ANMELDENHe slammed Linda into the snow and straddled her, tearing at the coat like he’d lost his mind.“Give it to me! Let go! Give it!”Linda screamed, kicking and thrashing, her nails clawing bloody streaks across his face.“This is karma! Karma! How did I raise a monster like you?“Hannah! Hannah, look at him! Save me! I was wrong! I’ll listen to you from now on!”Her face was pressed into the snow, twisted out of shape, waving frantically toward the camera.It didn’t matter.Tyler drove his foot into her stomach.She doubled over in pain, her grip loosening.The coat was gone.Tyler snatched it and wrapped it around himself without even glancing at his mother, then scrambled toward a windbreak in the distance.Linda lay there in the snow, left with nothing but a thin layer of clothing.The wind cut right through it.She watched her son run, a broken, rasping wail tearing out of her throat.“This is karma… this is karma…”She crawled toward the base gate, dragging herself for
“Wake her up,” I said calmly.A bucket of ice water came crashing down.Linda jolted awake, then dropped to her knees with a thud, banging her head against the concrete over and over.“Hannah! Hannah, it’s me, your mom!“It was those bastards! They forced us! If we didn’t lead them here, they said they’d kill us! I had no choice!”Her face was smeared with snot and tears as she reached for my pant leg.I stepped back, disgusted, avoiding her touch.Beside her, Tyler twitched, his body jerking as he snapped out of playing dead.“Bullshit! It was you! You old witch!”He pointed at Linda, eyes bulging.“You told me she had food! You told me to go find the Wolf Pack!“You said if we took the base, I’d be king!“You said she was soft, that if I just got on my knees and cried, she’d let me in!“Hannah! This was all her idea! She made me do it! I’m innocent!”Faced with death, the so-called loving mother and devoted son turned on each other without hesitation.They hurled every
I rubbed behind Duke’s ears and turned to the monitor.I recognized this group.They were the so-called Wolf Pack, a gang from around here. Bullies, looters, the kind who’d done plenty of ugly things even before the world fell apart.I didn’t expect Tyler to have connections like that.On the screen, a group of men crept along the base wall under the cover of darkness.Tyler was leading them, hunched over, nodding and bowing like a lapdog. He pointed at the towering wall, spittle flying as he talked.“Boss, I swear, my sister’s in there! That warehouse is stacked with rice and flour. Enough to last us ten years! And that girl, she’s a looker. You can keep her warm at night!”The gang leader, a thick-necked brute with a cleaver in hand, smacked Tyler’s face with the flat of the blade.“If there’s nothing inside, I’ll carve you up and toss you in a pot.”“No way! She’s my sister. I know exactly what’s inside!” Tyler thumped his chest, all smiles and flattery. It was sickening to
I looked at them the way I’d look at two flies buzzing in my face.Slowly, I peeled a grape and fed it to Duke.Then I stood up and looked down at them from the top of the wall.“Who are these beggars?“Trying to claim they’re family.“My mother died a long time ago.”Linda froze.She clearly hadn’t expected me to be this heartless.So she immediately pulled out her favorite move, throwing a full-blown tantrum.She dropped into the mud, slapped her thighs, and started wailing.“Oh, God, look at this! There’s no justice in this world!“My own daughter makes it big and won’t even acknowledge her mother anymore!“I raised you from nothing, and this is how you repay me?“Everyone, come look! Look at this heartless little monster!”The refugees nearby started whispering and pointing.To people like them, family loyalty still meant everything.Some of the looks they threw my way carried a hint of judgment.Seeing that, Tyler got even bolder.“Hannah, aren’t you scared karma
Before I left, I glanced back one last time.“There’ll be more zombies coming up here soon.”“Good luck.”Linda’s desperate screams rang out behind me.But I didn’t look back.Duke carried me as we charged out of the apartment building.The zombies outside were scattered by the dog pack before they could even get close.“Woof. [Outdoor supply store five hundred meters ahead. Safe.]”“Woof. [Underground garage to the left. Modified off-road vehicle detected. Keys located in the security office.]”The system alerts kept going off.Half an hour later.I was sitting inside an upscale outdoor gear store.I’d changed into top-of-the-line arctic gear and a pair of tactical boots.A portable stove beside me was heating up a steaming pot of ready-to-eat meals.The smell of beef filled the air.Duke lay at my feet, gnawing on a tomahawk steak.He’d earned it. He deserved the best.Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, I looked out at the apartment building in the distance.Flam
It was Duke.Dragging his broken leg, he threw himself in front of me.His eyes were no longer that gentle blue. They had turned a savage, blood-red.Every hair on his body stood on end, and his whole frame seemed to swell in an instant.The mechanical voice rang out again. This time, it wasn’t just for me.It blasted across the entire rooftop like a loudspeaker.“Host detected under lethal threat.”“Infinite Supply Search System... authorization upgraded.”“Combat mode activated: King of All Dogs.”“Command issued: all canines in the city, protect the host immediately.”The moment that command went out, the air itself seemed to freeze.Then, in the next second, barking erupted everywhere.From nearby rooftops.From the streets below.From the ruins in the distance.Bark. Bark. Bark.It was the response of thousands of dogs.A massive Tibetan mastiff leaped onto the rooftop first.Then came a pack of strays.Then mutated golden retrievers, German shepherds, and Rottw







