No Escape

The Price of Anger

The echo of frantic barking shattered the tense atmosphere as Mary's dog, Bruizer, burst onto the scene, his fur ruffled and damp with what looked like blood. Mary's face lit up with relief, her eyes sparkling as she knelt to embrace him. "Bruizer! There you are, boy! What did you find?" she exclaimed, her voice a mix of joy and confusion.

But my heart sank. The sight of Bruizer was a brief reprieve, quickly overshadowed by the crimson smears marking his fur. It wasn't just drool—it was blood. "Holy hell," I muttered, gripping the nearby weapon—a chainsaw—ready to fight off whatever horrors followed this cheerful reunion. I could sense the encroaching danger; the ominous growls of zombies echoed from behind the mall's walls, their presence triggered by the commotion.

Jake stood frozen, dagger in hand, stabbing at a shambling figure. "A little help here, people!" he shouted, panic evident in his tone.

"Alice! No! Please, you're the only survivor!" Luke's voice pierced through the chaos, desperation flooding his words. My breath caught as I sliced through the last zombie's neck, blood spraying in a gruesome arc, but his plea only fueled the anger burning hotter within me.

I could feel it swelling inside—every lie, every betrayal. The weight of Luke's deception crashed down on me like a tidal wave, and the power that simmered beneath my skin began to claw its way to the surface. My hands trembled, not from fear, but from the overwhelming surge of energy that threatened to consume me.

"You lied to me, Luke!" I shouted, my voice cracking with the force of my fury. "This whole time... everything has been a lie!"

The zombies continued to pour into the mall, drawn by the sounds of chaos, their hungry moans growing louder. But I barely registered them anymore. All I could see was Luke, and the raw pain of his words echoed in my mind.

He took a step toward me, his hands raised in surrender. "Alice, please... I had no choice. You have to understand, I was just following orders!"

His excuses meant nothing. "Orders?" I spat. "You used me! You let me believe that you were something you weren't. All for what? To manipulate me into doing... this?" My chest heaved with every word, and I could feel the power surging to the surface, pressing against the walls I'd tried so hard to keep in place.

"Alice, I'm sorry—"

"Stop!" I cut him off, my voice a growl now. The pressure inside me was unbearable. I felt like I was going to explode, like I had no control anymore. "I can't take any more of your lies!"

And then, like the snap of a breaking thread, the dam inside me burst.

A wave of raw, unstoppable energy erupted from me, crashing outward in a violent surge. I could feel it leave my body like a shockwave, and as it did, the world around me seemed to slow. The air trembled, the ground shook beneath my feet, and in the blink of an eye, every zombie in the horde that had surrounded us convulsed.

Then, all at once, their heads exploded—splintering like rotten fruit. Blood, bone, and decayed flesh splattered across the floor, coating the walls in a gruesome tableau. The smell of death, sharp and metallic, filled the air, and I stood in the middle of it, panting, as the last of my energy ebbed away.

Silence fell, thick and oppressive.

My body felt heavy, my mind a storm of conflicting emotions. I looked at the devastation I had caused—the mangled remains of what used to be living, breathing people—and felt a wave of nausea wash over me. But the worst part wasn't the destruction.