Chapter 65: The First Zerg

The forest had gone silent, heavy with an unnatural stillness that made trained soldiers instinctively lower their voices and check their weapons. Inside the command vehicle, Rhyder stood over the tactical display, his eyes locked onto a crimson marker blinking against the digital map.

A squad of twelve soldiers had entered the eastern woods at 21:16 to investigate abnormal energy readings. Their trackers had vanished from the grid simultaneously, forty-three minutes ago, without a single distress signal or emergency transmission.

"Show me their last position," Rhyder ordered. His voice was low, cutting through the low hum of the tactical monitors.

The operator quickly tapped the interface, expanding the squad’s final path. "Their signals didn’t fade out, General. Something physically disrupted their equipment in an instant."

Rhyder picked up his rifle, checking the chamber with a sharp, practiced click. "I will head there myself."

"General, you shouldn’t risk going out there," the operator protested, looking alarmed. "We don’t know what caused the blackout."

"I said I will go," Rhyder replied, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Minutes later, two armored vehicles ground to a halt at the edge of the forest. The crimson sky cast dark, blood-colored reflections across the ancient trees ahead, where no insects chirped and no wind rustled the dead leaves.

Rhyder raised a gloved hand, signaling his men to form a defensive line. "Spread out. Keep your eyes sharp."

Twenty meters into the dense timber, a soldier pointed his rifle light toward the muddy ground. A military rifle lay twisted in the dirt, its metal barrel crushed in half like soft clay.

Rhyder crouched beside the weapon, running his gloved fingers over the indented metal. The rifle had not been melted by heat, but crushed under tremendous mechanical force.

"Keep moving," he commanded, standing up and sweeping his scope across the shadows.

Fifty meters deeper into the darkness, a scout stopped beside a patch of crimson soil. "General, we have tracks."

The soldiers gathered around the discovery, their flashlights illuminating massive depressions in the earth. Each footprint was nearly twice the width of a combat boot, carrying six distinct points surrounding a deep central impression.

"Animal?" Rhyder asked, examining the strange biological structure of the print.

"No known terrestrial species has this skeletal footprint, sir," the scout replied, scanning the soil density. "Whatever made these is remarkably heavy."

Rhyder glanced toward the thick darkness stretching deeper into the woods. "Any sign of infected activity?"

"Negative, General. No zombie signatures detected."

The scout’s scanner suddenly began to emit a frantic series of high-pitched beeps. The screen lit up with dozens of identical pressure signatures blooming across the surrounding grid.

"General..." the scout whispered, his face draining of color under his helmet.

"Report," Rhyder said, his thumb flicking the safety off his rifle.

"There are more tracks," the scout swallowed hard, staring at the screen. "They’re everywhere."

Rhyder slowly stood, feeling the air in the forest turn noticeably colder. Multiple heavy entities had moved through this sector, traveling in an organized formation rather than mindless wandering.

CRACK.

A thick branch snapped in the gloom ahead, followed by a wet, scraping sound against tree bark.

"Hold position," Rhyder commanded, raising his rifle into firing position.

A massive shadow detached itself from the darkness, stepping into the pale beam of their tactical lights. It possessed six limbs, with four powerful legs supporting an armored torso, while two smaller appendages ending in hooked scythes extended from its chest.

Its entire frame was encased in seamless black chitin that absorbed the flashlight beams like a void. Multiple crimson eyes flared along its angular head, glowing with cold, predatory intelligence.

Its lower jaw split open, revealing rows of serrated, needle-like structures that flexed with a sickening hiss. The creature lowered its body, its heavy claws digging deep into the soil as it locked its eyes on the soldiers.

A low, vibrating click echoed from its throat as it prepared to spring.

Through Rhyder’s ear communicator, a voice broke the tension.

"Rhyder," Raviah called out, her tone tight with sudden alarm.

Rhyder did not lower his weapon. "I hear you, Doctor."

"Send me the visual feed immediately," Raviah requested from the fortress command center.

Rhyder activated his helmet camera, transmitting the high-definition feed straight to her console. Silence stretched over the communication line, long enough for Rhyder to hear the heavy breathing of the men beside him.

"No..." Raviah whispered, her voice trembling through the radio.

Rhyder’s jaw tightened. "You recognize this creature?"

A heavy pause followed before Raviah spoke again, her voice stripped of its usual calm composure. "Yes."

"What is it?" Rhyder asked, keeping his crosshairs aligned with the creature’s glowing crimson eyes.

Raviah took a sharp breath, her hands clutching the edge of her console as she stared at the screen. "Rhyder, do not engage. It’s a Zerg."

The term echoed through the tactical channel, unfamiliar to every soldier present.

"A Zerg?" Rhyder repeated, observing the creature’s biological defense plates.

"In my memories, they weren’t supposed to appear until years into the collapse," Raviah explained, her voice rising in panic. "The timeline has accelerated."

The apocalypse had already broken its expected bounds, bringing early zombie outbreaks and elemental awakenings. Now, an apex species from a far deadlier era stood directly in front of them.

The creature’s body shifted lower, its back muscles contracting like coiled springs.

"Everyone, brace!" Rhyder shouted.

KRRRRAAAAAAAHHHHH!

A deafening screech shattered the silence of the woods, shaking loose leaves from the canopy above.

Rhyder pulled the trigger, firing three high-caliber rounds directly into the beast’s skull. Sparks erupted off the black chitin as the heavy bullets ricocheted into the darkness, leaving only faint white scratches on its armor.

The creature lunged forward with unbelievable speed, its upper scythes slashing through the air.

"FIRE!" Rhyder commanded, stepping into its path to draw its attack.

Muzzle flashes illuminated the dark forest as the squad opened fire, heavy lead bouncing harmlessly off the creature’s thick plates.

Back in the command room, Raviah monitored the audio feed, hearing a faint, rhythmic sound rising beneath the gunfire. Her blood ran cold as she recognized the deep, subterranean vibrations pulsing through the ground.

Another screech answered from the deep woods behind Rhyder’s position. Then two more from the flank, followed by dozens of overlapping cries that filled the night air.

KRRRRAAAAAHHHHH!

Raviah stared at her radar map as hundreds of biological signatures bloomed around the squad’s coordinates. "Rhyder, pull back now!"

Rhyder swung his rifle toward the treeline as red eyes ignited by the dozens in the darkness. The soldiers instinctively drew closer into a defensive circle, realizing they were not dealing with a stray monster.

Deep within the dark forest, hundreds of glowing eyes opened in unison, surrounding the squad in complete silence.