The tension in the bunker was suffocating. Each passing hour felt like the countdown to an inevitable war. The final outbreak was only days away, and Leon knew that the world as they knew it would soon collapse.

He stood in the dimly lit command room, eyes fixed on the flickering monitors that displayed the Blackwood Facility’s perimeter. Mutated creatures still lurked above, but they had yet to find the entrance to the underground stronghold. For now, they were safe, but for how long?

Eric entered the room, carrying a crate of ammunition. “We’ve reinforced the barricades. If they try to break in, it won’t be easy.”

Leon nodded but said nothing. He wasn’t satisfied with just defending. They needed to be prepared for what came after.

Leon led the group to the underground training hall, a vast space filled with outdated military equipment. If they were going to survive, they had to be stronger.

Eric was tough, but Leon pushed him harder. Weighted gear, resistance drills, and hand-to-hand combat training honed his body. After absorbing his first core, Eric’s reflexes had improved, and his endurance had increased. But he wasn’t just fighting with brute force anymore, Leon was shaping him into a warrior.

“Again,” Leon ordered as Eric swung his reinforced blade at a training dummy.

With a grunt, Eric struck faster, harder, his blows slicing clean through the reinforced material.

Leon smirked. “Not bad.”

Dr. Carter wasn’t a fighter, but her newly enhanced perception from the core she absorbed gave her a unique advantage. She was faster, her aim steadier.

Leon handed her a modified sniper rifle. “You’re our long-range specialist. If things go south, we need you covering us.”

She exhaled sharply, then took aim at the training targets. Three shots, three direct hits.

She turned to Leon, confidence in her eyes. “I’m ready.”

Leon crossed his arms. “You’d better be.”

While the others trained, Leon focused on his own transformation. The two cores he had absorbed had given him abilities far beyond his past self.

Electricity crackled in his veins, surging with raw energy. His senses had sharpened, allowing him to react to attacks almost before they happened.

But there was more.

Leon closed his eyes and focused on the energy inside him. The electricity didn’t just enhance his speed and strength, it connected him to something deeper.

He raised his hand, and the metal training dummy in front of him began to vibrate. Sparks danced across its surface as he pulled at the electrons within it.

Eric watched with wide eyes. “Damn. You’re like a human lightning storm.”

Leon smirked. “We’re just getting started.”

As the team trained, the world outside continued to unravel. Reports of violent outbreaks, disappearances, and entire cities falling into chaos flooded the emergency broadcast channels.

Then, finally...

A new alert flashed on the monitors.

Leon turned to the screen, his eyes narrowing as the National Center for Disease Control issued its final message:

"Code Black Protocol initiated. This is not a drill. The final outbreak has begun."

The screen flickered, then cut to static.

Silence filled the bunker.

Leon clenched his fists, electricity sparking at his fingertips.

It was time.

***

The emergency broadcast had cut to static, but its message still echoed in the bunker like a death sentence. Code Black Protocol initiated.

Eric took a deep breath, setting down the crate of ammunition. “That’s it then. It’s happening.”

Leon didn’t respond immediately. He stood still, staring at the blank screen, his mind racing. This was the moment they had been preparing for, the final outbreak. But were they ready?

Dr. Carter broke the silence. “We need to assess our situation. We don’t know how much time we have before the infection spreads to this area.”

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Leon exhaled sharply and turned to his team. “Alright. Everyone to the war room. We need a plan.”

The war room was a reinforced chamber lined with maps, old Blackwood Facility documents, and weapon schematics. Their base had been a military research outpost before the collapse, and now, it would be their fortress.

Leon spread out a detailed map of the surrounding region. “We have three main priorities: supplies, defense, and reconnaissance.”

Eric tapped a marker on a supply depot near the outskirts of the facility. “We have enough food and medical supplies for maybe two weeks. If we get cut off, we’re screwed.”

Dr. Carter adjusted her glasses. “We should do one final supply run before everything outside turns into complete anarchy.”

Leon nodded. “We’ll need to be quick. No unnecessary risks.”

Leon studied the facility’s blueprint. “We’ve already reinforced the main entry points, but we need more deterrents. Traps, electric barriers, anything to slow them down.”

Eric cracked his knuckles. “I can rig up some explosive tripwires. Nothing fancy, but enough to make anything that gets close regret it.”

Leon glanced at his own hands, electricity crackling faintly. “I can set up an electromagnetic perimeter. If anything tries to get through, I’ll fry it.”

Dr. Carter raised an eyebrow. “You can control that now?”

Leon smirked. “More or less. I just need to practice.”

Dr. Carter tapped another section of the map. “We need to know how bad it’s getting out there. The facility’s old satellite uplink might still be functional. If we can get it online, we’ll have real-time surveillance of the region.”

Eric frowned. “And if it’s already compromised?”

