LOGINClimbing up to the surface was not an easy task. The tunnels lay more than six feet under, and the collapsed ground was steep and slick with mud. We slipped a dozen times before we could drag ourselves up to the surface.What made it worse was where we ended up. We tried so hard to avoid the heart of the city yet here we are staring at what was left of it like a bunch of idiots.No creepers lurked here though. Most had already been botched, decapitated, or squashed by the debris.Lexi swore to us no military would ever find us either. She said after the military obliterated the city with atomic bombs and destroyed the bridge, most of them marched to the highlands, which meant the barricade we were bracing for wasn't even here. The pile of questions surged over my mind. Each of them was sharp enough to hammer the back of my skull. Then, a sudden pang twisted deep in my chest the moment Tito Weston's face flickered in my memory. I remember how he had given up and chose to stay in the h
An unbearable stench flooded the corridor. As the creepers surged closer, howling groans escaped from their mouths. Their faces twisted, jaws swung wide, eyes were blank, and any living prey could feel their hunger. They were using their full capacities. No bones or guts jutting out at any angles. No missing limbs like the creatures outside. They moved faster. Stronger. More dangerous.Erratic paces reverberated throughout the corridor as their flesh-peeling arms attempted to snag us. Every slap of our footsteps hammered at my eardrums. My chest shrank with each desperate gulp of air. My fingers curled into sweaty fists, swinging forward as if it would make me faster. Keilser, beside me, shouted something, but the roar of my heart drowned it out.I crashed against the door of the Head Priest’s office. I shove it shut, but a mottled arm wedged through. Keilser slammed into the creeper, boot meeting flesh, and together we wrestled the door closed. We gazed at each other. Then, our hands
Only Caite, Keilser, and I decided to enter the sanctuary to investigate. Before we parted ways, I told Jet and Ian exactly where the basement was. “It’s in the head priest's office, past the main hall,” I said quietly. “Be careful. We don’t know what’s waiting down there.”Jet nodded, tightening his grip on his weapon. Ian looked tense but determined.As we moved deeper, a mixed stench of rotten meat and chemicals wafted around. It wasn’t as strong as before, but it still stung my nostrils. The sanctuary was hollowed relic of a faith that time had abandoned. Catholicism existed only in history archives and crumbling structures like this one. The irony twisted like a knife: in a place once devoted to the sanctity of life. The last of its believers gathered to orchestrate their own end. Young or old, they chose oblivion under vaulted ceilings where hymns once echoed. What does it mean when the guardians of eternal life become architects of mass death? I reached the altar. Dust shroud
The full moon witnessed how the screams ripped through the Night Cirque. It was sharp enough to slice through laughter and music. I saw people running, their faces twisted in terror, as the explosion had torn anything on its path, sending fire and debris across the amusement park. People who were just dancing and singing along now lay broken on the ground. Then, the dead got up. Eyes empty. Skin burned. Hungry for flesh. Panic swallowed the crowd. People shoved and kicked each other, desperate to escape. I ran, not caring where my feet took me. My friends—Vino, Rina, Britt, Gabby, Shae, Trixie—were lost in the chaos. I kept running until I reached an isolated building on the edge of the park. Inside, the world shifted. The noise faded. I heard a sound, a low, familiar hum, echoing through the darkness. I turned, expecting to see a door, but only my reflection stared back. Mirrors covered every wall, trapping me. Cracks spread across the glass, thin lines that grew wider with ea
We headed straight to the supermarket’s stockroom—four of us together. Shelves towered around us, packed with cartons. Dust clung to every surface, and there was barely anything left to loot. Good thing each of us had flashlights. The air was cooler here, but the place gave off major creep-factor. What if there’s something unpleasant inside those boxes? Or someone? I aimed my light forward. “Wait, there’s a door here?” I asked, squinting. The two in front nodded. Jet opened the steel door. We stepped inside—and I realized we were in a hidden hallway. This mart could be one of the oldest buildings in Panimo. And old buildings always had secrets. It could be bunkers, basements, passageways. So, secret hallways connecting storage rooms? Not that shocking. Despite being hidden, the hallway still had power. Red emergency lights cast a dim glow, guiding us through the narrow passage. We took countless turns—left, right, left again. After what felt like eternity, we emerged through the f
I don't think Caite and I would be ever going to be okay after what she just did to ourselves. She’s insane, for gods' sake! I honestly don’t know who’s crazier—Caite with her sadistic streak, or the people who literally eat other people now. I mean, who in their right mind slices open a corpse just to smear its blood all over themselves? I know she’s smart, but this is too much. She just went ahead and draped guts around our necks, just “to cover up our scents.” Because apparently, to those creeps, we’re just food. Bahala na. At this point, faking it is my only shot at staying alive. A housefly buzzed past my ear and God, it’s disgusting. I hate feeling germy for even a second, and now that I’ve had sticky blood on my face for days, it’s driving me insane. Grilled meat and steamed sausages? Never going to be the same again. I scowled even more because, yeah, I really do smell like the dead. I want to wash my face, but Caite won’t let me. If the world wasn’t ending, I’d have ditch