“Grao! Grao!”

  The undead swarmed the stairs, surging toward the alarm speaker hanging right in the operations room. Thousands of them crowded together, creating a scene of utter chaos, like a colony of ants swarming their prey.

  Ade rushed to lock the door and slumped down, her eyes squeezed shut, anxiety flooding her mind.

  Thud! Thud!

  Ade’s heart jumped as the undead began battering the door. This door wasn't made of steel but a composite material; it wouldn't hold up against the aggressive horde outside. Even if it were metal, it likely couldn't stop them forever.

  The "Undead"—or rather, humans infected by the alien virus after the 3i/Atlas event—possessed strength far beyond that of a normal human. They weren't slow or sluggish like the zombies in apocalypse movies from 1,000 years ago.

  These creatures didn't rot, nor did their flesh hang in tatters. On the contrary, their skin was hard and gray, their nails sharp as knives, and their teeth as strong as pliers. The alien virus, besides altering their physical form, significantly enhanced the host's hearing and sense of smell. They were extremely sensitive to the sound and scent of living organisms. In short, the virus had turned humans into terrifying apex predators that hunted in massive, overwhelming packs. This pack mentality was their most dangerous trait.

  Ade gripped her machine gun. With her remaining ammunition, she could only take down a few dozen. Outside, however, were thousands of bloodthirsty monsters.

  “Ten minutes until the download is complete!” Sam announced, making Ade even more restless. Ten minutes was an eternity when a flimsy door stood between her and a horde of monsters.

  Creeeak... Snap!

  The screws in the door hinges began to pop out of their threads, wobbling as they prepared to give way. Ade glanced around, cold sweat pouring down her face. She spotted a tall cabinet in the corner of the room, and above it, a ventilation duct large enough for a person to crawl through.

  “Sam, display the base's ventilation map.”

  “Affirmative!” Sam replied. A few seconds later, the schematic was transmitted directly into Ade’s brain.

  Once she had memorized the route, Ade wasted no time. She bolted toward the cabinet and yanked open its doors. Inside were four SCAR machine guns and stacks of ammunition boxes.

  Without a second thought, she ditched her AKV and packed the SCARs and as much ammo as possible into a bag. She left the AKV not because it lacked power, but because she was nearly out of its specific caliber, whereas the SCAR ammunition here was plentiful.

  Thud... Thud...

  The door took hit after hit. Its collapse was only a matter of time. Ade scrambled onto the top of the cabinet and began unscrewing the vent cover. Each screw was turned with frantic desperation. She kept glancing between the door and the large observation window. Outside, the world was a sea of gray flesh. They filled the floor below, the stairs, and the hallway. The sound of banging accompanied by guttural shrieks made the scene horrific.

  “Got it!” Ade whispered as the final screw came loose. She yanked the grate off, revealing a crawlspace.

  CRASH!

  At that exact moment, the door burst open under the sheer pressure of the horde. Like a broken dam, they flooded in, their faces twisted in primal rage. They didn't stop to look; they trampled over each other to get to Ade.

  Tossing her bag of supplies into the duct, Ade hauled herself up. The undead were lightning-fast; they reached the cabinet in the blink of an eye. Before disappearing into the vent, Ade kicked the heavy iron cabinet over.

  The cabinet slammed down onto the frontrunners, crushing a few, but the rest simply climbed over it. Within seconds, they formed a literal mountain of bodies—climbing on top of one another—reaching for the vent.

  Ade thought she had escaped, but the pile of undead was growing rapidly, allowing the ones behind to claw at the opening.

  “Damn it!” Ade scrambled backward through the narrow pipe, chambering a round in her SCAR. She lay flat, aiming her weapon at the opening.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  Every time a gray head poked into the duct, a bullet pierced its skull. One by one, they tumbled back down. Yet, they felt no fear and continued to climb.

  Eventually, a massive mound of corpses blocked the vent opening from below. Ade exhaled in relief but remained vigilant. She lay there, panting heavily for a moment, before readjusting her gear and crawling deeper into the ventilation system.

