Deadzone: Surviving The End of The World

chapter 4

The forest seemed endless.

The mist clung to the trees like smoke. Every branch that broke underfoot sounded too loud. Caleb led the way, moving slowly, watching the ground for roots and holes. The others followed close behind. No one had spoken for an hour.

They had left the ranger station burning behind them. The smoke still rose far below. The hum of the river reached them even here, deep in the hills. It was weaker but constant, a low pulse that felt like it was inside their bones.

Luke was the first to speak. “How long before we stop?”

“Soon,” Caleb said. “When we find higher ground.”

Dylan wiped sweat from his forehead. “You think the things can climb?”

“They follow sound,” Nora said. “That’s all we know.”

They moved again, careful, each step sinking into damp soil. The trees were thicker now. Moss grew on everything. The air smelled of rain and rot.

After another mile, the ground dropped into a shallow valley. In the middle of it stood a truck half-buried in dirt and leaves. The paint was almost gone, but the shape was clear a military transport, old and heavy.

Dylan pointed. “That’s not from around here.”

Caleb climbed down the slope. The truck’s tyres were flat, its windows broken. Faded symbols covered the doors. He brushed away dirt with his hand. A star. Letters in a language he didn’t know.

Nora joined him. “That looks Russian.”

Luke kicked at the mud near the back. Metal struck metal. He scraped away more and found a crate. The wood was black and soft with age, but the markings were sharp. The same symbols. More stars.

Caleb pried it open with his wrench. Inside were sealed packages and two metal cases. The air around them vibrated faintly. When he lifted one case, it was warm to the touch.

Nora stepped back. “That’s not normal.”

He set the case on the ground and opened it. A glass cylinder rested inside, filled with dark liquid. Thin threads of blue light moved through it like smoke underwater. The faint hum grew louder.

Dylan cursed under his breath. “Close it.”

Caleb snapped the lid shut, but the hum didn’t stop. It spread outward, through the ground, through the trees. Birds exploded out of the canopy above them, flying in every direction.

Then the forest went silent again.

Luke stared at the trees. “We woke them up.”

“Move,” Caleb said.

They climbed the slope on the far side of the valley. The sound followed them softly at first, then rose. Branches moved in the distance. Figures slid between the trees. Their eyes caught the dim light and glowed pale blue.

“They’re coming,” Nora whispered.

They ran. The path curved upward toward a ridge. At the top stood a line of concrete bunkers, half hidden by vines and dirt. Caleb pushed one door open and waved the others inside. The room smelled of rust and dust. Old maps and papers covered a table. A single red light blinked on a panel along the wall.

Dylan tried the switch beside it. Nothing happened. Caleb traced the wires to a small box near the corner. The lid had a label in English: DEADZONE PROTOCOL – ACTIVE FIELD CONTAINMENT.

He touched the panel. The hum deepened for a second, then faded.

Nora stared at the maps. “This whole valley… they marked it. They knew.”

Caleb looked over her shoulder. Circles covered the map, each one labelled with coordinates. The valley, the hydroplant, the town inside a single ring marked Test Site 47.

“This wasn’t an accident,” Dylan said. “They built the plant on top of this.”

A noise outside cut him off. A scraping, like claws on metal. The sound moved across the bunker’s roof.

Caleb grabbed his wrench. “Stay quiet.”

The scraping stopped. A faint blue light spilt through the doorway. Shadows shifted outside, not human. One passed by the opening—long limbs, the shape of antlers, the slow turn of a head that wasn’t right.

Nora covered Luke’s mouth with her hand. The thing sniffed the air, then walked on.

They waited until the glow faded into the trees.

Caleb exhaled. “We can’t stay here.”

Dylan nodded. “Where then?”

He looked at the map again. A thin line ran north from the valley to a symbol shaped like a tower. Beside it, a single word in faded print: Relay.

“If we reach this relay,” Caleb said, “we might get a signal out.”

“Signal to whom?” Nora asked.

“To anyone left.”

They packed the papers they could carry. Caleb wrapped the metal case in his jacket and strapped it to his bag. The hum from it had grown softer but steady.

Outside, the sky was turning orange with the late sun. The mist glowed faint blue where it touched the trees. Far below, the river shone like a scar across the land.

They walked until the light began to fade. When they stopped, Caleb looked back one last time. Smoke still rose from the ranger station. The valley behind them flickered like a dying fire.

He tightened his grip on the strap of his bag. “We keep going.”

Nora nodded. Dylan checked the road ahead. Luke whispered a quiet prayer.

The hum under their feet followed every step, soft and patient, as if something deep in the earth was listening.