AOE

We've all heard of zombies in books and seen them in movies, but no one could have predicted the cataclysm that turned our once-beautiful green planet into a world infested with the undead. The virus spread like wildfire, forcing humanity to flee like prisoners from their own homes. They had to be careful where they went, always watching their backs, or risk being torn apart by the bloodthirsty monsters that roamed the surface. Those who were lucky enough to escape the initial outbreak made their way to the safe haven of "ATLANTA."

The EMP cloud was a mystery that would haunt humanity for years to come. Billions perished and were transformed into zombies by the EMP cloud radiation before the government could even begin to address the issue. The world became a desolate wasteland, with only distant cries heard in the silence as the EMP cloud claimed 80 percent of the global population. In the last transmitted message, it was said that "ATLANTA" was the last hope for the remaining humans.

But the transmission likely went unheard, as the EMP cloud rendered every electronic device useless. The message could only be picked up by a few people who managed to connect via a short-range radio. As the survivors huddled together in the underground bunkers and survival bases, they wondered what had become of the world they once knew. They were left to fend for themselves, fighting tooth and nail for every breath they took.

~ Present Day - Eighteen years after the EMP

Amelia's life was one of perpetual anxiety, cloaked in secrecy, and threatened by a secret she had to keep hidden at all costs. Happiness was a luxury she could never afford. She rose from her bed of hay, her leg trembling as she tried to steady herself. The sunlight streaming through the small hut's window was blinding, and she shielded her eyes with her hand.

As she scanned her surroundings and slowly deep her fingernails in her long hair, a torrent of unanswered questions flooded her mind. She was once a fortunate survivor who found refuge in a survival base, but her luck ran out when the Jaden armies attacked and destroyed the base.

"Fuck the Federation!" Amelia muttered under her breath as she stepped out of the hut, her eyes scanning the top of the tall tree that provided shade. She wasn't admiring its beauty; rather, she was checking for any signs of zombie infestation. The undead's presence was so toxic that their aura would kill every plant in the vicinity.

All survivors in the wasteland shared a deep-seated hatred for the Jaden Federation. The high-tech suits and advanced weaponry that the federation possessed made them nearly invincible. Even a hundred survivors wouldn't stand a chance against a single Jaden army. Amelia wished she could use her powers to defend the fallen survival base, but she knew the risks of revealing herself as a zombie shape-shifter were too high.

The secret she had guarded for her entire life. In this post-apocalyptic world, zombies were the enemy, killing anything that crossed their path. They attacked survival bases in massive numbers, overwhelming any resistance and leaving no survivors in their wake. The Jaden Federation promised to bring about change, to eradicate all zombies and rebuild the shattered world, but everyone knew that such a promise was impossible to keep.

The Jaden Federation sent out Armies to kill Zombies but ended up killing every Inhabitants in the Survival base because some of them could shapeshift into Zombies, leaving the Armies unsure who to kill. They obey orders and kill everyone in the Survival base so that no rogue Zombie shapeshifter could escape.

Amelia let out a deep yawn and stretched her limbs as she entered the small hut she had made her home for now. Her movements were slow, weighed down by a persistent headache that had been plaguing her for days. She paused, lowering her head between her knees, her thoughts turning to the events that had led her here.

If she had not managed to escape the group of wasteland survivors who had tried to rape her the night before, her life would have taken a drastically different turn. It had been a harrowing experience, and her headache was a constant reminder of the struggle she had gone through to survive.

But even before that, she had lost her team during a violent confrontation with Ethan's men who tried to capture them because Duncan - one of Amelia accomplice ruined Ethan's arms dealing business. Amelia had always been one to fend for herself, and she knew being a lone survivor in this post-apocalyptic world was daunting.

Her mind drifted to the Zombies, the undead creatures that now roamed the world, hungry for human flesh. It was a constant threat that kept her on her toes. But there was something different about Amelia. She had the ability to shapeshift into a Zombie, a power that could prove both a blessing and a curse if discovered by the wrong people.

