Marked for Death

Leon Graves stared down at the dead deer, its slit throat still glistening under the morning light. The symbols carved into its belly were precise, deliberate, etched into the flesh with unsettling precision.

This wasn't an accident.

This was a message.

Eve Voss crouched beside him, her fingers tightening around the grip of her M4 carbine. "You seeing what I'm seeing?"

Leon nodded, his jaw clenched. Whoever had done this wanted them to find it.

Riley stepped back, covering her mouth, her face pale. "This isn't just some sick joke, is it?"

Leon didn't answer. Because he already knew the truth.

They were being hunted.

Leon scanned the ground for tracks, but whoever had left the carcass had been careful.

Too careful.

No footprints. No drag marks. As if the deer had simply appeared.

Tyler and Sam, the two kids, clung together near the base of the fire tower, their small bodies shaking.

Sam, the younger of the two, whispered, "It's them. The ones who take people."

Leon turned to him sharply. "What do you mean?"

The boy hesitated, his lips quivering.

Tyler nudged him. "Tell them."

Sam swallowed hard. "When we were in the gas station… before we met you guys… we saw them. They took people into the woods. People who never came back."

Eve exhaled slowly. "You're just telling us this now?"

Sam looked down, ashamed. "We thought if we didn't say anything, they wouldn't come for us."

Leon's stomach twisted.

They weren't just running from the infected anymore.

Something else was out here.

Watching.

Waiting.

And now, they had been marked

Leon stood, rolling his shoulders. "We're leaving."

Eve frowned. "Where? We don't even know where the hell we're going."

Leon glanced west. "We head for the mountains. Harder to track us. Harder to follow."

Riley shook her head. "And if they're already in the mountains?"

Leon checked his SIG Sauer P226, making sure it was loaded.

"Then we kill them first."

They left the fire tower behind, moving quickly. The trees stretched endlessly ahead, dark and quiet.

Leon took the lead, his instincts razor-sharp. Every step, every breath felt heavier than usual.

The forest was too still.

No birds. No distant rustling. Even the wind had died.

As if the world itself was holding its breath.

Eve muttered, "I hate this."

Leon agreed.

Riley kept close to Travis, his wound slowing them down. Tyler and Sam struggled to keep up, their exhaustion showing.

They had maybe an hour before they'd have to rest.

That was an hour too long.

Leon spotted it at the last second.

A thin, almost invisible wire stretched across the path, strung between two trees.

A trap.

Leon grabbed Eve's shoulder, stopping her just before she tripped over it.

She inhaled sharply. "Shit."

Leon crouched, studying the wire. Handmade. Recently placed.

Someone was expecting them.

Eve's grip tightened on her rifle. "We're walking into something bad, Leon."

Leon nodded. "We already did."

They kept moving, slower now, more cautious.

After another mile, the trees opened up to a small clearing.

A cabin sat at the center.

Old. Rotting. But intact.

Smoke curled from a rusted chimney, a faint sign of life.

Leon held up a fist. The group stopped.

"Someone's inside," he muttered.

Eve adjusted her stance. "Friendly?"

Leon wasn't feeling optimistic.

"Let's find out."

Leon approached first, his gun raised.

The cabin's front door was ajar, swinging slightly in the breeze.

He pushed it open with the barrel of his pistol.

The inside smelled of old wood and damp air. A single lantern flickered near the fireplace.

An old man sat in a rocking chair, his face hidden by a wide-brimmed hat. His hands rested on the arms of the chair, too still.

Leon stepped inside. "You alive?"

The man didn't move at first.

Then he exhaled. A long, wheezing sound.

"You shouldn't be here," the man muttered, voice hoarse. "Not in these woods."

Eve stepped beside Leon, frowning. "Why not?"

The man lifted his head. His face was gaunt, his eyes sunken.

He looked like someone who had seen too much.

"They've already decided," he whispered. "You won't make it to sunrise."

Leon's stomach tightened.

Riley stepped forward. "Who? Who are they?"

The man smiled, but there was nothing human in it.

"The ones who walk at night."

The sound came from outside the cabin.

A sharp, wet thud.

Followed by a gurgling choke.

Leon spun toward the door.

Travis was standing there. His eyes wide, blood leaking from his mouth.

A knife jutted from his throat.

Riley screamed.

Before Leon could react, a dark figure stepped out from behind Travis's body.

The hooded man.

The same one from Madison Valley.

Leon fired instantly.

The bullet tore into the figure's chest—but he didn't fall.

He kept walking.

Leon fired again. And again.

Still, the man didn't stop.

He raised his hand.

More figures stepped from the trees.

Surrounding the cabin.

Their faces were hidden beneath leather masks.

Their hands stained dark with old blood.

Leon's grip on his pistol tightened.

Eve whispered, "Leon… we're surrounded."

Leon exhaled, steadying himself.

"Then we make them regret it."