Prologue
The air was thick with blood and dust. The sun bled across the sky as it set, casting a crimson glow over the land. Once peaceful and joy-filled, the streets were now destroyed, desolate, and stained with blood. There were still people alive-but none were certain they'd make it to morning.
They came out at sunset.
They always came out at sunset.
The sound of gunfire drowned out the terrified screams and the wails of babies. The soldiers fought with everything they had to hold back the mutants. These were no longer animals. They were twisted, unrecognizable creatures-mutations with eyes like dark mirrors, filled with revenge, bloodlust, and radiation.
"Regroup at the town square!" Colonel Alan shouted.
His men obeyed instantly, desperate to reach safety.
As one young private ran, a spider the size of a truck leapt onto his shoulders and bit off his head. The others screamed-and ran faster. Some turned their guns on themselves, unwilling to die like that.
They weren't even supposed to be there.
They had received a distress call about a school in need of relief supplies.
By the time they arrived, there were no children.
Only bones.
Small bones.
Colonel Alan regrouped with his remaining men in the town square, where frightened civilians had gathered. He scanned their faces. He didn't show it, but he knew the truth: no one would survive. The mutants were already tearing down the barricades, closing in.
"What do we do, sir?" a soldier asked, his voice trembling.
Alan gave a weak, forced smile.
"We fight to the very end. We're soldiers, aren't we? That's what we do."
His men nodded.
But deep down, they knew.
They wouldn't see the next dawn.
By the time darkness fully blanketed the sky, everyone was dead. The mutants roamed the ruins, hunting for any remaining signs of life.
That would not be the last town to fall.
