Kevin’s steel-tipped arrow hit the ice monster directly in the chest, knocking it backward into the snow. "I have you covered!" Kevin shouted from the truck roof. He quickly knocked another arrow. Elena grabbed old Marcus by the back of his coat. She pulled the tired old man toward the heavy steel gates of the Sanctuary. "Come on, Marcus! Run!" Jonah reached the edge of the moat. A group of ten wild zombies rushed across the bridge of bodies. They reached out with their rotting, dirty claws, aiming for Elena’s back. Jonah stepped between the monsters and his friends. He did not use a magical shockwave. He did not have enough energy left. He just used his raw, massive human muscles. He swung his forty-pound sledgehammer like a baseball bat. The heavy iron block hit the first three zombies. Their bones shattered. They were thrown sideways, falling off the bridge and plunging thirty feet down into the dark moat to land on the sharp wooden spikes below. Jonah kicked another zombie i

Outside the gates, parked in the falling snow, were five massive, sleek black armored transport trucks. They were the highly advanced vehicles of the Vanguard Command. But the trucks did not look dangerous. They looked like they had been chewed on by a giant monster. The thick black armor plates on the trucks were dented and torn. Deep, jagged claw marks ripped through the solid steel. One of the trucks was missing a door. Another truck had smoke pouring from its engine. The heavy machine guns mounted on the roofs were twisted and broken. These trucks had not come here to attack the Sanctuary. These trucks had barely survived a massacre. The driver's side door of the lead truck kicked open. A man stepped out into the freezing snow. Jonah recognized him instantly. He wore a long, pure white coat. But the coat was no longer clean. It was covered in dark black oil, gray ash, and thick red blood. The left sleeve was completely torn off. On his face, he wore a smooth silver metal ha

The terrifying roar shook the mountain. It was a sound of pure nightmare. It was the sound of dead, rotting meat mixed with the screeching of heavy metal gears. Outside the heavy steel gates of the Sanctuary, the dark night was alive with evil. The dark yellow fog swirled angrily. The blue light of the Echo Seed pulsed hard, creating a glowing dome over the camp. General Silas, the former dictator of the Vanguard Command, lay on his knees in the gray dirt. The tall man in the torn white coat was weeping. His silver half-mask was cracked. He hid his face in his shaking hands. "The apocalypse is armed," Silas sobbed. "The virus ate our guns. It ate our armor. It is coming to shoot us down." Jonah stood over the broken General. Jonah did not panic. He did not cry. The giant wolf looked out through the crack in the steel gates. He saw them. Standing just outside the blue light, hidden in the dark yellow fog, were the new monsters. They were not just biting and scratching. They held

Jonah crossed his massive, scarred arms. "Nothing is a death trap if you hit it hard enough." Jonah turned to look at his people. "We have a target," Jonah commanded. "We are going to form a joint strike team. We drive to Outpost Echo. We blow up the relay tower. We cut the strings on the puppet army." "Who is going?" Elena asked, gripping her iron mace. Jonah looked at the room. He had to make hard choices. "I will go," Jonah said. "Kevin will go as the Scout. Elena, you come as the heavy guard." Jonah turned his dark brown eyes toward General Silas. "And you are coming, Silas," Jonah ordered. "You built the towers. You know how the doors lock. You will get us inside." Silas looked up. The silver mask hid his fear, but his hands trembled. "I am a general, Jonah. Not a foot soldier. I have no weapons. The virus ate my magic." "You will carry a bag of explosives," Jonah said coldly. "If you refuse, I will throw you outside to the monsters right now." Silas swallowed hard. He nod

The heavy Vanguard Rovers tore through the frozen wasteland. The massive, sleek black vehicles drove like angry metal beasts. They had thick, heavy rubber tracks instead of wheels. The heavy iron plows welded to the front bumpers smashed through the deep, white snow. The snow exploded into the air, flying over the windshields. Kevin drove the lead rover. His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly. He stared straight ahead through the thick, bulletproof glass. His one good eye glowed with a faint, bright blue light. His Rogue/Scout System was reading the dark, terrible road ahead. "Hold on, Elena!" Kevin shouted over the loud roar of the engine. Elena sat in the passenger seat. She gripped her heavy iron mace with white knuckles. In the back seat, Lisa was strapped in safely. The brave mechanic was wrapped in thick wool blankets, holding her newly forged sniper rifle, the Iron Ghost. Right behind them, the second rover followed closely. Jonah drove the second rover. The giant w