The Streets of Eden
Eden was not spared.
As Thomas and Luke approached the city's outer wall, they saw it streets painted red, bodies strewn like discarded memories. The silence was heavy, broken only by the wind.
Luke stopped, breath caught in his throat. "Thomas… you alright?"
Thomas didn't answer. His eyes were blank, locked on the faces frozen in fear and despair. He walked forward, slow and steady.
From the shadows, a demon emerged eight feet tall, built like a bodybuilder, snarling.
Thomas didn't flinch.
Slice.
One clean motion. The demon's head hit the ground.
Thomas kept walking. Katana in hand.
Luke ran to catch up.
They moved through blocks of devastation. No movement. Just aftermath.
Then crunch.
Luke stepped on a paper bag.
BOOM.
An RPG exploded nearby, nearly taking them both out. Thomas dove, tossing Luke aside.
Gunfire erupted.
They scrambled behind a car.
"Where's it coming from?" Luke shouted.
Thomas scanned. "Windows. Across the street."
Another missile launched.
"Move!"
They rolled, dodging the blast by inches.
Bullets rained.
They broke a window, dove into a building, took cover behind a reception desk.
"Who is that?" Thomas asked.
"Doesn't matter," Luke replied. "They're enemies now."
Thomas peeked out.
Humans.
Mutated. Twisted. Armed.
One stepped forward mohawked, half-human, half-something else. AK-47 raised.
"Come on out, boy! We just wanna talk!" he laughed.
"Who are you?" Thomas called.
"I'm the son of a bitch that's hungry. And you look like a good meal."
Thomas turned to Luke. There cannibals.
"You ready?"
Luke nodded, four arrows loaded. Five targets.
Thomas stood, arms raised. "I'm coming out."
He stepped into the open.
"What happened here?" he asked.
"Judgment Day," the man said.
"We're both human. Why do this?"
"That don't matter. It's survival now. Get on the floor, smuck."
Thomas lay down.
Two men approached.
Thwip. Thwip. Thwip. Thwip.
Luke's arrows dropped them instantly.
The leader raised his gun.
Thomas rolled, grabbed a handgun from the ground, and fired.
One shot. Clean. Dead.
Luke stepped out.
Thomas looked at the bodies.
"What a shame. We went to war with demons… and still fight each other."
"There has to be someone out there," Luke said. "They can't all be like this."
Thomas nodded. "Let's move."
Then the ground split.
A 25-foot centipede burst upward, demonic face twisted in a grin. Black eyes. Fangs. Blade-like arms. Bone armor.
It lunged.
Thomas and Luke dove aside.
"Luke! Thomas shouted
both heroes doing there best to avoid any blows dodging and ducking.
you ready?" Thomas shouted.
"Ready!!"
Thomas grinned.
"Let's show this freak what the bearded man taught us."
Luke smiled, eyes burning with conviction.
"Let's do it."