  “Is the update finished?” she asked the AI while moving cautiously.

  “Complete. The last update was uploaded in the year 2039.”

  “So it was updated two years after I was put into stasis. What was the purpose of these containers of undead?” Ade asked.

  “These were AnD research specimens. The recorded objective was... 'to protect humanity from extinction,'” Sam replied.

  Ade suddenly burst into laughter. It was a natural, beautiful laugh that made her look like an angel.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “What is so funny?”

  “The Pigs were the first creatures created to 'protect' humanity. And then they tried to use the undead to prevent extinction. It’s a move of sheer, desperate stupidity,” Ade said bitterly. “If they had stayed strong back then, perhaps humanity would have won.”

  “That project failed as well,” Sam said, dousing her mood like a bucket of ice water.

  “No! It didn't fail. They were just too afraid and cowardly to continue it,” Ade said sharply.

  The AI was silent for a moment before replying, “There was no guarantee a catastrophe wouldn't happen again. Their concern wasn't entirely misplaced.”

  “It never would have happened. I can guarantee that,” Ade asserted.

  “That is your personal conviction. You cannot know what others were thinking.”

  Ade went silent. Sam was right; she couldn't be sure if others would have stayed true to the cause.

  “It is the way of nature; the strong never submit to the weak.”

  “Fine, you’re right. I don't want to argue about this anymore,” Ade snapped as the AI began to drift into philosophy.

  “Very well, Mistress. I will drop the subject,” Sam concluded.

  After crawling for a while, Ade stopped at another vent. Below was a water canal. On the banks, the undead were packed tight, staring upward. They could smell her; they could hear her movement. Unable to reach her, they could only stand below and howl.

  “According to the map, the widest section of the pipe ends here. Below is the canal leading to the seabed outside. This is our only viable exit,” Ade noted.

  “But we must open the underwater gate. According to the system, it is currently sealed.”

  “Can’t you open it with the new update?”

  “There is a manual guard station at the gate for operation; it cannot be controlled remotely. AnD designed it this way to prevent remote hacks or intruders from seizing total control from the command center,” Sam explained.

  Ade sighed. “I’ll have to jump into the canal, swim there, and open the gate. It’s the only way. Unless I want to stay dry and kill every single one of those things to walk out the front door.”

  “I assume you’ll choose the easier path.”

  “Of course. They can’t swim,” Ade shrugged.

  She removed the vent cover. Even the slight noise drew the horde. They looked up in unison, shrieking at the hole where she hid. Ade scanned the area, her eyes landing on two docked submarines.

  “I wonder if they still work?” she mused, calculating.

  “These are next-generation submersibles. Their hulls are made of composite materials resistant to Electromagnetic Pulses (EMP).”

  “How deep is this canal?”

  “Twenty meters deep. Large enough for a destroyer.”

  Splash! Without hesitation, Ade plunged into the water. The undead roared and leaped after her. Ade surfaced and watched as hundreds of them followed her lead, plunging into the cold depths.

  Unlike Ade, the undead couldn't float; they sank like stones to the 20-meter bottom. Ade stayed afloat, shouting and splashing to lure the rest. Thousands more poured into the water and vanished beneath the surface.

  Exhausted from the effort, Ade began to swim on her back. On the shore, the numbers had thinned significantly, leaving only scattered, wandering groups. Seeing the coast was relatively clear, Ade swam to the nearest submarine and climbed aboard, SCAR at the ready.

  She struggled with the hatch. The metallic clanking drew the attention of the remaining undead, who began to charge.

  Click. After several tries, the hatch gave way. Ade slipped inside and slammed it shut just as the first wave of monsters swarmed over the hull.

  Completely drained, Ade leaned against a bulkhead and let her body rest. She drifted into a light sleep.

