Date: April 17th, 2027
Place: New York City – Lower East Side – Elias' Apartment Building
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The horde came down the stairs like a tide of rot.
I braced my back against the wall, hammer raised, my chest heaving. Sweat dripped from my jaw, my muscles trembling with exhaustion. Every breath burned, every joint ached, but there was no time left to think.
The first one lunged. A woman in a bloodstained nightgown, her head twitching violently, her eyes pale as milk. I swung hard, the hammer crunching into her skull. She dropped instantly, but the others were already there.
A man with half his jaw missing barreled forward, teeth gnashing through the dangling flap of flesh. His hands clawed for my throat. I shoved sideways, smashing the hammer across his temple. The impact tore through bone, spraying black fluid across the wall.
But my arms were heavy. Too heavy.
The next slammed into me, driving me down the stairs. My shoulder cracked against the railing. My grip almost slipped. Its jaws snapped inches from my face, spittle hitting my skin. I roared, shoving with raw desperation, my hammer driving upward into its chin. Bone shattered, the head snapping back violently.
The HUD flared:
[HP -6]
[Current HP: 101 / 120]
[SP: 31 / 100]
[Warning: Stamina low.]
I gasped, chest heaving. My legs wobbled under me, the hammer dragging my arm down.
Too many. Too fast.
The third came at my flank. I barely had time to twist, the hammer arcing wide in a desperate swing. The head connected with its ribs, the impact sending it sprawling into the wall, bones cracking. It snarled, twitching back to its feet.
Four more still above.
"Shit!" I hissed, backing down the stairs. My boots slipped in blood, my shoulder slamming into the railing again.
And then—
A door slammed open two floors below.
"Somebody! Help!"
The voice was high, frantic, trembling. A girl's voice.
My gut twisted.
The horde shrieked at the sound, their heads snapping down toward the noise. Their pale eyes gleamed in the emergency light, their hunger redirecting instantly.
"No!" My voice broke into the chaos, raw with desperation. "Over here, you bastards! Come at me!"
I slammed the hammer against the railing, the clang echoing through the stairwell. The sound drew two of them back toward me, snarling as they lurched down the steps.
But the others ignored me. They rushed toward the voice. Toward her.
My legs moved before my brain did. I charged down the steps, hammer raised, lungs burning. My boots pounded against metal, the walls streaked with blood rushing past me.
The girl's scream cut through the air again.
I hit the landing and rounded the corner.
The hallway stretched long and narrow, lit only by the flicker of a dying bulb. At the far end, a door hung half-open. Behind it, I caught a glimpse of blonde hair, wide hazel eyes. A girl no older than eighteen, clutching the frame with trembling hands.
And charging straight for her were three zombies.
"Move!" I roared.
She froze, paralyzed by terror.
The first zombie reached for her. Its fingers brushed the doorframe.
I hit it from behind, hammer smashing through the back of its skull. Bone fragments and black sludge sprayed across the wall as the body crumpled. The second turned toward me with a guttural shriek. Its teeth snapped, blood dripping down its chin.
I swung again, the hammer crunching into its chest. Ribs shattered, the force sending it crashing into the wall. It twitched, snarling, as it tried to rise again.
The third lunged, its claws raking across my arm. Pain flared sharp, hot.
[HP -9]
[Current HP: 92 / 120]
I roared, shoving it back with my shoulder. The hammer came down hard into its skull, cracking it open like overripe fruit. The body slumped instantly, twitching once before going still.
The second snarled, staggering upright again despite its broken ribs. I stepped forward, rage burning through fatigue, and drove the hammer into its face. Bone gave way. The body crumpled.
Silence.
For a heartbeat, the world stilled. My chest heaved, my arms shook, the hammer heavy as lead. Blood dripped from my forearm where claws had raked me. My vision blurred from sweat and exhaustion.
Then I heard the faintest sob.
I turned.
The girl stood frozen in the doorway, her eyes wide, her small hands clutching the wooden frame so tightly her knuckles were white. Blonde hair framed her pale face, strands sticking to her damp cheeks. Her hazel eyes shimmered with tears.
I lowered the hammer slowly, forcing air into my lungs.
"It's okay," I rasped. My voice was raw, broken, but I forced calm into it. "It's okay. You're safe now."
She shook her head, trembling. "N-no… no one's safe."
Her voice was soft, quivering like brittle glass.
I swallowed hard, nodding once. "You're right. But you're alive. And as long as you're alive…" I tightened my grip on the hammer, my jaw setting. "I'll keep you that way."
Her lips parted in a faint sob, and for the first time since the world collapsed, I saw something flicker in another's eyes.
Not just fear.
Hope.
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