Chapter 2501: Story 2502: The Town That Refused to Die

The horn’s mournful echo rolled across the desert long after the mysterious figure vanished from the water tower.

Victoria Kane refused to stop riding until the moon stood high above the barren wilderness. Midnight’s powerful hooves pounded against the cracked earth while the cold night wind whipped through her hair.

Only when she reached an abandoned canyon did she finally pull the reins.

The black stallion breathed heavily.

Victoria stroked his neck.

"You saved my life again, old friend."

Midnight lowered his head as if he understood every word.

Victoria climbed onto a nearby cliff overlooking the endless desert. From there she could still see Red Hollow in the far distance.

Something impossible happened.

The town was glowing.

Lanterns slowly lit one after another.

The old saloon.

The church.

The sheriff’s office.

Even the broken water tower burned with an eerie crimson light.

"No..." Victoria whispered.

"The town is dead."

Yet somehow it looked alive again.

Suddenly a gunshot echoed behind her.

Victoria spun around, revolver already drawn.

A tall man stepped from behind a rock with both hands raised.

"I’m not infected."

His voice was calm.

His beard was covered in dust, while his military jacket showed years of battle.

"My name is Cole Mercer."

Victoria didn’t lower her weapon.

"Former army?"

Cole nodded.

"Tenth Cavalry."

"I’ve been following that town for three weeks."

Victoria studied him carefully.

His eyes carried exhaustion rather than fear.

"You saw them?"

Cole’s expression darkened.

"I saw enough."

"They don’t hunt anymore."

"They recruit."

Those words sent a chill through Victoria.

"What do you mean?"

Cole removed a folded map from his pocket.

Nearly every nearby settlement had been crossed out with black ink.

"Every town that disappears becomes another nest."

"The infected aren’t wandering."

"They’re building something."

Victoria looked toward Red Hollow again.

The crimson lights had become brighter.

Almost like a city awakening.

Before either of them could speak, Midnight suddenly stamped the ground and snorted loudly.

Cole immediately reached for his rifle.

"They’re here."

The canyon walls echoed with strange clicking sounds.

Not moaning.

Not growling.

Clicking.

Several figures crawled across the cliffs like enormous spiders.

Their bones bent at impossible angles while glowing red veins pulsed beneath their pale skin.

Victoria had never seen infected move this way.

One creature leaped nearly twenty feet, landing only yards away.

Its mouth split open far wider than any human jaw.

Rows of needle-like teeth glistened beneath the moonlight.

"Run!" Cole shouted.

Victoria fired.

The bullet struck the creature directly between the eyes.

Instead of falling, it screamed and charged.

Cole’s rifle thundered twice.

The creature collapsed at last.

But dozens more appeared along the canyon walls.

The night exploded into chaos.

Midnight kicked one monster backward before galloping through the narrow canyon while Victoria fired over her shoulder.

Cole sprinted beside them, eliminating infected with disciplined precision.

One by one the creatures surrounded them.

Then...

Another horn echoed across the desert.

Every monster froze instantly.

They slowly backed away.

Not because they were afraid.

Because they had been ordered to.

The canyon fell silent.

Far above them, standing upon the highest cliff, the mysterious Crimson Rider watched without moving.

Moonlight reflected from the stranger’s silver mask.

He raised one hand toward the distant horizon before disappearing into the darkness as silently as he had arrived.

Cole stared at the empty cliff.

Victoria tightened her grip on her revolver.

"The one on the water tower..."

Cole nodded grimly.

"And this rider..."

"They’re connected."

Neither survivor noticed the ancient symbol carved into the canyon floor beneath their feet—a symbol shaped like a crown surrounded by hundreds of handprints.

Hidden beneath the sand, something enormous began to awaken.

The desert itself trembled.