Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Clearford City Compound – Operations Center.

General Cross and Colonel Mitchell were deep in discussion, poring over strategies to deal with the Tier 9 zombie.

Suddenly, a rapid knock pounded on the command room door.

”General Cross! Urgent report!” came a tense voice from outside.

Both men snapped to attention. General Cross immediately called out, ”Come in!”

The door swung open, and three figures rushed inside.

”Aren’t you the team monitoring the Tier 9 zombie?” General Cross asked, frowning in confusion.

”General, we’ve got critical intel. That Tier 9 zombie might’ve been killed!” one of them blurted out.

”What!?”

General Cross and Colonel Mitchell shot to their feet.

”Explain. Now.”

The three scouts quickly laid out everything they’d seen, not skipping a detail.

When they finished, General Cross and Colonel Mitchell exchanged a look—both visibly shaken.

If they didn’t trust the integrity of their own men, they’d have thought this was some kind of joke.

”An eight-person squad? Do we even have a team that strong in the compound?” General Cross asked, turning to Colonel Mitchell.

Mitchell ran through the roster in his head but came up blank. A squad capable of taking down a Tier 9 wouldn’t be flying under the radar.

Then something clicked.

”General, remember what Director Vaughn said yesterday? About a new squad arriving—all Tier 6 Enhanced? I think there were eight of them.”

”Oh, right! That’s them!” General Cross’s eyes lit up. ”Get Director Vaughn in here. Now.”

”On it.”

A few minutes later, a man in his thirties strode briskly into the command room.

”General Cross, you called me over in a rush—what’s going on? I’ve got a few things on my plate right now.”

”Put them on hold,” General Cross said sharply. ”Where’s that eight-man squad that arrived yesterday? The Tier 6 Enhanced team. Where are they right now?”

Director Vaughn blinked. ”Wait—you already know?”

”You know too?” General Cross shot a glance at the three scouts, just as confused.

The scouts looked equally puzzled. They’d come straight here after returning—how did Vaughn already know?

”I’m in charge of Enhanced personnel,” Vaughn said, as if it were obvious. ”Of course I’d know first.”

”Fine, we’ll sort that out later. Just tell me—where are they now?”

”Enhanced Enforcement Division.”

—!!!

Everyone in the room sucked in a sharp breath.

”You sent them to the Enhanced Enforcement Division?!” General Cross’s eyes went wide.

”Yeah,” Director Vaughn replied, like it was obvious. ”Didn’t you already hear? They killed people inside the compound—of course they had to be taken in. But apparently, they’re a handful. The team down there couldn’t handle them and called me in. I was just about to head over when you summoned me.”

Colonel Mitchell looked between them, confused. ”Wait… something’s not adding up here. General, why are you acting like this is a big deal? Don’t you know what they did today?”

”Of course I do. They killed people in the compound.”

”…”

That’s when everyone realized—this was a complete misunderstanding.

”Move! We’re going to the Enhanced Enforcement Division!” General Cross barked, already heading for the door.

”You’re going personally?” Director Vaughn blinked. ”Isn’t that a bit much?”

”A bit much?” General Cross snapped. ”If this isn’t handled right, the entire compound could go up in flames!”

”!!”

Colonel Mitchell flinched. ”It… it can’t be that serious, right?”

”Move!”

As they rushed out, General Cross suddenly asked, ”Who did they kill?”

”Tyler from Ironfang Squad, along with over a dozen of their members,” Colonel Mitchell answered quickly. ”From what we gathered, Ironfang Squad started it. They tried to shake them down and got steamrolled.”

”Steamrolled?” General Cross snorted. ”They didn’t just kick a steel plate—they kicked a damn titanium wall. Shit! We’ve been way too soft on those Ironfang bastards. Now look what it’s cost us!”

”General Cross,” Colonel Mitchell said, still trying to wrap his head around it, ”what the hell is going on? Why are you so worked up over this squad?”

”That Tier 9 zombie,” General Cross said grimly. ”It’s dead. Killed in its own lair—surrounded by hundreds of thousands of zombies.”

”And the ones who did it?” Colonel Mitchell added. ”There’s an eighty percent chance it was them.”

”!!!”

Director Vaughn’s eyes went wide. Then his face turned pale. ”Shit—we need to get there now. The guys at Enhanced Enforcement don’t hold back!”

”…”

And just like that, the three top brass of the compound took off at a dead sprint toward the Enhanced Enforcement Division.

...

The Enhanced Enforcement Division—nightmare of every Enhanced in the compound.

This was where rule-breakers were punished.

The compound’s rules for Enhanced were pretty relaxed, but there were still lines you didn’t cross: no killing inside the compound, no attacking civilians, no rape. The old-world laws didn’t work anymore, so the compound had its own post-apocalypse code.

Break it, and you got sent here.

Best case? You left with broken bones. Worst case? You didn’t leave at all.

The leadership knew the times called for harsh measures. And the Enhanced Enforcement Division delivered. Their brutal methods kept even the strongest squads in line. No one dared test them.

But right now, something was… off.

Inside the Division, the eight ”offenders” were casually strolling through the facility, looking around like tourists on a field trip.

And the Military Police? The feared enforcers of the compound?

They were trailing behind like defeated interns, dead-eyed and silent, forced to give a guided tour.

These were the same MPs that every Enhanced in the compound feared. But now? They looked like they’d rather be anywhere else.

Could you blame them?

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to enforce the rules.

They just couldn’t.

A quick glance at the floor told the story—bodies everywhere. Dozens of MPs were down, groaning or unconscious. Some of them were Tier 7 Enhanced—the Division’s top combat assets.

When the eight were first brought in, the MPs had tried to assert dominance. Standard procedure: rough them up a little, make them cooperate.

But the moment they made a move, they were flattened. One hit. No powers. No time to react.

Even the Tier 7s didn’t get a chance to activate their abilities before they were knocked out cold.

What were the MPs supposed to do? Guns were useless at this level. What were they gonna do—bring in artillery?

This was the Enhanced Enforcement Division. There were no tanks here.

Thankfully, the eight hadn’t gone for lethal force. The MPs on the ground were just incapacitated—no one was dead.

And now, the squad seemed genuinely curious about the place. So here they were—MPs turned tour guides, praying someone from the top would show up soon.

They couldn’t take much more of this.

...

Outside the Division, a massive crowd had gathered.

People loved a good spectacle—especially when it didn’t involve them.

Everyone wanted to see what would happen to the lunatics who dared kill inside the compound.

Rumor had it they weren’t just Tier 6. That only made things more interesting.

In the crowd, Rourke Vance—captain of Ironfang Squad—had returned. He stood at the front, flanked by every member of his squad.

He was here to watch those bastards die.

If the military didn’t execute them, he would.

They’d snapped his brother’s neck in front of everyone. That blood debt had to be paid.

Just then, the crowd stirred.

A group of people was sprinting toward the Division.

When they saw who was leading them, everyone’s eyes went wide.

”No way… even he showed up?”