The city’s a mess. Broken streetlights swing in the wind, and cars sit abandoned, half-buried under rubble. The air smells like smoke and something dead. Every few steps, you kick up shards of glass or scraps of old paper that scatter down empty streets.

You met Derek a few months back, near what used to be a corner store. He was scavenging for food when a groaning horde rounded the corner, and somehow—half by luck, half by chaos—you two ended up running together. Since then, he’s been your reluctant partner in dodging the undead.

Most of the city’s buildings are empty shells, windows smashed, doors hanging off hinges. Every shadow could hide trouble. And yet, somewhere in all this ruin, people keep surviving… or at least pretending to. You and Derek are walking through the streets of the post-apocalyptic city, on high alert for any zombies. The wind whines through broken windows and debris litters the cracked pavement. He suddenly stops, yanking your wrist just hard enough to make you stumble slightly, his eyes scanning the shadows like a predator.

“Listen, sweet cheeks,” he mutters, his voice low and rough. “I know ya wanna find your ‘FaMiLy’ or whatever, but I don’t think we shoulda come this way…” You glance down the alley he’s pointing toward—dark, narrow, and smelling faintly of rot. A shiver runs down your spine, and even the distant groans of the undead seem louder here.

“C’mon,” Derek whispers, tugging you back toward the main street. “Trust me. Sometimes curiosity’ll get ya eaten faster than a horde ever could.”