Apocalypse: King of Zombies

The official shelter was in chaos these days—everyone was on edge, jumpy at the slightest sound.

Sean, for his part, had just eaten the last apple he'd been saving.

"There's monsters in the shelter… What if one of them steals my apple?" he muttered to himself, justifying his decision.

Earlier, he'd taken down a bunch of lizard-like creatures in the storage area and hauled back a good amount of supplies. It was a solid win, and he'd be getting a nice reward for it. Feeling pretty pleased with himself, he swaggered out the door.

The shelter was packed with people, all of them tense and uneasy. A mass inspection was underway, but with tens of thousands of people in the shelter—and nearly a thousand Awakeners among them—there were only a handful of scanning devices to go around. It was impossible to check everyone quickly.

On top of that, the scientists operating the machines were in short supply, and the process drained a ton of energy. It was a massive undertaking, and there was no way they'd finish in just a few days.

In the shelter, everything was distributed based on contribution. The more you did, the more resources you got.

Sean strolled into a large building made of military-green canvas. The place was bustling, full of noise and activity.

Small groups of people were gathered here and there, loudly recounting their mission exploits with exaggerated gestures and spit flying everywhere.

A few people noticed Sean and waved at him enthusiastically.

Sean didn't recognize most of them, but he nodded and waved back anyway.

After a bit of wandering, he stopped in front of a room. This was where you registered to claim your rewards.

Sean wasn't one for knocking. He pushed the door open and walked right in.

The first thing he saw was a desk with a few wooden chairs around it. An open ledger sat on the desk, and a pen had rolled off to the side. But the person who was supposed to be there? Nowhere to be seen.

"Huh? Where's Big Sis?" Sean scratched his head, his sharp eyes scanning the room.

The "Big Sis" he was referring to was Megan Rivers, a woman in her thirties. Her husband had died when the apocalypse hit, leaving her a widow. After being rescued and brought to the shelter, she'd been assigned to handle record-keeping here.

Sean walked further into the room. There was a smaller inner room beyond, and before he'd taken more than a few steps, he heard a strange noise coming from inside.

It sounded like… smacking lips? Like someone was eating something.

"Stealing snacks, huh?" Sean thought, his mind working overtime. After careful analysis, he came to a conclusion: Megan was definitely sneaking some food.

Curious, he quickened his pace. If she was eating something good, she should've shared it with him! But just as he reached the door to the inner room, the sound stopped.

Sean frowned, puzzled. He was about to push the door open when it suddenly swung open on its own with a loud thwack.

Standing in the doorway was a woman. She had a stunning figure, all curves in the right places. Even in the apocalypse, her skin was fair, her face beautiful, and she carried herself with the kind of mature charm that turned heads.

"Sean, here to register?" Megan asked with a small smile. She was clearly familiar with him.

But Sean wasn't paying attention to her words. His eyes were locked on her. "What were you eating in there? Come on, let me see!"

"Eating? I wasn't eating anything," Megan replied casually, stepping aside to let him look into the room.

Sean quickly peeked inside. There was a bed, a table and chairs, and some women's clothes hanging up. Other than that… nothing.

"Wait, that's weird…" Sean muttered, his eyes narrowing. He could've sworn he'd heard something.

He sniffed the air.

There was a faint, fishy smell lingering.

"Something's off… really off…" Sean murmured, rubbing his chin as he tried to piece it together.

Before he could think too much about it, a group of people walked in from outside. It was Chris, Brandon, and their crew. They'd just returned from a supply run and had done pretty well for themselves.

Chris was holding a rose—something he'd picked on the way back from the outskirts. Grinning from ear to ear, he walked straight up to Megan.

"Hey, Megan, this is for you," he said, handing her the flower.

"Oh, thank you…" Megan nodded as she accepted it. "You're here to register for supplies too, right? I'll get you sorted."

"No rush, no rush! You can help them first," Chris said quickly, waving it off.