Leon’s expression hardened. “Then we’ll deal with it.”

After the meeting, Leon retreated to a secluded chamber within the bunker, a space he had converted into a personal training area. He could feel the power inside him, surging like a storm barely contained.

He raised his hand, focusing on the electricity within him. Sparks flickered across his fingertips, illuminating the dim room. He clenched his fist, and the energy condensed into a pulsing sphere of pure lightning.

“This is more than just speed or strength,” he muttered. He could feel the electrons in the air, sense the energy coursing through the walls, the lights, even the ground beneath him.

A sudden idea struck him. What if he could expand his field?

Leon took a deep breath and extended his arms. Instead of focusing the energy inward, he let it spread. The walls hummed, the lights flickered, and a faint electric hum filled the chamber.

His vision sharpened. He could sense every metal object, every circuit in the bunker’s infrastructure. He wasn’t just generating electricity, he was becoming part of the electrical field itself.

Then, in an instant, the power surged.

BOOM!

The lights burst, and sparks rained down. Leon staggered back, his breathing heavy. Too much. He still wasn’t in complete control.

He clenched his fists, determination burning in his eyes. He would master this power. He had to.

In another chamber, Eric and Dr. Carter examined the cores they had obtained. They had watched Leon absorb his, but neither of them had attempted it yet.

Eric held his core up to the dim light. It pulsed with a deep, red glow. “I guess this is it, huh?”

Dr. Carter exhaled. “No going back.”

Simultaneously, they pressed the cores to their skin. The energy rushed into them like a tidal wave, overwhelming their senses.

Eric clenched his teeth as raw power coursed through his muscles. He felt his body grow stronger, tougher, his skin even tingled as if hardening. His fists cracked like stone when he flexed them.

Dr. Carter gasped as her mind expanded, a flood of hyper-awareness rushing into her consciousness. Her perception sharpened, her reflexes enhanced. She could almost see movement before it happened.

Eric took a deep breath, then threw a punch at a nearby steel crate.

BOOM!

The metal dented inward like it had been hit by a wrecking ball.

Dr. Carter blinked. “Remind me not to get on your bad side.”

Eric smirked. “You and me both.”

They weren’t just survivors anymore.

They were evolving.

A loud alarm blared through the facility.

Leon sprinted to the control room, Eric and Dr. Carter close behind. The emergency monitor flickered back to life, and a scrambled transmission came through.

A terrified voice crackled through the speakers.

“…is anyone out there?! The city is gone! They, They’re changing! They’re not just zombies anymore! Please, someone...”

STATIC.

Silence.

Leon’s heart pounded. He turned to Eric and Dr. Carter.

“They’re evolving.”

The final outbreak had begun.

***

The warning signal continued to blare, its shrill tone echoing through the facility. Leon’s fingers clenched the edge of the control panel as he stared at the static-filled screen.

They’re not just zombies anymore.

The words from the emergency transmission repeated in his mind like a curse. His heart pounded as he exchanged a glance with Eric and Dr. Carter.

Eric stepped forward, his jaw tight. “What the hell does that mean? Evolving?”

Dr. Carter, still catching her breath from the energy surge of her new abilities, pushed her glasses up. “If they’re mutating… it means whatever strain of infection this is, it’s reaching a new phase.”

Leon’s fingers sparked with energy. “Then we’re running out of time.”

The radio crackled again.

“…Anyone… alive out there? Please respond!”

Leon didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the radio and pressed the transmit button. “This is Leon Carter. We read you. Identify yourself.”

There was static, then a ragged breath.

“…Thank God… My name is Lieutenant Marcus Hale. Blackwood City is… it’s gone. They came in waves. At first, they were just the usual infected, but then… they started changing.

“Faster. Smarter. Stronger. They’re hunting in packs now. And some of them…” His voice broke. “…some of them can talk.”

The room went dead silent.

Leon’s blood ran cold. “What did you just say?”

The transmission was unstable, but Hale’s voice came through again, lower, urgent.

“They’re adapting. If you’re alive, you need to get out. Now.”

Then, just before the signal was lost, one final whisper came through.

“…They know where you are.”

Then, silence.

The radio cut to static.

Leon turned sharply, his body already in motion. “Get weapons online. Now.”

Eric sprinted toward the armory. “On it.”

Dr. Carter’s eyes darted to the security monitors, scanning the cameras. “Wait… something’s wrong.”

Leon followed her gaze to the screen. One by one, the exterior surveillance cameras began shutting off.

Click. Click. Click.

Black screens replaced each feed.

A cold realization settled over them.

They weren’t alone anymore.

A sound echoed through the bunker.

A single, deliberate knock on the reinforced entrance.

Then, from the other side, a voice.

Low. Raspy. Not human.

“We found you.”