I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down as I looked out the window. Undead moved through the town; some were even inside the building. I quickly drew my sword and decapitated each one in rapid succession before climbing onto the roof to get a better view of the surroundings.
My eyes landed on the school. Hundreds of walkers were breaking inside. In a top-floor classroom, five of our men were still alive. One of them was a Moonshine brother, an arrow lodged in his shoulder. He wasn't the only one wounded, others suffered from bullet wounds, arrows, and broken bones. They lay bleeding on the floor, barely clinging to life.
"Tim Smith, look at the tall building straight ahead of you," I said into the radio. He noticed me on the roof and waved.
The Moonshine brother radioed me.
"Max, thank God you're alive. We need to warn the community—the walkers are out of control and heading toward the camps. If we don't, everyone will die."
He groaned as he spoke, snapping the arrow out of his shoulder. A man beside him succumbed to blood loss. He swiftly stabbed the man's head, then continued as if it were nothing.
"I don't… think we're going to make it. You need to tell them… fuck! How did the Collectors know we were coming this way?" After a brief pause, he shouted angrily, "Sergeant—that bastard!"
He looked at his dying men, then down at the chaos below.
At the rate the undead were moving, it would take only a couple of hours for them to reach the camp. The situation was beyond dire. The only thought in my mind was Clementine. I needed to reach her as fast as possible.
The only way out was my bike below, surrounded by walkers. My explosives were already used up.
"I need to get to my bike. Do you have any explosives to divert the walkers' attention?" I asked.
"We have a couple," he replied, "but we can't throw them that far. And there's no way for you to reach us. You'll need to find another way."
As he spoke, I jumped from the roof toward a house thirty feet away, landing hard on the shingles. I leapt from rooftop to rooftop.
"What—what the fuck!" he shouted in disbelief as he watched me cross the buildings.
Within a few jumps, I reached the school's roof.
"Fucking hell—are you even human, kid?"
I ignored him and went inside, cutting down several walkers along the way. I sprinted toward the classroom where they were barricaded and kicked the door clean off its hinges. The moment I saw the four remaining men, I knew how bad it was. Blood pooled beneath them. One had been bitten on the shoulder, staring blankly at the ceiling. Without hesitation, I put him down and grabbed all the explosives and fourteen magazines they had left.
My eyes landed on the Moonshine brother's leg, it had been shot. A tourniquet slowed the bleeding, but he still looked terrible. He leaned against the wall, staring at his two soldiers. Neither of them looked like they would survive. Without hesitation, he drove his knife into both of their heads. His eyes burned with rage.
"I'll kill that motherfucker!" he shouted, throwing the knife to the floor.
I didn't have time to talk. I turned to leave.
"How the hell are you both still alive?" a voice crackled over the radio.
It was the sergeant.
Tim snarled, "I will kill you, you motherfucker," gripping his walkie-talkie tightly.
"A dying man shouldn't yell so much," the sergeant replied calmly. "Calm down."
"Fuck you! Why the hell did you do this?"
The sergeant laughed. "Isn't it simple? Territory, supplies, and power. I saw an opportunity to eliminate all three communities without lifting a finger, so I took it. Look, I'm sorry for what happened—but this is the world we live in now. Either you eat, or you get eaten."
Through the pain, Tim said, "Can't you see how many lives are in danger because of this? Not just the three communities, but everyone living nearby."
The sergeant was quiet for a moment. "Thousands of people die every day. What difference does a few thousand more make? Think about the future, my friend—a future I will create. One where I save hundreds of thousands. Where people under me can live normal lives. What we need is a kingdom, not a fucking camp."
Tim laughed bitterly. "Oh, king—answer me this. What about your ten loyal men who died here? Did you not even give a rat's ass about them?"
"Every great thing demands sacrifice. Even I am saddened—but it had to be done to earn the leaders' trust. Their sacrifice will not be forgotten. Max, I know you're listening. I wanted you dead, but you're still here. I'm giving you the offer again. Be my right-hand man."
I always knew the sergeant was ambitious, but I never thought it went this far. He was the only one I couldn't plant a spy near, mainly because he only had thirty people, all former military who had served under him when he was a drill sergeant.
"And what if I refuse again?" I asked.
"Then you die. And I know it won't be easy—so Clementine will be useful. In the end, you still bleed."
A wide smile spread across my face.
"Ha… ha… ha. Clementine. You know she's the only one who reminds me I'm still human. Today will be a bloody day. It will be fun. I hope you live long enough to see tomorrow's sun."
The radio went silent. When no response came, I cut the signal. He had been stalling me, and he succeeded.
I looked at Tim. "Max… go quickly to the common ground. The sergeant must have planned to kill all the leaders. Please save my brothers. You need to tell them everything."
He collapsed, unconscious and dying. With a single swing, I split his skull.
"Sorry. I don't have time to worry about worthless things."
I threw all the bodies out the window. The horde swarmed them, tearing them apart. I climbed back onto the rooftop and hurled all five pipe bombs as far as I could. The explosions echoed through the streets, drawing the undead away. There were still many walkers below, but they were less concentrated now.
After jumping from rooftop to rooftop, I reached the building I'd started from. I dropped down near my bike, drew my sword, and cut down every undead that came at me. More than fifteen runners charged without hesitation. I decapitated them all and stripped seven magazines from their bodies.
Once the area was clear, I mounted my bike. The engine's roar drew attention, but I didn't care. I rode straight into the walkers rushing toward me, raised my rifle, and fired. Every shot struck cleanly in the head.
After burning through more than two hundred rounds, I finally left the horde behind. Ignoring the camp, I rode straight toward the forest. Every second, I could feel my mind slipping.