Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Ethan led his crew down the stairs at a dead sprint, hoping to clear the building before the incoming crowd made it up.

But the place had over twenty floors, and they’d started from the roof. With the elevators dead, even moving fast wasn’t fast enough. By the time they hit the fifth floor, they ran straight into the oncoming group.

They nearly collided—both sides freezing for a heartbeat, startled.

Ethan exhaled sharply. Trouble hadn’t just knocked—it had kicked the damn door in and punched them in the face. No dodging it now.

This wasn’t a few hundred zombies. Not even a few thousand. This was a full-blown swarm—tens of thousands. How the hell had these people managed to stir up that kind of nightmare?

Lieutenant Park stared at Ethan and his crew, wide-eyed. He clearly hadn’t expected anyone to be up here.

Before he could say a word, Ethan cut in, voice sharp and calm. ”Stop going up. Block the stairwell below. The higher you go, the worse your chances of getting out.”

The female officer beside Park opened her mouth to argue, but Park caught on immediately. He turned and shouted down the stairs, ”Hold the stairwell! Don’t go any higher!”

The soldiers in the rear skidded to a stop. With practiced speed, they fixed bayonets to their M4s and formed a tight defensive line across the stairwell, bracing for the incoming wave.

The rest of the group didn’t linger. They shoved open the fire doors and spilled into the fifth floor.

It was an office building. This floor belonged to a large tech company—open-plan, lots of space. Even with over four hundred people crammed in, it didn’t feel suffocating.

Ethan and his crew barely had time to process the chaos when a group of women approached them.

”You… hi,” one of them said, a little breathless. ”We didn’t get a chance to thank you last time. I didn’t think we’d see you again so soon. Thank you—for saving us.”

Ethan frowned slightly as he looked them over. He could see it clearly: they’d all just barely reached Tier 1. Enhanced, sure—but only because they’d eaten the crystal cores his team had left behind. Not a single one of them had gone out to fight for more.

He sighed. Just like he’d said before—everyone walks their own path. Their choices shape their future. No one’s going to carry you forever.

He’d only helped them on a whim. A rare flicker of generosity. And in the end, it had been a waste. No more of that. Those ten-plus crystal cores would’ve been better spent feeding Pumpkin.

Shaking his head, Ethan said flatly, ”No need to thank me. We just happened to be there.”

At that moment, the female officer—tall, fit, and clearly not used to being ignored—strode over.

”Those people in the supermarket,” she said, voice tight. ”You killed them?”

She must’ve overheard the women talking.

Ethan met her eyes and didn’t bother denying it. ”Yeah. We did.”

Her expression hardened. ”People are barely surviving out here, and you’re still killing each other?”

”…What?”

Ethan blinked, then stared at her like she’d grown a second head. ”Are you serious right now? You think this is still the old world?”

”So what?” she snapped. ”Just because the world’s gone to hell, you think that gives you the right to kill whoever you want?”

”Lady, those guys weren’t just ’whoever.’ They were monsters,” one of the women said quietly from the side. ”They deserved what they got.”

”I don’t care what they did,” the officer shot back. ”That’s not your call to make. That’s what law enforcement is for. You don’t get to play judge, jury, and executioner just because you’ve got some power. People like you are the reason this apocalypse is even worse than it has to be!”

Ethan’s jaw tightened. ”Law enforcement? Where the hell were you when those women needed help? Hiding in a building? There are people dying out there right now—go save them!”

”You—!” she started, furious.

”Officer Carter! That’s enough!” Lieutenant Park’s voice cracked like a whip through the tension.

But Officer Carter didn’t back down. ”Lieutenant Park, so you’re just going to protect vigilantes now?”

”Do you even understand what kind of world we’re in?” Park snapped.

”Oh, I understand just fine. What, you think the apocalypse means we can throw out the rule of law? That we can just kill people and walk away?”

”You’re impossible!” Park growled, his frustration boiling over. He had no idea why command had saddled him with someone like her—she was a liability, not an asset.

”Lieutenant Park,” Carter said coldly, ”I hope you remember your place. You’re a soldier.”

”And what do you want me to do? Execute them on the spot?” Park shot back, eyes blazing.

”At the very least, detain them. Bring them back to the Safe Zone for trial.”

”Then you do it,” Park spat. ”Fuck this.” He turned and stormed off.

Carter’s chest rose and fell with fury. Her hands trembled as she muttered under her breath, already planning how she’d report him the moment they got back.

Then, without warning, she drew her sidearm and leveled it at Ethan and his crew.

”Hands on your heads. Get in the corner. Now.”

Ethan and the others didn’t move. They just stared at her, cold and silent.

”I said get in the corner!” she barked, voice rising.

Ethan’s gaze didn’t waver. ”And if I don’t?”

”Then I’ll shoot.”

”Go ahead,” Ethan said, voice like ice. ”Try it.”

The air went razor-sharp. Neither side budged. Around them, the crowd instinctively backed away, watching with wide eyes like they were witnessing a suicide attempt in slow motion.

Who the hell had the guts to defy a cop with a gun?

What they didn’t know was—if it weren’t for the soldiers nearby with M4s, Officer Carter would already be a corpse.

”Carter! Stand down. Holster your weapon—now!”

Lieutenant Park had turned back, face like thunder. He hadn’t wanted to get involved again, but this was too far.

If she were one of his soldiers, he’d have written her up six times over. But she wasn’t. She was a political plant, sent from above, and that made things complicated.

”Lieutenant Park, they’re dangerous. We need to detain them!”

Park didn’t answer right away.

Then Ethan turned to him, voice low and deadly. ”Lieutenant, you’d better get your girl under control. Because if you don’t, I won’t hesitate to throw her off this building and let the dead sort her out.”

Park’s jaw clenched.

”Three of you—disarm her. Move her to the other side.”

”Yes, sir!”

Three soldiers stepped forward without hesitation. One of them snatched the pistol from Carter’s hand before she could react. The others flanked her and started escorting her away.

”You can’t do this! You’ll regret this, Park! I’ll report you to the mayor himself!” she shouted, struggling as they dragged her toward a side room.

The door slammed shut behind her.

Park turned back to Ethan and his crew. ”I’m taking her out of the equation. But don’t mistake that for surrender. I’m doing it because now is not the time for infighting.”

He paused, then added, ”But the way you treat the police—like they’re nothing—do you really think the apocalypse makes them irrelevant?”

Ethan gave a faint, humorless smile. ”Lieutenant, if she weren’t police, she’d already be dead.”

Park studied them for a long moment. ”You people… you carry too much killing intent.”

Ethan’s eyes didn’t flinch. ”And you think mercy keeps you alive in this world?”

Park didn’t answer. He couldn’t. Because deep down, he knew Ethan was right.

”You know why I kept her from going after you?” Park asked quietly.

Ethan’s smile widened, just a little. ”Because you knew picking a fight with us wouldn’t end well. You’d lose people. Maybe a lot of them.”

Park gave a dry, bitter chuckle. ”You’re confident, I’ll give you that. But yeah… I’ve felt the pressure coming off you. One of you must be Tier 4, right?”

Ethan met his gaze. ”All six of us are Tier 4.”

Park’s eyes widened. ”...What?”

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