The alarms screamed throughout Omega Sector.
"WARNING..."
"CRYOGENIC CHAMBERS ACTIVATING..."
Steam burst from the rows of cryogenic pods.
White fog quickly swallowed the room.
Breddy stepped in front of Raven.
"Stay close."
She nodded.
"I'm not leaving your side."
One by one...
The chamber doors hissed open.
HISSSS...
Everyone raised their weapons.
Colonel Graves shouted,
"Hold your fire!"
Shapes slowly emerged from the fog.
Not zombies.
People.
Confused.
Weak.
Barely able to stand.
A woman stumbled forward wearing a faded blue Walmart vest.
The Walmart Spark logo was still visible.
Breddy's eyes widened.
"...No way."
Another pod opened.
A man stepped out wearing a Team Lead badge around his neck.
Another...
A gray-haired Coach.
Another...
An Asset Protection associate.
More pods continued opening.
Frozen for years...
Now awake.
Tyler lowered his rifle.
"...They're Walmart associates."
Mason whispered,
"They've been here this whole time..."
---
One young associate looked at Breddy.
His eyes stopped on the black Walmart AP tactical vest.
"...You're Walmart too?"
Breddy slowly nodded.
"Overnight."
The young man smiled weakly.
"So was I."
Another survivor stepped forward.
"I worked Produce..."
A woman quietly raised her hand.
"Online Grocery Pickup..."
An older man adjusted his cracked glasses.
"Sporting Goods Team Lead..."
The room slowly filled with voices.
Departments.
Stores.
Memories.
People who had disappeared years before the outbreak.
---
Raven looked around in disbelief.
"Why Walmart?"
Nobody had an answer.
Until...
The older Team Lead spoke.
"They told us..."
"...they wanted ordinary people."
"They said people who worked under pressure..."
"...adapted faster."
"They promised us better jobs."
"They lied."
His voice trembled.
"We woke up here."
"They experimented on us."
Silence filled the chamber.
Breddy's fists slowly clenched.
"They stole your lives..."
The Team Lead nodded.
"They stole all of ours."
---
Breddy stepped forward.
He looked at every frightened associate.
Every Team Lead.
Every Coach.
He recognized the fear in their eyes.
It was the same fear he'd seen on the first day of the outbreak.
He took a deep breath.
"My name's Breddy."
"I worked overnight."
"I know what it's like to feel trapped."
He smiled.
"But you're not prisoners anymore."
"We're getting you out."
For the first time...
Hope appeared on their faces.
---
Suddenly...
A young woman pointed toward Breddy's vest.
"That logo..."
She smiled.
"You made it tactical."
Breddy looked down at his black AP vest.
"I had some time."
Even Raven laughed.
"I told him it looked good."
The woman grinned.
"I would've worn one of those on inventory nights."
A few of the associates laughed.
It wasn't much...
But after years underground...
It felt good to laugh again.
---
Then...
Colonel Graves quietly walked toward the central computer terminal.
While everyone was distracted...
He inserted a military data drive.
The screen flashed.
PROJECT BLACK EDEN
FILES COPYING...
Breddy noticed him.
"Colonel?"
Graves quickly removed the drive.
"Just collecting evidence."
Something about his voice...
Didn't sound convincing.
---
A loud metallic clang echoed through Omega Sector.
CLANG...
Everyone froze.
Another.
Closer.
CLANG...
The lights flickered.
Emergency power shifted.
One cryogenic pod stood alone at the far end of the room.
Its door hung wide open.
Empty.
Scratched across the frosted glass were fresh words carved by a knife.
BREDDY...
IF YOU FOUND THIS...
I'M STILL ALIVE.
DON'T TRUST BLACK SHIELD.
— ETHAN
Breddy's heart raced.
"He was here..."
Raven stepped beside him.
"He wants us to keep moving."
Before Breddy could respond...
The laboratory speakers came alive.
«"PROJECT PHOENIX ACTIVATION SEQUENCE BEGINNING."»
