My ears kept ringing.
It was like a cruel siren's scream burrowing into my brain, constant and unforgiving. I had already shaken my head multiple times, hoping to rattle the sound away. But it clung to my skull, like a parasite.
Instead of easing, the sensation worsened — like the world had tilted on its axis and no one told me.
Crap.
I wanted to curse louder, but I could barely move my tongue.
If it weren't for the lives at stake, I would've thrown a grenade straight into that damned mob rather than order my squad to arm the bomb. At least then, I could have ensured a cleaner pathway to home.
But no. I made the call. The damage was done. There was no undoing it now.
And what was I left with? Static in my head, pounding in my chest, and the taste of ash in my mouth.
I laid there on the cold, cracked concrete, blinking up at a colorless sky as smoke rose into it like lost souls ascending.
Survive, Jay. Focus.
The explosion might have scattered the initial wave of the undead, but it was loud — too loud. Every FREAK —what we called the undead— within a mile must've heard it. They don't feel pain, or fear, or grief. But sound? They respond to that like moths to a flame.
Even if their hearts no longer beat, something still stirs in their bones.
Hunger.
So, no matter how much the world spun around me, I forced my aching body to rise.
Or, at least, I tried.
The moment I pushed against the ground, my arms gave out. Pain shot down my side like lightning. Then, my vision blurred, and I fell back. My limbs weren't just bruised — they were nearly useless. As if someone unplugged the wires connecting my brain to bone.
Of course... I was near the blast. What the hell did I expect?
I let out a broken laugh. Then, it turned into a wheeze as I forced myself to sit.
Okay, good... I'm good.
I reached for my first aid kit, fingers fumbling uselessly against my belt. Just then, I heard it — the unmistakable sound of snarling, wet and guttural. Heavy footsteps followed. Unrhythmic, cracking sounds.
I quickly looked up.
New horde... Fast. Determined.
Panic surged through my veins, kicking my pulse into overdrive.
Where did they come from?
The bomb should have bought us thirty minutes, minimum. Five had barely passed. My calculations were never this off.
Unless...
No. Don't think.Move.
I reached for my sidearm — the last weapon I had. My rifle was gone. Maybe buried, maybe broken. It didn't matter. The handgun felt heavy, like I was lifting bricks, but I managed to raise it. My hands shook violently.
One shot. Head. Another. Head. Then two more.
But for every one undead that fell, more took their place. I could barely make out their shapes now. Their eyes were hollow, glowing dimly in the ash-dusted haze, and their mouths gaped in eternal hunger.
I fired again.
One... Two... Three... Click.
Out of ammo.
Seriously?
I stared at the gun, praying for it to reload on its own. My hands trembled. My stomach clenched.
Was this it?
Did God want me now? Was this His great cosmic joke?
Afraid, I closed my eyes. I didn't want to see it coming. Then, out of the blue, I thought of her.
Cristina. Mi Alma. My once beautiful soul...
Seconds passed. No pain came.
No tearing, no screams, no claws on my face. Just... silence.
What?
I cracked open an eye.
At first, all I saw was white. Not light. Skin. Pale, almost glowing, in contrast to the filth and decay surrounding us.
A human?
I looked harder, and in that split second of comprehension, I discovered it was a "she".
A woman!
I blinked again, skeptic of what my eyes are seeing.
She moved like a shadow, fast and decisive. A kick to the skull of a FREAK sent it flying, its neck snapping unnaturally. She spun, elbowed another creature in the throat, caved in its trachea — if it even still had one.
Now, who was she?
Her body was agile, trained. Not a soldier's build, but something... sharper. Every motion was grace, art. Deadly art.
And then, steel flashed.
A katana.
Where the hell did she get a katana?
Two heads rolled cleanly onto the concrete.
I watched, paralyzed. Not from fear, but from awe.
I know she wasn't one of ours. No uniform. No patch. And yet, she fought like she'd been born on a battlefield.
Could she be an Angel? The Horizon's genetically engineered artificial intelligence soldier.
No... No, they'd be more dramatic. More robotic. More obvious. She? She was too silent. Too human. Too clean.
Suddenly, I recalled what the boys said... they used to talk about someone. A woman. Rumor. Myth.
They called her the "Miracle.".. A ghost in the DEAD Zone.
Just a story. Right?
But here she was... The unknown woman, whom didn't flinch. She didn't hesitate. No fear in her face. No emotion. Just pure, methodical violence.
Now that bothers me... Is she even human?
She didn't blink when she killed. Didn't even look at the creatures she cut down. They were like obstacles for her, not enemies.
And I...
I was just lying there. Watching. Useless.
I was the one trained for this. The one with the damn mission. The rescue op. The leadership.
I tried to stand. My leg screamed. I dropped.
Burned.
Bleeding.
I glanced down. Red. Not black, which happens to be a FREAK's blood color.
Definitely my blood.
I let out a laugh. Short. Bitter.
All that training, all the caution. And still, one explosion and I'm on the floor like a rookie.
I deserved a medal.
Pathetic...
All of a sudden, the air changed.
No more groans. No more snarls.
I looked up again. The ground was littered with the dead. Heads severed. Bodies twitching.
And her — the strange woman — was slicing through the last one, clean and fast.
I didn't even see where she started the fight, or where she went. But, to be honest, it was a satisfying view.
The fight, brutal... The woman, beautiful.
Her blade lowered.
She turned.
Our eyes met.
I froze.
Dark. Midnight dark.
I felt... stunned. Not physically. Something deeper. Like I'd been cracked open, struck by something ancient and violent and true.
Painful. But weirdly good.
Her stare wasn't angry. Or kind. Or human.
It was a void.
And yet... something in it pulled me.
What the hell was she?
Who even sent her here?
Was she a savior? A ghost? Or just another FREAK in disguise?
I didn't have answers.
Only questions.
And the terrifying, beautiful certainty that everything-everything I thought I knew-just changed.
And I couldn't look away.