Zara squinted into the fog, the faint light growing brighter and more distinct. The whir of rotors cut through the distant growls of the horde below. Relief was short-lived as Callum tugged her arm, snapping her focus back to the chaos around them.
"They're breaching the lower floors. We've got maybe a minute before they're up here," Callum said, her voice tight with urgency.
Zara nodded, gripping her radio tightly. "Extraction is en route. We hold the line until they get here."
The two women moved to the edges of the tower's platform, the stone cold beneath their boots. Zara reloaded her handgun, every motion precise despite the adrenaline coursing through her veins. Callum positioned herself at the narrow staircase leading up, her rifle trained on the darkness below.
The first crawler lunged onto the platform, its grotesque, twisted body moving unnaturally fast. Zara fired two shots, each one hitting with deadly accuracy. The creature crumpled, but another quickly took its place.
"They're coming faster than we can drop them!" Callum shouted, firing down the staircase. The deafening sound of her rifle reverberated through the stone walls, mixing with the guttural snarls of the horde.
Zara's gaze darted to the light above, now unmistakably a helicopter. Its spotlight cut through the mist, illuminating the platform and the nightmare below. Over her radio, a gruff voice came through loud and clear.
"This is Falcon One. Visual on your position. Deploying extraction line. Hold tight."
A steel cable unfurled from the chopper, swinging precariously in the wind. Zara grabbed it, securing the hook to her harness before tossing another to Callum. "We're getting out of here!" she yelled.
Before Callum could latch on, a deafening roar erupted from the staircase. A massive figure emerged—a brute. Standing over seven feet tall, it had patches of rotting flesh stretched over unnaturally swollen muscles. Its empty eyes locked onto Zara.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Callum muttered, taking aim. She fired a round directly into the brute's chest. It barely flinched.
"Go!" Zara shouted. "I'll cover you."
"No chance," Callum retorted, firing another shot. The brute lunged forward, swiping a massive arm that sent her sprawling. Her rifle skittered across the platform, stopping just short of the edge.
Zara didn't hesitate. She charged, emptying her clip into the brute's head. The bullets slowed it, but its momentum carried it forward. Zara ducked under a wild swing, drawing her combat knife and driving it into the brute's knee. It roared in pain, staggering.
"Callum, grab the line!" Zara barked, tossing her the cable. Callum hesitated for a fraction of a second before obeying, latching on as the helicopter began to lift her away.
The brute turned its attention back to Zara, its growl low and menacing. The cable swung back toward her, and she leaped for it just as the brute lunged. Her fingers found the line, and she held on with all her strength as the helicopter lifted her into the air. Below, the platform crumbled under the brute's weight, sending it plummeting into the horde.
As Zara dangled above the ruins, Callum's voice crackled over the radio. "You really know how to make an exit."
Zara allowed herself a brief, grim smile. "Just another day in the apocalypse."
Above, the chopper carried them away, but Zara's mind was already on what lay ahead. The fight wasn't over. It was only beginning.