The moon hung high, casting a silver glow over the shattered remains of the city. The distant fires from the earlier battle had died down, leaving behind only the smell of burning flesh and decay.

Leon, Eric, and Dr. Carter moved swiftly through the darkened streets, avoiding the main roads where desperate survivors were already looting and killing for supplies.

The world was unraveling, and this was only Day 2.

Leon led the way, his senses sharper than ever. He could feel the power beneath his skin, a hum of electricity coursing through his veins. Every time his foot pressed against the pavement, a faint static crackle followed.

But it wasn’t just power, it was clarity.

His vision was sharper, his reflexes faster. Even the smallest sounds, like the distant shuffle of an infected dragging its foot, stood out clearly in his mind.

Still, Leon didn’t let his guard down. There were worse things than zombies out here.

Blackwood was at least a five-hour drive north, but with the roads in chaos, they had to move on foot until they could find a working vehicle.

As they moved through the city outskirts, they began to see the first signs of the infection spreading.

A police barricade stood ahead, but the officers were gone, only their abandoned vehicles remained.

Blood splattered the street. Bodies lay in twisted heaps, some with bullet wounds, others with gaping bite marks.

Leon crouched beside one of the corpses and turned it over. The skin was pale, the veins darkened to a sickly purple. The eyes, though lifeless, still held a flicker of something unnatural.

“They turned fast,” Eric murmured, gripping his rifle tighter. “Faster than the first infected we saw.”

Leon nodded grimly. “The virus is evolving.”

In his past life, he remembered how the infection started slow, the first victims taking days to turn. But as the virus adapted, some people began turning within hours.

It wouldn’t be long before it spread citywide.

“We need to keep moving,” Leon said, stepping over the bodies.

They quickened their pace.

They had barely made it two blocks when Leon’s instincts screamed at him...

Danger.

He raised a hand, signaling the group to stop.

“What is it?” Eric whispered.

Leon didn’t answer. He was already focusing, listening.

There, footsteps.

Not the shambling, unsteady steps of the infected. These were quick. Silent. Hunting.

Leon narrowed his eyes. Survivors. Armed ones.

“We’ve got company,” he murmured.

Eric’s grip on his rifle tightened. “How many?”

Leon tilted his head slightly, counting the distinct footsteps. “Five. Maybe six.”

Dr. Carter frowned. “Looters?”

“Worse.”

Leon had encountered their kind before in his past life, scavengers who preyed on the weak, ambushing survivors for their supplies.

And judging by their approach, these ones were seasoned killers.

Leon exhaled. They weren’t in the mood for a fight. Not yet.

He motioned toward a side alleyway. “We go around them. Stay quiet.”

They slipped into the shadows, moving carefully through the debris.

As they passed by a broken store window, Leon caught a glimpse of them..

Six men, dressed in tactical gear, rifles slung over their backs. Their faces were covered with makeshift masks, but their eyes were sharp. Hunters.

Leon felt a twinge of unease. They were too well-equipped to be ordinary looters.

Who the hell were they?

For now, it didn’t matter. They moved on, keeping out of sight.

***

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

After nearly an hour of weaving through abandoned streets, they found their salvation.

A military Humvee, still intact, parked outside a ruined checkpoint.

Leon tested the door. Locked.

He stepped back, flexing his fingers. Sparks of blue electricity crackled along his knuckles.

BZZT!

With a single touch, he sent a controlled surge through the lock. There was a faint hiss of burning metal before the mechanism clicked open.

Eric whistled. “Damn. That’s useful.”

Leon smirked as he climbed inside, checking the dashboard. The keys were gone, but…

He placed his hand over the ignition, focusing.

BZZZT!

The engine roared to life.

Leon grinned. “Let’s move.”

They piled in, and within seconds, they were speeding out of the city.

The further they drove from the city, the quieter it became.

The streets were empty. No more people. No more infected. Just the endless stretch of cracked pavement and wilderness.

Eric kept his rifle close, watching the trees. “Feels too quiet.”

Leon agreed. He had a bad feeling.

But they had no choice. They had to reach Blackwood before the worst of the outbreak began.

Dr. Carter cleared his throat. “Once we reach Blackwood, we’ll need to find a way inside. If my theory is correct, the facility is still operational in some capacity.”

Eric raised a brow. “You mean there are still people there?”

“Possibly.”

Leon kept his eyes on the road. “We’ll find out soon enough.”

As they neared the mountains, Leon suddenly felt something shift in the air.

A strange pressure, like an invisible weight pressing down on them.

His hands tightened on the wheel.

Then

BZZZZT!

The engine flickered. The Humvee’s electronics glitched, lights dimming.

Leon’s heart pounded.

“What the hell?” Eric muttered.

Leon sensed it before he saw it.

Ahead, barely visible in the darkness, something moved.

Something big.

Leon’s breath hitched.

It was waiting for them.

***

The Humvee’s engine stuttered, the lights flickering erratically as if something was interfering with the electronics.

