Epilogue

This is the end of the beginning. I'm aware it's unsatisfying. I didn't get to fight a boss, find the cure, or unlock a superpower at the last minute to save the world. To be fair, this was still the tutorial phase of the post-apocalyptic new world order. The high-level heroics weren't going to be possible until I had some training under my belt and a better understanding of what it meant to be a lich.

The orders that forced us back to base after our scouting of the Memphis slag wasn't anything shocking. Engineering and Building Corps from the various military branches were sent to our position to check out the slag for themselves. If all went well, the new plan was to turn it into the foundation of a Forward Operating Base. How the Engineers intended to overcome the various problems of a metallic foundation was their problem. ZED's job would be to protect them after they arrived and watch their backs as they built anti-zombie walls connecting the various cities we'd flattened.

Everything stabilized for the short term. The East Coast was still covered in the walking undead. The West Coast remained under quarantine using the Rockies as a natural barrier. Regular troops scoured the Great Plains—also known as No Man's Land—and guarded the borders to the North and South. Their job became a hell of a lot easier when Engineers drew lines of anti-zombie slag across key points.

The following weeks were the calm before a storm. No one let their guard down, expecting the virus to mutate and another wave of hell to crash down on the heads of the survivors. However, it never came. Humans adapted to the zombie threat and continued on. Zed kept their eyes open for horde activity and cleared out the large pockets before they could get within a few hundred miles of the quarantine states. Wide-spread vaccinations made the threat of infection negligible, which allowed immune survivors to reintegrate into the remainder of society as long as they wore arm bands to warn of their blood infection.

As for lich, well... It was impossible for me to return to the innocent young boy I'd been prior to my death. My only choice was to continue fighting until the war with the undead parasites truly ended.