CHAPTER 14: EVERY BEGINNING IS DIFFICULT

  Early the next morning, as the sun peeked over the Palusian Mountains, I was jolted awake by a metallic clang. It was a long, rhythmic signal that cut through the morning air, soon joined by the bustling symphony of laborers, the roar of forge bellows, and the steady thud of patrol boots assembling for duty.

  I eased out of bed, careful not to wake Lily. After a soft kiss on her forehead, I changed into the new uniform Hiroth’s people had delivered—solid black, with my name neatly embroidered across the chest.

  I stood outside a small room on the castle's first floor, exhaling slowly to steady my nerves. Finally, I pushed open the wooden door. Ten people were waiting. They wore the same black attire, each with a small tin nameplate pinned to their chest.

  "Captain!" they said in unison.

  A flush of embarrassment hit me, but I forced a smile and greeted them. These were the candidates Brian had suggested: enthusiastic, healthy—and, crucially, people with nothing left to lose, or loved ones already safe within these walls. Out there, personal attachments could get you killed.

  "As you know, Lord Hiroth has entrusted us with one mission: to rescue those stranded beyond these walls," I began. "We do this for the families waiting here. I expect total cooperation and, above all, no reckless risks. Is that clear?"

  I stumbled slightly over the last word. This was my first time commanding a group this large, and I had spent the night rehearsing those few sentences.

  "CRYSTAL!" they roared back. The sheer volume almost made me flinch.

  Former soldiers, I thought. Or Hiroth had trained the fear out of them.

  "Good. And..." I hesitated, momentarily forgetting the name of the young woman I’d chosen as our secretary.

  "Cheryl," she prompted with a subtle, professional smile.

  "Right. Cheryl." I nodded. "Cheryl will coordinate the requests from the residential zone. We’ll prioritize missions based on the density of survivors. We’ll operate in two teams, and unless it's an absolute emergency, everyone must be back by 5:30 PM. We can't save anyone if we become the ones needing rescue. Cheryl, the targets?"

  "Yes, Captain Annie," she replied. "We have several locations across the city and near the Palusian range. One team will take the route to the Central Post Office; there are many reported survivors along that path. The second team will head to the ranger station near the mountains—our radio operator intercepted a distress signal there a few days ago."

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  "I assume there are no objections?" I asked, knowing they had no more information than I did. "Team One: Lucas, Andy, Hans, Lemon, and Zhan Ling—you’re heading for the ranger station. Lucas, you’re in command."

  I almost asked, Is that alright? but Hiroth’s advice echoed in my mind: To lead, you must learn to give orders.

  "The rest of us—Jenine, Christian, Radian, Hyerin, and myself—will take the Post Office route. Cheryl, stay here and gather intel for tomorrow. Move out."

  An hour later, our truck entered the city. Snow fell lightly on roads that no one bothered to clear anymore. We checked every marked house on the map. Room by room. Basement by basement.

  Fifteen houses. Not a single living soul.

  "Maybe they moved," Radian suggested as we stood in the attic of the last house before the park.

  "Most of the reports are 'dead info,'" Jenine added. "Days or months old. The people out here are alive; they have to move to survive."

  "If they're smart," Radian continued, "they wouldn’t hide behind glass walls. They’d hole up in the Post Office—stone and steel. When they need food, they just wait for daylight and raid the store."

  I smiled at their logic. "Alright then. Let's verify—"

  BANG!

  A gunshot shattered the silence. We bolted downstairs to the truck where Christian and Hyerin were waiting. Christian stood pale, his rifle still raised toward a body lying near the park.

  "Just... a zombie," I said, trying to calm the air. "You've shot them before, haven't you?"

  "Captain," Hyerin interrupted, her voice tight. "The zombies here... they don't come out in the morning."

  I froze. She was right. In the weeks I’d been in Ethar, I hadn't seen a single one in the daylight. They were creatures of the night, far more reclusive than the hordes in Iberia. Something was shifting.

  "What do we do?" Jenine asked.

  "I won't force you," I said. "If you want to stay in the truck, do it. But I’m checking that Post Office. I won't leave people behind."

  "I'm in," Radian said. Jenine and Hyerin nodded. Christian just climbed into the driver's seat.

  "So you're staying?" I asked.

  "No," Christian replied. "If we're all going, why walk when we have a truck?"

  I let out a short laugh despite myself. We barreled across the park lawn, weaving through overgrown trees. I’d give anything for a world where traffic fines were my biggest problem.

  Ten minutes later, the truck smashed through a rusted fence and skidded to a halt.

  "Hyerin, Jenine, Christian—check the supermarket. Grab all the medical supplies you can," I ordered. "Radian, you’re with me."

  Radian and I searched the building's facade until he waved me over to a side alley. Beneath the shadow of the stone wall lay a viscous puddle of green fluid, faintly luminescent.

  "What do you think that is?" Radian asked, his voice low.

  "I don't know. A chemical? Or maybe it's from a zombie..."

  "They don’t leak like that," he said, sounding disturbed.

  "Things are changing," I whispered, chambering a round. "Maybe Christian wasn't wrong after all."

  We found a rear entrance and shouted until our throats were raw. No response. We were about to give up when two zombies lunged from the park behind us.

  We dropped them with two clean shots. But then, the real terror began. Christian’s group came sprinting toward us from the supermarket, their faces masks of pure panic.

  "RUN! ZOMBIES! A WHOLE FOREST OF THEM!"

  Behind them, the park seemed to come alive. Rotting heads and decaying bodies erupted from the trees in a tidal wave of gray flesh. Dozens. Then hundreds.

  They were hunting. In broad daylight. And we were the only prey in sight.