Samantha and Lee stood frozen, struggling to contain their anger toward the cruelty of the hooded boy before them. Both desperately wanted to volunteer in Rosa's place, but they knew the Lone Wolf would never allow it. They had already played his twisted game—now it was Rosa's turn. Despite Samantha having dealt with the toughest ones, even the ordinary zombies posed a serious challenge for Rosa.
"S-Samantha... I'm scared..." Rosa whimpered, her body trembling uncontrollably. She didn't want to step inside the circle, didn't want to face these undead horrors. She just wanted to wake up from this nightmare. She wanted her mommy and daddy back.
Lee gritted his teeth and glared at Jarlath. "Show some mercy! She's just a child!"
Jarlath's cold silence suggested that further pleas would only provoke him. Lee and Samantha quickly realized that reasoning with this sadist was futile. Jarlath sought only amusement to cure his boredom, and he was determined to get it—no matter the cost.
"It's going to be okay, Rosa. I'll teach you a few tricks," Lee reassured her, patting her head before handing her a knife. "Someday, you're going to have to face monsters. I just didn't think it would be today."
"I-I don't want to!" Rosa shouted, her defiance flickering as she glanced at Jarlath's cold, wolf-like eyes. Her rebellious expression melted into one of fear. She knew she had no choice. If she didn't fight, she would die.
"Listen, Rosa," Lee began, his voice calm but firm. "There are five zombies. Three of them are Walkers, slow and clumsy. You can knock them down by going for their legs. Once they're on the ground, use the knife to stab them in the head. Just don't let the others surround you, alright?"
Rosa stared at the knife, her hands shaking, but she managed a shaky nod. "O-Okay..."
"The other two are different," Lee continued, pointing to the grotesque creature with a single bony claw for a hand. "That's a Boneclaw. They're aggressive, and they'll flail their arms wildly. Best thing to do is keep your distance—throw something at it to slow it down. There are garbage bins around here you can use."
Rosa's sweat-drenched face paled even further. "And the other one?" she asked, her voice barely audible.
"That one with the machete?" Lee replied grimly. "That's a Slasher. Silent, patient, deadly. You won't hear it coming until it's too late, so you need to be quick and cautious. Don't give it a chance to strike."
"Lee!" Samantha interjected, her voice sharp. "You're scaring her even more!"
Rosa collapsed to her knees, frozen with fear. "I... I want my mommy and daddy..." she whimpered.
Jarlath, growing impatient, let out an exasperated sigh. "I've been generous enough to let you coach the child, but you're boring me now." His tone darkened as he gestured lazily with his fingers, signaling more zombies lurking in the building and whispering something to them about a new order briefly. "Get in the circle and entertain me, or today will be your last."
"Rosa, can you move?" Samantha asked, her worry evident. She could see that her little cousin was paralyzed by fear. It was unfair—Rosa shouldn't have to face these monsters yet.
But Rosa didn't respond, lost in her despair. "Mommy... Daddy..."
"Damn it," Lee cursed under his breath. In a sudden, desperate move, he pulled a pistol from his ankle holster and aimed it directly at Jarlath. "The game's over, you psycho! Let us go, or I'll shoot you! If it means going down with these undead, then so be it—I'll take you down with us!"
Jarlath merely snorted, slow claps echoing mockingly across the rooftop. "What a delightful threat," he mused. "But what makes you think I've only got five zombies up here?"
In that instant, a hidden Slasher zombie struck from the shadows. With one swift motion, it severed Lee's hand, blood spurting violently from the wound. His scream of agony pierced the night as Samantha scrambled to stop the bleeding, desperately wrapping a bandage around his wrist.
Jarlath winced theatrically before letting out a low chuckle. "Now that's going to leave a mark."
"You monster!" Samantha shouted at him, her eyes filled with fury as she continued tending to Lee.
Jarlath's expression darkened for a moment, as if stung by the word. "I warned you, princess," he snarled, his voice no longer playful. "You treat me like a joke—just like everyone did before this world went to shit!" He took a deep breath, forcing himself to regain control. The zombies began to advance, all six of them moving in unison. His cold, calculating gaze returned as he fixed his attention back on them. "If the child won't entertain me, maybe I'll take a visit to your former settlement instead."
Samantha, Lee, and Rosa were shocked. Neither Samantha nor Lee had expected this psychopath to know the location of their settlement. It had to be because of the zombies he controlled. Meanwhile, Rosa struggled to find her courage. She couldn't let this maniac attack her home and the people she loved.
"I—" Rosa began, trying to summon her bravery, but before she could continue, the door burst open.
It was Samantha's father, Carl, covered in blood after fighting off hordes of zombies with nothing but his bare hands. Jarlath had destroyed their weapons earlier, leaving Carl no choice but to battle his way through to the rooftop. His mind was filled with one thought: to kill this psychopath and end his reign of terror before more lives were lost.
