Story 514: Shadows in the Wasteland

The moon hung high in the night sky, casting an eerie glow over the desolate forest. Bare trees, stripped of their leaves, reached skyward like skeletal hands. The air was damp, filled with the stench of decay and the faint crackle of distant footsteps. ZETU stood at the forest's edge, their silhouettes barely visible in the dense mist.

“Eyes up, team,” Captain Marcus Kane ordered, his voice a low rumble. “We’ve got movement ahead.”

Riley "Quick Shot" Bennett raised her thermal scope and scanned the area. Through the lens, she could see shambling figures scattered among the trees. “It’s not a horde—yet. But there are too many to take on quietly.”