The Nation 04

The air hung heavy with the scent of pine and decay, a discordant symphony that mirrored the Crew's fragile hope. Days of relentless travel had etched exhaustion onto their faces, their movements sluggish, their steps heavy with the weight of their past and the uncertainty of their future. Havenwood State Park, with its towering redwoods and seemingly undisturbed tranquility, had promised respite, a sanctuary from the relentless horrors that stalked their world. The illusion shattered with the shriek of tearing flesh.

The ambush erupted without warning. One moment, the Crew was huddled around a meager fire, the flickering flames casting long, dancing shadows that mimicked the swaying trees. The next, the air was filled with the guttural moans and shuffling footsteps of the undead, their numbers seemingly limitless, their hunger insatiable. The park, once a haven of natural beauty, had become a charnel house, its serene landscape now a grotesque tapestry woven with the corpses of the fallen. Twisted branches, once reaching for the sun, now snagged on decaying limbs, a macabre reminder of the devastation that had consumed the world.

Beth, her eyes narrowed with lethal focus, sprang into action. Years of military training had honed her reflexes to razor sharpness. Her movements were swift, precise, each strike a calculated blow aimed to disable, not simply kill. She moved like a phantom through the encroaching horde, her combat knife flashing in the fading light, slicing and dicing with deadly efficiency. Her battle cry, a harsh guttural sound ripped from her lungs, cut through the cacophony of moans and groans, a beacon of defiance in the face of overwhelming odds. She moved with a calculated ferocity, drawing the attention of the undead away from the more vulnerable members of her group. She could hear Billy shouting orders, his voice tight with tension, struggling to maintain order in the escalating chaos.