The air inside the supermarket was thick, a mix of stale air and the faint, rancid scent of decay. Damien moved cautiously between the aisles, his grip firm on the long sword Aria had given him. His eyes darted over the wrecked shelves and scattered debris, searching for anything that could still be useful. It was eerily quiet, save for the faint sound of his own footsteps.
The place looked as though it had been picked clean weeks ago, but Damien's instincts told him to keep looking. He crouched near a fallen shelf, sifting through a pile of dented cans and broken glass. A rusted can of beans caught his eye—damaged, but still sealed. He slipped it into his bag, his senses on high alert for any sudden movements.
As he moved deeper into the store, the oppressive silence became unsettling. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. The hair on the back of his neck prickled, and his grip on the sword tightened.
Then he heard it—a low, guttural growl that seemed to reverberate through the walls. Damien froze, his heart pounding in his chest. Slowly, he turned his head toward the sound, his eyes scanning the dimly lit aisle ahead.
From the shadows, a figure emerged. It was humanoid in shape but grotesquely deformed. The creature's skin was pale and mottled with patches of decay, its muscles bulging unnaturally. Jagged bones jutted out from its elbows and shoulders, forming crude, natural weapons. Its eyes glowed faintly, a sickly yellow that seemed to pierce through the darkness.
This wasn't an ordinary zombie. It was something else—something evolved.
Damien's breath hitched as the creature let out another growl, baring rows of sharp, broken teeth. It was bigger than him by at least a foot, and its movements were disturbingly quick as it began to stalk toward him.
Gripping the sword with both hands, Damien backed away slowly, his mind racing. He had never faced anything like this before. The creature lunged, and Damien barely managed to dodge, the zombie's bone-spiked arm slashing through the air where his head had been moments earlier.
He swung the sword in a wide arc, the blade catching the zombie's side. It let out an ear-piercing screech, but the wound barely slowed it down. The creature swiped at him again, its clawed hand grazing his arm. The impact sent a jolt of pain through Damien's body, but he gritted his teeth and pressed on.
The fight became a desperate dance of survival. Damien dodged and parried, his strikes landing but failing to do significant damage. The creature's raw strength was overwhelming, each of its attacks forcing Damien further back.
Sweat dripped down his face as he gasped for breath. His arms ached from the repeated blows, and his footing faltered as the creature cornered him against a shelf. The zombie lunged again, its clawed hand aiming for his throat. Damien raised the sword just in time, the blade catching the creature's arm and severing it at the joint.
The zombie howled in rage, its remaining arm lashing out with renewed fury. Damien stumbled, the force of the blow sending him sprawling onto the ground. His sword clattered out of reach, leaving him defenseless.
The creature loomed over him, its glowing eyes filled with a predatory hunger. Damien scrambled backward, his heart racing as he searched for a way to escape. Just as the zombie raised its jagged arm for a killing blow, a loud crash echoed through the store.
"Damien!"
Aria's voice rang out, cutting through the chaos like a lifeline. Before Damien could fully process her arrival, she was already in motion.
Aria leaped into the air with inhuman grace, her movements fluid and precise. She landed between Damien and the zombie, her emerald eyes blazing with determination. Without hesitation, she delivered a powerful kick to the creature's chest, sending it flying across the aisle.
"Stay down," she commanded, sparing Damien a brief glance before turning her full attention to the zombie.
The creature recovered quickly, letting out a guttural roar as it charged at her. Aria met its attack head-on, her movements a blur of speed and power. She dodged its swipes with ease, her reflexes far beyond anything Damien had ever seen.
When the zombie lunged, she sidestepped gracefully, delivering a devastating punch to its side. The impact was so forceful that the sound of cracking ribs echoed through the store. The creature staggered, but Aria didn't relent.
She jumped high into the air, her legs coiling like springs before she came down hard, her fist slamming into the creature's head. The floor beneath them cracked from the sheer force of the blow.
Damien watched in stunned silence, his eyes wide as he took in the display of raw strength and agility. Aria moved with a confidence and precision that left him breathless. Every strike, every dodge, was calculated and devastating.
The zombie roared in frustration, its jagged arm swiping wildly. Aria caught the limb mid-swing, her grip like iron as she twisted it sharply. The bone snapped with a sickening crunch, and the creature howled in agony.
"That's enough out of you," Aria muttered, her tone cold and resolute.
She spun, using the broken arm as leverage to hurl the zombie across the store. It crashed into a pile of broken shelves, debris collapsing around it. Before it could recover, Aria closed the distance in a single leap, landing with the grace of a predator.
She grabbed the creature by its neck, lifting it effortlessly off the ground. The zombie thrashed and clawed at her, but it was no match for her strength. With a final, crushing squeeze, she snapped its neck, the glow fading from its eyes as its body went limp.
Aria let the corpse drop unceremoniously to the ground, dusting off her hands as if she'd just finished a mundane chore.
Damien was still on the floor, his chest heaving as he tried to process what he'd just witnessed. Aria turned to him, a small smirk playing on her lips.
"You okay?" she asked, offering him a hand.
He took it, her grip firm as she helped him to his feet. "What the hell was that thing?" he asked, his voice hoarse.
"An evolved," she replied, her expression serious. "They're stronger, faster, and a hell of a lot harder to kill than regular zombies. We'll be seeing more of them."
Damien swallowed hard, his gaze drifting to the mangled corpse on the ground. "And you… how did you do all that?"
Aria shrugged, her smirk returning. "I told you I was strong."
"Strong? That's an understatement," Damien muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.
She laughed softly, a sound that somehow eased the tension in the air. "Get used to it," she said, turning toward the exit. "We've got a lot more ahead of us."
As they left the supermarket, Damien couldn't help but steal a glance at her. The memory of her fighting burned in his mind, a reminder of just how out of his league she was. But he also felt a spark of determination. If he was going to survive in this new world, he needed to get stronger—and fast.
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