Around dinnertime, some guy hauled in food, shook ‘em awake from their crash, and mumbled about a meeting after.

  When Kevin and Mallow rolled into the meeting, the air was thick as hell. Middle of the room stood a dude, blood splashed all over—Melk’s brother, Deyl, the crossbow guy. Rikk shot ‘em a look and nodded at Deyl to keep going.

  “…We tracked the car’s trail down to a wooded valley. Then, bam—ambush outta nowhere. They knew we were coming, like somebody ratted us out. Three big-ass trucks pinned us down, and their gear was next-level bullshit—machine guns, assault rifles, snipers. They split us up, dropped some of our crew, and nabbed most of us. I ducked into cover, watched their whole convoy peel out onto the highway and vanish.”

  “You’re the only one who made it?” the doc croaked, voice shaking hard. His little girl, Magra, was on that team, and he was losing it.

  Deyl nodded and jerked a thumb at Marissa. “This chick got out too. Hell if I know how she managed it.”

  Marissa stood up, face blank as a wall. “Just hid in some bushes,” she said, flat as hell, “dodged their search crew, and slipped off.”

  Kevin and Mallow swapped nervous looks. No shit—the NPC squad screwed up big sending folks after the Governor.

  Big names like Mionne, Glenor, Magra, and Aundra were either gone or nabbed. Newbies like Morimaru and Jungwoo got snatched too. Two more were dead. On top of that, their crew got smashed in Zone C. All that mess left the survivor group running on half a tank.

  “We can’t let the Governor mess ‘em up. We gotta bust ‘em out—now!” the doc barked, all worked up.

  Rikk and Deyl gave a sharp nod. Marissa stepped up, saying she knew the Governor’s town and was in for the rescue gig.

  “Why the hell didn’t the Governor waste ‘em? Why take ‘em captive? He’s dangling ‘em as bait to suck us in. If we chase ‘em tonight, we’re walking into his damn trap! Plus, the walkers are mutating again tonight—we ain’t got the juice to hold our own,” Sharn spat, all fired up. Melk nodded, backing him.

  But Rikk and most of the crew blew Sharn off. No messing around—they locked in to rescue the four big shots and two newbies that night.

  Right then, Omnispace pinged a new mission:

  “Rescue: Your four allies have been captured by the antagonist, Governor Philip. You can’t let him torture and kill them. Rescue them tonight; it’s your only shot. For each key character you save, you’ll get 500 survival points, 25 team points, and a 0.5% Plot Deviation Rate.”

  “Plot Deviation Rate? What the hell’s that? Sounds like a big deal,” Razor Hawk muttered under his breath.

  Mallow couldn’t hold in a laugh. Razor Hawk, the loudmouth “hotshot,” still didn’t know jack about Plot Deviation Rate, while Kevin was already sitting pretty at 25.6%.

  Kevin kept his eyes glued on Marissa, though. Something about her smelled off. Yeah, she was tight with Rikk, but she’d ditched for the scouting team. Kevin put big stock in crew loyalty. Her flirting had pissed Rikk off, sure, but their bond should’ve held up. So why’d she pick the rough gig?

  Even the fastest newbies couldn’t dodge the Governor’s trap this time. How the hell did Marissa pull it off? She’d been acting weird lately, and Kevin wasn’t about to get caught slipping.

  He yanked Melk aside for a low-key, long talk.

  ***

  The ten-person rescue squad crept up on the small town’s wall, moving careful. Rikk, Deyl, and Melk took point, with Kevin, Mallow, Razor Hawk, and Marissa backing ‘em up.

  The wall was a joke—barely ten feet high, ‘cause walkers ain’t exactly hopping champs. It ran about sixty feet, patched together with tires, wood scraps, and busted cars. A handful of guards paced the top, toting machine guns and flashlights.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  This was the Governor’s turf, a quiet little town that could’ve been anywhere in the States. The moon hung fat and bright, throwing down a chill, easy glow. Stars speckled the sky, and a soft breeze kicked through the maple trees. Lights flickered in the houses, and the air smelled like baking bread, sizzling steak, brewing coffee, and creamy milk. Compared to the walker-infested hellhole they were stuck in—always hungry, always scared—this place was damn near paradise.

