The Outpost had fallen. Our only path to survival hinged on one thing: a decoy team to draw the horde away. My girlfriend, Sarah, and I each led a squad. The Governor settled the matter of which of our teams would live and which would die with a kill competition. The winner evacuates. The loser dies. In my past life, I didn’t hesitate. I chose to lose, ready to sacrifice myself, my sister, and my entire squad to give Sarah a future. But when the horde pinned us down, when I screamed for her covering fire, support isn’t what we got. What we got was the heavy machine gun she personally swiveled in our direction, firing from behind. Through the muzzle flashes, I watched my sister and every soldier who trusted me get torn to shreds by our own side. All the while, Sarah fell into the arms of the Governor’s son, Liam, a triumphant smile on her face. She walked over our corpses to be crowned a hero. I was ripped apart and turned. A shred of my consciousness remained as I wandered the wasteland, until they finally put a bullet in my head. I opened my eyes. I was back. Reborn on the morning the competition was set to begin. Just as I expected, Sarah was already there, putting on a show, trying to convince me to die for her. But this time, I still agreed without a moment’s hesitation. "Alright." 1 "He's finally dead. Now no one can challenge me for the captaincy." "Sarah, you poor thing, having to put up with him for so long." "But it's over now. We can finally be together." The voices of Sarah and Liam echoed in my mind. My eyes snapped open. The cold touch of the metal wall brought me back. I was reborn. Images from my past life exploded in my head. I saw my sister, Mia, leading my squad, charging toward the horde to save me. They were fighting their way back, screaming my name. "Cole!" "Captain! We're coming for you!" Then, Liam gave the order to fire. The heavy machine gun roared. Their bodies disintegrated in a storm of lead and fire. Later, after the horde had torn me apart and I'd become one of them, my last flicker of consciousness saw the woman who once promised to have my children, passionately kissing Liam amidst a celebrating crowd. "...Captains, please come to the platform." The Governor's icy voice dragged me from my memories. From his perch on the high wall, he motioned for Sarah and me to stand beside him, then addressed everyone in the Outpost. "As you all know, Captain Cole and Captain Sarah are the leaders of our two finest scavenger teams." "They have made immense contributions to our survival, and we all owe them a debt of gratitude." "But now, the Outpost faces a crisis like never before. A mega-horde is coming. We must evacuate." "For the majority to survive, one team must make the ultimate sacrifice. They must become the bait." He paused, his gaze sweeping over us, finally landing on me. "The rules are simple. Starting now, you have twenty-four hours. The two captains will lead their teams out to kill the infected. After one day, we will tally the numbers. The highest count wins." "The winner will receive priority evacuation and ample supplies. The loser… will serve the Outpost one last time." A dead silence fell over the crowd. Serve the Outpost. A pretty way of saying 'go get eaten.' In my last life, I loved Sarah more than myself. I handed her the chance to live. I deliberately led my team away from dense zombie zones, even passed up easy kills just so she could win. And what did I get for it? As the meeting dismissed, Sarah immediately cut me off. Her face was pale, but her eyes held the steady calm she always projected as a captain. "Cole, we need to talk." I turned, watching her performance with a quiet, cold detachment. "This rule isn't fair, and you know it," she said, looking me straight in the eye. "Your skill, your team… you're light-years ahead of me. This isn't a competition; it's a death sentence for me and my squad." She took a deep breath, her tone softening, becoming a plea. "I'm not afraid to die. I just don't think it should be like this. We've both sacrificed so much for this place. Just because I'm not as strong as you, I have to lead my people to their deaths?" When I didn't respond, she bit her lip, her voice dropping to a desperate whisper, as if it took all her strength. "And... I'm pregnant." Pregnant? I almost laughed. I could still vividly remember the early days of the outbreak. We were hiding in an abandoned supermarket, and she was curled in my arms, whispering that one day she’d give me enough kids to field a basketball team. Thinking back on that moment of happiness now felt like the cruelest joke in the world. Liam stepped forward, his face a mask of solemn agreement. "Captain, we all know you're the best. For the Outpost, for the future of a new life… only you can carry out this noble task." I watched their little duet, my heart frozen solid. Behind me, the eyes of my squad were just as cold. Mia stepped forward. "Sarah, you can't be so selfish! My brother has given everything for this place! Why should he be the one to die?" Sarah flinched, her eyes instantly welling up with tears, as if she'd been deeply wounded. I raised a hand to stop Mia. My gaze fell on Sarah’s deceitful face, and a slow smile spread across my own. As they stared at me in stunned silence, I gave a small nod. "Alright." I looked at her, then at Mia and my team behind me. I added, enunciating every word, "This time, we go." "And we don't need a single bullet of support." 