**Location:** Miller's Farm, Texas.**Date:** November 2022.
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The sun dipped below the horizon, painting the Texas sky in hues of blood red and bruised purple. A fitting backdrop for what was coming.
Jake wiped sweat from his brow, his hands blackened with grease and soot. He stood back to admire his work.
The barn doors, once flimsy wood, were now reinforced with steel plating he'd cut from the old Chevy. Welded across the front were rows of sharpened rebar spikes, angled outward like the teeth of a prehistoric beast.
**[Fortification Complete: Level 1 Barricade.]****[Defense Rating: 50/100.]****[System Unlock: Turret Blueprint - Nail Gun Sentry (Requires: Air Compressor, Nails, Motion Sensor).]**
"Motion sensor..." Jake muttered. He didn't have one. But he had tripwires. Good old-fashioned fishing line and empty beer cans.
He dragged the heavy Honda generator inside the barn and hooked it up to a series of floodlights he'd rigged on the roof.
*Click.*
The yard was bathed in blinding white light.
He checked his ammo count again.
* **AR-15:** 3 full magazines (90 rounds).* **Remington 870:** 5 shells (00 Buckshot). That was it. He'd found a box in Miller's house, but it was mostly birdshot—useless against these things.* **Machete:** Sharp as a razor. His grandfather's old brush clearer.
It wasn't enough. Not for what he could hear coming from the highway.
The howling had stopped. That was worse.
Now, there was only the sound of feet. Many feet. Running through the dry corn stalks. *Swish, swish, swish.*
Jake climbed up to the hayloft, his sniper nest. He rested the AR-15 on a bale of hay and peered through the scope.
Movement.
At the edge of the light, shadows detached themselves from the darkness.
One. Two. Five...
**[Enemy Analysis: Pack of Runners (Level 1 Infected).]****[Count: 7.]****[Threat Level: High.]**
Seven of them. Fast, agile, and hungry.
"Come on then," Jake whispered, flipping the safety off. "Let's dance."
The first Runner sprinted into the light. It was a woman, wearing a torn nurse's uniform. Her jaw hung slack, and her eyes burned with that sickly green glow.
*Bang.*
Jake didn't miss. The round took her in the chest, spinning her around. She dropped, twitching.
But the shot was like a dinner bell.
The other six shrieked in unison and charged. They moved with terrifying speed, zig-zagging to avoid fire.
*Bang. Bang. Bang.*
Jake dropped two more before they reached the fence. One took a round to the knee and crawled forward, snapping its teeth. Another took a headshot and folded instantly.
Four left.
They hit the barricade with a sickening thud. The spikes did their job, impaling one Runner through the gut. It writhed and screamed, stuck fast.
But the others used its body as a ramp.
Three Runners vaulted over the reinforced doors, landing in the yard with cat-like grace.
They were inside the perimeter.
"Shit!"
Jake abandoned the rifle—too close for a scope—and grabbed the shotgun. He racked the slide. *Ch-ch.*
He jumped down from the loft, landing in a crouch.
The first Runner, a massive man in overalls, lunged at him.
*BOOM!*
The 12-gauge roared. At point-blank range, the buckshot turned the Runner's chest into hamburger meat. It flew backward, crashing into a pile of tractor tires.
Two left.
The second Runner flanked him, moving faster than Jake could track. It tackled him from the side, knocking the wind out of him. The shotgun skittered across the concrete floor.
Jake hit the ground hard, the creature on top of him instantly. Its teeth snapped inches from his face, drooling black slime. Its strength was unnatural.
**[System Alert: Grapple Detected.]****[Strength Check: Success (Enhanced).]**
Jake roared, channeling every ounce of his enhanced strength. He grabbed the Runner by the throat and *squeezed*. He felt the cartilage crunch under his grip. With a heave, he threw the creature off him like a ragdoll.
It scrambled to get up, but Jake was faster. He drew the machete from his belt.
*Schlick.*
He took its head off with one clean swing. Black blood sprayed across his shirt.
One left.
Where was it?
A low growl from behind the tractor.
The last Runner, the one he'd winged earlier, limped into view. It was smaller, maybe a teenager. It hissed at him.
Jake stood his ground, machete dripping. He was breathing hard, but he wasn't tired. His heart hammered a steady rhythm against his ribs.
**[Adrenaline Surge: Active.]****[Combat Reflexes: +20%.]**
The Runner leaped.
Jake sidestepped, a blur of motion. He brought the machete down in a brutal arc, cleaving through the creature's shoulder and deep into its chest.
It collapsed without a sound.
Silence returned to the barn.
Jake stood there for a long moment, listening. No more footsteps. No more howling.
**[Wave 1 Cleared.]****[Experience Gained: 350.]****[Level Up!]****[Jake Reynolds is now Level 2.]****[New Blueprint Unlocked: Bio-Fuel Refinery.]**
He walked over to the shotgun and picked it up. His hands were steady.
Outside, the first light of dawn was breaking over the horizon.
And with it came a rumble. Not thunder. Engines.
Jake walked out of the barn, shielding his eyes.
A military convoy was rolling down the highway. Humvees, trucks, even a tank. They were moving fast, heading north towards Dallas.
Jake waved his arms, shouting.
"Hey! Over here! Help!"
The lead Humvee didn't even slow down. The gunner in the turret turned, looked right at Jake... and kept going.
They weren't stopping. They weren't saving anyone.
They were running.
Jake lowered his arms. He watched the convoy disappear into the distance, leaving him alone in the dust.
**[System Update: The world has abandoned you. Build your own.]**
Jake spat on the ground.
"Fine by me."
(End of Chapter)