  When she woke, she moved to the control room. It was a small vessel, so the bridge was just a single-operator cabin. The ship was built entirely of non-metallic, resin-like composites—technology AnD developed from studying the alien craft that had crashed on Earth long ago.

  Ade pressed the start button. The interior glowed to life, and data flooded the central screen.

  “Hot-Stone engines truly were a revolutionary discovery,” Ade remarked.

  “It is non-human technology,” Sam reminded her.

  “A Hot-Stone engine that can still run after a millennium. Such a waste...” Ade sighed, ignoring the AI. “Can you interface with the ship?”

  “Easily!” Sam replied. A series of lights flickered as the connection established. “The ship is in good condition. Where to, Mistress?”

  “Check the navigation logs.”

  “This vessel was used for transit between the Hawaii base and San Diego, on the West Coast of the US. Five such trips were made. The last was in 2045. There is a standing order to return there now.”

  “San Diego! That was the site of the Human Coalition Base,” Ade whispered, memories flooding back.

  “Do you wish to go? I can initiate the pre-set route. But we will have to pass through the Mist.”

  “Through the Mist?” Ade’s excitement peaked.

  She knew that beyond the Mist lay the Americas and the familiar San Diego base. But after 1,000 years, the mystery of the Mist was magnetic. What was happening over there? What did the Mist hide that kept the Pigs at bay for a millennium, despite their technological advancement?

  “The Pigs have naval and aerial tech equivalent to old humanity, yet they dare not enter. It must be lethal to them. But what about humans?” Ade wondered aloud.

  “Records show that the 'Demons'—those infected with the S-virus—can still pass through the Mist into Pig territory. Since they still carry human DNA, it stands to reason...”

  “...that humans might be immune? It’s just a hypothesis,” Ade finished Sam's thought. “Is it worth the risk?”

  BOOM... BOOM... BOOM!

  Suddenly, massive explosions rocked the underground facility. The steel entrance gate was blown inward. The remaining undead instantly turned toward the source of the noise.

  As the dust cleared, tall, armored silhouettes stepped into the space.

  “The trail from the patrol ship led here. To think such an ancient structure existed underground. This architecture... it isn't Pig-made,” the lead warrior said.

  “Are those humans over there?” another asked, squinting.

  “Grao! Grao!” The undead pack sprinted toward the newcomers.

  “Humans? They look like they’re already dead.” A warrior frowned as hundreds of corpses charged.

  “How are these humans living down here?”

  “They’re all attacking! Battle formation!” the Pig Commander barked. Dozens of Pig warriors snapped into a defensive line.

  “Kill them!”

  Rat-tat-tat-tat!

  Machine guns opened up, shredding the undead. Limbs flew, and bodies slumped. But the undead were too numerous and too fast. They felt no pain, only hunger.

  “What the hell? Are they insane?” the commander shouted in disbelief.

  The undead closed the gap in seconds, leaping onto the warriors and tearing at their armor with teeth and claws.

  “Damn it! They’re biting through!”

  “Oh god, it’s got me!”

  The bloodthirsty pack swarmed the dozens of Pig soldiers. Screams filled the air. Ade watched the slaughter through the submarine’s periscope.

  “Hold the line! Switch to melee!” the commander roared, dropping his gun and drawing a tactical blade.

  With every swing, an undead creature was severed or decapitated.

  “Hell! They won’t die!” a soldier screamed as a bisected creature continued to crawl toward his ankles.

  “The head! Aim for the head!” the commander yelled, splitting an undead skull in two. The creature finally went limp.

  “Go for the head, brothers!”

  A brutal massacre ensued. The undead fell in heaps, but the Pig soldiers were taking heavy damage, their flesh torn and white bone exposed in places.

  “The Pigs followed the patrol ship’s trail down here. We have to move, now.” Ade saw the ferocity of the battle and knew she couldn't stay. The Pigs would win eventually, but she didn't want to be there when they did.

  “Where are we going?” Sam asked.

  “San Diego. Through the Mist!”

  Ade made her choice without a shred of doubt.