Chapter 2600: Story 2601: The Last Warrior (Series HS:ZE 27)

The dead had conquered the mountains.

Once, the northern valleys had been covered with green forests, busy villages, and ancient roads connecting one settlement to another. Now, only broken watchtowers, burned houses, and thousands of wandering corpses remained beneath the cold gray sky.

A dying sun disappeared behind the mountains.

On a narrow ridge above the ruined valley, a lone warrior stood motionless.

His long black hair moved with the wind. A weathered leather strap crossed his powerful chest, and an old round shield hung from his left arm. In his right hand, he held a battered sword whose blade had been stained by countless battles.

His name was Kael Draven.

For three years, Kael had survived alone.

He had watched cities fall. He had buried friends. He had fought through hordes of infected and crossed territories where no living human dared to walk.

But tonight, something was different.

Kael slowly raised his shield.

Far below, hundreds of zombies were moving toward the valley.

They weren’t wandering randomly.

They were marching.

Kael narrowed his eyes.

"That’s impossible."

A sound came from behind him.

He turned instantly, sword raised.

A young woman stood among the rocks, holding a crossbow.

"Don’t shoot," she whispered.

Kael didn’t lower his weapon.

"Who are you?"

"Mara Voss."

Her breathing was heavy. She had clearly been running.

"They’re coming for you," she said.

Kael glanced toward the valley.

"Those things don’t hunt people from miles away."

"These ones do."

Before Kael could answer, another figure emerged from the darkness.

A tall man carrying a rifle stepped onto the ridge.

"She’s telling the truth," he said.

His name was Ethan Cross, once a military scout before the world collapsed.

Behind him came a thin, exhausted man carrying a medical bag.

"There’s something else," he said.

He was Dr. Adrian Vale, one of the last scientists studying the infection.

Kael stared at the three strangers.

"Why are you here?"

Adrian looked toward the mountains.

"Because we found the source."

The wind suddenly stopped.

Even the zombies below became strangely silent.

Then a deep roar echoed through the valley.

The ground trembled.

Kael turned toward the northern cliffs.

Something enormous was moving between the ruined trees.

Mara raised her crossbow.

"What is that?"

Adrian’s face went pale.

"The first infected."

Kael tightened his grip around his sword.

"You mean the first zombie?"

"No."

Adrian shook his head.

"The first human who became infected."

A monstrous figure stepped into the fading sunlight.

It was taller than any normal man, covered in blackened flesh, with glowing eyes and enormous claws.

Thousands of zombies suddenly dropped to their knees before it.

Kael stared in disbelief.

The creature looked directly at him.

Then it smiled.

For the first time in three years, Kael felt something he thought he had forgotten.

Fear.

The monster raised its hand.

Every corpse in the valley began climbing toward the ridge.

Ethan loaded his rifle.

Mara pulled back her crossbow.

Adrian whispered, "If we don’t reach the old fortress before midnight, humanity is finished."

Kael lifted his shield and stepped forward.

"Then we reach it."

He looked at the approaching army of the dead.

"But first..."

His sword flashed beneath the dying sunlight.

"...we survive tonight."