Ethan's mind was a storm of fear, urgency, and determination as he sprinted into the devastated streets of Atlanta, the distant groans of the undead echoing like a constant drumbeat in the ruins around him, mingling with the sharp metallic tang of blood and the stench of rot that clung to the air like a suffocating shroud.
His heart pounded so hard that he could feel it thrumming in his throat as he tightened his grip on the baseball bat, the weight of the simple wooden weapon grounding him even as the chaos of the city threatened to overwhelm his senses.
Every corner he rounded, every alley he entered, was another gamble against the hordes of monsters that had taken the city, their numbers far beyond what any survivor could have imagined, moving with an unnatural hunger and an eerie coordination that made each step forward a battle for life itself.
