The sound hit first.
A thunderous engine scream that shook the mansion.
Everyone froze.
Marcus turned toward the window sharply.
"That's an aircraft."
The roar grew louder.
Too loud.
Too close.
A massive shadow flashed across the courtyard skylight.
Then the ground shook violently.
Outside, a private jet tore across the estate grounds, metal shrieking as its landing gear scraped across the driveway.
Stone exploded beneath the impact.
Trees snapped like twigs.
The aircraft skidded sideways across the lawn, plowing through hedges and statues before slamming directly into the west wing.
The explosion was deafening.
Glass shattered across the mansion.
Flames erupted instantly as aviation fuel ignited.
A fireball swallowed half the building.
The shockwave slammed through the corridors like a hammer.
Ceiling panels collapsed.
Smoke poured through the halls.
Chunks of burning debris rained down outside.
Victoria staggered back, covering her mouth.
"My God…"
Henry didn't hesitate.
"We're leaving."
His voice was calm but absolute.
"Vehicles."
Marcus nodded immediately.
"Yes sir."
The team moved fast.
Outside, the crash had already drawn attention.
Low moans echoed from the streets beyond the gates.
Figures began stumbling toward the estate.
Zombies.
Dozens of them.
The crash had rung the dinner bell.
The armored SUVs roared down the estate driveway.
Behind them, Hale Manor burned like a fallen palace.
Flames devoured the west wing where the jet had crashed. Thick black smoke spiraled into the darkening sky while pieces of the aircraft continued to explode one after another.
The shockwaves hadn't fully stopped yet.
Chunks of debris rained across the estate grounds.
One of them came down hard.
A twisted piece of burning metal slammed into the driveway just as the second SUV rolled forward.
Victor Alvarez reacted instantly, shoving the door open to push the burning debris away before the vehicle rolled over it.
The metal slammed against the pavement and shattered apart.
A jagged shard ricocheted upward like a bullet.
Victor reached out to steady himself on the door…
The shard drove straight into his forearm.
"Shit…!"
Victor jerked back with a sharp grunt.
The twisted metal was lodged halfway through his arm, just below the elbow.
Blood immediately poured down his sleeve.
"Victor!" Claire shouted.
"I'm fine," he hissed through clenched teeth, gripping the metal and ripping it free.
The wound was deep.
Too deep.
His hand trembled as he tried to flex his fingers.
Pain shot through his arm instantly.
Marcus glanced back from the driver's seat.
"Wrap it later. Move!"
Victor pressed a cloth against his bleeding forearm tightly as the convoy sped through the gates.
But the crash had already done its damage.
Moans drifted through the streets.
Zombies were emerging from every direction.
Drawn by the fire.
Drawn by the noise.
And now…
Drawn by them.
⸻
They hadn't driven more than two blocks when Marcus slammed the brakes.
The road ahead was a graveyard of abandoned vehicles.
Sedans sat crooked across lanes.
A delivery truck blocked the intersection entirely.
And between them…
Shapes moved.
Dozens of them.
Rotting figures stumbling aimlessly between the wrecked cars.
Zombies.
Marcus cursed under his breath.
"We clear the road," he said.
Everyone already understood.
Doors flew open.
Cold night air rushed in.
The bodyguards moved automatically, forming a protective perimeter around the family.
Henry raised his shotgun.
"Stay together."
The first zombie noticed them.
Its head snapped toward the group.
Then it began to run.
Iris's hand moved to her back.
Steel slid free from the scabbard.
Her other hand drew the obsidian dagger from her belt.
Her pulse hammered in her ears.
Second real fight.
No turning back now.
The zombie lunged first.
Iris stepped forward…
Her boot slipped on loose gravel.
The world tilted.
The creature's jaws snapped inches from her face.
Instinct took over.
She twisted sideways.
The longsword flashed upward.
The blade tore through the zombie's neck.
Ash scattered across the pavement.
A message flashed across her vision.
[+5 Copper +5 EXP]
Another zombie rushed from the side.
