The Crawler Emerges

Lucas Kane drew his riot shield and sharpened Tang blade, then leapt lightly onto the roof of a parked sedan.

Unlike the abandoned cars clogging the middle of the road—most of which had been left running until their batteries and fuel were drained—the vehicles parked neatly along the curb had their engines off and battery power intact. When Lucas stomped down on the car roof, a blaring alarm immediately pierced the air.

"WEE-OO, WEE-OO, WEE-OO—!"

The shrill siren echoed through the street.

"Hrrhh... Uhhh... Rargh!"

Groans and screeches erupted all around as zombies were drawn to the sound. Lucas sprinted across the car roofs, then vaulted onto the top of a large city bus. Lupo followed, agile as ever, landing beside him with a low growl. Drool dripped from the mutated pup's jaws as he bared his fangs at the horde below.

"Let's see what this new power can really do."

Lucas smirked.

The number of zombies here far exceeded anything from The Walking Dead. With that simple alarm, he'd drawn over a hundred undead. Blackened, blood-slick figures charged toward him, forming a tide of rotting flesh.

During the day, zombies didn't climb. The first wave flailed from below, arms outstretched, howling. As more arrived, they began trampling over one another. Like waves crashing against a seawall, the undead pounded the makeshift barricade of cars Lucas had set earlier.

The wall began to bulge under pressure.

Then, the first zombie clambered onto the roof of the bus.

"This one's mine. Watch my back," Lucas ordered.

Lupo, as if understanding perfectly, moved to guard the rear, poised to intercept any flankers.

Lucas raised his blade.

"Die."

His sharpened Tang sword came down in a vertical arc. Where once it might have merely cracked bone, now it cleaved through the zombie's skull—and then its entire body—with the ease of slicing fruit.

"Damn... that's strong."

Three more zombies scrambled up.

Lucas swept his blade horizontally.

Three heads hit the pavement like overripe melons. Headless corpses swayed before collapsing.

This was a massacre.

Confidence surging, Lucas leapt into the fray. Shield up, he rammed two zombies aside with a casual shove—sending them flying meters away. Then he carved through the horde, his blade a blur of motion.

Even surrounded, Lucas moved like a phantom. His reflexes had ascended. What once felt threatening now seemed laughably slow. Every strike was deliberate, every dodge a whisper from death.

From an outsider's view, he was a blur of death and steel—darting into the swarm, vanishing, then reappearing in a spray of gore.

Beside him, Lupo surged forward.

Some zombies, sliced in half but not quite dead, received a final bite from the ferocious pup. In tandem, they fought as one. Efficient. Unrelenting.

Minutes later, the street was silent.

Only the sound of blood dripping from Lucas's blade broke the eerie calm.

Lupo barked sharply.

"What is it, boy?"

Lucas followed the pup's gaze toward a nearby restaurant. Behind the cracked glass doors, a writhing mass of undead was pressed against the glass—like commuters crammed in a rush-hour subway.

Dozens of faces. Dozens of groping hands.

Then, a shadow zipped across the interior.

CRASH!

The glass exploded outward. Zombies tumbled over one another in a chaotic pile. Atop them, a creature crouched.

It screamed.

"SKREEEEEAAAK—KEKKEKKEK—SKREEEEE!!"

The sound was ghastly—like a woman wailing in agony. It stabbed straight through the ears.

Lucas's eyes narrowed.

"A Crawler."

He had planned to find one at Skyshine University. He hadn't expected to meet one here.

Apparently, there were more than just one.

The Crawler's head twisted unnaturally. It saw Lucas. It smiled—or maybe grimaced. Either way, its twisted expression sent chills.

Lupo growled and stood defensively.

"This one's mine. You handle the rest."

Lucas stepped forward.

Lupo whined but obeyed, veering off to intercept regular zombies.

The Crawler leapt from its perch with inhuman speed.

The real fight had begun.