The night was completely black. There were no stars in the sky. There was no moon. There was only the thick, dark cloud of falling gray ash.Jonah stood on the edge of a high, rocky cliff.He looked down into the deep valley. Miles away, the ruins of Fort Ashfall glowed in the dark. The great fire had finally stopped roaring. Now, it was just a massive bed of hot, red, and orange coals. It looked like a giant, dying star resting on the dead earth.A cold wind blew past Jonah. It pulled at his torn gray shirt. It cooled the sweat and dried blood on his chest.Jonah did not feel like a machine anymore. He felt the biting cold of the wind. He felt the deep, aching pain in his heavy muscles. He felt the sharp sting of the cuts on his face. And he welcomed every single pain. The pain meant that he was alive. The pain meant that his human heart was beating strong.Behind him, the small camp was quiet.Lisa sat on a fallen tree log. She was cleaning her pistol. Her hands moved fast. Click. C

Lisa stood up from the log. A fierce, brave smile spread across her dirty face. She picked up her heavy iron wrench. She slapped it against her open hand. Smack."I like that plan, giant," Lisa said. "I really like that plan. We break the cages before the monsters do."Kevin tried to laugh, but it turned into a wet cough. He smiled his bloody smile. "I am with you, Dad. Always."Jonah walked back to the campfire.He looked at the sky. The night was starting to end. The black sky was turning a very dark, dull gray. Morning was coming. It would not be a sunny morning. The ash blocked the sun. But it was a new day."We move now," Jonah said. "We cannot stay in one place. The heat of the fire will die soon, and the wild zombies will come looking for the smell of blood."Jonah bent down. He stomped his heavy boots on the small yellow fire. He crushed the flames. The camp went dark.He knelt next to Kevin."I can walk," Kevin whispered bravely. He tried to push himself up with his one good

Jonah was a giant man. He was incredibly strong. He had ripped the steel doors off Fort Ashfall. But without the Tactical Grid, he was just a man of flesh and bone. If a monster jumped out of the fog, he would not get a one-second warning. He would not get a glowing red arrow telling him to dodge left. He would have to react with his own normal human eyes."I cannot protect you the same way," Jonah confessed. His deep voice carried a heavy, painful weight. "I am blind. I am just like a normal man now."Kevin stood up straight. He ignored the sharp pain in his broken ribs. He pumped his shotgun with his one good arm. Ch-chk."You were never a normal man, Dad," Kevin said bravely. "You are Jonah. We don't need a computer in your head to survive. We have guns. We have each other. We will do this the old-fashioned way."Lisa smiled a small, tight smile. "Kevin is right. We just have to use our eyes and our ears. Keep your guns up. We move slow. We check every corner."Jonah took a deep br

Jonah nodded slowly. "You are right. We cannot win a war of attrition in this place. The monsters will just wear us down until we have nothing left.""Let's get away from this gas station," Kevin said, looking into the thick yellow fog. "The noise from the gunshot might bring more of them."Jonah picked his heavy rifle off the ground. He wiped the monster's black blood off his shoulder. "Okay. Let's move."They turned their backs on the dead, eyeless monster. They started to walk down the broken road, heading deeper into the ruined town.They took five steps.Then, they heard a sound behind them.CRUNCH. SNAP.Jonah froze. It was the sound of wet bones breaking and moving.He turned around slowly.He looked at the dead monster lying next to the rusted car.The monster was not dead anymore.Jonah’s blood turned to freezing ice in his veins."Lisa," Jonah whispered. "You shot it in the head.""I did!" Lisa said, panic rising in her voice. "I blew half its brain out! You saw it!"But the

Jonah dropped the bloody metal pipe. It hit the floor with a loud CLANG.He fell to his knees. He was completely exhausted. His vision spun in circles. His heart was beating so fast it hurt his chest. He stared at the broken monster on the floor. He waited. He waited for the reward. He waited for the magical energy to rush back into his veins. He waited for the invisible System to say, [COMBAT COMPLETE. STAMINA RESTORED. +1000 XP.]He stared and waited.But the air remained perfectly quiet. The dark store remained dark. The pain in his arms did not go away. His stomach cramped with terrible, agonizing hunger."Nothing," Jonah whispered. His voice broke.He had pushed his body to the absolute limit. He had fought a terrible nightmare. And he gained nothing. Hunger without gain. Pain without reward. This was the true horror of the Dead Zone. It was a place that only took, and never gave anything back.Lisa, Kevin, Marcus, and Elena ran into the aisle. They had heard the fighting."Dad!