Train to Busan.

  We got Shawn’s answer. These were Train to Busan zombies.

  The thought ran through my head even as I fired the first arrow straight through a rushing zombie’s eye. It fell to the floor with a heavy thud, no movement, not even a twitch.

  I kept a steady firing-and-moving cadence, making my way toward Jess, who had curled up on the floor, covering her ears and screaming. I stood over her and picked my next target, conscious that I only had a limited number of arrows. I couldn’t stop to salvage like I usually did.

  To my right, Siva was a blur of slashing metal. His katana gleamed as he dodged, struck, moved and repeat. Limbs and heads went flying as he wielded his sword like a hurricane. When surrounded, he ran into the air and leaped, landing in an open pocket before resuming the cycle again.

  The wet slap of heads, the guttural roars, the pounding of hundreds of feet and the sheer mass of bodies made the floor tremble. The horde just kept coming.

  Up front, Shawn was a thing of beauty, twirling his two-handed scythe like he was cutting down wheat. He spun it around himself, over his head, overhand and underhand, purple tendrils trailing every strike, every motion, dissipating and reforming around the blade.

  Then I realized what he was doing.

  He was making his way toward the necromancer, the one just standing there, hands clasped in front of him, watching. Calm. Detached. Like he was observing a snooker match.

  No, he was controlling them.

  I shot down another rushing zombie, then equipped my Deadeye Scope and took aim at the necromancer’s head.

  How far away was he? Sixty, seventy meters?

  I released the shot and tracked the arrow as it arced through the air, only for a zombie to rush in at the last second and take the hit instead.

  The necromancer looked straight at me and smiled.

  Motherfucker…

  “Jess! We’re dying here! We need to move! You need to fight!” I shouted as I dropped another one. That was too close. Siva landed beside me, sprang up again, and sliced another in half mid-lunge. The corpse hit the floor in two twitching halves, then started crawling toward us. I stepped forward and crushed its head beneath my boot.

  Faint black, smoky tendrils rose from the mangled torso and drifted toward the necromancer. They sank into him, and he shuddered.

  Fuck.

  Shawn: Stop killing them. You’re powering him up.

  I turned to see Shawn cut the legs off three zombies in a wide arc, spinning to face us with a glare.

  Right. No killing. What the fuck were we supposed to do now?

  I cast [Shockwave] as another wave of zombies charged. The blast blew them back, bodies flying, bones cracking, giving us a few precious seconds to breathe.

  “The stairs!” Siva shouted.

  I turned and realized we were near the entry stairwell. I nodded, and Siva rushed over to pull the door open, only to slam it shut a heartbeat later. He pressed his back against the metal, eyes wide, shaking his head.

  In that brief moment, I’d seen them, a mass of zombies packed shoulder-to-shoulder, shuffling down the stairwell.

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  I cast [Shockwave] again, clearing the area in front of us.

  Shawn: Siva! Move!

  Shawn cut the legs out from two more zombies, then thrust his hand forward. A burst of violet energy detonated, sending more bodies flying. He turned that same hand toward Siva.

  Siva dove aside just as a massive mound of compacted dirt erupted in front of the door, sealing it off completely.

  “Erm… that’s our Shawn, right?” Siva asked, breathless, blade at the ready.

  I shot three rushing zombies in quick succession before replying.

  “I… think so.”

  Shawn was still pushing toward the necromancer, but the endless tide of bodies kept him pinned in place.

  The necromancer was smiling now. He was enjoying this.

  At my feet, Jess had stopped screaming. She raised one trembling arm, fingers twitching as if to cast a spell. Gold sparkles flickered at her fingertips, then fizzled out.

  “I can’t… I can’t…” she whimpered.

  I cast [Haze].

  “Siva!” I pointed. He got the message. He went to work, slicing off limbs within the radius as I knelt beside Jess and held her face between my hands. She was shaking uncontrollably.

  “Jess,” I said gently, “I’m sorry your friends died. I really am. I’m sorry we’re in this mess but we need you. Shawn’s out there fighting his ass off, and it’s only a matter of time before we’re overrun.”

  A severed arm hit the ground beside me with a wet splat and began clawing at the tiles. I kicked it away.

  “If there’s anything you can do to help, anything at all. You don’t have to fight them head-on, just-”

  I stopped mid-sentence. The [Haze] shimmered, then vanished.

  Wait. What? I still had minutes left. He’d counter spelled me.

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  “Your friend fights well. But all this is for nought.”

  His voice carried effortlessly over the chaos. The necromancer walked toward us, calm as a man on an afternoon stroll. A nearby cluster of zombies halted their attack and stood still, swaying in place. A display of dominance. A warning.

  “Really, I’ve never been this entertained,” he said, continuing his approach. Flanked by his undead. Behind him, Shawn was still fighting, slower now, exhausted.

  I had to buy time.

  “You’re human. Like us. Why? Why are you doing this?” I shouted. Siva moved beside me, sweat running down his face.

  “Why? Why not?” His voice was smooth, almost pleasant. “Every day I sit here stamping passports, checking bags, watching the same throng of mindless drones shuffle in and out, in and out. Every. Single. Damn. Day.”

  He paused to glance at Shawn, then smiled. “So when I was given the chance to manage the population, I thought… Why the hell not? If the masses want to live like zombies, then let them.”

  “Tell me your name. At least tell me who we’re going to die to,” I said, readying [Shockwave]. I needed him closer.

  “My name?” He chuckled. “I was once known as Azim.” He spread his arms wide, voice rising. “But here, you may call me Dea—”

  He never finished.

  A dome of golden light erupted around us, expanding fast. It pulsed outward, shimmering beneath the flickering fluorescents, blasting away every zombie it touched. Even Azim was thrown backward, howling in pain. Within seconds, the barrier grew large enough to reach Shawn, sweeping away the swarm around him.

