Jack limped onto the farm that had once served as his base camp with his horde, now with a firm mission fixed in his mind.

The sun was beginning to rise above, which would mean he would need to seek shelter soon. Zombies had no particular weakness to the sunlight, but they didn't prefer it. Their eyes were too well-adjusted for the night. Daylight was a time to rest and lay low. Besides, the night was typically the best time to hunt, taking their victims unaware.

As he approached the farm, his locket still dangling from his neck, he paused.

The ground was covered with the decapitated bodies of ninjas and zombies. No one was left alive. Necrotic and fresh blood intermingled in dank pools that soaked into the ground below. Animals stayed away, too afraid of the rotting stench, but worms didn't seem to mind.

Jack's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He fell to his knees. These vile, filthy ninjas, had killed every member of his horde. Then they killed those members of their own who had become infected.

Jack let out a loud moan that resonated throughout the abandoned farm. He didn't care if it attracted attention. These people had been his friends, his companions.

Gnashing his teeth, he decided that vengeance would be his: vengeance for his betrayal, vengeance for taking him away from his family, vengeance for killing his brothers-in-arms.

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Zombie Jack lifted himself up and limped forward, his head bobbing unnaturally to one side. These ninjas would pay.

But he needed to think.

Zombies were known for acting on instinct, blindly driven by the Crave even if it meant their own death. He and his horde had walked right into a trap. If these ninjas could set traps, then so could he. If they could attack a zombie horde in the dead of night when they were at full strength, then he would do the same to them.

Jack picked up a katana from one of the fallen. It glinted in the moonlight. He felt the grace of the blade in his hands, moving it back and forth in fluid motions. The shuriken had flown from his wrists like he was drawing upon old memories worn deeply in his mind—the katana was no different.

He wasn't nearly as skilled as a ninja but he didn't need to be — ninjas didn't have supernatural strength and speed.

First, he'd travel to Edo, the name of the city whispered to him by the Crave itself. He'd find Sakura and Kenzo even if to only glimpse into their eyes. He needed to find them to ensure his safety even if it meant his own death.

Second, he'd plot his revenge on those who betrayed him. But he'd need a way to perpetrate that vengeance. He paused a moment and thought. There was only one possible means at his disposal.

One crucial component was missing if Jack was going to seek revenge — he needed to raise a horde.

And a large one.

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