Chapter 7: Trial by Fire
The morning sun peeked through the rusted frames of New York's shattered skyline. Ethan, Lira, and Nolan stood beside a cracked asphalt road, a map spread across the hood of a broken-down SUV. Their destination was clear—Alaska—but the path to get there was treacherous, and they needed a working vehicle first.
They'd scouted for hours before they found it: a silver camping van in surprisingly good condition, hidden under the ruins of a gas station canopy. The only problem—it was missing two tires and bone-dry on fuel. With no other options, they set out on foot toward a nearby Walmart distribution center, half-buried under overgrowth and decay. The silence of the world was deafening, broken only by the crunch of their footsteps.
Inside the abandoned Walmart, the trio moved carefully under the flickering emergency lights. Rows of ransacked shelves loomed like tombstones. But fortune smiled on them. In the auto section, they found the exact tires they needed, a few canisters of gasoline, and even a working air compressor. Further inside, the camping section still held water bottles, canned food, sleeping bags, and most importantly—a med kit.
In the sporting goods section, they discovered a stash of firearms, hidden behind a collapsed display. Shotguns, pistols, even a crossbow. Ethan handed Lira a pistol and Nolan the old museum sword they had already grown attached to.
After stocking up, they loaded everything into large canvas bags and stepped out the back of the store into the empty parking lot. That's when they heard it—the low, guttural snarl echoing from between the abandoned cars.
From the shadows emerged a creature: humanoid in shape, but grotesquely mutated, hunched with elongated limbs and a flesh-covered tail. Its skin was ashen, and where its eyes should be, black voids stared hungrily.
"What the hell is that?!" Lira shouted, raising her pistol with trembling hands.
"Don't know! Just shoot!" Ethan yelled.
Lira fired wildly, each shot ricocheting off the creature's tough hide. The thing didn't slow down. It swatted Lira aside with its tail, sending her crashing into a broken cart. Nolan rushed forward, sword in hand, placing himself between the monster and Ethan. But the creature lunged.
It tackled Ethan, slamming him into the pavement. The impact knocked the air—and consciousness—out of him. Time seemed to stop.
Darkness.
Then—
A dream.
A soft blue glow lit up the void. From it stepped a man in a black trench coat with calm eyes and a voice like wind.
"Ethan," Astraeus said. "This is not the end."
"What...what is it? That thing!" Ethan gasped.
"One of the corrupted. Weak, compared to what will come. Its heart is still human-like—just buried deeper. Shoot its chest. Aim for the heart. Not the side, not the head. The front of the neck—where it connects to the chest. That's the only way."
"But I—"
"You have no time. Trust them. Protect them. Wake up."
Ethan jolted upright.
Only thirty seconds had passed.
He looked around. Lira was on the ground groaning, her arm hanging awkwardly. Nolan was swinging the sword wildly, barely holding the monster back. It growled, inches from Nolan's throat.
Ethan grabbed the shotgun from the bag beside him, loaded a shell, and shouted, "Move!"
Nolan dove sideways. Ethan fired. The blast tore through the creature's chest just under its neck. The thing shrieked and convulsed, black ichor spraying the ground. Then it dropped, twitching, then still.
The silence returned.
Ethan breathed heavily. "That...was close."
Lira winced, cradling her arm. "Damn recoil twisted my wrist... I was shooting like crazy and it didn't even flinch."
Nolan looked at Ethan. "You blacked out. What happened?"
Ethan hesitated. "I'll explain later. But next time, aim for the heart. Trust me."
He helped Lira up and gave her a painkiller from the med kit. Nolan wrapped a bandage around Ethan's bruised temple.
They were alive.
Injured, shaken, and scarred—but alive.
They stood in the quiet parking lot, battered but breathing, looking back at the ruins of the world behind them and the long road ahead.
The van was waiting.
To be continued....