Heroes vs Zombies Part 3
Amid the wreckage of the crumbling city, a dark-skinned man stood resolute against the chaos, his body steaming with effort as he conjured a colossal barrier of solidified water. The translucent wall surged and rippled like a sentient tide, halting the onslaught of dozens of pink-eyed zombies clawing desperately to reach the terrified survivors huddled behind him.
He couldn't fully grasp the extent of the catastrophe engulfing the city, but from the moment he arrived, he'd been plunged into a living nightmare. The skies blazed crimson, the wail of sirens had vanished, and endless waves of the infected poured from every shadowed alley and hidden passage.
For a frantic group of survivors stumbling through the carnage, Rain's presence had been nothing short of a divine intervention. Without him, they would have been consumed already. Yet even with his powerful protection, the barrier quaked under the relentless battering of the undead. Each distant explosion, each tremor signaling unseen battles, sent fresh waves of dread coursing through the air.
TSKKKK!
A sharp, wet crack sliced through the tension as a zombified hand attempted to breach the barrier, only to be severed in an instant by a whip-like tendril of water. The severed hand hit the ground with a sickening thud, twitching grotesquely, as a collective gasp escaped the lips of the survivors.
PUCHI!
Rain narrowed his eyes, lifting his hands as the surrounding water twisted into an array of razor-thin needles. They hovered in the air, poised like death awaiting his command. With a decisive flick of his fingers, the needles shot forward, striking with deadly precision. Skull after skull was pierced, and rotting bodies crumpled to the ground in heaps. Yet, more surged forward, endless and unrelenting.
His breath came in ragged gasps. The barrier shuddered, trembling under the mounting pressure of the horde. His muscles burned with exhaustion, and his focus began to falter. A creeping fear took hold.
If this falls… everyone dies.
With a defiant roar, Rain thrust his left arm forward. It dissolved into a torrent of water, fusing with the barrier. The wall surged with newfound strength, erupting outward in jagged spikes like icy spears. Dozens of undead were impaled, and crimson waves rippled across the barrier's surface.
Still, the onslaught continued.
And then—
BOOOOOOOM!
A thunderous explosion shook the foundation to its core. The wall behind Rain and the survivors blasted inward as two colossal figures burst through: Immortal and a horrifyingly mutated Mauler Twin, now a zombified monstrosity of grotesque muscle and jagged bone. They tore into the chaos like unstoppable forces, flinging zombies aside as if they were mere playthings.
The survivors screamed in terror, diving for cover amidst the pandemonium, their senses overwhelmed by the catastrophic entrance. Rain spun around, his eyes wide with shock, water curling protectively around him like a living shield.
Amid the swirling dust and flying debris, Immortal emerged from the rubble, snarling.
The zombified Mauler hauled himself upright, crushing hapless undead beneath his massive feet. One of his bloated, twisted arms grabbed a nearby corpse, tearing it violently in two before hurling the remnants straight at Immortal.
The Immortals hand flashed.
SLASH!
The corpse split cleanly mid-air, but Mauler was already upon him.
BOOM!
A massive, gnarled fist connected with Immortal's jaw, sending him hurtling into a wall with a bone-rattling impact that cracked the surface like brittle glass. He hit hard, sliding down briefly before regaining his footing just as Mauler lunged forward with feral intensity. Putrid jaws clamped down on Immortal's forearm.
CRUNCH.
"AAAGHHHH!"
Immortal's cry rang out like a battle horn. With a fierce snarl, he drove his boot into Mauler's gut, sending the beast stumbling back. Blood poured from the ragged bite on his arm, its edges darkened with corruption.
Without a moment's hesitation, Immortal used his hand as a blade and severed the infected limb.
SHHHLKT!
He collapsed to one knee, gasping as blood sprayed across the ground. Agony coursed through him, but so did a relentless, divine spark of regeneration. Muscles twisted and crawled like living things, and fresh bone began to form within the raw, open wound.
Rain froze, caught between awe and dread, as Mauler surged forward once more.
Rain raised both hands.
SCHHHKKK!
Whips of water lashed out, coiling around Mauler's flailing limbs. One tendril struck the creature's neck, jerking it backward with brutal force.
"GRAAAHHHH!" the monster roared, its undead eyes bulging with unholy rage.
Rain gritted his teeth, pouring every ounce of strength into the watery restraints. His veins stood out on his arms and neck as the tendrils quivered under the strain of Mauler's ferocious thrashing.
"DON'T JUST STAND THERE!" Rain roared over his shoulder. "MOVE! NOW!"
Without hesitation, the survivors sprang into action. Eight battered and bleeding figures scrambled through the wreckage and shattered walls, aiming for the open street beyond. A woman clutched a wailing toddler to her chest, holding the child as if it were the only thread keeping her tethered to reality.
Behind them, Mauler's colossal limbs strained, the water around them splintering with sharp, audible cracks.
Immortal staggered upright, cradling the bloody stump of his arm. His eyes locked with Rain's, and he gave a faint, grim nod.
"Not bad... for a water trick," he rasped, his voice rough but laced with a hint of respect.
Rain didn't respond, his focus entirely consumed by the writhing monstrosity before him.
CRACK!
One of Mauler's tendrils snapped, recoiling like a severed whip. An unearthly howl tore through the air as another of its massive arms ripped free from its restraints.
"He's breaking loose!" Rain shouted, his legs buckling under the immense strain. "I can't—!"
"Then we don't let him," Immortal growled, stepping forward as his regeneration rapidly closed the wound on his arm. "We hold."
WHOOOOOSH!
A fresh surge of energy erupted from Rain, the tendrils thickening and tightening their grip around Mauler's legs. Immortal charged forward, his blade gleaming as he struck, drawing the beast's attention and keeping it off balance.
