Before the Cambrian period, life on earth was simple. There weren’t many predators, and even those who were only cared about devouring others.
It wasn’t until the first vertebrates appeared in the Devonian period that the idea of a territory developed amongst the complex life forms. Suddenly, there were a few prey, but plentiful predators.
Back then, food was scarce, which led to frequent fights to feed on the weak. However, even the strong had a weakness. Their weak offspring.
Suddenly, the creatures not only had to fend off attackers to feed, but they also had to protect their little ones. That’s when the first emergence of territorial rivalry emerged.
Since then, it has held true for every complex being. Even in a ruined world.
The undead, too, had begun forming territories as they evolved.
They began forming places to feed, places to protect.
Unfortunately, Blaze was unaware of the evolution speed of the undead. He assumed he was the only one capable of evolving at an incredible pace. A truly childish notion.
He should have known better, especially after his encounter with the Collective.
If they could give him a quest to evolve, they could influence the dumb undead to evolve as well.
However, he found it out the hard way... after stumbling into a newly evolved creature’s feeding ground.
I should have known better...
Blaze blamed his overconfidence for the disaster. The signs were all over the place. First all the blood, but not a single corpse in sight, like someone had eaten them all.
Then there were the frequent scraping sounds, which he now knew were made by the evolved zombie before him.
To make things worse, Blaze had entered the undead’s territory without permission, but he was also hunting in it. All that noise and smell of rotten blood had attracted the evolved zombie to him.
Well, there’s no point mopping about spilled milk.
Blaze gripped the bat tightly, waiting for the creature to make the first move. He had seen walkers fight, so he could take them head-on. But this was an unknown creature. So, Blaze wasn’t willing to take any risk.
As if on cue, the undead coiled its legs back before shooting towards Blaze. The creature was quite agile, bouncing off the narrow corridor walls, trying to confuse its prey.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t fooling anyone. Instead of focusing on the creature, Blaze was staring at its limbs. The undead was bouncing through the corridor, but not once did it make the scraping noise Blaze heard before.
Unlike before, the zombie had its fingers curled up like it was hiding something.
The moment Blaze noticed the creature pop out claws, he swung the bat with all his strength. The zombie couldn’t change its direction mid-air and the metal bat slammed to the side of its head.
The zombie was flung sideways, broke through the walls, and kept rolling further.
A half-assed swing was enough to turn a walker’s head to mush. Blaze wondered what would happen if he didn’t hold back.
He got his answer now.
The moonlight’s buff was benefiting him more than the other zombie. Perhaps because the latter depended on agility and momentum, while the Blaze was once the captain of the college’s baseball team, only to quit since he got bored of it.
In other words, Blaze wasn’t a stranger to dealing with momentum. The larger it was, the easier it would be to thwart it.
That guy is still alive?
Blaze was shocked when a hand burst out of the rubble. Fester, who had eagerly rushed towards the zombie before, now rushed back, hiding in Blaze’s pants.
As for the creature, it had taken a great hit.
Its skull was utterly deformed, and an eye was missing from its socket. Yet the evolved zombie was standing before him.
The zombie tilted its head, its eyes burning with rage.
The predator had met its challenger.
The evolved zombie let out a loud screech as if trying to intimidate Blaze into submission. It was a natural tactic of the animals, and also a way to scare weaker beings into fleeing.
The zombie expected Blaze to yell back to accept its challenge or to flee. Instead, he pointed the bat at the creature, calling it out in his own way.
The zombie pounced towards him like before. Blaze swung the bat once again as soon as the creature popped its claws. However, the bat hit nothing but air.
He looked above him. The zombie was dangling from the ceiling, its claws buried deep within. It had cleverly used the ceiling to slow its momentum, avoiding the hit by just an inch.
Blaze tried to create some distance, but the zombie was quicker and kicked him away.
He tried blocking the attack with the bat, but the force was too much for him to handle. This time, Blaze was sent away flying into the wall. The shape of his body was imprinted on it as he slumped to the floor.
The cracking sound of his broken bones echoed in the otherwise silent hall. Once again, his right arm was crushed, along with his ribcage and a few vertebrae.
I can’t feel pain, but I can’t move !
Multiple injuries meant it would take a while for him to regenerate. Time that he didn’t have.
The zombie, unwilling to let its opponent rest, clawed its way through the ceiling, standing over Blaze. The thing was clearly mocking him. And then the zombie let go.
It came down headfirst, aiming to bury its claws in Blaze’s chest.
Blaze raised his hands to shield himself, or so it seemed.
Just when the zombie got closer, he thrust his hands upwards. The zombie saw something protruding out of his hands, but it was too late to dodge. Fester’s tail pierced through the zombie’s head like a javelin.
The zombie’s rotten blood was smeared all over Blaze as its heavy body fell on top of him, breaking more bones.
As he groaned, Fester appeared out of the zombie’s head, carrying an emerald sphere in its mouth.