The park bench wasn’t much of a home, but it was all August had. The peeling green paint scratched his back, and the thin blanket he’d scavenged from a nearby trash bin did little to fight off the night’s chill. His stomach growled for what felt like the hundredth time that day, but he ignored it. Hunger was a familiar ache now, one he’d learned to push aside like an old friend overstaying their welcome.He leaned back and stared at the moon, its pale light washing over the empty park. Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked, its sound sharp and lonely, just like him. August pulled the blanket tighter and closed his eyes, but sleep didn’t come. Instead, the memories did.“I can’t do this anymore,” Sabrina had said, her voice trembling but firm. She didn’t look at him as she spoke. Her hands clutched the edge of their kitchen table, knuckles white.August had begged her. “What are you talking about? We can fix this.”She shook her head, still avoiding his gaze. “It’s not something we ca

August crouched behind a crumbling wall, his heart pounding in his chest. The sounds of distant groans and the shuffle of feet were unsettling, even for someone who had already seen horrors. He had become accustomed to the desolate streets, the wreckage of once-bustling buildings, but today, the world seemed louder, more oppressive. The city was a graveyard now, every street a memory of something he had once taken for granted—stores, cafes, even the familiar hum of traffic. Now it was just rubble and death.The streets were littered with debris—burnt cars, shattered glass, and twisted metal that had once been the skeletons of modern life. Overhead, the gray sky looked as if it had never known a sunny day, thick clouds swirling like storm clouds, reflecting the heaviness of the situation. The silence between the distant growls of zombies only made the world feel even more eerie, more dangerous. It was as if the air itself had turned against him.He glanced over his shoulder, making sure

August’s heart raced as the door to the shelter creaked open with an eerie groan. His body tensed, ready to sprint, but as his eyes flickered to the small patch of moonlight that pierced through the crack, the sound of distant growls hit his ears. Zombies.But it wasn’t just the growling that sent a chill through his spine. It was the rapid, heavy footfalls approaching from the hallway—a stampede of things, bodies moving unnaturally fast, some dragging limbs, others with grotesque hunched backs. It wasn’t just one zombie. It was an entire pack.The system inside his mind was already shifting into emergency mode. A small display popped up, showing red dots closing in on the shelter’s location. It was too many to count, too many to fight. They’d be overwhelmed in seconds if they didn’t act now.His first instinct was to grab Jude and bolt, but then he remembered the knife that had appeared for him when he first encountered the zombie. He didn’t know why it had materialized, but he wasn’t

The room was a battleground of chaos. The sounds of the zombie’s claws scraping against the floor reverberated in August’s chest, a pulse of primal fear that threatened to overwhelm him. Jude, pinned under the hulking undead creature, gasped for breath, his bloodied hands struggling to push the monstrosity away. The thing was massive—its rotting flesh clung to its skeletal frame, and its eyes were a ghastly shade of milky white, devoid of any humanity.August’s heart raced as the image of Jude’s pained expression etched itself into his mind. He had to act. There was no time to hesitate. There was no one else to rely on but himself, and the system in his head, which had already proven to be his greatest asset."System, activate," August thought, his mind working quickly.The familiar interface flickered in front of his eyes, the blue holographic map and icons appearing as though from nowhere. His pulse quickened, but his fingers remained steady. The system had been with him through the

The cold wind whipped across the rooftop as August, Jude, and Cara breathed heavily, their muscles aching from the stress of the fight. Cara had collapsed to the ground after they’d pulled her away from the undead creature, her breathing ragged and her body trembling. The group had narrowly escaped death, and while they had fought off the immediate threat, the sound of distant groans and snarls signaled that the nightmare wasn’t over."Are you okay?" August asked, kneeling beside Cara. He was breathing heavily, his hands still clutching the knife he’d used to save her.Cara looked up at him, her expression one of gratitude, mixed with a hint of disbelief. “I… I thought I was done for,” she whispered, rubbing her leg where the zombie had grabbed her. “Thank you.”Jude, still limping from his earlier injury, watched the scene unfold. He was looking at the horde’s direction, trying to assess their next move. The danger wasn’t gone. The rooftop was no longer a haven. They were surrounded,