Story 566: The Last Stand at Main Street

The sun had dipped low on the horizon, bathing the city in an eerie orange glow. The school bus, now battered and blood-streaked, stood abandoned in the center of the street, its tires deflated and its frame listing to one side. ZETU’s core squad had made it two blocks north toward the evac point, but the sight that greeted them was enough to chill even the most battle-hardened among them.

The undead were gathered in front of a decrepit mansion that loomed like a dark sentinel over the desolate street. A sea of zombies stretched out in every direction, their moans echoing through the air like a grim symphony. Their leader—a hulking, grotesque figure covered in matted, rotting flesh—stood at the mansion’s gates. Its glowing green eyes locked onto the squad as if it knew they were coming.

“We’re not getting through that alive,” Riley “Quick Shot” Bennett muttered, her sniper rifle trembling slightly in her hands.