As Amelia sat on the hay bed in her makeshift shelter, her eyes were drawn to the corner of the room, where a bow and a pack of arrows hung in a satchel. The rumbling in her stomach reminded her that it was time to go hunting. She slipped into her leather yellow suit, which was a little too small for her frame. The suit had been scavenged from a dead body, and although it was one of the best-upgraded EV suits in the wasteland, it was a tight fit.

Amelia had always been a scavenger, wandering the wasteland in search of resources to survive. But her life took a dramatic turn when the Jaden Federation destroyed the Survival base where she had hidden all her loot and assif that's not enough, the Jaden Federation also kidnapped her one true love. She was left with nothing, forced to rely on her wits and survival skills to stay alive.

But Amelia had a secret weapon that set her apart from other survivors - her ability to shapeshift into a Zombie. This unique skill allowed her to blend in with the undead and scavenge resources in the abandoned cities that littered the wasteland. While others avoided the cities for fear of being attacked by Zombies, Amelia could move freely among them, hidden in plain sight.

For years, she had used this skill to her advantage, collecting more resources than any other scavenger in the wasteland. But her luck ran out when the chief of the Survival base, who was her adopted father, invited her into his chamber to ask how she always managed to find more resources than anyone else.

~A year before the present day

Amelia couldn't help but burst out laughing at the chief's question. She knew it was a delicate situation, but her survival instincts kicked in, and she hoped her laughter would persuade him to believe everything she was about to say.

The chief adjusted himself on the wooden seat he was sitting in and frowned, clearly growing agitated with Amelia's delay in answering his question. But Amelia was skilled at this game. She knew the chief was eager for an answer and would use whatever she said to gain more resources for himself. Selfishness was what defined a survivor as a survivor in the wasteland. The barren, dangerous land was teeming with survivors willing to go the extra mile to steal other survivor's resources. Even the richest and most powerful survivor base commanders coveted the best scavengers under their command.

Amelia's words hung heavy in the air, like a dare waiting to be taken. "It's the city!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling with excitement and fear. The chief was taken aback by her sudden proclamation. No one had dared to enter the city in years, not since the Zombies had taken over. The chief's face turned cold as he wondered if Amelia was telling the truth.

"You're not going to get me to believe that!" he retorted, a mix of shock and skepticism evident in his voice. He could see the seriousness in Amelia's eyes, but he couldn't bring himself to trust her. No one had ever returned from the city, and the few who had tried never made it back alive.

Amelia rose from her seat, her posture defiant. "If you don't believe me, why are we having this conversation?" she snapped, her anger barely contained. The chief watched her, unsure of what to do next. He knew that Amelia was holding something back, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

"All right, but how do you get it out?" he asked, trying to keep his tone neutral. "It's difficult to believe any of this!"

Amelia scuffed, as if she were some kind of hero, and the chief couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for her courage. "Leave that to me," she said, her voice dripping with confidence. "I'll get you enough resources as long as you don't tell anyone else!"

The chief was torn. On one hand, he couldn't ignore the possibility of accessing the city's loot. On the other hand, he didn't want to risk his people's safety. He glanced at Amelia, her eyes bright with anticipation, and knew that he had to make a choice.

The silence in the room stretched on, each passing moment weighted with tension. Finally, the chief spoke. "Fine. I'll keep it a secret. But if anything goes wrong, it's on you."

Amelia grinned, her eyes sparkling with triumph. "Don't worry," she said. "Nothing will go wrong."

As she left the room, the chief couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. He knew that he had just made a deal with the devil, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he would come to regret it.

Amelia's reputation preceded her, spreading far beyond the borders of Survival Base 02. Scavengers from nearby bases whispered her name in awe and admiration, marveling at her seemingly endless supply of resources. Some even speculated that she had struck a deal with the devil himself to achieve such success.

But Amelia remained elusive, rejecting offers to join other scavenger teams and keeping her secrets close to her chest. Despite her fame, she preferred to operate alone, trusting no one but herself.