2 My words hung in the air. Mia and my squad stared at me, dumbfounded. Sarah and Liam exchanged a look, their relief and joy almost impossible to hide. "Cole, you..." Sarah started, pretending she wanted to protest, but I cut her off with a raised hand. "There's nothing more to say." I turned to my squad and gave the order. "Gear up. We're moving out." "Sir!" Though their minds were reeling with questions, not one of my soldiers voiced an objection. They immediately turned to prep their equipment. These were the soldiers I had trained. Mia came to my side, tugging on my sleeve. "Cole," she whispered, "I trust you." I ruffled her hair but said nothing. At the Outpost gate, the contrast between our two teams was stark. Sarah's squad was in high spirits, their members laughing and joking as if they were headed for a picnic, not a suicide mission. Liam had even diverted a shipment of brand-new weapons and ammunition to them. My team, on the other hand, silently checked their worn gear, their faces grim. On the electronic screen above the gate, two large zeros were displayed side-by-side, our starting kill counts. "Move out!" At the Governor’s command, our teams charged out of the Outpost in opposite directions. Less than a mile out, we ran into a small pack of roamers, maybe a dozen of them. "Captain?" my second-in-command, Marcus, looked to me for orders. Normally, we'd have wiped them out in under thirty seconds. Instead, I held up a hand and gave my first command. "Hold your position and fire. Do not advance." Marcus stared at me. Firing from a distance meant lower accuracy and a massive waste of ammo. It was the least efficient way to fight. "Captain, that's a waste of bullets!" he couldn't help but point out. "Follow the order," my voice was flat, emotionless. Marcus gritted his teeth, but finally bellowed, "Open fire!" Gunfire erupted. Bullets sprayed wildly, and it took a full two minutes to put down just over a dozen infected. At the same time, Sarah’s triumphant voice crackled over the public comms channel. "Command, this is Sarah! My team has engaged a horde in the east sector, over fifty hostiles! Estimated time to neutralization, three minutes!" Her voice dripped with self-satisfaction. Soon, on the screen back at the Outpost, the number next to her team's name began to climb rapidly, jumping from 0 to 53. Ours was a pathetic 12. Inside the Outpost, the watching crowd erupted in mockery. "All that hype about the First Squad being the best. When it comes down to it, this is all they've got?" "Yeah, took them forever to kill a handful of walkers. Hell, our gate guards are more efficient!" "I think he's lost his nerve. All those past victories were probably just bullshit!" Bits and pieces of their ridicule filtered through my earpiece. My face remained impassive. "Sweep the area," I ordered. "Collect all shell casings and do a count of ammo expended." Another bizarre command that wasted five precious minutes. Marcus's face grew darker, but he followed my order without question. Mia said nothing, just silently reloaded my magazines for me. For the next few hours, we proceeded at this "turtle's pace." When we encountered small groups, we dispatched them in the most ammo-inefficient way possible. When we spotted a large horde, I ordered a full retreat, circling around them. Our kill count crawled upwards at a humiliatingly slow pace. Sarah's team, meanwhile, was on a rampage. Reports of her victories came in one after another. Liam would periodically get on the public channel, his voice dripping with false concern. "Captain Cole, how are things on your end? Need any support? Captain Sarah is already closing in on three hundred." Every one of his calls was a public shaming. Everyone on the channel could hear it. My soldiers were simmering with rage, their faces flushed, but they remained silent, bound by my orders. The sentiment back at the Outpost turned venomous. "Thank God for Captain Sarah. If we had to rely on him, we'd all be dead!" "I can't believe we ever thought he was a hero. He's a coward!" "Just send him out to die already. Stop wasting our food!" As evening fell, we took shelter in an abandoned building to rest. The score on the screen was a glaring 78 to 412. We were utterly defeated. Marcus couldn't hold it in any longer. He walked up to me. "Captain, I just have one question. Why?" I didn't look at him, just continued to polish my combat knife. "All you need to know is that if you follow me, you will live." Marcus stared at me, his expression a mix of confusion and frustration. Finally, he gave a sharp nod and walked away. I looked up, my eyes fixed on the distant silhouette of the Outpost. The main event was about to begin. 3 The twenty-four hours were up. We returned to the Outpost. On the giant electronic screen, the final score was frozen. 