The virus had nearly wiped out civilization, but humanity’s creativity and firepower—once used to domihe world—still served as a grim reminder of its unmatched potential for destru. Even now, no other force could rival humanity’s ability to wreak havoc.

  “Cole, what’s the status of the bombing?” Antonny’s voice buzzed through the radio, cutting through the crackle of static.

  Cole g the fiery chaos below, his lips curling into a smirk. “Looks like we’ve taken out two, maybe three huhousand.”

  Antonny’s reply carried a faint note of grim satisfa. “Good. Let’s hit them again.”

  “Roger that!” Cole said, his grin widening as he prepared for another run.

  As their pnes banked around for a fresh attack, a lone zombie amidst the massive horde slowly lifted its head. Its glowing eyes burned with an unnatural intelligerag the aircraft with eerie precision. Then, it unleashed a pierg, high-pitched scream—silent to human ears but powerful enough to ripple through the air like a shockwave.

  The horde reacted instantly. A wave of madness spread like wildfire, the zombies vulsing before their eyes lit up with frenzied iy. A guttural roar erupted from the masses, shaking the ground as they charged toward the human defenses.

  Among them, the Hunters—agile, mutated zombies—sprang into a. Some bolted toward stairwells in the surrounding buildings, while others scaled gssy skyscrapers like spiders, their cws digging into the smooth surfaces with terrifying precision.

  As the horde shifted, the area around the strange, intelligent zombie emptied. Antonny, eyeing his inal target, cursed under his breath. “Switch targets! Bomb the usual zone!” he barked, steering his pne loreparing to release his final two missiles.

  The bombs struck their mark, triggering massive fireballs that tore through the de part of the horde, leaving a charred wastend in their wake.

  “Prepare the cluster bombs!” Cole’s voice broke through the radio as he aligned his ph Antonny’s. Following closely, he lowered his bomber and unleashed the cluster munitions. A cascade of explosions lit up the ground below, ing waves of undead in an inferno.

  “Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Cole ughed, watg the destru unfold. “Too bad we’re almost out of ammo.”

  “Not quite,” Antonny replied. “I’ve got a few mae gu. Stay on me—I’ll lead us in.”

  “Got it,” Cole answered, l his po mattonny’s path.

  But their victory was short-lived. A chilling roar echoed across the city, sending shivers down their spines. Out of nowhere, Hunters uhemselves from the rooftops, their i-like limbs propelling them with horrifying accuracy. Their cws gleamed in the dim light as they leaped toward the bombers.

  “Damn it!” Antonny cursed, his heart rag as he realized the threat too te. “They’re ing from above! Watch out!”

  The warning came seds too te. The heavy bombers, uo maneuver quickly, became sitting ducks. Huched onto their fuseges, cws tearing through metal like paper. Arms bred in Antonny’s cockpit as one Hunter ripped his pne’s wing off.

  Losing trol, his fighter spiraled toward the ground. Below, the hungry horde waited like a tide ready to e him.

  “Antonny!” Cole’s panicked voice rang out, but there was no time frief. His own bomber was utack. Hunters g to its wings, tearing into the engines. Smoke and fmes billowed as the trols failed.

  “Engines One and Twone! We’re going down!” Cole shouted, his voice heavy with desperation.

  One by ohe pnes crashed. Antonny’s fighter hit first, followed by Cole’s and another bomber. Explosions lit up the skyliheir fiery aftermath casting an eerie glow over the city.

  From a distance, Zack spotted the fireballs and swore under his breath. “Why the hell were they flying so low?” he muttered angrily.

  A faint voice crackled through the s. “Cole… Cole?” It was Antonny, weak but alive.

  “Cole’s gone,” Ava’s voice cut in, tight with urgency. “Hold on, Captain. I’m ing for you!”

  “No… don’t,” Antonny whispered, his voice faint. Trapped ihe mangled cockpit, he could hear the zombies g at the gss. Cracks spiderwebbed across it, eae a tdown to his end. He knew his time was almost up.

  Zack ched his jaw as he pinpoihe crash site. Without a sed thought, he gunned his thrusters, pushing toward Antonny’s location.

  But before he could get there, another jet streaked through the sky. It was Ava. “Hang on, Captain!” she shouted, diving her praight into the heart of the horde.

  Her pne’s mae guns roared, tearing through the zombies with relentless precision. The clearing around Antonny grew, giving him preoments of safety. But Ava’s steep dive came at a cost. The G-forces pressed against her, blurring her vision as the prained uhe pressure.

  At eight Gs, the world went dark, but her grip on the trols never faltered. At the st sed, she pulled up, her pne’s nose skimming mere meters above the ground. As the blood rushed back to her head, her vision cleared, and she exhaled a shaky breath. “Barely made it…”

  Cirg above, Ava kept her sights locked on the horde. She wasn’t do. If they surged again, she’d be ready to fire.

  Meanwhile, on the ground, Antonny seized the hard-earned opportunity. Before the zombies could regroup, he unbuckled his harness, grabbed his pistol, and jumped out of the cockpit. But danger was closing in fast. From a nearby building, a Hunter—a monstrous creature—uself off a wall, snarling as it sprioward him.

  Just as it was about to reatonny, Zack dropped from above, smming into the Hunter with such force that it flew dowreet, smashing through streetlights and skidding across the pavement.

  Before the creature could recover, Zack's shoulder-mounted Vul on spun to life, unleashing a hail of bullets that shredded the Hunter into a gruesome mess. Zack turo Antonny, irritation clear in his voice. "This your pn? Fly low a swarmed by zombies?"

  Antonny lowered his head, his voice heavy with regret. "I... I got careless." He didn’t try to dodge the bme—it was his overfidehat had caused the crash. Surviving had been pure luck, but not everyone had been so fortunate. His squad… they had paid the ultimate price.

  Zack sighed and shook his head, skipping the lecture. Instead, he grabbed Antonny by the colr and unched into the air, carrying him like a sack of potatoes. They sped toward the three remaining bombers in the sky. "Opech!" Zack barked over the s.

  “Captain Antonny?!” One of the bomber pilots gnced ba shock. The moment he spotted Antonny dangling from Zack’s grip, he quickly opehe rear hatch. “Rear hatch open!”

  Without missing a beat, Zack adjusted their approad swung Antonny inside, nding him safely in the . “How many cluster bombs do you have left?” Zack asked, his tone sharp.

  Antonny, steadying himself, yelled over the noise, “We’re out of cluster bombs, but we’ve still gur explosives. We keep hitting them if you !”

  Zack grimaced. “Out of cluster bombs, huh? Fine. I’ll hahe rest myself.” He turned and dove straight back toward the chaos below without another word.

  Antonny blinked, momentarily caught off guard by Zack’s resolve. “Is he serious?” Shaking his head, he manually shut the hatd hurried to the cockpit.