Occasionally, she would wonder if there were others like her, with the ability to shapeshift into a Zombie. The thought made her uneasy, but she pushed it aside, focusing instead on the thrill of the hunt.

It wasn't until the day she ventured into the city that her fears were confirmed.

Amelia's unique ability to shapeshift allowed her to move through the post-apocalyptic world undetected. As she leaped from building to building, her heart raced with anticipation. Her mission was critical: to procure drugs from the city hospital to trade for food at the survival base. It was a dangerous task, but the reward was worth the risk.

The world had been reduced to a barren wasteland, ravaged by a deadly virus that had turned people into mindless, flesh-eating zombies. The once bustling streets were now deserted, save for the hordes of undead that roamed them, driven only by the insatiable desire to feed on anything with fresh blood.

But the zombies were not the only threat in this new world. Mutated animals, transformed by the radiation from the EMP cloud, now roamed the land, hunting and killing anything in their path. These creatures were not like the zombies, who were limited by their deteriorated bodies. The mutated animals were strong, fast, and lethal, with razor-sharp teeth and claws that could tear through flesh and bone.

In this world, currency had lost its value. Food and drugs were the new currency, the only things that mattered in the fight for survival. The global economy had collapsed, and banks were now empty shells, their vaults looted in the early days of the outbreak. People had quickly realized that money was useless when there was nothing left to buy.

Food was no longer the same in this world. The mutated animals were now the primary source of sustenance for the survivors. They were hunted and killed, their meat canned and sold to the highest bidder.

Amelia's journey into the city was not driven by the need to scavenge for food, as she had plenty of supplies at her disposal. Instead, it was a quest for the most scarce resource in the wasteland - drugs. In this desolate land, survival was a constant battle. Every day, people got hurt, and some lost their lives due to their injuries.

The Jaden Federation, a group that had promised to aid the survivors, proved to be their worst nightmare. They would kill any survivor they came across, citing the possibility that they could be shapeshifters or Zombies. Amelia couldn't bear the thought of innocent people being killed without evidence, all because of the shapeshifters like herself. She was convinced that many of the people had been killed merely because they possessed the ability to shapeshift, just like her.

Though Amelia had scavenged for a while, she had never come across anyone like herself. She often wondered if she was the only one with the power to shapeshift. It was possible that others had the same ability, but they kept it hidden in fear of being killed.

Amelia's anxiety grew as she approached the hospital building. The sun was setting, casting a hazy orange hue over the horizon. She had encountered hordes of Zombies many times before, and sneaking past them was nothing new to her. She leaped from the building's top, landing silently on the ground below, her senses on high alert.

Even though she knew the Zombies couldn't see her, Amelia remained cautious. The city was rife with dangers, and an attack could come from anywhere at any time. She had heard of the Jaden Federation's merciless raids on the city, which had wiped out nearly all the Zombies. Yet, Amelia knew that if the Jaden armies came upon her, she would be killed. Even if she transformed into a human, it wouldn't make a difference. The orders were clear: kill every human spotted wherever Zombies were found.

Amelia strode towards the group of Zombies stationed in front of the hospital's entrance. She knew how to play her cards right, moving with a limp as she approached, feigning injury.

As the sun sank beneath the horizon and darkness descended, a low growling could be heard in the distance. It was a perilous time to scavenge for resources. The Zombies became ten times stronger at night, and their senses of vision and smell became even more acute.

The Zombies spotted Amelia as she neared them, and they gathered and growled menacingly. She could sense their hostility, but she remained calm, knowing her shapeshifting abilities would come in handy. She was in her Zombie form, and though they might sense the human in her, she was confident they would be bewildered.

Amelia approached them, and the Zombies looked at her strangely, their movements slowing as they paved a path for her to pass through. She was relieved that the process had gone smoothly, though she had wondered if they would recognize her as a shapeshifter.

The world had become a place where the line between the living and the undead had blurred. In a world where the dead walked the earth, the rules had changed. It was a place where danger lurked around every corner, and survival meant becoming someone or something else entirely.