  “Nobody says ‘nought’, you pretentious dick…” Jess hissed from the floor, before collapsing.

  We had precious seconds. I could already see Azim slowly getting back to his feet, the zombies beginning to stir. I was about to cast [Heal] on Jess when my chat pinged.

  Shawn: Don’t. Carry her. Get Siva on your back. Run. Flash your way out of here. I’ll hold them.

  A private message, just for me.

  I looked up. Shawn was bent over, leaning on his scythe, breathing hard. He gave me a grim smile.

  Shawn: Go.

  For a heartbeat, I actually considered it. I knew I could carry Jess, I’d done it before. Siva could hold on. It was only a short sprint to the exit. We could live.

  But Shawn…

  Three lives for one. It was the pragmatic choice. But it wasn’t the right one.

  Chris: Go fuck yourself, Shawn. I’m not leaving you, and neither will Siva. We’ll figure it out.

  All around us, the zombies were rising again. Black smoke coiled from Azim’s body as he began to chant.

  “What are we doing, guys? What are we doing?” Siva asked, eyes darting frantically.

  Shawn: Final answer?

  He was still watching me, bent over his weapon.

  I nodded.

  A pause. Then another message appeared, this time in the party chat.

  Shawn: I didn’t want to do this. Tell Jess I’m sorry.

  What? What the fuck are you going to do?

  Shawn straightened. A violet-and-pink cloak materialized around him, his scythe dissolving into his inventory. Then he began to rise, levitating, arms spread wide. His hands glowed. Not purple this time but pink.

  A wave pulsed outward from him, a shockwave expanding to fill the entire hall.

  I braced for impact.

  Nothing happened.

  “What did you do?” Azim shouted up at him. “What the fuck did you do?”

  The black mist swirling around the necromancer began to unravel.

  Then the moaning started, louder and angrier. One by one, the zombies twitched, turned, and began tearing into each other. No, not each other. The female zombies were attacking the males. I squinted through the chaos. The older female ones especially, moving with uncanny speed, tearing apart everything else. A soft pink aura shimmered around them.

  Azim flung his arms out, trying to reassert control. His eyes darted wildly. “No! Obey me! Obey me!”

  But the horde wasn’t listening. His commands were being drowned out and overwritten.

  He sent another wave of control energy, but it faltered. There were too many elder females among the horde now, and they’d all turned on him.

  At my feet, Jess stirred. Then she jolted awake.

  “Shawn, baby!” she screamed, and before I could stop her, she jumped into the fray, a morningstar materializing in her hand.

  She swung it wildly, inexpertly bashing through reanimated corpses as she fought her way toward Shawn. He still hovered midair, glowing with that same pink energy. Neon tendrils poured from his eyes, nose, and mouth, curling around him like smoke.

  I could only stare, slack-jawed.

  “What the fuck just happened?” Siva breathed beside me, eyes wide.

  Then it hit me, what someone had said that first day we met Shawn, back at the reserve. He’d picked Grave Digger by accident. He thought it would make the older women fall in love with him.

  Motherfucker…

  He actually had that skill.

  The fight was all but over.

  Siva and I walked toward Shawn, taking out any stragglers along the way. A cluster of female zombies stood motionless, swaying gently, all of them staring up at him. Jess was there too, calling out his name and jumping, trying to reach him.

  Azim the necromancer hurled bolts of black energy at Shawn, each one bouncing harmlessly off his glowing form.

  “How are you doing this? Who are you?” he screamed, his voice cracking between attacks.

  Shawn floated closer, smiling down at him.

  “I’m the fucking Grave Digger.”

  A blast of pink energy erupted from Shawn’s body, slamming into Azim and launching him clean through the Exit door.

  The hall was suddenly silent, save for Jess’s screams.

  Shawn: Erm… you might wanna hold on to Jess for this next part.

  I sighed and went over to grab her. Siva followed.

  I can’t say for sure what happened next, but I could guess. Shawn must’ve commanded the remaining horde to turn on each other and they obeyed.

  The air filled with shrieks and wet tearing sounds as the undead tore themselves apart. Jess thrashed wildly in my grip, screaming Shawn’s name, hitting me more than once in the process. I held on, keeping her from diving into the carnage.

  When the noise finally died down, Shawn descended slowly. He landed amid the wreckage and tore the head off the last zombie himself. The pink glow faded. His cloak dissolved back into his inventory.

  He walked up to Jess, placed a hand gently on her shoulder, and said softly,

  “Could you wait outside for me, luv?”

  Jess blinked, smiled dreamily, and ran out through the Exit door.

  Siva and I walked up to him. Shawn met us with his usual grin, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

  “It’s a timed and area effect,” he explained quietly. “It’ll time out soon. She’ll be fine once she’s out of range.” He paused, then added with a sad smile, “She’ll hate me, though.”

  “You could’ve done that the whole time but held back?” Siva asked.

  Shawn placed a hand on his shoulder. “Never force someone to love you. Never try to control them. It… it only ends in hurt.”

  He turned away and stepped through the Exit. For just a moment, I caught the look in his eyes, that raw sadness beneath the humor. The kind that doesn’t fade easily.

  Siva and I lingered for a moment before following.

  “Think he’s okay? Think she’s okay?” Siva asked as we walked.

  “She’ll be pissed for a while,” I said with a half-smile. “But he saved her. Saved us all. And Shawn… is Shawn.”

  We stepped out of the Arrival Hall together.

  A familiar ping echoed through my HUD.

  [Objective: Achieved.]

  [4 / 5 Crimson Zones cleared.]

  [Clear 5 / 5 Crimson Zones to leave the Northern Sector.]