The sky pulsed with unnatural light. A crimson beacon flickered atop the ruins of an old radio tower—an eerie, rhythmic signal pulsing through the dead city. The Flesh Cult gathered below, their warped bodies twitching in anticipation.
At the center of it all stood the Sleeper.
Mia wiped the sweat from her brow, gripping her shotgun. "Tell me again why we're walking toward the monster that just tried to melt our brains?"
Evelyn crouched behind a rusted car, eyes locked on the scene below. "Because that signal? It's calling them. All of them."
Mia peeked over the edge and froze.
Shambling from the shadows, waves of infected were converging on the tower. Not just mindless husks—but evolved ones.
Crawlers. Their distorted limbs bent at unnatural angles, allowing them to skitter like spiders across buildings.
Screamers. Their elongated throats vibrated, releasing an ear-splitting wail that made Mia's vision blur.
And the Brutes. Hulking, bone-plated titans that crushed through debris like wrecking balls.
Mia's stomach twisted. "We can't fight that."
"We're not going to," Evelyn said. She pulled a detonator from her pocket. "We blow the tower. We cut off their call."
Mia nodded. "Simple plan. Except for the part where we have to get through an army of nightmares."
Evelyn smirked. "That's why we brought him."
A shadow shifted behind them. Reaper.
His war paint was smeared with blood, his machete dripping gore. He cracked his neck.
Mia sighed. "Yeah. That sounds about right."
Reaper didn't wait. He moved.
In an instant, his blade cut through a Cultist's throat, severing head from shoulders. The body barely hit the ground before he was already onto the next.
The horde reacted, but too slow.
Evelyn and Mia rushed forward, slipping through the chaos.
The Sleeper turned. It sensed them.
Its horrid brain pulsed, the black veins across its body writhing. It lifted a clawed hand—and the evolved horde turned in unison.
Reaper was a whirlwind, cutting through Crawlers and Cultists alike. Mia unleashed a shotgun blast, sending a Screamer's head exploding in a mist of black ichor.
Evelyn ran. She sprinted through the carnage, climbing the ruined scaffolding of the radio tower.
The Sleeper roared, leaping onto the tower after her. Its clawed hands dug into metal, its tongue snapping like a spear.
Evelyn reached the detonation point.
But the Sleeper was already there.
Evelyn ducked, barely dodging as its claws carved through steel. The tower shook.
She slammed the detonator down.
The explosion ripped through the structure.
Mia and Reaper watched as the tower collapsed, taking the Sleeper with it.
For a moment—silence.
Then—a low, guttural laugh.
Beneath the rubble, the Sleeper stirred.