Nathaniel and Diana rounded the corner of a snow-covered street, shocked at the sight they beheld. Dozens of people had been brutally maimed, limbs strewn about like scattered toys. The burnt husks of exploded cars still radiated heat and smoke, melting the nearby crimson snow into a dark viscous liquid.
"We have to look for survivours." said Nathaniel solemnly, fists clenching at the senseless slaughter before him.
"Agreed." replied Diana with a similar sad reverence.
Slowly the pair checked each of the just barely warm bodies for signs of life, closing the eyes of the dead. It took just over a day for a person to become an Undead in the apocalypse and join the ever growing horde. There was no point in burying them, it was only a matter of when they escaped their not-so-final resting place, not if. In the last apocalypse many disagreed about how to solve this dilemma. Some believed the dead should be incinerated, turned into dust as a final act of defiance against the horrors of the Divine Tournament and the Gods. However due to the immense size of the Undead hordes, totalling over one hundred and ten billion, it made little practical difference. [I would love to bury these poor souls with fire,] thought Nathaniel, [but the bodies are still warm and the murderers may be close. It is too dangerous to grant the final mercy of true death].
Nathaniel turned and looked over his shoulder at Diana behind him. She sat in her wheelchair, hoodie pulled close to protect from the frigid cold. Shivering, the girl smiled weakly despite the death and destruction around her. [I need to become stronger,] stressed Nathaniel, [much stronger].
"Hey, Natha-" began Diana before she was cut off by the sound of metal groaning underneath an immense force. Nathaniel spun around just in time to see a man with green skin covered in thorns gripping the undercarriage of a burnt out car.
Nathaniel darted towards Diana. The man hefted the car up with one arm. Nathaniel shoved Diana and her wheelchair behind a nearby truck. The man lobbed the car forwards, sending the hunk of melted metal and charred plastic towards Nathaniel. Taking a deep breath, Nathaniel readied himself. He sprinted forwards, diving underneath the flying car which crashed into the snow-covered asphalt with a tremendous crash of metal and glass.
"You there, foreign man." boomed the green man. Now Nathaniel was closer he could see his foe more clearly. Standing almost seven feet tall and muscled beyond belief, this man was a giant. He towered over Nathaniel, looking down at him despite the several metres between them.
"Give us your guns and that girlly and I'll let you live," demanded the man, "for a while at least."
"How about we both go our separate ways instead?" offered Nathaniel half-heartedly. He always gave his opponents the option to concede or to simply come to their senses and leave. It seldom worked.
"No, no. That simply will not do Mr Hero Man." chuckled the giant, his mouth widening in a colossal grin showing his perfectly white teeth. "I am a Roadman, I am robbing you - not the other way round. Give me that fancy rifle of yours or I'm gonna snap you in two."
"I can't do that," replied Nathaniel, "it may be the end of the world but I can't break my oath. I was, I am, an agent of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations. It is my duty to serve and protect, to preserve and to defend. This is your last chance, back down or else."
"Oh no, you're a Fed," mocked the titanic man, "My apologies, I did not realise. Realise that I do not give a damn who you are. You could be the King of Kazakhstan for all I care." The man paused and grabbed a nearby lamp post with one hand, ripping it out of the concrete pavement with a single tug. "Guess we're gonna find out about your 'or else' then."
Nathaniel raced into action, dropping into a half-crouch. He reached over his shoulder with one hand and grabbed his salvaged rifle. [This bastard's powers seem strength and plant based], he thought as he swung the firearm from his back into his hands, [it's likely he's weak to the cold, fire or even just regula-]. Nathaniel's thought was cut short as the giant's lamp post collided with his chest. He felt something crunch as he was sent flying backwards into the truck Diana was hiding behind. The truck's side crumbled with the impact, metal contorting around the FBI agent's battered body. Nathaniel gasped for air, struggling to breath. Each breath felt like he was breathing through a straw and his chest screamed in agony as he attempted to inhale oxygen.
"Where's your bravado now, big guy?" called out the giant as he leisurely advanced towards Nathaniel, "All the ego, man. 'I'm a Federal Agent of the Federal Buearue of Idiots', 'I serve and protect', shut the fuck up. You're not fooling anyone. Who do you think you are?"
"I", struggled Nathaniel as he desperately tried to recover.
"Yes?" asked the giant, now standing just a mere two metres away from Nathaniel. He towered over the injured agent, lamp post resting over his shoulder and eyes burning with superiority. "Are you gonna answer my question before I invert your ribcage, man?"
"Am" continued Nathaniel, finally breathing his first lungful of air.
"Go on man, you can't keep on pausing like this. This isn't a TV show." said the giant, grin sloping into a frown.
"The Law." finished Nathaniel.
"Ay what kind of cheesy as hell line is tha-" began the goliath before being silenced by the thunderous echo of a single bullet fired. A small nine millimetre wide hole appeared in the middle of his forehead. He stumbled backwards, as if in some sort of daze before collapsing onto the asphalt. An amber liquid pooled around his head, turning the wet snow a golden yellow. Nathaniel panted, still gripping his Glock tightly with one hand. Head ringing, he slowly stood upright. He limped around the truck, using his now-damaged rifle as a cane.
"Is… is it over?" asked Diana tentatively, shivering against the cold.
"Yea," answered Nathaniel, pausing to take a breath of the cold oxygen-rich air, "I think it's over."
"I don't zink zo" slurred a voice from behind. Nathaniel whipped around, ignoring his body's protests, to find the giant standing behind him once more. Except the giant was no longer a giant. The man's muscles had retracted and shrunk as vines wrapped around his head as some sort of makeshift badge. Amber blood slowly leaked down his face as he spoke, "Nobody kill I-Zay-Ya. Nobody!"
Nathaniel tried to raise his Glock but the man was too fast. Thorned fists collided with his face, over and over again. With each blow Nathaniel's pain lessened, his whole body becoming light and numb.
[I am dumb], discerned the FBI agent as a blow connected with his skull, [I am an idiot. I didn't even think to check his stats, use my ability before he attacked or just shoot the bastard. I was inpatient.]
[Why am I so weak?], cursed the human while another fist shattered his nose, [I am supposed to be the Champion of the last apocalypse.]
[I am going to die], realised Nathaniel the Chosen One as screams serenaded him into the inky black oblivion of unconsciousness.