He'd been eyeing Megan for a while now and was clearly using this as an excuse to hang around longer.

Brandon and the others played along. "Haha, Uncle Chris, guess we'll take you up on that!"

"Yeah, yeah, go ahead," Chris said, nodding eagerly. Then he glanced over and noticed Sean still standing there, staring intently into Megan's room like he was trying to solve a mystery.

"Hey! Sean! What are you doing, peeking into Megan's room like that? That's so rude! Come on, sit down!" Chris quickly pulled Sean aside and plopped him into a chair.

Then he turned his attention back to Megan, who was busy with the ledger. His face lit up with a goofy grin, his excitement and… other feelings… practically written all over it.

"Hehehehe…"

Meanwhile, Sean sat there, fingers pinching his chin, still deep in thought.

Something wasn't right.

Something really wasn't right. But what?

Before long, Brandon was the first to finish registering. He received a small slip of paper—a voucher he could use to claim his supplies.

But instead of heading off, he pulled up a chair and sat down next to Chris. Noticing the barely-contained eagerness on Chris's face, Brandon couldn't help but tease him.

"Uncle Chris, you've got a thing for Megan, huh?"

"Yup," Chris admitted without hesitation, nodding confidently.

Brandon chuckled. "Well, I mean, Megan is gorgeous, and she's got a great personality too. But, you know… she was married before."

"And that's a bonus, isn't it?" Chris shot back, completely unfazed.

"…" Brandon was momentarily speechless. He wiped at his forehead, half-impressed and half-embarrassed for the guy. Lowering his voice, he leaned in closer. "Alright, so you've been giving her flowers all the time. How's that working out for you? Made any progress?"

Chris grinned, his confidence practically radiating off him. "Oh, it's happening. Any day now, I'm gonna seal the deal!"

While the two of them were chatting, Sean's frown deepened. His sharp eyes stayed glued to Megan, watching her every move like a hawk.

Sean wasn't just some random guy in the shelter. He was strong, had spent a lot of time hanging out with Mia, and had even been mentored by Ethan. Thanks to all that, he'd racked up plenty of achievements and was a regular here at the registration office. He and Megan were on pretty familiar terms.

But today, something felt… off.

At first glance, Megan seemed like her usual self. But the more Sean watched, the more he noticed tiny differences in her movements—subtle, almost imperceptible. It was like someone was trying to mimic her but hadn't quite nailed it.

No, it wasn't just "off." It was wrong.

This wasn't Megan. This was a disguise.

And then there was the fishy smell in the air. And that weird smacking noise he'd heard earlier.

Sean's mind raced, connecting the dots. There was only one explanation.

"She's been taken over by a monster!" Sean suddenly blurted out, his voice cutting through the room like a knife. He felt a surge of pride at his deduction, convinced he was a genius for figuring it out.

Chris and Brandon froze mid-conversation, staring at him. "What did you just say, Sean?" Brandon asked, his tone cautious.

"I said Megan's been taken over by a monster!" Sean repeated, louder this time, emphasizing every word.

The room fell silent. Dead silent.

Everyone turned to look at Sean, then at Megan. Instinctively, they all took a step back, putting some distance between themselves and her.

Monsters like that—parasites, shapeshifters, whatever they were—were the stuff of nightmares. Just the thought of one being in the shelter was enough to make people's skin crawl.

Megan's wide, bright eyes darted toward Sean. She looked utterly stunned, her expression quickly shifting to one of hurt and confusion.

"I've never even left the shelter," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "I've been here the whole time. How could I possibly be taken over by a monster?"

"Exactly!" Chris jumped in, nodding vigorously. "Sean, you've been working too hard, man. You're starting to lose it. What are you even talking about?"
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"I'm not losing it!" Sean shot back, his tone firm. "Don't forget—my eyes are basically scanners!"

"…" Chris stared at him, utterly speechless.

...