Iris pivoted.
The dagger drove upward beneath the creature's jaw.
It collapsed instantly.
[+5 Copper +5 EXP]
More came.
Three at once.
The street erupted into chaos.
Gunfire thundered.
Henry's shotgun blasted one zombie backward.
Victoria darted forward with her rapier, stabbing through another's eye socket.
Caleb swung his hatchet wildly.
Iris stepped back, avoiding grasping hands.
Her sword slashed across one zombie's chest.
Then her dagger buried itself in another skull.
Ash drifted through the air like gray snow.
[+5 Copper +5 EXP]
[+5 Copper +5 EXP]
[+5 Copper +5 EXP]
Her breathing grew heavier.
Her arms burned from the repeated strikes.
Another zombie lunged.
She ducked.
Her sword cut upward.
The head rolled across the asphalt.
[+5 Copper +5 EXP]
A memory flashed through her mind.
Sunlight.
A training yard.
A younger Iris drawing a bow again and again while an instructor corrected her posture.
Her muscles remembered the rhythm of combat.
Step.
Turn.
Strike.
The sword cut one zombie down.
The dagger followed through another.
[+5 Copper +5 EXP]
[+5 Copper +5 EXP]
Suddenly…
A scream tore through the fight.
"Ah!" Veronica's foot slipped on the blood-slick pavement and she crashed hard onto the ground.
A zombie immediately lunged toward her.
Daniel Hayes moved without hesitation.
He slammed into the creature, shoving it away from her.
"Ma'am Get up!" he shouted.
But another zombie came from behind.
Its teeth sank into his forearm.
The sound was wet and sickening.
Daniel roared in pain.
Marcus fired instantly.
The zombie's head exploded.
Daniel staggered back, clutching his arm.
Blood poured through his sleeve.
For a moment everything froze.
Everyone knew the stories.
Every movie.
Every book.
A zombie bite meant infection.
Daniel saw the fear in their eyes.
"Don't…" he started.
More zombies rushed from the far end of the street.
There was no time.
Iris stepped forward again.
Her blade flashed.
One zombie fell.
Then another.
[+5 Copper +5 EXP]
[+5 Copper +5 EXP]
Then the system pulsed brightly.
[LEVEL UP]
[Level 0 → Level 1]
But she didn't stop.
One more zombie lunged toward Caleb.
Iris intercepted it.
One desperate slash with her sword cut through the zombie's neck.
Ash scattered across the road as the body collapsed.
It took everything she had left.
[+5 Copper +5 EXP]
Silence slowly returned.
The last zombie collapsed.
Only the crackling sound of the distant mansion fire remained.
Everyone stood there breathing heavily.
Victor pressed a cloth against his bleeding hand.
Daniel stared down at the bite on his arm.
The skin around it was already turning an ugly shade of purple.
Henry stepped forward slowly.
"We're not leaving anyone behind," he said firmly.
Marcus nodded.
Daniel's wrists were quickly bound with a strip of rope.
Not cruelly.
Just precaution.
"If he turns," Marcus said quietly, "we'll end it fast."
Daniel gave a tired nod.
"I understand."
They cleared the abandoned cars quickly.
Then everyone climbed back into the SUVs.
The engines started again.
The convoy rolled forward into the dark city.
Inside the vehicle, Iris finally leaned back against the seat.
Her lungs burned.
Her hands trembled slightly from adrenaline.
She raised a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes, the fight had drained everything from her.
She sat there, completely drained.
Then she whispered silently in her mind. System.
'Did I really just survive that…?'
A faint blue light flickered across her vision.
The panel appeared instantly.
[STATUS]
Name: Iris Hale
Age: 20
Level: 1 (15 / 100)
Life: 100 / 100
Spirit: 80 / 100
Physique: 20
Agility: 19
Defense: 11
Physical Potential: B
Mental Potential: SS+
Elemental Affinity:
• Wood
• Water
• Earth
Skills:
Active: None
Passive: None
Titles: None
Overall Rank: S
Current Condition: Exhausted