Age of zombies

[69] Tower defense

I bolted out the backdoor, my breath coming in ragged gasps as I sprinted through the chaos. The front gate was just ahead, but every step felt like a lifetime as I dodged fallen debris and broken bodies. The sound of the horde was a constant roar in my ears, the groans and screeches of the undead echoing through the night.

I didn't slow down as a group of zombies stumbled into my path. With a quick flick of my wrist, I unsheathed my katana and swung it in a wide arc. The blade cleaved through the first zombie's neck, sending its head rolling across the ground. Another lunged at me from the side, but I ducked, twisting around and slicing upward. The katana bit deep into its chest, splitting it open with a wet, sickening sound.

Focus, Jake. Keep moving.

I pushed forward, my eyes locked on the watchtower at the gate. Ethan was up there, fidgeting with something in his hands, his face pale even from this distance. Something was wrong.

With a final swing, I cut down another zombie and ran toward the tower, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Ethan!" I shouted as I got closer, cutting down the last few zombies in my path. "What the hell is going on?"

He looked down at me, his face drenched in sweat. In his hands was the controller for the remote turret, but his fingers were shaking, and he looked like he was about to lose it. "The raiders... they killed the others. I'm the last one left up here, and a bullet jammed the turret."

"Shit!" I cursed, feeling the weight of the situation press down on me. "Can you fix it?"

Ethan nodded, though he didn't look confident. "I can, but I need to get to the turret. The jam's lodged deep, and it has to be cleared manually."

"Alright," I said, glancing around at the approaching horde. "I'll cover you. Just get it done, Ethan."

Without another word, he grabbed the small toolkit he had stashed nearby and bolted toward the turret. I followed close behind, my katana flashing as I cut down any zombie that got too close. The undead were relentless, stumbling over one another as they swarmed the gate.

We reached the base of the ladder, and Ethan hesitated for only a second before he started to climb. I stood at the bottom, slashing at any zombies that dared to approach, my arms burning from the effort. The horde was growing thicker, their numbers swelling with every passing second.

"Hurry the fuck up!" I shouted, cutting down another zombie as it reached for me.

Ethan made it to the top and disappeared from view. I slashed one more zombie across the chest and then followed him, climbing up the ladder with my katana strapped to my back. The tower swayed slightly in the wind, and I could feel the vibrations of the horde slamming against the gate below.

By the time I reached the top, Ethan was already working on the turret, his hands moving frantically as he pried the bullet loose. I glanced over the edge and saw the horde pressing against the walls of the tower, their decaying faces leering up at us, hands reaching for anything they could grab.

"Almost there!" Ethan shouted, his voice strained with effort.

I drew my katana again, watching the ground below as more zombies piled in, clawing their way toward the tower. I didn't know how much longer the gate would hold. The wood was already splintering, groaning under the weight of the undead.

Finally, Ethan let out a triumphant shout. "Got it! The jam's cleared!"

He didn't waste a second. He grabbed the turret controls, but instead of using the remote, he went full manual mode, gripping the handles and aiming the massive gun directly at the approaching horde.

With a roar, the turret came to life, bullets tearing through the zombies like paper. Ethan's face lit up with grim determination as he fired round after round, mowing down dozens of the undead with each sweep of the gun.

But no matter how many we killed, more kept coming. The horde was overwhelming, their numbers seemingly endless. Bodies piled up at the base of the gate, but the zombies just kept climbing over them, their hunger driving them forward.

"Ethan, this isn't enough!" I shouted over the roar of the gun. "There's too many of them!"

"I know!" he shouted back, his voice tight with panic. "We're running out of time!"

I could see it in his eyes—he knew the turret wasn't going to hold them off forever. The gun was working overtime, the barrel glowing red-hot as it spit out bullets, but the horde was too large.

And then, as if to make things worse, the turret sputtered and fell silent. Ethan cursed, yanking the handles back. "We're out of ammo!" he shouted.

My stomach dropped. The horde was already at the base of the tower, their hands clawing at the ladder, pulling themselves up. We had seconds before they were on us.

"Shit!" I swore, gripping my katana tight. "Get ready for a last stand."

We stood back-to-back on the small platform, the tower creaking under the weight of the zombies climbing up. My heart was pounding in my chest, adrenaline flooding my veins as I prepared to fight for our lives. The first zombie's head appeared over the edge of the platform, its rotting mouth wide open, and I swung my katana, decapitating it in one clean motion.

But for every one I killed, two more took its place. The platform was shaking now, groaning under the weight of the undead as they swarmed the tower.

"This is it," Ethan muttered, his face pale with fear. "We're fucked."

I gritted my teeth, swinging my katana at another zombie as it clambered over the edge. "Not yet. We hold the line until the end."

Just then, before the horde could completely overwhelm us, a deafening explosion rocked the ground. The force of the blast sent a shockwave through the air, nearly knocking us off our feet. I grabbed the railing, holding on for dear life as the tower swayed dangerously.

Ethan and I both turned toward the source of the explosion. In the distance, a massive pillar of flames shot into the sky, lighting up the night with an intense, fiery glow. The ground shook beneath us, and the roar of the blast echoed through the town.

For a moment, everything stopped. The zombies that had been climbing toward us paused, their heads snapping toward the explosion as if drawn by some unseen force. Then, as if on cue, they turned and began stumbling away, their interest in us completely gone.

Ethan and I stood there, panting and exhausted, watching in disbelief as the horde moved toward the explosion like moths to a flame.

"They're... they're leaving?" Ethan gasped, his eyes wide with shock.

I let out a shaky breath, my heart still racing. "Looks like it."

We watched for a few more seconds, the horde moving further and further away, their numbers dwindling as they followed the source of the explosion. The sound of their groaning and shuffling faded into the distance, leaving an eerie silence in their wake.

Ethan collapsed onto the platform, his chest heaving with exhaustion. "Holy shit," he muttered. "I thought we were dead."

I dropped to my knees beside him, feeling the weight of everything crash down on me at once. My muscles ached, my head was spinning, but somehow, we were still alive.

"Me too," I admitted, wiping the sweat from my forehead. "But we're not. We made it."

We sat there in silence for a moment, both of us too tired to speak. The distant flames still flickered in the night, but for now, the immediate danger had passed.

For now, we had survived.

Q: Have you played tower defense before?