«"TWO MINUTES UNTIL AWAKENING."»
The floor beneath everyone began to shake.
Deep inside Omega Sector...
A massive steel vault slowly unlocked.
Whatever was inside...
Was about to wake up.
– Phoenix Rising
The laboratory trembled.
Every cryogenic chamber flashed red.
The mechanical voice echoed throughout Omega Sector.
«"PROJECT PHOENIX ACTIVATION..."»
«"ONE MINUTE UNTIL AWAKENING."»
Silence filled the room.
Even the rescued Walmart associates stopped talking.
Everyone stared at the massive steel vault standing in the center of Omega Sector.
It was nearly three stories tall.
Thick hydraulic locks surrounded the door.
Breddy tightened his grip on his rifle.
Raven stood beside him, her finger resting on the trigger.
Colonel Graves slowly drew his pistol.
"No one fires..."
"...unless I give the order."
---
The countdown reached zero.
ACCESS GRANTED.
Massive locks disengaged.
CLUNK...
CLUNK...
CLUNK...
The vault doors slowly opened.
A cloud of freezing white vapor poured across the floor.
No one moved.
A pair of black combat boots stepped out of the mist.
Then another.
A woman slowly emerged.
She looked to be in her early thirties.
Her black tactical uniform was marked with the faded insignia of Project Phoenix.
Her short dark hair rested against her shoulders.
A pistol remained holstered at her side.
She looked around in confusion.
"...What year is it?"
Nobody answered.
Her eyes landed on the rescued Walmart associates.
Then on Black Shield.
Finally...
On Breddy.
She noticed the black Walmart AP tactical vest.
The scratched Walmart Spark logo.
The scar across his face.
"...You're not military."
Breddy slowly lowered his rifle.
"No."
"I worked overnight at Walmart."
For a brief moment...
The woman smiled.
"I never thought I'd hear someone say that again."
---
She walked toward a nearby security monitor.
Its screen showed thousands of zombies roaming abandoned streets.
Cities in ruins.
Smoke rising across the horizon.
Her smile disappeared.
"...We failed."
She closed her eyes.
"So many people..."
"...gone."
Raven stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
The woman turned.
"My name is..."
"...Captain Elena Cross."
"I led Project Phoenix."
Colonel Graves' expression changed immediately.
"You were declared dead."
"I know."
"They left us here."
---
Breddy stepped closer.
"Project Phoenix..."
"Were you part of Black Eden?"
Elena shook her head.
"No."
"We were created to stop it."
"When Dr. Kane lost control..."
"My team tried to destroy the research."
"We failed."
She looked toward the empty cryogenic pod Ethan had escaped from.
Her eyes widened.
"No..."
She hurried over.
She placed her hand against the frosted glass.
"Subject Zero..."
She looked back at Breddy.
"Ethan..."
"...did he survive?"
Breddy nodded.
"He's alive."
"He contacted us."
For the first time...
Hope returned to Elena's face.
"He made it..."
"Then humanity still has a chance."
---
Before anyone could ask another question...
A deafening screech echoed through Omega Sector.
The lights flickered violently.
The ceiling above them cracked.
Dust rained onto the floor.
A Black Shield soldier looked up.
"What was—"
A pale creature crashed through the ceiling.
Then another.
And another.
Blue-eyed experimental creatures surrounded the chamber.
The rescued Walmart associates panicked.
"We're trapped!"
Breddy immediately stepped in front of them.
"Everyone behind us!"
The former Walmart Team Leads quickly guided the frightened associates toward cover.
Tyler and Mason formed a defensive line.
Shijiki tossed spare magazines to the soldiers.
Raven stood beside Breddy.
She smiled.
"Ready?"
Breddy chambered a round into his rifle.
"I was born ready."
The first creature charged.
BANG!
Breddy's shotgun blasted it backward.
Raven dropped another with two precise shots.
The battle for Omega Sector...
Had begun.