Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Vince’s death was humiliating in its way—but to his credit, he never begged. Right up to the end, he took it standing. In a world like this, that still counted for something.

What really made Michael let out a sigh of relief, though, was that Ethan and the others didn’t go full scorched-earth on Direclaw Squad. Aside from taking out a few hotheaded grunts who seemed like they might cause trouble later, the rest were spared. They simply disbanded the whole squad.

Ultimately, it had all come down to a dirty deal between Vince and Sophia. The others had no idea. No point in punishing the innocent.

Back at home, after returning from Sector Three, Ethan turned to Skinny Pete with a furrowed brow.

”Skinny Pete, any word from Nugget yet?”

”Nothing,” Skinny Pete said, shaking his head.

Ethan frowned. ”That doesn’t make sense. It’s been a full day—at Nugget’s flight speed, it should’ve scouted a hundred-mile radius easy. Those people couldn’t have gotten far with that many bodies. We should’ve found something by now.”

”I don’t get it either. I’ll try reaching out again.” Skinny Pete closed his eyes, mentally linking to the Golden Eagle Awakened pet bound to him.

A few moments later, his expression twisted oddly.

”What is it?” Ethan asked.

”I… can’t reach Nugget.”

”What do you mean? It broke the link?”

”No, I can still feel it. It’s just... I can’t transmit anything to it.” Pete paused for a second, brows pulling together. ”It feels just like that rabbit last time—the one that slipped into the Void Realm.”

”!!!”

The others all turned sharply at that.

”You’re saying Nugget might’ve entered the Void Realm?” Ethan’s voice rose a notch, hope lighting his face.

”Very possible,” Skinny Pete nodded.

”Ha! I can’t believe it—there’s actually a Void Realm nearby?” Some of them looked downright giddy.

After what they’d gained from last time, the word Void Realm was practically gold.

”But how would Nugget even find its way in there?” Sean asked, puzzled.

”No idea,” Ethan admitted. ”Could’ve been flying around, searching, and bumped into the entrance by accident. Or... maybe it was tracking someone from the Silverfox Squad and followed them inside.”

”If it stumbled on the entrance, that’s trouble,” Sean said grimly. ”That means it’s in midair somewhere—and if it doesn’t come out, we’ll never find it. But if it followed Silverfox in… maybe we’ve got a lead.”

”Still hard,” Sean continued. ”Considering how far they could’ve gone in twenty-four hours. This place is huge—and finding a Void Realm entrance? That’s a needle in a haystack situation.”

”I’ve got a rough fix on its position,” Skinny Pete said suddenly.

”For real?!” The group lit up instantly, turning to him.

”Yeah, but just an approximation. We’ll still have to search for the actual entrance ourselves.”

”No problem. I’ll find it,” Ethan said confidently.

”Right! With Ethan’s True Sight, what’s there to worry about?” someone chuckled.

”It’s getting late,” Ethan said. ”Rest up. We move out first thing tomorrow.”

”Got it!”

Then Henry spoke, voice low but intense. ”Ethan... you think the Silverfox Squad might be inside the Void Realm too?”

At this point, there was only one thing on Henry’s mind—revenge. Discovering a Void Realm nearby barely even registered.

”It’s possible. But we won’t know for sure until we find the entrance,” Ethan replied. ”Don’t worry, Henry. Whether they’re inside that Realm or not… we will find them. No matter where they hide.”

He clapped a firm hand on Henry’s shoulder.

”This revenge—it’s happening.”

Henry nodded hard, eyes burning.

”Alright,” Ethan said, glancing over at the group. ”You all stay here. I’m heading to the military compound to pick up the crystal cores—should be about a hundred thousand. I’ll also try to wrangle a couple satellite phones while I’m at it.”

Then he looked at Mia. ”Mia, dinner’s on you tonight.”

Emily was clearly in no state to cook, so it was all on Mia now.

”No problem,” Mia replied without hesitation.

”Let’s go. Chris, you’re coming with—”

”Actually…” Chris scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. ”Mind if I stay here instead? I’ll keep Henry and Emily company.”

Ethan gave him a look. ”You mean you want to be with Emily.”

He sighed and waved it off. ”Whatever. Sean, come with me.”

”Sure.”

Ethan and Sean made their way toward the military district at the heart of the compound. Just as they arrived at the gate, a soldier jogged up to meet them.

”Mr. Ethan, sir. Are you here to see General Cross?”

”Yeah,” Ethan nodded.

”Alright, please wait here a moment—I’ll go notify him immediately.”

The soldier turned and ran off into the compound.

Sean glanced around, lips tugging into a grin. ”Boss, gotta say—your face really opens doors around here. Bet anyone else trying to see the General would be jumping through hoops.”

”It’s not my face,” Ethan said evenly. ”It’s what we bring to the table. Without strength, we’d still be standing outside—no one’d even say hello.”

”Same world, different currency.”

Sean laughed. ”Fair enough. Good thing you didn’t say that in front of Chris, though. Guy would’ve gone off again.”

Ethan chuckled. ”He’s got new priorities now. Pretty sure those old wounds won’t last much longer.”

...

Inside the Military Command Center, General Cross sat flanked by Directors Michael and Vaughn. Across the table, a young man and woman were seated, likely in their late twenties. The man looked fairly average, but the woman… not bad. Presentable.

”Thanks for coming all the way from Atlas City,” General Cross said politely, giving the two guests a nod.

”Eh, not like we had a choice. Orders from the top,” the young man replied with a helpless smile. ”Still, we didn’t expect to find the compound here managed so well.”

”Managed?” General Cross snorted lightly. ”This place can’t compare to Atlas City. I’m just a soldier. Good at fighting. Not so much the admin side.”

”You’re being modest, General,” the woman said with a polite smile. ”But if it’s really putting that much strain on you, I can make a request on your behalf—have the higher-ups assign some government officials to assist.”

”Uh… that won’t be necessary,” Cross said quickly. ”Directors Michael and Vaughn are already here. With them handling the day-to-day, things stay functional.”

He didn’t say it outright, but his position was clear—this compound was his baby. He had no intention of letting some bureaucrat drop in from nowhere and start calling shots.

General Cross shifted the topic. ”Since satellite comms are mostly restored now, and you were sent here personally, I’m guessing there’s something important?”

The young man leaned forward slightly, voice serious. ”Yeah. There are a few things we need to discuss face-to-face.”

Just then, a knock sounded at the command center entrance, followed by a voice from outside:

”General Cross, Ethan and his team just arrived.”

”They’re here?” Cross stood up, waving the aides toward the door. ”Good, bring them in!”

He turned back to the two guests, offering an almost apologetic look. ”Sorry, but would you two mind stepping out for a few minutes? I’ve got an important visitor to receive.”

The young man frowned. ”General Cross, we’re in the middle of an official discussion. What could be more important than this?”

”This is different,” Cross said, maintaining a steady tone. ”They’re a bit of a special case. Won’t take long, alright? You’re going to be in town for a while anyway—we’ve got time to finish talking.”

The woman raised an eyebrow with interest. ”Now I’m curious. If they’re so important, how about we just stay and have a look? We won’t interfere—just sit here quietly. Pure curiosity.”

Cross paused, brows knit together.

Neither of these parties was someone he could afford to offend outright. After a moment of hesitation, he gave a resigned nod.

”Fine—but please keep comments to a minimum.”

”No problem,” the woman smiled.