Together, man and legend, water and steel, stood united in a desperate battle, fighting with every ounce of strength they had to give the survivors one final chance at life.
Every beat of Rain's heart was a ticking clock, every breath an agonizing push forward. With a guttural roar, he unleashed his power, the tendrils of water now bristling with shards of ice and compressed force. They coiled around Mauler's limbs and torso, dragging the hulking mutant down like a leviathan being claimed by the abyss.
Immortal charged with relentless determination, his blade crashing into Mauler's abdomen and carving a deep, black-veined wound into the grotesque mutant's side. The putrid blood that spilled sizzled as it struck the ground, releasing a noxious steam of decay.
The creature howled, thrashing in fury, one massive fist narrowly missing Rain's head as he ducked and rolled away, the water tendrils straining but holding firm. The ground beneath them groaned and splintered under the immense force of their battle.
"Just hold him... just a little longer!" Rain shouted, his voice raw with effort.
The distant WHIRRRRR of engines sliced through the chaos.
Through the smoky haze, a GDA Dropship roared into view, its searchlights piercing the gloom. A calm, authoritative voice echoed from its loudspeakers:
"This is the Global Defense Agency. Ground team, disengage. We have visuals on the survivors."
Rain collapsed onto one knee, trembling with relief.
But Immortal refused to yield. He swung his fist again, tearing into Mauler's ribs with unrelenting ferocity.
"We're not finished," he snarled. "Not until he's ash."
Rain's eyes burned with resolve as he nodded.
Together, they launched forward for one final, decisive assault.
Mauler's guttural roar reverberated across the battlefield, his grotesque, mutated form straining against the watery coils constraining him. Veins like black lightning coursed over his bloated flesh, while jagged shards of bone jutted from his skin like crude, malformed armor.
The air was thick with the stench of decay and the mournful groans of the dead.
Rain's grip was slipping. His arms quivered, his knees threatened to buckle. The water tendrils, once fluid and strong, now glistened with frost and fracture lines, their surfaces webbed like splintered glass.
Then—
CRACK!
One of the icy tendrils gave way in a burst of misty shards, the fragments scattering like hail. Mauler unleashed another earth-shaking bellow, his rage palpable.
Rain's head hung low. "I can't hold him anymore!"
Immortal's boots pounded against the fractured pavement. Blood dripped steadily from the raw stump where his arm had been severed, but his remaining fist was clenched into a weapon of pure resolve.
"You've done enough, kid," Immortal growled. "Now let me finish this."
And with that, he sprang forward.
The ground shattered beneath him as he launched himself like a missile, both fists drawn back. Cutting through the smoke and flames, he slammed onto Mauler's chest with a cataclysmic BOOM.
The impact shattered the pavement, sending shockwaves through the ground as Mauler staggered back, snarling in pain. Immortal's fists hammered relentlessly into his face, each strike a furious explosion of raw power.
WHAM!
WHAM!
WHAM!
Every punch unleashed a shockwave that rippled through the earth, scattering debris and displacing lifeless bodies. Rain stumbled back, shielding his face as fragments of stone and dust swirled violently around him.
Mauler lashed out desperately, claws slicing through the air in a frenzy. One strike grazed Immortal's ribs, tearing flesh and sending a spray of blood into the chaos.
But Immortal was undeterred.
With a bone-crushing uppercut, he drove his fist under Mauler's jaw, lifting the monstrous creature off its feet momentarily before slamming its head into the ground with meteoric force.
THOOOOOM!
Rain, gasping for breath, summoned the last vestiges of his energy. He raised his arms, commanding a surge of water from ruptured mains nearby. A massive geyser erupted from the street, and with a defiant scream, he directed it straight into Mauler's gaping maw.
The scalding torrent roared into the beast's throat, choking it mid-snarl as steam hissed from its nostrils. Mauler writhed in agony, thrashing against the onslaught.
"NOW!" Rain bellowed. "FINISH HIM!"
Immortal's foot came down with the force of judgment itself, CRUNCHING into Mauler's solar plexus. The devastating blow drove the creature even deeper into the crater as cracks snaked outward like a web of destruction.
"Stay," Immortal growled, his remaining hand tightening around Mauler's massive neck, "DOWN!"
THOOM!
THOOM!
THOOM!
Each punch was a savage arc of fury, reducing Mauler's skull to fragments, crushing grotesque ridges of bone and flesh beneath his relentless blows. Blood sprayed. Teeth scattered.
Still, Immortal did not stop.
Rain collapsed near a shattered fire hydrant, water gushing around him as he gasped for breath, too weak to move. Wide-eyed, he watched as Mauler's stubborn defiance crumbled… then faded entirely. The monstrous creature spasmed once and fell limp.
The barrage finally ended.
Immortal stood over the mangled corpse, his chest heaving, blood dripping from his torn knuckles. His torso was marred by slashes and bruises, and his leg jutted at an unnatural angle, fractured at the shin. Yet, he remained upright. Victorious.
Rain let out a shaky laugh. "Holy shit..."
Behind them, ropes descended from above. GDA agents rappelled down, weapons drawn as they surveyed the battlefield. Medical teams rushed forward, guiding dazed survivors toward waiting transports. Spotlights cut through the darkness, revealing the devastation: charred remnants of buildings, piles of infected bodies, and blood coating every surface.
Immortal turned and limped toward Rain.
"You good?"
Rain exhaled deeply, nodding weakly, still too winded to speak.
For a moment, the two stood silently, letting the reality of their victory sink in, the pounding war drums in their chests gradually fading.
"You did pretty well for a rookie," Immortal said.
Rain smirked faintly. "You hit like an earthquake, though."
Together, they boarded the vehicle with the survivors, leaving the chaos behind as they returned to base.