The moon hung pale and bloated over the jagged peaks, its light casting sickly shadows across the ruined battleground. The stench of rot clung to the air, thick and suffocating. The last echoes of gunfire had faded, leaving behind only the sound of something wet slithering through the corpses.
Kruger pressed his back against a crumbling wall, his breath ragged, his wounds screaming. His men had dragged him out of that cursed chamber, but now they were scattered—dead or worse.
And Selene? She was out there, waiting.
Her voice slithered through the air like a poisoned whisper, playful and cruel. Kruger turned his head slowly.
There she stood atop a pile of corpses, one hand on her hip, the other pointing a single gloved finger to her own temple, mimicking a gun. A mocking grin split her face, blackened lips stretching too wide.
"Bang," she said, pretending to pull the trigger.
A single undead soldier twitched violently beside her before rising, its neck bending at a sickening angle, mouth stretching open in a silent scream. Selene giggled and spun on her heel, twirling like a macabre dancer.
"You were so close, Kruger! So, so close! Your little pets came just in time to snatch you from my hands." Her voice dipped into a mocking whimper. "I was almost heartbroken!"
Kruger didn't speak. He knew her game—knew better than to give her the satisfaction.
But Selene was never one to be ignored.
With a sudden flick of her wrist, a vial of swirling green liquid left her fingers, shattering at Kruger's feet. A cloud of sickly mist exploded around him, searing his lungs, turning his vision to static.
"You don't get to just walk away, General," Selene cooed, stepping closer. Her heels clicked against the stones, her breath warm against his ear.
Kruger forced himself to stand, gripping his knife. His vision swam, the toxin eating at his strength. But he refused to kneel.
Selene hummed, tilting her head.
"Still standing? How heroic." She leaned in, pressing a cold finger against his chest, feeling the ragged rise and fall of his breath. "But heroes always break in the end."
She stepped back, arms spread wide.
"Let's play a little game, shall we?" she purred.
The corpses around them shuddered violently. Their broken forms twitched, contorted, and then—laughed. Hollow, mirthless cackling filled the air.
Kruger gritted his teeth.
Selene threw her head back, her own laughter mixing with the dead. Mad, cruel, eternal.
"Let's see how long you last before you start laughing too."