Samantha's eyes filled with tears at the sight of her father. "Father!"
Lee, groaning in pain, managed a weak smile. "Glad... to see you're alive, sir."
Carl froze in horror when he saw Lee's severed hand but quickly turned to kill the Slasher zombie that had attacked him. Rage filled his voice as he shouted, "I'm going to kill you, you bastard!"
Jarlath, unfazed, gave Carl a mocking grin. "Ah, I see you survived. But you've made a grave mistake."
He cupped his hand to his ear, as if listening for something. "Do you hear that? I wasn't controlling the zombies in the building. I have limits. The ones you killed were connected to the hive mind."
Carl's eyes widened in realization. "You—!"
Jarlath's smirk deepened. "Don't look at me like that. I wasn't the one who recklessly endangered his own family."
"You trickster!" Lee growled weakly, his face pale from blood loss.
"Lee!" Samantha cried, turning to her father. "Father, we need to go back to the settlement! We'll face shame for leaving earlier, but Lee won't survive without proper medical treatment. Please, we have to go!"
Carl was torn, his fists still clenched in rage. But Samantha's words rang true—Lee wouldn't last much longer. He couldn't let his anger cloud his judgment now.
Jarlath, ever the provocateur, taunted him. "What's it going to be, old man? Wasting time trying to kill me, or saving your friend? The five zombies left here aren't much, but I've got a little surprise tucked away for my own protection."
"Damn it! Let's go, Rosa!" Carl finally barked. He turned and scooped Lee up, running toward the door he had entered through, with Samantha close behind. "This isn't over, you bastard! When we meet again, I'll make you pay for everything!"
As they fled, Jarlath snorted, clearly amused. "That never gets old," he muttered. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed something strange. Rosa was still there.
"What are you doing?" Jarlath asked, sounding both confused and irritated. "Why didn't those idiots even bother to check if you were following?"
Rosa stood trembling, but her expression was resolute. She had stayed behind. She was preparing to fight the zombies—for her settlement, for the people she loved. She couldn't bear the thought of them suffering because of her own fear. She was terrified, but she knew she couldn't let her cowardice put others at risk.
"Aren't you going to send the zombies to attack my settlement if I don't fight?" Rosa asked, her voice shaking but determined. "I won't let them die because of me. If I win... will you leave us alone?"
Jarlath raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised. "You're more concerned about your settlement than the fact that a horde of zombies is already on its way here?" He couldn't fathom this child's thought process. Moments ago, she had been paralyzed with fear, but now she was determined to fight for a place he didn't even know existed.
"Please," Rosa continued, gripping the knife's handle tightly, her knuckles white. "I don't want anyone to die because of me."
Jarlath stared at her in silence, his expression unreadable. In the past two years, he had never seen a child act like this. All the other children he had encountered screamed and panicked, attracting zombies like fools. He had never wasted his time saving them—he couldn't control that many zombies anyway. But this girl was different. She was frightened, yet still willing to fight, not for herself but for others.
Scoffing, Jarlath shook his head. "It's too late, little girl. You're about to become zombie food right here."
Rosa's eyes widened in shock. "Wha—?"
Before she could react, a zombie lunged at her, and everything went black.
———
A few seconds later, zombies began to swarm the building as Samantha and her father, Carl, raced for their lives, Carl struggling to carry the dying Lee. The bodies of the zombies Carl had killed lay scattered on the floor, their heads crushed as if they were nothing more than smashed cupcakes. As they ran, a terrible realization dawned on them—Rosa wasn't with them. Both Samantha and Carl stopped abruptly, glancing back in panic.
"Shit! Why didn't she follow us!?" Carl cursed, torn between going back to retrieve his niece and continuing to carry the critically injured Lee. "Damn it! Samantha, can you carry your boyfriend!?"
"He's not my boyfriend, Dad! But what are you going to do? You're exhausted! I'm the one going back!" Samantha protested, unwilling to let her father, worn from battle, return for Rosa.
Carl hesitated but realized he had no choice. He had to trust his daughter. With a reluctant nod, he continued down the stairs with Lee in his arms.
Samantha, now resolved, prepared to ascend back to the rooftop. As she approached the windows, she caught a glimpse of Walkers slowly wandering the streets below. So far, there were no Runners, which was fortunate, but she noticed Climbers scaling a nearby building.
Time was running out—she needed to retrieve Rosa quickly. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something that made her stop in her tracks.
"Rosa?" Samantha murmured in confusion.
Breaking the window, she leaned out to see a Climber descending the side of the building at an aggressive speed—with Rosa in its arms. Her mind raced. Why wasn't the zombie attacking Rosa? Why was it carrying her instead of devouring her? Pushing her confusion aside, she knew she had to act. Without hesitation, she darted downstairs to intercept the creature.
