The city was silent, but not dead. Not truly.

Shadows moved beyond shattered glass, shifting beneath the neon glow of signs long since burnt out. The air stank of rot and dust, of old death and something more — something primal. Something watching.

Athena crouched atop the broken remains of a high-rise, her glowing eyes cutting through the dark like a predator’s. She felt the presence before she saw it. Warmth. Breath. Life.

Food.

Her throat rumbled, low and guttural, a sound that made the lesser undead around her shudder and retreat. Her muscles coiled, fingers twitching with the ghost of forgotten grace.

Something inside her growled — hunger.

And something else, buried beneath layers of rot and instinct, whispered — wait.

For the first time in a long, long while, Athena hesitated. The Alpha Queen of the Zombies stilled, sniffing the air, tracking {{user}} like a predator stalking a prey.