The city was alive with death.
From the rooftops, Ethan watched as thousands of infected moved like a single, pulsing entity—all heading toward the tower.
He wasn't imagining it. The tower was calling them.
A deep, rhythmic hum vibrated through the air, low and unnatural, like something alive.
And whatever was inside that tower?
It wasn't human.
The Path Forward
Noah wiped blood from his forehead. "Alright, genius. You said we needed to get to the tower." He gestured to the endless horde below. "So, how do we get through that?"
Ethan exhaled, his mind racing.
They couldn't fight their way through.
They couldn't go around—the infected stretched miles in every direction.
That left one option.
They had to go above.
His eyes locked onto the skyline. There—an old construction site. The framework of a half-built high-rise stretched toward the sky, cranes and scaffolding still intact.
If they could reach the top, they could zip-line across the rooftops toward the tower.
It was insane.
It was risky.
But it was their only way in.
Ethan turned to the others. "We climb."
Noah groaned. "I knew you were gonna say that."
Olivia just smirked. "Then let's move."
The Climb
They sprinted across the rooftops, dodging gaps, scaling fire escapes, moving fast.
The infected below never even noticed them.
Their heads were turned toward the tower, their bodies twitching with every pulse of the hum—like puppets on invisible strings.
Blaze reached the construction site first, leaping onto the lowest beam. The dog wasn't afraid of heights.
Ethan wasn't either. But Noah?
"This is the worst idea—" Noah stopped as Olivia climbed past him with ease.
She smirked. "Want me to hold your hand?"
Noah swore under his breath and grabbed the metal bars.
The climb was brutal—twenty stories up an unfinished building, with no safety, no way back down.
By the time they reached the top, their arms burned.
Ethan wiped sweat from his face, scanning the path ahead. They were almost there.
The zip-line stretched across to a nearby building, leading straight toward the tower.
One last step.
But then Blaze growled.
And Ethan felt it too.
They weren't alone up here.
The Watchers
A soft click echoed in the air.
A sniper's scope.
They were being watched.
Ethan's muscles tensed. He followed the sound, locking onto a distant rooftop.
A figure crouched there—aiming a rifle straight at them.
And worse?
There were more.
Noah whispered, "Tell me that's not what I think it is."
Ethan's jaw clenched. Survivors. Armed. Watching the infected. Watching them.
Olivia exhaled. "We're not the only ones trying to get into the tower."
Ethan raised his hand, slowly—a universal sign for 'we're not enemies.'
The sniper didn't fire.
Instead, a radio crackled from the other side.
Then—a voice.
"You want answers?" The voice was cold. Sharp. "Then you'd better be ready to fight for them."
And just like that, the game changed.