The radioactive glow of the mutated zombie illuminated the barn's interior, casting eerie shadows over the team. It stood nearly eight feet tall, its skin a sickly green, blistered and oozing, with its chest faintly pulsating like a reactor. The thing's glowing eyes locked onto Captain Marcus Kane, and with a guttural roar, it charged forward, smashing through the barn doors like they were paper.
"Fall back! Create distance!" Marcus barked, raising his shotgun and firing a round into the beast's chest. The pellets barely slowed it down.
The rest of the ZETU team sprang into action. Riley 'Quick Shot' Bennett zeroed in from her perch on the silo, aiming for the creature's head. "Keep it steady!" she called out as she squeezed the trigger. The shot hit, but instead of dropping, the Titan recoiled, shaking its head before letting out another roar.
"It's shrugging off headshots!" Riley exclaimed, reloading her sniper rifle.
"Jenna, light it up!" Marcus ordered.
Jenna 'Blaze' Hart stepped forward, her flamethrower roaring to life as she doused the Titan in a cascade of flames. The fire engulfed the creature, but instead of collapsing, the monster plowed through the inferno, its radioactive body seemingly resistant to heat.
"Uh, Cap? That thing's not burning!" Jenna shouted as she stepped back, switching to her incendiary grenades.
Derek 'Shield' Coleman moved in, shield raised, intercepting the Titan as it lunged for Marcus. The force of the blow sent Derek sliding back, but he held firm, using his shield to push the creature away.
"This thing's got power," Derek grunted. "We need a new plan!"
From the rear, Ethan 'Brain' O'Connor worked feverishly on his tablet. "I'm scanning its vitals now. That glow in its chest—it's some kind of energy core. If we hit that, we might be able to destabilize it!"
"You heard him!" Marcus shouted. "Aim for the chest!"
Lila 'Huntress' Navarro darted around the battlefield, dodging swipes from the Titan's massive arms. Her dual pistols fired relentlessly, targeting the pulsating core. "It's got thick armor around it. We need something heavier!"
Jenna lobbed an incendiary grenade, the explosion briefly staggering the Titan. "That'll buy us a second, but not much more!"
"Riley, can you hit the core from up there?" Marcus asked.
"Not unless someone holds it still!" Riley responded, her scope locked on the moving target.
Derek gritted his teeth. "Fine. I'll keep it busy. Make it count!"
With a roar of his own, Derek charged the Titan, slamming his shield into its legs and pinning it for a brief moment. The creature snarled, raising its massive arms to crush him.
Riley took a deep breath, steadying her aim. The world seemed to slow as she fired. The bullet flew true, piercing the Titan's chest and striking the glowing core.
The creature froze, its body convulsing violently as the core overloaded. Marcus pulled Derek back as the Titan erupted in a blinding flash of light, the explosion sending debris flying.
When the dust settled, only the smoldering remains of the Titan were left. Marcus helped Derek to his feet.
"Well," Derek said, coughing. "That was fun."
Marcus shook his head. "Fun's not over yet. This was just one of them. Let's move out before we meet its friends."
In the distance, the sun dipped below the horizon, and another guttural roar echoed through the desolate farmlands.