Leon gritted his teeth, fighting to keep control of the vehicle as the headlights cast a dim glow ahead.

And then..

A shape moved.

Not just any shape.

It was massive.

Looming just beyond the reach of their headlights, its outline barely visible against the darkness.

Leon’s senses flared, his body buzzed with warning.

This thing wasn’t a normal mutant.

It was something else.

Something worse.

Dr. Carter gasped from the backseat. “Leon… what is that?”

Eric cursed under his breath, gripping his rifle. “That’s not a zombie.”

The Humvee’s lights flickered again just for a second but in that instant, Leon caught a glimpse of its eyes.

They were glowing.

Not red. Not yellow.

A deep, unnatural violet.

And then, it moved.

A blur of motion, faster than something that size had any right to be.

Leon’s instincts screamed at him. Move.

He slammed the accelerator. The Humvee roared forward.

For a moment, it felt like they were going to get past it...

But then.

BANG!

The entire vehicle lurched violently, metal groaning as something struck the side.

Leon barely kept them from flipping as the Humvee skidded sideways, tires screeching against the pavement.

Eric was already aiming his rifle out the window. “I can’t see it!”

Leon scanned the darkness, his enhanced vision barely catching a flicker of movement before it disappeared again.

Whatever this thing was, it was toying with them.

Leon clenched his jaw. “It’s testing us.”

Dr. Carter paled. “Testing us?”

Eric’s expression darkened. “Like a predator testing its prey?”

Leon nodded grimly. “Exactly.”

That wasn’t normal. Not even for the evolved mutants he had encountered before.

This thing was thinking.

And that made it even more dangerous.

The flickering lights. The engine trouble.

Leon had a horrible realization.

It wasn’t just a physical monster.

It was affecting the electronics.

Like him.

Was it another evolved mutant?

Or was it something more?

Leon’s hand tightened on the wheel.

He had a feeling they were about to find out.

The road ahead forked...

Left: A narrow forest path leading into the woods. More cover, but more places for it to ambush them.

Right: An open highway, but exposed. Nowhere to hide.

Leon made his choice.

“Hold on!” He spun the wheel, taking the right path.

The Humvee roared onto the open highway, tires skidding.

For a moment, the road stretched empty ahead of them.

And then.

BANG!

The entire vehicle lifted off the ground as something slammed into them from behind!

Leon’s head jerked forward, barely avoiding slamming into the dashboard.

Eric cursed. “Shit, shit, shit”

Leon looked up at the rearview mirror.

And his blood ran cold.

It was running after them.

Faster than any mutant he had ever seen.

Its violet eyes burned in the darkness, a trail of faint purple lightning crackling behind it as it ran.

Leon’s breath caught.

This thing had electricity too.

Something clicked inside Leon.

This wasn’t just another fight.

This was a test.

The virus was evolving.

And if this thing was proof, then Leon knew one thing...

He wasn’t the only one with powers.

Leon exhaled slowly. He could feel the energy in his veins, the power humming just beneath his skin.

This thing wanted to challenge him?

Fine.

Leon tightened his grip on the wheel, then let go.

Eric’s eyes widened. “LEON, WHAT THE HELL?!”

Leon ignored him. His hands were already crackling with blue lightning.

He focused.

The Humvee’s electronics flared to life.

BZZZZZT!

The dashboard lit up brighter than before, the engine roared, the headlights blazed with unnatural intensity.

Leon wasn’t just driving anymore.

He was controlling it.

Supercharging it.

The Humvee lurched forward, faster than ever.

Behind them, the creature let out a deep, guttural roar, then charged.

It wasn’t backing down.

Neither was Leon.

The two forces raced down the open highway.

The Humvee, now a speeding bullet of crackling blue energy.

And the mutant, covered in violet lightning, keeping up with ease.

Leon glanced at Eric. “Get ready.”

Eric’s face was pale, but he nodded.

Dr. Carter clutched the seat, eyes wide.

The creature was gaining.

And then...

It leaped.

Straight at them.

Leon reacted instantly.

BZZZZZT!

Electricity surged through him.

Straight into the Humvee.

And into the road itself.

For a split second, Leon felt it, the power flowing beneath the pavement, the hidden metal wiring buried under the asphalt.

He reached out.

And let it all explode.

BOOOOM!

A shockwave of pure lightning erupted behind the Humvee.

The ground cracked open, metal shards and electrical sparks exploding outward.

The mutant hit the surge head-on.

It let out a howl of rage as the energy ripped through it.

And then, silence.

Leon exhaled.

The mutant was gone.

For now.

***

The Humvee slowed, the glow of Leon’s power dimming.

Eric swallowed. “Holy shit.”

Dr. Carter still looked stunned. “Leon… you just…”

Leon didn’t answer.

Instead, he stared into the distance.

Because something told him.

That wasn’t the last time he’d see that thing.

And next time?

It wouldn’t be alone.