Days passed quietly. Too quietly. The kind of calm that makes everyone uneasy, as if the world was holding its breath. No zombies, no strange noises—just wind moving through cracked streets and broken buildings. The survivors inside the camp had begun to relax a little, believing maybe, just maybe, the horror had ended.
But peace never lasts long in this world.
It started with a faint tremor beneath their feet. At first, people thought it was an earthquake. Then came the sound—a deep, heavy thud. Another. And another. Like footsteps… far too heavy to belong to anything human.
Derek looked over the wall, his voice sharp. "You all hear that?"
Leo adjusted his rifle. "Yeah. And it's coming this way."
Before anyone could react—CRASH! The wall exploded outward. Bricks and metal flew like paper as a massive figure burst through the dust.
It was enormous—muscular, towering, wearing what looked like a tattered lab coat that barely clung to its broad frame. Its face was hidden behind a silver mask, cold and expressionless. The creature didn't roar—it just moved with purpose, as if it knew exactly what it was doing.
Panic erupted instantly. People screamed, scattering. The guards fired their weapons, but the bullets barely slowed it down. The thing kept advancing, swatting debris aside like toys.
Jordan, Maya, Derek, and Leo were on the wall when the blast hit. They were thrown backward, tumbling down hard onto the ground. Derek groaned, clutching his shoulder. Leo tried to get up, but the shock had knocked the air out of his lungs.
The creature stepped into the camp, heavy and unstoppable. The gunfire barely made a difference—it just kept going, each step shaking the ground beneath them.
"Fall back!" Leo shouted, dragging Derek behind a barricade.
Maya's mind was racing. She'd seen something like this before—creatures altered by experiments. The coat, the mask… this wasn't random. Someone had made it.
Her fingers shook as she dug through her bag, pulling out jars of chemicals, wires, and scraps of metal. "Come on… think, think…" she whispered to herself.
She started assembling something—a makeshift explosive, her hands moving on instinct. Her father had taught her enough about chemistry to know what she was doing was risky, but they didn't have time to think about risk anymore.
The others covered her, firing to distract the creature as it turned toward them. Its masked head tilted slightly, like it was curious. Then it started walking straight for Maya.
"Almost done…" she muttered, tying off the last wire. The bomb was crude, but it might just be enough. She pulled the fuse and threw it with all her strength.
The explosion hit the creature square in the chest—fire and smoke filled the air. For a moment, everyone froze, hoping it was over. But as the smoke cleared, the creature was still standing—injured, yes, but still moving.
Leo's voice dropped. "That didn't stop it."
The creature began walking again, slower but steady. Its eyes behind the mask glowed faintly. Maya backed away, exhausted, her arm scraped and bleeding from the fall.
And then—
A blur shot out of the smoke.
Someone sprinted forward—fast. The figure leaped into the air and landed a clean, heavy punch straight to the creature's jaw. The sound cracked like thunder. The monster staggered backward, stumbling for the first time.
Everyone froze.
It was a girl—young, but strong, her face hidden by a dark hood. She turned to Maya, voice sharp but calm. "You made that bomb?"
Maya nodded, stunned. "Y-yeah—"
"Good. Got another one?"
Maya hesitated, then handed her the last explosive she'd been saving. The girl took it without another word, sprinting toward the creature again.
The monster lunged to grab her, but she was faster—sliding low under its arm, climbing its back like a blur of motion. In one swift move, she shoved the explosive deep into the cracks of its armor and jumped away.
A second later, a burst of flame and smoke erupted. The creature let out a muffled groan, stumbled a few steps forward, then finally fell.
Silence followed.
Smoke drifted through the camp, and the only sound left was the faint hiss of burning metal. The air was heavy with disbelief.
The girl landed softly, brushing the dust off her hands. She looked at the ruined wall, then back at the stunned survivors. "You'll want to fix that," she said quietly. "There might be more of them."
Leo stepped forward, still catching his breath. "Wait—who are you?"
But the girl didn't answer. She just turned away, walking toward the shadows beyond the camp.
Maya stood there, her hands trembling. "She saved us…" she whispered.
Jordan sheathed his katana, still wide-eyed. "Yeah. But from what?"
The question hung in the air. No one spoke. No one knew.
For now, the monster was gone.
But peace? Peace had never felt so fragile.