  But in this story, the Governor played it slick. This peaceful vibe was a trap. He acted like some big-hearted leader, promising safety and freedom. Truth was, he was a twisted bastard—his moves were straight-up evil.

  “Alright, let’s roll,” Deyl grunted.

  The guards up top weren’t total assholes; probably just regular folks clueless about the real deal. Still, climbing that wall was their only play to snag Glenor and the rest.

  Kevin couldn’t shake the bad vibe crawling up his spine. This whole picture-perfect town bullshit felt wrong—like a pretty damn monster ready to eat ‘em alive.

  What if Marissa was the Governor’s plant? What if the snitch had already sold ‘em out, and they were strolling right into a trap?

  This could be a complete shitshow.

  He yanked Melk aside before they rushed in and spilled his gut. Melk didn’t mess around—just ran his hand blade across his throat, a quiet “you’re dead” promise.

  Any bastard screwing with the crew was gonna eat it.

  The only snag was Rikk. Would he let old sparks with Marissa screw up his head?

  Outta nowhere, Marissa shot up. “There!” she barked, pointing. A little gap showed up in the wall’s corner. Chick had eagle eyes, no doubt. “We can squeeze through that hole, slip in quiet, and grab our people!” She bolted for it, but Rikk threw an arm out.

  “Marissa, hold up,” Rikk said, voice steady.

  “Rikk, what the hell you doing?” Marissa shot back, a little pissed in her tone.

  “You’re usually the jumpy one. Why you charging up front now? What’s past that wall?” Rikk asked, smirking like he smelled bullshit.

  “I… I just wanna help. Our crew’s on the other side,” Marissa said, stalling a sec before plastering on a fake-ass smile.

  “It’s the Governor’s men, huh?” Melk cut in. “How’d you slip out today?”

  “I got out ‘cause I’m smart, alright? Deyl, why ain’t you grilling him?” Marissa snapped, her voice hot with anger.

  Kevin let out a laugh. Seriously, sis? Deyl’s the damn rock—loyal as hell, never stabbed a soul in the back, and his tracking’s off the charts. Guy made it out alive ‘cause he’s just that good. No brainer.

  Melk’s eyes lit up with a mean glint as he grabbed Marissa’s arms. “Listen, chick, your little game ain’t slick. What, you think you’re some Hollywood star? Spill it—what’d the Governor tell you?” His knife dragged a slow, ugly line down her cheek, making her suck in a sharp breath. “You don’t want this rusty blade messing up that cute face, do ya?”

  Marissa’s voice cut through the air like a damn blade: “Rikk! Help me!”

  Rikk’s eyes lit up with fury as he yanked her close, growling low. “My wife, Lorrah—how’d she die? We were all out there busting our asses, but you were holed up inside. Cahl said you were the only one with her when the walkers rolled in. I saw her body—bullet hole in her leg. That you?”

  “No! It wasn’t me! I swear!” She thrashed against him, eyes bugging out with panic.

  Her screams ripped the night apart as spotlights blasted down from up top. Machine guns kicked off, loud as hell, and the whole scene turned to shit. The rescue crew scattered like roaches, freaking out and lost as hell.

  Marissa didn’t waste a beat—shoved Rikk off, shot a pissed-off glare at the shadows closing in, and bolted. She slipped through the gap like a damn ghost, gone into the dark cave.

  Voices bounced from the other side. The Governor knew they were coming and set a trap. Lucky for Rikk and the crew, they sniffed out Marissa’s bullshit and dodged the worst of it.

  “I already tipped off Rikk—he’s in on it. Letting Marissa go was the play to keep the Governor clueless. The real rescue’s hitting in the dead of night. We’re gonna catch ‘em with their pants down,” Melk said to Kevin, a slick grin splitting his face.

  Kevin couldn’t help but tip his hat to the crew’s slick move. Who said these NPCs were dumb as rocks? They were sharp as hell! Marissa’s mask slipped the second she fucked up, and the whole gang saw through her fake-ass game.

  Kevin was all about that surprise factor in the plan.

  Everybody knows lightning don’t hit the same spot twice, right? This time, they were flipping the Governor’s game on him. He’d be waiting for a midnight raid, but they were gonna smash his ass in the dead of fuckin’ night instead.

  Did you enjoy this chapter? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Thank you!