Mountain Siege

"What the-? I've never seen this before..." Marya muttered nervously. Marcus was shaking. A mix of rage and fear. 'Why'd they have to come back again?!'

"Everyone! Follow me up the ledge! If we can get high enough we won't be in as much danger!" The group ran off together, making their way up to the main cave. Marcus planned to take them higher than that so they would at least be able to see monsters coming but they were already too late. Several loomed over the edge with snarls of hunger.

"Damnit!" Marcus turned back and the rest followed suit but now they were surrounded at the bottom of the valley with no escape route. There were roughly twenty on the other side of the river plus thirty more surrounded them on their side including the five who had came down from the ledge.

Marcus gripped his stone hatchet. He knew it was a terrible weapon for fighting these kinds of enemies. He needed something with more range. Stones were useless though as none were big enough and they didn't seem to feel pain. A spear would have been ideal but of course a stone hatchet was his first idea when making a stone tool.

The rest of the group drew knives but Marya went the extra step, grabbing the nearest stick and tying her knife to one end with a long reel of para chord she'd been steadily growing and constantly adding to.

Marcus had to admire her quick thinking and ability to tie on the knife in seconds but it was a shame there were no other sticks really thick enough lying around to replicate her idea.

"Did they tell you there would be zombies in the new world?" James trembled. Sweat was running down his brow and he seemed like a completely different person when faced with danger. Not that Marcus felt any calmer. Only he tried not to show it and focussed on the enemy in front of him.

"No! These system alerts about monsters weren't in the training!" Even Marya showed some panic. This was her first new experience that she hadn't prepared for after all.

The first zombie to reach them went for Marya but even under stress, Marya quickly adapted and took it out. Her main priority had never changed. Her job was to protect the survivors as their guide. Marcus had shown the right attitude to being a leader but at some point stepped down to let her lead them so he could focus on himself.

Who knows, maybe they would have argued over the right choices that were best for the group one day. Maybe they could have become the best co-leaders of the greatest society the new world had ever seen. Marya smiled before saying, "I'm leaving them in your hands now Marcus. Goodbye."

And just before the rest of the horde reached them, she spun her makeshift spear round in an arc and tore through a group in a strike of brilliance. "Everyone run this way! I'll keep them from filling in the gap! Just go!" She twirled her spear once more before sticking it into another walking corpse. The group ran towards their only chance of survival without taking a second to check the mass running at them from behind.

Marcus was the last to leave. "Don't try to be the tragic hero," he smirked before tearing Marya away from a zombie who had somehow dodged her attack and was bearing down on her ferociously. They just managed to slip past the horde's grasp.

Marya gasped and for a single second just took the time to finally see who Marcus really was. Not a scrawny teenager but a young man with so much potential to be this world's salvation. Mankind's guardian.

He pulled her along until they caught up to the others. Why had she not retrieved her hand until he let go? Together now, everyone ran towards the rim of the valley. Animals scattered or hid from the chaos. Marcus was glad the corpses were too slow to harm any of them. Besides, they were too interested in the group.

They were almost there as they climbed higher up the hill but before they could scramble over and down to safety, another wave rose above the edge to greet them.

With toothy grins and mechanical movements. Every single one of them threatened the existence of what could be humanity's last chance to exist on this planet. A disappointing end to what had been such an overwhelming empire of people. Reduced to five desperate individuals making their last stand.

Together they scrambled back down the hill to the cover of the trees. They scanned the surroundings for a way out, a solution, god damnit a fucking future where everything wouldn't end in blood. The unavoidable conclusion of having to fight to the bitter end but AT LEAST it would be together.

Together and not alone in darkness. If this was it, then it would not be alone and not even monsters could stop them from looking into each others eyes one last time as the light fades from them one at a time. It was every survival instinct firing at the same time releasing a cluster of hormones and adrenaline to scream, "I'm not done yet!"

James plunged his knife into a corpse's face whilst screaming his war cry. Again and again he stabbed until it stopped writhing. Even Lana and samantha pinned one against a tree and did the unthinkable just to live another second. Marcus put his increased stats to the test as he moved around using the inhuman agility he was blessed with.

Like a wraith he tore through zombies. His hatchet and knife spinning in arcs. Coming down on to another one and another one. Never relenting. Never stopping. Harder, faster, stronger. It was then that Marya fell or rather tripped. The corpses were suddenly most interested in her. They surged towards her much faster than before.

Marcus reached her first and took out three before the others surrounded Marya in a protective circle. One was too strong though and breached the circle landing on Marya just as she was getting up. Marcus couldn't have moved any faster even if he was on drugs when he yanked it off of her and dispatched it.

That was when he saw the hatch. Marya had tripped over a handle! Not knowing if it would open. Having no clue to whether something good or bad was waiting down there, Marcus grabbed it with both hands and pulled.

It lifted. "Everyone down here!" One after another, they dropped down with the help of a ladder. Marcus was the last to go like last time and had to fight off a few more before following them down but was cutting it close as the main horde's snarls drew closer. Even more zombies had arrived...

He secured the hatch with a bolt lock mechanism. All these years it had been left unlocked and not a single creature was intelligent enough to open it and climb down. Made by humans in hope that humans would use it again one day.