"Do not look back." Malcolm projected the command through his external speakers. His boots pounded against the icy access ramp. Kira sprinted beside the black mechanical demon. A monolithic wave of rotting flesh cascaded down the concrete incline right behind them. Tens of thousands of feral infected shrieked in unison. The noise vibrated in her chest cavity. Her boots slipped on a patch of black ice. Kira stumbled forward. Her knees slammed into the frozen asphalt. A zombie lunged from the horde. Yellow teeth sank deep into her exposed thigh. Kira gasped. White hot pain flared through her nervous system. Her heart raced wildly against her ribs. Nausea flooded her stomach. He bit down to the muscle, Kira realized frantically. I am going to bleed out on this ramp. Malcolm did not pause to incinerate the attacker. He grabbed her vest with his gauntlet. He tore her away from the monster. The infected jaw ripped a jagged gash through her flesh. Malcolm hurled her forward. Kira flew

"Plant the explosive packages directly on the primary seal."Kira watched the digital security monitors inside the command center. A dozen elite soldiers surrounded the exterior airlock of the Leviathan. They wore stark white urban camouflage and carried kinetic assault rifles.The troops huddled against the freezing wind of Sector Seven. A demolition expert slapped three bricks of plastic explosives onto the titanium hull. He pressed a remote detonator into the center of the chemical paste."Clear the blast radius," the squad leader yelled over the howling storm.The soldiers scrambled backward across the icy asphalt. They dove behind the rusted wreckage of an abandoned city bus.Kira sat in the plush leather chair. Her bandaged thigh throbbed with a dull rhythmic ache. She rested her hand on the desk and leaned closer to the high resolution screen.They think standard munitions will open a warship, Kira thought. They do not understand the metallurgy."Detonate," the squad leader com

"Lower your arm," Hayes demanded. "Hand over the Leviathan access codes and the fusion generator coordinates. I will not ask a second time.""You possess zero leverage Commander," Malcolm said. "Your trap failed.""We have armor piercing rounds," a young soldier threatened. He pressed the stock of his rifle tight against his shoulder. "We will turn your mechanical suit into a coffin.""Your bullets will bounce off my chest," Malcolm evaluated their arsenal. "You will deplete your magazines long before you scratch my primary plating.""We represent the federal military," Hayes argued. "We have explicit orders to secure this technology. The Leviathan is a vital asset for the reconstruction of the federal government.""Your government collapsed because it lacked vision," Malcolm said. "I built a sustainable ecosystem. You are just scavengers wearing old uniforms.""We have the guns," the young soldier snapped. "That gives us the authority.""A gun only grants authority if you can pull th

"Tear the metal man apart."Silas pointed a jagged crystalline finger toward the center of the courtyard. The pale blue mutant did not raise his voice. He issued the command with the lazy arrogance of a king addressing his executioners.Three figures emerged from the dark corridors of the hospital emergency wing. The fading light illuminated their grotesque biological enhancements.A woman stepped forward. Thick ridges of calcified bone protruded directly through her pale skin. The dermal plating covered her forearms and her jawline like organic armor.A tall man flanked her right side. He possessed elongated muscular thighs. The dense muscle fibers bulged against his torn jeans. His anatomy was engineered for terrifying kinetic bursts of speed.A third survivor lurked in the shadows. He remained motionless while the other two advanced."They are his hunting pack," Kira warned. She kept her suppressed pistol aimed at the approaching monsters. "They are Superhumas.""They are biologica

"They are choking off the routes."Kira leaned her weight against the edge of the desk while her fingers traced the sprawling map of the dead metropolis. The Leviathan rumbled through the labyrinth of frozen skyscrapers, but the military had abandoned their direct assault tactics in favor of a much wider snare."General Varga is adapting to our armor," Kira explained. She tapped a cluster of red tactical icons blinking on the screen. "He knows his penetrators cannot pierce your titanium hull, so he is deploying his remaining armored columns to blockade every major exit out of the Mega City."Malcolm stood near the viewport with a crystal glass of water in his hand. He watched the ruined urban landscape roll past the reinforced glass. Millions of infected citizens swarmed the lower streets, yet the towering metal fortress crushed them beneath its steel treads without a single hesitation.The titanium tracks pulverized a line of abandoned city buses. The grinding shriek of tearing metal