys probably already picked the place clean. We’re not gonna find much food.”

”Then why go?”

”We’re not just looking for food. We need everyday stuff—clothes, power banks, lighters, that kind of thing.”

”Got it.”

Chris gave a nod and went to rouse Henry. The three of them shoved the bed aside and slipped out of the room.

The dorm building was nearly empty now—no zombies in sight. The emergency broadcast was still blaring, pumping out bass-heavy club tracks that lured the undead like moths to a flame.

But it wouldn’t last. Sooner or later, the speakers would get trashed, and when that happened, the zombies would start wandering again.

They moved room by room, sweeping each floor. Occasionally, they ran into a stray zombie, but nothing they couldn’t handle.

After two hours, they’d cleared floors one through six.

Just like Ethan predicted, food was scarce. But they’d filled an entire backpack with useful supplies—soap, socks, even a half-full bottle of cologne.

”Let’s drop this stuff off and head out,” Ethan said.

”Out where?” Chris and Henry asked in unison, both raising their eyebrows.

”To hunt a mutated zombie.”

Chris’s eyes lit up. Henry just blinked, confused.

He didn’t ask questions, though. He just followed.

Back in their room, they stashed the haul. Ethan handed Henry a steel pipe—makeshift weapon number three—and the trio headed out.

Most people were doing everything they could to avoid zombies. These three? They were actively hunting them down. Not just any zombies, either—mutated ones.

The thing was, even if you knew mutated zombies had crystals in their skulls—valuable ones—it didn’t help much. They looked just like regular zombies. No glowing eyes, no extra limbs. Just stronger. Meaner.

And you couldn’t exactly test every zombie’s strength one by one.

But Ethan had an edge: his [True Sight] ability. With it, he could spot a mutated zombie even if it was buried in the middle of a horde.

They left the dorm and hadn’t gone far before they spotted a group of zombies clustered around a speaker, swaying to the beat like undead ravers.

Ethan gave them a glance, shook his head, and kept walking.

They wandered for a while, running into a dozen or so zombie packs. None of them had what they were looking for.

Luckily, Ethan’s [True Sight] let them steer clear of danger. He always saw them first, and they’d duck away before things got messy.

Only a few times did they have to fight—just when there was no way around it. Chris and Henry handled those without breaking a sweat.

Then, as they passed through a small grove of trees, Ethan suddenly stopped.

His eyes lit up.

”You found one?” Chris asked, voice tight with excitement.

”Yeah,” Ethan said, grinning. ”Though... it’s a little NSFW.”

”What do you mean?”

”Small woods. One guy, one girl. You do the math.”

”No way,” Henry said, eyes wide. ”Zombies are getting freaky now?”

”Please,” Ethan snorted. ”Back in the day, me and Lola—”

”Stop. Spare us the highlight reel,” Chris cut in. ”Your ex-girlfriend Lola’s already sleeping with someone else.”

”...”

Ethan crouched, eyes narrowing. ”Two zombies. The girl’s the mutated one. Guy’s just a regular. I’ll take the girl. Chris, you handle the guy. Henry, hang back. Quick and quiet—we don’t want to draw a crowd.”

”Understood.”

”Let’s move.”

The three of them slipped into the woods, ducking under low branches and pushing through thick underbrush. The grove was dense—once inside, it was nearly impossible to see in from the outside. No wonder those two zombies had gotten so bold. Without Ethan’s [True Sight], they’d have gone completely unnoticed.

They moved fast, and it didn’t take long to spot their targets. But the moment Chris and Henry laid eyes on the scene, both of them froze, eyes wide.

”Holy shit,” Chris muttered. ”This really is not safe for work.”

”Were they... mid-bang when they turned?” Henry asked, blinking hard.

”Honestly? Wouldn’t be surprised,” Ethan said.

”Alright, enough commentary—they’re coming in hot.”

The two zombies clearly had no shame. The second they saw living flesh, they lit up with excitement and lunged forward.

Or tried to.

Their pants were still bunched around their ankles—half-on, half-off. They managed a few awkward steps before both of them tripped and faceplanted into the dirt.

”...”

All three of them stood there for a beat, a single bead of sweat sliding down each forehead.

”Well, that explains why they didn’t follow the music,” Chris said, deadpan. ”They couldn’t run.”

The zombies scrambled back to their feet, only to stumble again. The female’s shirt had ridden up, exposing her large, pale breasts, which smacked the ground with every fall like a pair of overripe melons.

”Think she’s gonna break something?” Henry asked, half-concerned, half-fascinated.

”Nah,” Chris said knowingly. ”Those things are built to bounce.”

”...”

”Alright, enough. Let’s finish this before we draw a crowd,” Ethan said, voice sharp.

”Got it.”

They moved in. Two quick strikes to the head.

It was almost too easy.

Chris took out the male zombie in one clean jab. Ethan had to stab the female seven or eight times before she finally stopped twitching. Mutated zombies were tougher, no question.

And this one? She was stronger than the two he’d killed yesterday.

”Strange,” Ethan muttered, frowning. ”Shouldn’t a female body be weaker than a male’s? Unless... zombies can evolve?”

The thought hit him like a cold splash of water. If they were getting stronger over time, that changed everything.

”Damn shame, though,” Henry said, eyeing the fallen female zombie with a sigh.

Ethan smirked. ”Hey, virgin boy—if necrophilia’s your thing, now’s your moment.”

”Ugh, gross! I’m not into that! And I’ve told you a million times—I’m not a virgin!” Henry snapped.

”You also said you’ve never even held a girl’s hand. If you’re not a virgin, then who is?”

”...”

Ethan crouched beside the corpse and reached into her skull, fingers slick with gore. After a moment of searching, he pulled out a small, blood-red crystal.

”This what you meant by energy crystal?” Henry asked, eyes wide with curiosity.

”Yup. Here.” Ethan tossed it to him. ”Eat it.”

”Wait—me?” Henry caught it, stunned.

”Who else? You’re the weakest one here. You wanna keep dragging us down?”

Henry hesitated, then nodded. He knew exactly how valuable this was. He gave the other two a grateful look, wiped the crystal clean on his shirt, and swallowed it whole with his eyes shut tight.

A few moments later, the three of them—now all powered up—headed back out into the world, hunting for their next mutated zombie.

...