Raven stepped out of the mall, her boots crunching softly over the cracked concrete parking lot as the early afternoon light filtered in through the thick clouds above. Her one remaining drone hovered a few feet above her, its fans quiet. The moment Raven crossed the mall’s parking lot, she felt the shift—open terrain as dozens of parking lot zombies ran in her direction.
Raven did not bother pulling out her rifle was already put away. The Shadow assault gear was packed away as well. Instead, she now wore a black tank top that clung to her tone, athletic body, and a pair of short denim jean shorts. Her tone stomach was bare, with her jade white skin catching the sun light her long legs carried her forward with grace. Raven pulled out her signature Beretta and began to fire bullets at the incoming zombies.
Pew. Pew. Pew. Each suppressed shot ended a zombie. They dropped in waves as she walked casually through them, her aim was flawless and her pace unhurried. When she reached a fallen corpse, she bent over to pull the nucleus core from its skull, her voice calm and sure said out loud.
"This makes a few dozen cores for Alara to eat today," wiping a bit of brain matter off her fingers and slipping the cores into her system space.
Raven stepped around another body and glanced at the drone above her head. Her mind was already elsewhere. "I’ll need to convert one of my system drone deployment slots," she said, tapping the side of her head. "Maybe a garbage truck. Lure the zombies in with music. Crush them with tires and heavy weight. Have my robotic mouse run out and loot the cores. Maby turn the whole thing into an auto-farming loop."
The idea made her lips smile in anticipation. She stopped again, pulling out another core, as she placed it into her storage space. "Soon, she will be able to auti-loot like a damn video game."
Raven decided to head deeper into the city—toward one of the larger zombie hordes she’d scouted prior. With enough cores gathered, Alara might hit Level 1 in a day or two. As for Adam Carter? He wasn’t going anywhere. She would thin out his ranks first. Death by attrition is by far more entertaining.
Raven called out her Ironhowl X4 from the system space. The armored SUV appeared with a thud settling onto the asphalt. Raven opened the driver’s door and climbed inside, with the smell of leather and oil strangely comforting inside the drivers seat.
"Alara," Raven called out loud.
A ripple passed through the air beside her, and then Alara appeared, blinking under the cloudy sky. She wore the same simple jeans and shirt Raven had last seen her in. For a moment, she stared in silence at the interior of the Ironhowl. Then her wide red eyes locked onto Raven as her expression shifted into one of joy. Alara lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Raven with all the strength of someone who was waiting patiently for hours with nothing to do.
Raven’s breath hitched, her cheeks turning red as Alara pressed herself into Raven's chest. She let out a soft grunt, then lightly patted her shoulder. "Okay, okay," she said, her tone gentle. "I missed you too. Now sit down and eat these."
From her system space, she pulled out a small cloth bag and handed it over to her. Alara took it opening it up as she began pulling out zombie cores to eat. Popping them into her mouth like they were pieces of candy. Her expression now showing a satisfied smile.
Raven watched her quietly. Every time she saw Alara eat, she felt it again—that creeping awareness. Alara is not just a normal undead zombie. She is not like others. There is something deliberate in the way she moves, the way she looks at things. Her coordination, her restraint, her ability to follow even vauge instructions, Alara is a unique zombie one of a kind.
Alara can't win any fights yet. Her strength was still subpar, and her intellect is not where it needs to be. But her body is immortal, and Raven knew it. She could be shot, dismembered—and still regenerate. All she needs is time to grow stronger.
"Alara, you will be terrifying one day," Raven whispered, almost to herself. She leaned back in her seat and began to drive.
Tonight, she would:
Craft head protection gear for Alara.
Repair her damaged drone.
Construct a raccoon-sized mouse robot zombie core collector: with a solid metal body, claws and teeth for quick gathering or maybe she should think bigger and more destructive.
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