"What trickery is this?!" Rex screamed, looking wildly at the seemingly empty air. He looked at Zane as he said, "Zane..."
Zane: (His eyes still faintly glowing with the ethereal light of his recent display of telekinesis, replied with a low intensity,) beats me. It doesn't seem to be an illusion crafted from magic... (He narrowed his eyes, searching for the source of the voice.)
Zane: "I would know..." (He thought.)
The voice, low and laced with dry amusement, echoed in his mind. "Y, ofcourse you would, Zane Grants..."
Zane: Tch! You... You heard my thoughts?!
The woman, who was reloading her shotgun with desperate speed, looked at Zane in utter confusion, glancing between him, Rex, and Arthur as they all stood around talking to thin air.
The voice continued, its tone a smooth, playful mockery. "Read, but yes... heard you loud and clear."
Arthur: (Looking utterly bewildered, shouted,) mind telling us, who the fuck are you and why we here?
The voice replied with a dramatic sigh, "Hmm... I don't want to spoil the surprise, but then again you three never met me, which eould be fun. However... If I tell you, THEY would know immediately, remembering me, which would be very interesting and also annoying because it's ruining the whole vibe and all..."
Rex: What? The hell are you saying?! (He screamed, his frustration reaching a breaking point just as the ominous scraping and groaning outside intensified.)
"Nothing important... Good luck with your journeys. And remember. DON'T... DISAPPOINT..." The voice disappeared, leaving a ringing silence that was instantly shattered.
The ground began to quake violently, a sudden, powerful tremor. The Brute, a silhouette of monstrous muscle, appeared with a sickening boom directly behind the woman, its massive arm already in swinging motion for a lethal backhand.
Narration on Zane's magical ability – Precognition:
A rare and powerful skill, Zane's precognition allows him to occasionally see glimpses of the future. However, viewing the future reduces the probability of it occurring as seen. To maintain safety and prevent severe physical and mental side effects—such as muscle cramps, bloodshot eyes, or hallucinations—Zane has trained to view only 10 seconds into the future. A slight, yellow shimmer is the telltale sign of this high-strain ability being activated.
In that ten-second window of the future, Zane saw the backhand, the sickening impact, and the woman's demise. A flash of shimmering yellow light erupted around the woman in a sudden, brilliant flash. The Brute's backhand slammed against an invisible, shimmering yellow barrier that appeared momentarily when the Brute hit, the impact sending a jarring shockwave through the air. The brute roared in confusion, its arm deflected.
The woman gasped, turning around to see the colossal Brute looming over her, its attack already having been repelled by the mysterious force.
Arthur: More incoming! (He shouted, his eyes wide as he saw a new wave of shuffling figures pouring through the broken wall.)
An explosion erupted—caused by Rex, who had wasted no time. The whole wall the previous zombies had walked through collapsed on top of them, burying the shambling figures under a mountain of concrete and dust. But the reprieve was momentary. A whole horde of fresh zombies roared outside. Arthur's face paled as he saw that many of the new zombies were lean and moving with terrifying speed.
Arthur: Holy shit! They can run!
Outside, in the deserted, decaying town, a horde of zombies—a mix of lumbering Brutes and fast, sprinting runners—all headed for the abandoned warehouse. Far up in the sky, a silhouette, dark and still, levitated, watching the carnage unfold.
Zane: Guys! (He screamed, clutching his head for a brief moment, his eyes watering from the strain of the Precognition.) A little help here!
He didn't get it. The Brute, recovering instantly, charged and slammed into Zane, knocking him through the wall and into the rubble outside. It then roared, turning its attention to Zane's still form. The woman, however, quickly fired a shotgun blast directly into its face. The shot had no effect, but it grabbed the creature's attention.
Rex rushed forward, grabbing a brick single-handedly, easily charging it with kinetic energy, and throwing it into the Brute's face. It exploded with a concussive bang. "Lady, get the fuck outta here, now!" Rex yelled as the enraged Brute ran to him. Rex looked down, picking up a handful of scattered rocks, and threw them one after the other. They exploded in the Brute's face, slightly blinding it, allowing him to dive and roll to the side as the creature tore through the spot where he'd been.
The Brute ran through the wall to the outside, its roar muffled by the concrete.
A zombie roared behind Arthur. His guard was down, but the woman saved him, firing a quick, decisive shot that blew the zombie's head off. More of the running zombies poured in to attack. Arthur defended himself with precision against five of them while the woman fired shots at the rest.
Rex rushed to Zane's aid, helping him up.
Zane: Urgh... We can't keep this up, (he gasped, his voice tight with exhaustion.)
Suddenly, the same Brute returned, teleporting back with a sonic boom. Rex shoved Zane back, allowing himself to get captured again. He screamed in pain as the Brute's colossal hands clamped onto his body. The Brute tried to bite his head, but Rex used his left hand to push its massive face back, holding the creature at bay.
Zane: Rex! (He screamed, having tried to rush forward, but then saw the others in trouble.)
The woman was screaming, "Shit!" as she ran out of bullets, a zombie lunging onto her, pinning her down. She held the shotgun between her and the zombie, the only thing keeping its biting maw away.
Zane's eyes lit up ethereal. With a scream of strain, he swung his arm, using telekinesis to push the zombies attacking Arthur and the woman back. With his other hand, he projected a focused beam of light that vaporized the retreating zombies. He then collapsed onto one knee, looking up at Rex, who was charging the Brute's head.
Rex's eyes, along with the Brute's head, began to glow bright purple, then blinding white as he clenched his teeth, grunting with every ounce of his being. A bright white light beamed out of the Brute's eyes and mouth before its head exploded into a bloody moosh that covered Rex's upper body.
The Brute dropped dead, still holding onto Rex, who pried himself free and frantically wiped the gory moosh from his eyes. Now back to normal, he spat, "Ah, so gross!"
The woman, breathing heavily, ran past him, followed by Arthur, who clapped Rex on the back. "Come on! It's not over yet!"
Zane breathed heavily, still on his knee. Rex rushed up, helping him up in a struggle.
Zane: Hey, you heard the man, get up! (He nodded as they both started running toward the back entrance. Behind them, a horde of sprinting, roaring zombies followed their every step.)