Story 572: The Stone Tide

The eerie gray wasteland quaked beneath the march of the petrified horde. Each step from the stone-clad zombies sent vibrations through the fractured ground, their glowing red eyes fixed on ZETU’s last stronghold. From the command center, Captain Marcus Kane stood resolute, his tactical shotgun in hand, staring at the advancing swarm.

“Brain, what’s the situation?” Marcus barked.

Ethan "Brain" O’Connor’s hands flew across his tablet, analyzing live drone feeds. “The horde is accelerating. Their density has doubled in the last two minutes. It’s like… the core zombie is summoning reinforcements from underground.”

Underground. The word sent a chill through Marcus.

“Blaze, prep the seismic charges,” Marcus ordered. “We’re going to have to crack the ground open and hope it disrupts whatever’s fueling them.”