Her voice had a sharp tone, though it carried a touch of humor beneath the edge. After a moment of silence, she took a deep breath, visibly calming herself. Panicking wouldn't help anyone now—they needed clear heads to figure out a way out of this mess.
"You, Adam! Elon! Hans!" She pointed at three men in the crowd. "You've been staring at me all day; it's time to put those eyes to work! Go get the buses ready!"
The men exchanged embarrassed glances before quickly moving to follow her orders, their cheeks flushed. Erza turned to an elderly man in his seventies and softened her tone. "Grandpa Jack, when the buses get here, make sure everyone boards safely, okay?"
Then, just as quickly, her playful energy returned. She spun around to face Mark, a young man who had recently accompanied her into town. "And you! I thought you were some innocent little angel, but I saw you eyeing Elly earlier—"
"Erza, come on!" Mark stammered, his face beet-red. "I'll do whatever you want, just… don't bring that up!"
He cast a nervous glance at a girl his age in the crowd. Seeing her puzzled expression, he exhaled in relief. "Alright, fine! I'll clear the road!" Mark jumped onto the bulldozer with a middle-aged man, ready to get started.
Erza didn't miss a beat. "Henry!" she called out. "Take the mixer truck and cover the rear! And Samuel—" She rattled off more instructions, her words snapping the anxious crowd out of their fear. Despite her fiery personality, Erza's leadership gave everyone a sense of stability, helping them muster the courage to move forward.
Soon, the convoy of construction vehicles and buses began to roll out. At the front was a heavily modified bulldozer, its frame reinforced with spikes and a ram at the front, easily shoving abandoned cars out of the way. Behind it came three buses, their windows covered with steel plates, crammed with survivors peering through narrow gaps. At the rear, more construction vehicles followed in a steady line.
"Front row, keep moving! Rear, stay close!" Erza shouted from the passenger seat of a modified dump truck. Two braziers burned in the truck bed, casting a flickering, eerie glow as they advanced.
The convoy crept cautiously through the streets. Suddenly, the sharp pop of a tire bursting broke the tense silence, and one of the buses ground to a halt.
"What's going on?" Erza yelled forward.
"The tire blew!" came the panicked reply.
The bus, weighed down by thick metal plates and packed with passengers, had finally pushed its tires past their limit on the rugged road.
Erza's expression tightened. "Of course," she muttered bitterly. But there wasn't time to dwell on it. The horde was closing in, and changing a tire wasn't an option.
"Forget it! Everyone, move to the garbage truck!" she barked.
Before they could act, the ground started to rumble. It began as a faint vibration, but soon it grew stronger, like a thunderstorm rolling closer. Then came the sound—a screeching wail from behind them.
Erza's blood ran cold. She knew that sound too well. "Night Stalkers!" she shouted. Her warning sent a ripple of terror through the group. Unlike the slow, stumbling zombies they were used to, Night Stalkers were fast, vicious, and relentless. For someone like Zack, they might have been manageable, but for this group, they were a death sentence.
"Get in the truck, now!" Erza shouted, climbing up with practiced ease. Her movements were swift and fluid, her boots hitting the floor as she pulled herself into the cab. The flames in the braziers flared, leaning toward her as if responding to her presence.
At the end of the street, the Night Stalkers came into view—a wave of creatures sprinting with terrifying speed, their movements like a pack of starving wolves.
"Block them!" Erza ordered. The flames in the braziers erupted, twisting into massive fiery serpents that lashed out toward the horde. Others leaned out of vehicles, firing pistols and throwing makeshift grenades. But the sheer number of Night Stalkers was overwhelming. The small weapons barely slowed them down.
An excavator driver swung his machine's bucket with determined precision, smashing through the charging zombies. "Take that, you monsters!" he yelled. For a moment, it seemed like he might hold them off. But soon, the creatures swarmed over the excavator, climbing its arm and dragging the driver from his seat. His screams were cut short as they tore him apart.
The air filled with the desperate cries of people being dragged from vehicles. Erza clenched her jaw, sweat dripping down her face as she focused on keeping the streets blocked with fire. But the horde kept pushing through, their numbers seemingly endless.
"Those in the front, go! Don't wait for us!" she shouted. Her voice carried over the chaos, but some of the Night Stalkers were already slipping past the vehicles.
A sudden scream from Mark up ahead snapped her attention forward. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw it—a grotesque creature standing in front of the convoy. Its elongated, twisted limbs made it look like some nightmarish spider. It was the Hunter, a mutated zombie with horrifying strength and intelligence—the same one Zack had warned them about.
With a guttural growl, the Hunter leapt onto the lead bulldozer. Its claws tore through the barbed wire like paper as it reached inside and pulled Mark out. The boy barely had time to react before the creature slashed him open, his lifeless body crumpling to the ground. A girl in the bus screamed, her voice cracking with terror as she watched helplessly.
The Hunter didn't stop. It yanked the driver from his seat, tearing him apart just as brutally. The bulldozer ground to a halt, bringing the entire convoy to a standstill.
"Groaaarr!" The Hunter turned its glowing eyes toward the nearest bus, where survivors cowered inside. To the creature, it was a tin can full of prey. It began ripping through the steel plates, the screech of tearing metal drowning out the survivors' cries.
But before it could reach inside, a blazing fire dragon slammed into it, the intense heat igniting its flesh instantly. Erza stood on the truck, her red hair wild in the wind, looking like a warrior goddess.
"Die!" she roared, flames swirling around her in a violent storm. The fiery serpents merged into a massive dragon, crashing into the Hunter with relentless fury. The creature howled in pain as the flames consumed it, and Erza didn't let up, pouring every ounce of her power into the attack.