Chapter 1: The Broadcast
The world outside the fence was dead quiet—but Raya's heart was anything but.
She crouched in the shadows of an abandoned gas station, just a few hundred meters from the perimeter wall. A steel monster of barbed wire, motion sensors, and armed guards surrounded the city now. The Dead Zone. That's what they called it.
What was once New Aurum City, a glittering high-tech metropolis, had become a sealed graveyard. No one got in. No one came out.
Except Raya would.
She tightened the straps on her backpack, fingers trembling slightly. Inside was only what she needed: protein bars, flashlight, a blood-stained map… and the old radio that started it all.
She pulled it out and turned the dial carefully. Static hissed—then a voice broke through.
> "...Raya… It's me. I'm still alive… I'm at the—"
Then it always cut out.
Her little brother's voice. Liam.
He was only thirteen when the outbreak started. The virus came fast—sweeping through the city like a firestorm. One day they were eating dinner, the next their mother was screaming with blood pouring from her eyes. Liam had run one way. Raya the other. That was a year ago.
No one survived a year in the Dead Zone.
But somehow… he had.
A sudden hum buzzed through the air. Drones. She ducked lower behind the rusted gas pump. A silver sphere zipped overhead, scanning with an eerie blue light.
> "Okay," she whispered to herself, heart racing. "Now or never."
She sprinted. Feet barely touching the cracked ground, she darted across the street and into the tall grass near the wall. The sharp wire gleamed like teeth.
She found the weak spot. Just like the hacker said. A blind corner in the patrol route. She pulled out the bolt cutters.
Snip. Snip.
The gap widened. Her breath caught as the cold metal sliced her jacket, but she slipped through. The moment she crossed over, the air changed. Thicker. Quiet, but alive in the worst way.
She was inside the Dead Zone.
---
The city looked like a battlefield.
Burned cars. Broken glass. Skeletons of skyscrapers still reaching for the sky like they forgot they were dead. Blood stained the sidewalks. Shadows flickered behind shattered windows.
Raya held her crowbar tighter. It wasn't just for defense—it was her comfort. Her anchor.
She followed the map her radio contact had given her. If Liam was where he said he was, she had to reach the old Metro station on 44th Street.
Suddenly—
A scream.
High. Human. Terrified.
Then: snarling. Wet. Inhuman.
She ran toward it without thinking.
Turning a corner, she froze.
A girl—maybe ten years old—was cornered by a creature. Once a man, now a rotting mass of bone and rage. It snapped its head toward Raya.
She charged.
> "HEY!"
The zombie hissed and rushed her. She swung the crowbar hard. CRACK. Its skull split and the body dropped.
The girl stared up at her, trembling. "Th-thank you…"
Raya crouched. "You alone?"
She nodded. "Everyone else… they…"
But before she could finish, the girl's eyes widened in horror.
> "BEHIND YOU!"
Raya turned, but not fast enough. Another zombie lunged out of a building. She lifted her crowbar—but it was too close—
BANG!
The zombie's head exploded.
Raya blinked. A shadow stepped out from the smoke.
A man. Tall. Worn fireman's jacket. Black shirt soaked in ash and blood. A pistol in one hand.
His voice was calm and sharp. "If you're gonna survive here, you need to stop turning your back."
She stared at him. "Thanks… I had it under control."
He raised an eyebrow. "Sure you did."
The little girl ran to him. "Axel!"
So that was his name.
Axel ruffled her hair. "She's one of the new ones," he said quietly to Raya. "You don't look like a scavenger. What are you doing here?"
"I'm looking for someone," Raya said. "My brother. His name's Liam. I think he's alive."
Axel's expression changed. Just a flicker. "No one's alive in this city."
Raya met his eyes. "He is. I heard him."
Axel stared at her for a long moment. Then he turned. "Come on. You'll never make it to 44th Street alone."
Raya hesitated. But she followed.
---
As they walked through the ruins, Axel kept watch like a soldier. He didn't talk much. But Raya didn't need him to.
All she needed was to find Liam. But somewhere deep in her chest, another strange feeling stirred.
Not hope. Not fear.
Just the beginning of something.
Something unexpected.
---
End of Chapter 1