89 to 521. A chasm of a difference that declared our utter failure. As we stepped into the central plaza, Sarah’s team came to meet us, every one of them wearing the proud smirk of a victor. The residents of the Outpost swarmed around them, cheering and hoisting them up as heroes. "Captain Sarah is our savior!" "We're saved!" When they looked at us, their eyes were filled with contempt and relief. The Governor stepped onto the high platform. He cleared his throat, and the plaza fell silent. "The results of the competition are in," he announced. "The winner is the Second Scavenger Team, led by Captain Sarah!" A thunderous applause erupted. The Governor raised a hand for silence, his gaze shifting to us, his expression one of fake sympathy. "As per the rules, Captain Cole and the First Scavenger Team will carry out the final decoy mission for us." "They are brave. They are honorable. Let us give our heroes a proper send-off!" A smattering of applause followed, sounding more like mockery than respect. My soldiers’ fists were clenched so tight their knuckles were white. Mia’s eyes were glistening with tears, but she refused to let them fall. They weren't afraid to die. They were enraged that the honor of the First Squad was being trampled into the dirt. Just then, Liam, with his arm around Sarah, stepped onto the platform and took the microphone. He smiled. "To show our gratitude for Captain Cole's sacrifice, I propose we play a little game to send our heroes off in style. What do you say?" The crowd murmured in confusion. Liam’s smile widened. "Let's place some bets. Let's bet on how long our heroes can last against the horde!" The suggestion was met with a moment of stunned silence, followed by an explosion of morbid excitement. "Now that's interesting! I bet they don't last ten minutes!" a man shouted, pulling out a pack of ration biscuits as his wager. "Ten minutes? You're giving them too much credit!" another man jeered. "I bet five minutes! Not a single one of them makes it out alive! I'll put up a can of beef!" "I bet thirty seconds!" yelled another man, patting his canteen. "My half-canteen of water says they're all dead in thirty!" "Hahaha!" The crowd went insane. They pulled out their most prized possessions—food, water, even ammunition—and eagerly placed their bets at a makeshift table Liam had set up. The scene wasn't a somber farewell for a team marching to their death. It was a carnival, a festival celebrating our demise. Sarah leaned against Liam, a victor’s smile playing on her lips as she watched it all unfold. She even took the microphone, her voice sweet. "To thank everyone for participating, Liam and I have decided to offer ten vials of antibiotics as the grand prize for whoever guesses the closest!" The crowd’s frenzy hit its peak. In this world, antibiotics were a second life. I watched it all with cold eyes. These people, whom we had risked our lives to protect, were now gambling on the exact minute of our deaths. This was the home I had fought for. These were the people I had died for. "Cole..." Mia's voice trembled. I turned to my squad. Their eyes held no fear, only the burning rage of betrayal. I took a deep breath. My voice wasn't loud, but it carried to every one of them. "First Squad, fall in." Instantly, every soldier snapped to attention, their posture ramrod straight, as if they were marching to a glorious battle, not their execution. I didn't spare another glance at the couple on the stage, nor at the ugly, leering faces in the crowd. I turned to face the giant blast doors of the Outpost. "Move out." 4 After we left, the party in the Outpost plaza truly began. Liam had all the wagered goods piled on the platform, creating a small mountain of supplies. "Everyone!" he shouted, raising a glass. "A toast! To getting rid of the dead weight, and to the new life ahead of us!" "To Captain Sarah! To Liam!" The crowd roared, eagerly dividing the spoils of their death pool, spoils paid for with our blood and sweat. Sarah melted into Liam's arms, basking in the adoration. She was the queen here. She watched the Outpost's blast doors grind shut, a small, triumphant smile on her face. "Don't blame me, Cole," she whispered to the empty air. "You were just in the way." An hour later, they led the main convoy, a long procession moving toward the designated "safe evacuation point." It was a valley surrounded by mountains on three sides with a single, easily defensible entrance—a sanctuary the Governor had chosen long ago. When the convoy arrived, a collective sigh of relief went through the crowd. They built bonfires, roasted meat, and acted as if the apocalypse was already over. Liam and Sarah stood on a high ridge overlooking the valley, like a king and queen surveying their domain. Suddenly, a massive explosion ripped through the night from the direction we had gone. The blast was so powerful it painted half the sky red. Everyone fell silent for a moment, then erupted into even louder cheers. "They've met the horde!" "It worked! Captain Cole finally made himself useful!" Liam’s grin widened. He pulled Sarah closer. "It's over, Sarah. From now on, I'll protect you." Sarah closed her eyes, content. Just then, the satellite phone in Liam's pocket buzzed with an urgent incoming video call. Annoyed, he answered, assuming it was his father with new instructions. The screen lit up, and a face he never expected to see again appeared. "Liam, my friend. Good evening." Liam's pupils shrank to pinpricks. The color drained from his face. The man on the screen was me. I was perfectly fine. Not a single rip or smudge on my clothes. And behind me, an endless, surging ocean of the dead. "You… you're alive?!" Liam stammered. I looked at his terrified face and my smile grew wider. "Surprised? Oh, this is just the opening act."
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