On the second floor, Carl glanced back to see Samantha charging toward him, but before he could call out, he watched in shock as his daughter leapt through a window and tackled the Climber, knocking it away from Rosa. With both girls plummeting toward the ground, Carl's heart raced. He rushed to the window just in time to see them land in a dumpster bin, Rosa lying unconscious on top of Samantha.
Carl sighed in relief, murmuring to himself, "She gets it from her mother."
He hurried down the stairs and outside, where zombies were beginning to gather around the building. The sound of the undead grew louder by the second. They had to escape before more dangerous types arrived. Reaching his daughter, he saw her cradling Rosa, who was still unconscious but alive.
"Are you alright?" Carl asked, concern etched on his face. He prayed Samantha wasn't too injured to keep moving.
"I'm fine," Samantha replied, biting her lip to mask the pain from her fall. "Rosa's alright too."
"I don't know what just happened, but we'll talk about it later. We need to get out of here now," Carl urged, and Samantha nodded in agreement.
With no time to waste, they fled from the building just as the zombies swarmed inside. The air filled with the sounds of scratching, gnawing, bones snapping, and flesh tearing. A gunshot rang out, and moments later, Jarlath emerged from the building, flanked by at least fifteen zombies under his control.
Jarlath groaned in frustration, ruffling his hair in annoyance before shooting one of the zombies at random. "Damn that old man! Ruined my fun! I didn't even get to enjoy watching those two suffer in boredom. It's always the elderly messing up the entertainment."
As the zombies ambled toward him, Jarlath was about to send the remaining fourteen to pursue Samantha, Carl, and Rosa. His attention, however, was drawn to something else. He noticed the decapitated Climber lying in the dumpster bin, clearly the one that had been carrying Rosa.
Snorting, Jarlath bent down, tapping the lifeless Climber's legs with a curious smirk. "And people say I'm a psychopath."
Earlier...
When Jarlath commanded the Boneclaw to lunge at Rosa, she fainted before it could reach her. He had intended to scare her enough so that she would reunite with her family in terror, but her fainting had the opposite effect—it irritated him.
"Let's go," Jarlath muttered, deciding to leave the unconscious child behind. The thought of her family returning to rescue her, only to be ambushed by his incoming zombie horde, offered him some consolation for the loss of his earlier amusement.
Just as he and the five zombies began to descend the stairs, he heard a growling sound near the rooftop's edge. It was a Climber, and it wasn't alone—three other Climbers followed, clambering up the side of the building. Jarlath initially considered controlling them, but the idea of watching them devour a child intrigued him. After all, it wasn't something he had seen before. He smiled in anticipation as they drew closer to Rosa.
"I've never seen a kid get eaten by zombies before," Jarlath said to himself, sitting down on the rooftop floor, waiting for the carnage to unfold.
As the four Climbers reached Rosa, she whispered, "Mommy... daddy..."
Jarlath's expression shifted. His amusement faded, replaced by an eerie seriousness. His head lowered slightly as he gave a sudden command: "Stop."
The Climbers froze, mere inches from tearing Rosa apart, completely immobilized by his will. Jarlath stood and walked toward the motionless zombies, his face a mask of frustration.
"You three, walk off the building and die," he ordered coldly.
Without hesitation, the three Climbers obediently walked to the rooftop's edge and fell to their deaths below.
Jarlath then turned his gaze to the fourth Climber, the one still standing over Rosa. The girl's murmurs for her parents grated on his nerves, intensifying his irritation. Clenching his fists, he struggled to control his anger, then erupted into brief laughter before delivering a swift punch to the Climber's face, causing its left eye to burst out.
"And you," Jarlath said through gritted teeth, "take her down safely. Once you're done, kill yourself."
With his final command, the Climber carefully lifted the unconscious girl and began scaling down the side of the building at a rapid pace.
"Stupid, annoying girl," Jarlath muttered as he walked away. "I should've just let her die."
Back to the present...
As Jarlath strolled through the zombie-infested streets, the sun setting behind him, his thoughts wandered. He wondered if there were any survivors left to torment. Today had left him feeling strangely unsatisfied. Not a single death to show for his efforts. He regretted letting the Slasher merely take Lee's hand; he should've let it finish the job. He would've found more enjoyment if the arrogant man had died.
"Die. Die. Die," Jarlath commanded the nearby zombies. In response, they obediently began to kill themselves in various gruesome ways. He watched with mild amusement as they mutilated their own bodies at his will, though even this twisted display was beginning to lose its novelty.
"I need to find a Gargantuan," he mused aloud. "Watching common and variant zombies fight a behemoth like that might make me feel... something. I don't even know anymore."
Unbeknownst to him, someone had been trailing him since he left the building. This mysterious figure, wielding a red pipe wrench, was quietly stalking Jarlath, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. The hatred burning in their eyes promised that Jarlath's reign of torment would soon face a reckoning.