Panic, cold and sharp, clawed at Ethan's throat. Flee. His every instinct screamed to turn and run, to put as much distance as possible between himself and the rapidly approaching chaos. But the System, his silent, logical anchor, offered a different perspective amidst the internal alarm bells.
[ANALYZING OPTIMAL RESPONSE... EVACUATION TO NORTH-WEST CARRIES 55% RISK OF ENCOUNTERING CONVERGING WALKER GROUPS. TEMPORARY CONCEALMENT AND OBSERVATION OFFERS 30% IMMEDIATE RISK, PLUS POTENTIAL FOR VALUABLE INTELLIGENCE GATHERING.]
[SUGGESTED OBSERVATION POST: ROOFTOP OF 'KWIK-MART' CONVENIENCE STORE (ADJACENT). ACCESSIBLE VIA EXTERNAL LADDER (REAR ALLEY). PROVIDES ELEVATED VIEW OF APPROACHING DISTURBANCE.]
A small, blinking icon appeared on his internal map, highlighting the Kwik-Mart and the ladder. Intelligence. The word resonated. Running blind in this new world was a fool's game. Knowing what he was up against, who he was up against, could mean the difference between life and death.
"Okay, System," Ethan breathed, forcing his legs to move. "Observation it is."
He sprinted towards the rear of the Kwik-Mart, the sounds of gunfire growing louder, now interspersed with the distinct roar of a struggling engine and panicked human shouts. The alley was narrow, littered with overflowing dumpsters and refuse. The metal ladder, as indicated by the System, was rusty but looked sturdy enough.
[CAUTION: LADDER INTEGRITY MODERATE. ASCEND WITH CARE.]
He scrambled up, the cold metal rungs biting into his palms. Reaching the flat, gravel-topped roof, he cautiously peered over the parapet. The scene unfolding on the wider avenue he'd just vacated was pure, unadulterated bedlam.
A battered-looking panel van, its sides streaked with dirt and something darker that Ethan didn't want to identify, was swerving erratically, trying to push through a rapidly growing crowd of Walkers. Gunshots flashed from its windows – controlled bursts, not wild panic fire. But for every Walker that fell, two more seemed to take its place, drawn by the cacophony.
[VEHICLE IDENTIFIED: MODIFIED PANEL VAN. PASSENGERS: 4 (ESTIMATED). ARMED: AT LEAST 2 WITH HANDGUNS, 1 WITH SHOTGUN (VISIBLE). CONDITION: UNDER HEAVY ASSAULT, MOBILITY IMPAIRED.]
[WALKER CONCENTRATION AROUND VEHICLE: INCREASING RAPIDLY. CURRENT COUNT: 40-50. HERD FORMATION IMMINENT.]
Then Ethan saw them – the other source of the gunfire. A second group, on foot, positioned strategically behind parked cars further down the street. Three individuals, clad in darker, more utilitarian gear than the van's occupants. They weren't firing at the Walkers. They were firing at the van.
[NEW THREATS IDENTIFIED: HOSTILE HUMAN GROUP. QUANTITY: 3. ARMAMENTS: ASSAULT RIFLES (MODIFIED SEMI-AUTO). TACTICS: AMBUSH, TARGETING VEHICLE OCCUPANTS/TIRES. THREAT LEVEL: HIGH.]
"They're attacking the van?" Ethan whispered, horrified. "Not the Walkers?"
This wasn't a desperate fight for survival against the dead. This was murder, plain and simple, using the dead as a convenient, chaotic tool. The grim reality of human depravity in a lawless world hit him with full force.
The van swerved violently as one of its tires blew, the sound like a cannon shot. It slewed sideways, crashing into the front of the closed pharmacy, its engine sputtering and dying with a final, mournful wheeze. Walkers immediately swarmed it, their decaying hands clawing at the doors and windows. Muffled screams and the boom of a shotgun from inside the van signaled the occupants' desperate, last-ditch defense.
The three attackers advanced cautiously, using the growing horde of Walkers as a screen, occasionally picking off a Walker that got too close to them, but primarily focusing on the now-stricken van.
[OPTIONAL MISSION GENERATED: INTERVENTION – ASSIST VAN OCCUPANTS. RISK LEVEL: EXTREME. PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS (SOLO HOST): LOW (LESS THAN 15%). POTENTIAL REWARDS: SIGNIFICANT EXP, HIGH KARMA POINTS (GOOD), VALUABLE ALLIES, ADVANCED EQUIPMENT.]
[ALTERNATIVE OPTIONAL MISSION: SECURE OPPORTUNITY – IF VAN OCCUPANTS ARE NEUTRALIZED AND ATTACKERS RETREAT, POTENTIAL TO SCAVENGE VEHICLE AND SUPPLIES. RISK LEVEL: HIGH (DUE TO WALKER HERD). PROBABILITY OF SUCCESSFUL SCAVENGE: 25%.]
Ethan's stomach churned. The System laid out the cold, hard probabilities. Intervening was almost certainly suicide. Scavenging later felt like profiting from a massacre. He watched, helpless and furious, as the attackers reached the van. One of them smashed a side window with their rifle butt. More screams, then a final, choked-off cry. The shotgun blasts from within ceased.
A few moments later, the attackers pulled back, one of them carrying a large duffel bag, presumably looted from the van. They didn't linger, disappearing quickly down a side street as the Walkers completely overran the vehicle, tearing at whatever, or whoever, remained inside. The scene was sickening.
[VAN OCCUPANTS: BIOSIGNATURES TERMINATED. HOSTILE HUMAN GROUP RETREATING EAST. WALKER HERD CONSOLIDATING AROUND DISABLED VEHICLE.]
Ethan felt a cold rage mixed with a profound sense of despair. This was the world now. Not just monsters with rotting flesh, but human monsters too. The lessons were brutal and immediate.
He stayed on the rooftop for what felt like an eternity, watching the gruesome feast below. The gunfire had stopped, but the air still thrummed with the victorious, guttural sounds of the feeding herd. The commercial street was now a no-go zone, completely swamped.
[SYSTEM ADVISORY: THE ATTACKING HUMAN GROUP IS NO LONGER IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY. HOWEVER, THE LARGE WALKER HERD POSES A SIGNIFICANT AND LINGERING THREAT TO THIS AREA. A NEW ROUTE IS ADVISED IF PROCEEDING SOUTH TOWARDS ATLANTA.]
[OPPORTUNITY: THE ATTACKERS MOVED EAST. THEIR TRAIL MAY OFFER INSIGHTS INTO OTHER HUMAN ENCAMPMENTS OR AREAS OF ACTIVITY, THOUGH FOLLOWING THEM DIRECTLY IS HIGHLY DANGEROUS.]
He had choices, none of them particularly appealing. Follow the killers? Out of the question for now; he was outgunned and outmanned. Try to find a way around the massive herd? That seemed like the only sane option.
As he scanned his surroundings from the rooftop, trying to get his bearings and identify a new path, his eyes caught a flicker of movement in an alleyway directly across the street from the Kwik-Mart, away from the main herd but close to where the human attackers had last been seen. It wasn't a Walker. It was small, quick, and stayed in the shadows.
[NEW BIOSIGNATURE DETECTED: HUMAN, CHILD (APPROXIMATELY 8-10 YEARS OLD). STATUS: ALONE, CONCEALED, FRIGHTENED. POTENTIAL WITNESS TO PREVIOUS EVENTS.]
A child? Alone, amidst this carnage? Ethan's heart clenched. This changed things. Again.