Welcome to the End

People paid to be frightened. They watched horror movies, visited haunted houses, and challenged themselves to face their deepest fears.

Sunset Ridge took that idea further.

The newly opened zombie-themed escape park had become a worldwide sensation. Designed to resemble a city after the apocalypse, it offered visitors the chance to experience a fictional zombie outbreak. Employees dressed as the undead wandered through abandoned streets, chased visitors, and appeared unexpectedly from dark corners.

It was entertainment at its finest.

On opening day, hundreds of visitors arrived, carrying cameras and excitement. They wanted terrifying memories, funny videos, and stories worth sharing.

None of them knew the nightmare waiting ahead was real.

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I had two reasons for visiting Sunset Ridge: my friend wouldn't stop talking about it, and I'd already paid for my ticket.

Honestly, I expected a few cheap scares and some embarrassing videos.

Our group received a mission briefing before entering the attraction. We had to search abandoned buildings for supplies while avoiding the zombies. Simple enough.

Or so I thought.

Inside an abandoned clinic, a man wearing a hospital gown stood motionless in the corner. His head hung sideways, and his fingers twitched.

“Is he supposed to be doing that?” a woman beside me whispered.

Before anyone answered, the man suddenly lunged toward us.

We screamed and scrambled through the doorway, nearly knocking each other over.

“Best acting I've ever seen!” someone shouted nervously.

I laughed, although something about that man's movements had unsettled me.

When we finally reached the main street, I noticed a crowd gathering nearby.

An employee in a security uniform was attacking a visitor on the ground. At first, I assumed it was another performance.

Then I saw the blood.

The employee bent down and sank his teeth into the visitor's neck.

My smile disappeared.

People screamed. Some ran toward the exits while others stood frozen, filming the scene.

“Someone call an ambulance!” a man shouted.

The attacker suddenly turned toward another visitor.

Three loud alarm blasts echoed throughout the park.

A distorted announcement crackled through the speakers, but the message cut off before I could understand it.

For one terrible second, everyone seemed to hesitate.

Then the crowd erupted into chaos.

I ran.

Behind me, the screaming continued.

The game was over.

And nobody had told the zombies.