If anyone ever said the apocalypse couldn't get worse, they clearly hadn't tried outrunning one hundred thousand zombies in the rain.
The city was burning, the ground was shaking, and the sound of groaning undead echoed through every street like the world's worst concert. Luna sprinted ahead, splashing through puddles, screaming over the chaos,"THIS IS THE LAST TIME I TRUST YOUR PLAN, TANGO!"
"It was a good plan!" Tango yelled back. "Until Tim screamed 'RUN!' at the top of his lungs!"
Tim, gasping and clutching his soaked hoodie, shouted, "I PANIC LOUDLY, OKAY!?"
Pluto looked like he was running purely out of spite. "We're literally about to be eaten because you panic-screamed your way into the apocalypse!"
Behind them, the horde thundered closer .... a tsunami of grey, rotting faces and mindless hunger. The entire sky glowed orange from fire, the air heavy with rain and smoke..
Asuka pointed ahead. "The lab! It's right there; across that bridge!"Luna's jaw dropped. "That bridge is on fire!""Then run faster!" Tanya yelled, already halfway across it.
And somehow, by some miracle (and Tim's near-death whimpering), they made it to the other side. The lab loomed in front of them ; huge, metallic, covered in vines and broken glass. The door flickered with a digital lock.
Tango's wristband beeped. "We're close. Dr Varex's central control room should be under this building."
"Great," Luna panted, "love that for us. Small question though .... how do we get in without becoming zombie buffet?"
That's when Tango's face turned serious. "You're not gonna like this."
Pluto frowned. "What now?"Tango sighed. "The zombies… they react more aggressively to male brainwaves."
Tim blinked. "I'm sorry, what?""They target men first; it's something about higher testosterone levels and the brain's scent "
Tango explained.Luna's jaw dropped. "So you're saying..."Tanya smirked. "Girls get eaten last."
There was a long, terrible silence. Then, slowly, Tim reached into his bag, pulled out Luna's pink hoodie, and said with deadly seriousness,"Call me Tima."
Pluto choked. "You're not serious."Tim pulled the hood over his head. "If it means my brain stays uneaten, I'm the prettiest girl you'll ever meet."Luna was wheezing. "Bro, you still have a beard shadow.""Shut up, Luna, I'm delicate."
Before anyone could recover from that cursed image, the zombies found them.
The ground trembled. Roars filled the air. Shadows closed in from every alley, every broken window. It was like the entire city came to life, undead and hungry.
"Run!" Luna yelled, pushing the lab door. It refused to open. "Oh come ON, not a passcode NOW!"
Tango typed furiously on his wristband, the numbers flickering red. "It's encrypted; it's locking us out!"
Zombies were seconds away ..... crawling over cars, climbing fences, screeching like banshees.
Tim (still in his hoodie disguise) screamed, "I REGRET EVERYTHING!"Pluto hissed, "I TOLD YOU NOT TO PANIC!""I'M PANICKING BECAUSE YOU'RE YELLING AT ME!""BECAUSE YOU PANICKED FIRST!""STOP YELLING!""YOU STOP!""GUYS!" Luna shouted. "WE'RE ABOUT TO DIE, CAN YOU NOT DO THIS NOW?!"
And then .... just as one of the zombies lunged-
A boom ripped through the night.
Blue light exploded from above, slicing through the horde like lightning. Two figures dropped from the sky, landing on the pavement with enough force to crack it.
One had golden armour glowing faintly in the rain, a massive sword strapped to her back. Her hair .... blonde streaked with teal-blue highlights.The other, tall and serious, had a knife that hummed like it wanted to vaporise everything nearby.
The zombies froze, just long enough for the two newcomers to strike.
The girl moved first. Her sword sliced through the air in an arc of glowing blue energy, destroying everything it touched. The man followed, cutting down the stragglers with robotic precision.
Within seconds, the street fell silent again; only rain falling, steam rising from the corpses.
Tim peeked out from behind a trash bin, wide-eyed. "...are we dead or did angels just respawn?"
The woman turned to face them, eyes like sharp lightning. "Neither. You're lucky we arrived when we did."The man sheathed his blade. "Next time, maybe don't run straight into an undead army."
Luna blinked. "...Who the heck are you two?"
The woman smirked, wiping rain from her sword."Siara," she said. "And this is Emmanuel. We're from 2089. And you're standing in what's left of my great-grandfather's lab."
Everyone just stood there, dripping wet, blinking like idiots.
Tango muttered, "Oh great. Time travelers from the future-future. What's next, alien zombies?"
Siara smiled faintly. "Don't give them ideas. They evolve fast."
And just like that ; six soaked survivors and two armored blondes stood in the ruins of humanity's worst science experiment… staring at the entrance to the one place that might just end it all.
Or get them eaten trying.