Back in the truck

Laurel let out a deep exhale as she bandaged the last soldier who was injured. Occasionally, she grimaced from the high-pitched sound ringing in her ears.

"Commander, are you alright? You don’t look so good." Gabriel’s brows pulled inward.

Laurel waved her hand weakly in the air. "It will pass." She muttered under her breath.

At this point, she wasn’t sure if she was really in the wrong for insisting on switching with Ling Xuan... who was very reluctant.

"Where are we now?" Laurel closed her eyes, slowly massaging her temples.

"We are still 450 miles away from the fortress." The driver answered. His voice laced with uncertainty.

"Drive faster, we will be doomed if we encounter the monsters or the infected." Another soldier said with a shaky voice.

His eyes wandered beyond the window of the truck. The gun in his hands pressed firmly against his chest, to him, that was the only comfort in this hell-forsaken world.

Laurel remained in her position. She couldn’t blame the soldier for having anxiety, furthermore she too would develop one if she didn’t get to the fortress soon... if she didn’t see Tina.

Inside the Fortress

The night had turned restless.

The warning sirens echoed across the walls as soldiers rushed through the pathways carrying ammunition crates, weapons, and medical kits. The entire fortress vibrated with movement as orders were shouted from every direction, boots striking hard against the concrete floors while the tension in the air grew heavier with every passing second.

Outside the walls, darkness stretched endlessly across the land, but it was no longer empty.

Animalistic figures moved within it... Hundreds of them.

The monsters swarmed in from every direction. Their chilling growls and snarls filled the air, sending terror in their wake.

The earth trembled from their arrival, instilling fear in every living being.

At the top of the walls, the newly installed laser weapons slowly rotated, scanning the distance with faint bluish-white lights blinking beneath their metal frames. The meteor rocks embedded inside the weapons glowed dimly through the transparent chambers connected to the machinery, giving off an eerie light that reflected against the soldiers’ tense faces.

One soldier tightened his grip around his rifle as he stared into the darkness. "They’re getting closer..."

The moment he finished speaking, one of the laser weapons suddenly stopped moving.

A sharp mechanical sound echoed. Then a thin bluish-white beam shot across the night.

The beam struck the first monster directly through its head. Instantly, its body exploded apart.

Black blood splashed across the ground as the corpse collapsed heavily, but the creatures behind it did not stop. They rushed forward without hesitation, trampling over the remains of the fallen monster as if they had never existed.

The laser weapons immediately picked up speed.

The rotating machines began firing rapidly now, their movements smooth and terrifyingly precise as bluish-white beams cut through the darkness one after another. The air filled with the smell of burning flesh as monsters dropped continuously, their bodies splitting apart under the heat before crashing lifelessly onto the ground.

The flashing lights illuminated the battlefield in bursts.

For brief moments, the soldiers could clearly see the monsters charging toward them, their black bodies sprinting unnaturally fast across the land, their claws digging into the earth while growls echoed endlessly through the night.

Then, darkness swallowed everything again before another beam lit the battlefield.

Captain Rowan stood in front of the barricade outside the fortress walls, his hands wrapped tightly around his guns as he watched the monsters continue pushing forward despite the deaths around them.

The barricade had already been set up using military trucks, metal shields, and reinforced barriers. Soldiers stood behind them with hardened expressions, their weapons raised and ready.

Some carried machine guns. Some held rifles. Others gripped grenades tightly in their trembling hands.

Several soldiers stood beside mounted weapons attached to the war trucks while others prepared close combat weapons in case the monsters got through the barricade.

Nobody spoke about survival. They all understood the possibility of dying tonight.

Captain Rowan inhaled slowly before shouting, "Prepare for war!"

"We’re ready!" the soldiers shouted back almost instantly.

One young soldier swallowed nervously before forcing a grin. "Those ugly bastards better not touch my face."

The older soldier beside him snorted. "With your face? They’d probably spit you back out."

A few strained laughs escaped their lips despite the fear crushing their chests.

Then the ground shook harder. The monsters were getting close enough now that the soldiers could finally see them properly.

Their bodies were massive and fast... faster than a cheetah.

Their claws slammed against the ground as they rushed forward with horrifying speed, climbing over dead monsters without slowing down for even a second.

Captain Rowan’s expression darkened.

"Release fire!"

Instantly, gunshots exploded across the battlefield.

The machine guns roared violently as bullets tore into the charging monsters. Grenades exploded near the front lines, flames bursting upward as pieces of flesh scattered through the air. Soldiers shouted over the deafening noise while laser beams continued firing from above, cutting through monsters that tried forcing their way toward the walls.

But the creatures kept coming.

One monster leapt directly toward the barricade before a laser beam sliced through its body midair, splitting it apart before it crashed onto the truck.

Black blood splattered across a soldier’s face. He wiped it away roughly and kept firing.

The battlefield became a storm of growls, gunfire, explosions, and screams.

....

Inside the fortress, far away from the battlefield, the atmosphere was entirely different.

Margaret sat calmly beside Grandpa Wayne’s bed while the old man remained unconscious beneath the dim lights of the medical room. Machines beeped steadily beside him as oxygen tubes rested against his face.

Margaret crossed her legs slowly, a faint smirk resting on her lips as she stared at the sleeping old man.

Outside, the sounds of battle faintly echoed through the walls.

But inside this room, everything felt strangely quiet.

"It feels nice," Margaret said softly as she adjusted the gloves on her hands. "Power."

Her gaze drifted toward Grandpa Wayne’s unmoving face.

"Did you ever imagine this?" she asked quietly. "A woman taking control of everything?"

A small chuckle escaped her lips. "I mean apart from the stinky Laurel? She wasn’t meant to last by the way."