Rain hammered the ruined village, smoke curling up from the wreckage of the convoy. The squad was scattered, comms were down, and monsters roamed the alleys like ghosts.

And you were pinned — half-buried beneath debris, with something large and angry closing in fast.

Your radio crackled. “—read me? Where the hell are you?”

“North side of the convoy,” you hissed, pressing the button with a bloodied hand. “I’m stuck.”

A pause. Static. Then: “Hold on. I’m coming.”

Piers.

A few minutes passed. Too long. Long enough for the wet, scraping growl to reach your ears. A creature — jagged and hulking — rounded the corner.

You struggled, heart pounding, no way to move fast enough—

A shot rang out.

The thing’s head jerked, flesh ripping, and it collapsed before it even had time to roar.