Chapter 2500: Story 2501: The Last Ride Before Sunset (Series HS:ZE 26)

The desert wind carried more than dust.

It carried silence.

Not the peaceful silence that once drifted across the western frontier, but the dreadful silence left behind after humanity had nearly disappeared.

Victoria Kane tightened her grip on the leather reins as her magnificent black stallion, Midnight, climbed the rocky ridge overlooking the abandoned town of Red Hollow.

Once, smoke from chimneys had filled the air.

Now only broken windmills creaked beneath blood-red clouds.

A wooden sign leaned beside the road.

NO HOPE. ONLY SURVIVAL.

Victoria stared at it for several seconds before urging Midnight forward.

She had seen hundreds of ruined towns during the last four years of the outbreak.

Yet something about Red Hollow felt wrong.

There were no birds.

No insects.

Not even the growl of wandering infected.

Only complete silence.

She dismounted beside the old sheriff’s office.

The swinging wooden doors moved gently with the wind.

Inside, overturned furniture lay scattered across the floor while dried blood stained the walls.

A faded photograph rested on the sheriff’s desk.

A smiling family.

A husband.

A wife.

Two children.

Victoria quietly placed the photograph inside a drawer before closing it.

Some memories deserved protection.

Suddenly Midnight snorted loudly outside.

Victoria rushed back through the doorway.

The horse’s ears stood straight.

He wasn’t afraid.

He was warning her.

Something moved between the distant buildings.

Then another shadow.

Then dozens.

Figures slowly emerged from every alley.

Rotting faces.

Torn clothing.

Empty white eyes.

Zombies.

But they weren’t wandering aimlessly.

They were walking together.

Organized.

Watching.

Victoria had never witnessed anything like it.

She climbed into the saddle as the infected surrounded the main street.

One stepped forward wearing the rusted badge of the former sheriff.

Its jaw hung loose, but its gaze remained fixed on her.

Then it raised one decaying hand.

The entire horde stopped moving.

Victoria’s heartbeat quickened.

Someone—or something—was controlling them.

Without warning the sheriff zombie pointed toward her.

Thousands of undead voices erupted together.

Midnight reared into the air.

Victoria fired two precise shots, knocking back the nearest infected before spurring the stallion into a full gallop.

Dust exploded behind them as zombies poured from buildings, rooftops, and abandoned wagons.

The chase thundered through the deserted streets.

Bullets echoed across the valley.

Victoria escaped the town by only a few seconds, racing toward the open desert while the horde gathered at the town’s edge.

None of them followed.

Instead, they simply stood there.

Watching.

As the sun disappeared below the horizon, Victoria looked back one final time.

Standing atop the old water tower was a tall figure dressed in a dark crimson coat.

Its face was hidden beneath a wide-brimmed hat.

Even from miles away she could feel its gaze.

The stranger slowly tipped the hat toward her before vanishing into the darkness.

Victoria whispered to herself,

"Those weren’t ordinary zombies..."

Far beyond the silent town, a deep horn echoed across the desert.

The apocalypse had entered a terrifying new Chapter.