With the world under turmoil, many had sought to escape the country through their vehicles. Where to? No one really had a plan. It was human instinct to seek safety in groups. But as to the result of that large gathering…

A man surveyed a mountain from the bottom with his binoculars. 

“Pretty sure it landed around these coordinates.” He muttered.

“Hey Reeds, it’s started man… just like you said…” A voice snapped him out of his concentration, as “Reeds” took off his sights and turned to his companion.

“Even here, I’m still your platoon commander.”

“So stiff… platoon commander. The world is ending, and you still get angry over that?”

The lackadaisical man who had called him “Reeds”, wore a military uniform like him. A standard-issue rifle was strapped behind his back while Reeds as his superior was only equipped with a handgun. 

“Corporal Rupert, report the situation. …Rupert?”

Rupert’s attention was set towards a long bridge across the sea as he did not take his eyes off his own binoculars. Only a “holy shit…” could be heard from under his breath.

“Oi.”

“Ah, sorry platoon commander. …Well, it’ll be faster if you see it yourself.” He smiled wryly.

“...” Reeds frowned, but as he couldn’t be bothered with correcting him anymore, he picked up his binoculars again.

The scene that he saw caused a sigh to leak from his mouth. The maddening growls of zombies could be heard even from this distance. Gunfire accompanied this unusual cacophony, but it has become sporadic over time.

Bullets were running out. No, the defence line was already starting to break.

“Those idiots…”

If only they’d listened to me and ran away earlier.

Reeds swallowed his silent disappointment and guilt with the words in his mind, as he turned away from the sight and picked up a large backpack leaning on a nearby tree.

“Come on, we’re leaving.”

“...Roger. You know Reeds, if everything calms down after this, won’t we become war criminals for deserting our posts?”

“...If only. …huh.”

“...” The man closed his mouth and looked down with a tired expression. He didn’t laugh at his own joke either. If everything calms down? 

Rupert closes his eyes, and trembles. It was not too long ago, so he’d recalled it. 

Those creatures just wouldn’t fall no matter how many bullets were put in them. They were impossible to kill.

So he ran from them.

His colleagues… the civilians… they became noise-

“…Let’s go.”

That’s right, only the frontlines would realise and despair over the true impossibility of their numbers.

The endless, ever-growing swarm of zombies. Humanity will never recover from this pandemic. And this night of gunfire and blood had decisively marked the beginning of the end. 

… …

…

 

“You know… are you sure this is the right way?” A man groaned behind him.

“We’ve only been hiking for 20 minutes, don’t be a baby, corporal.”

“But we’ve not seen anything worth our time up here… honestly, we could be scavenging and make better use of our time.”

“Rupert. I’m telling you to shut up, we’re getting close.”

“...Sigh. Equipment is heavy…”

The two trudged uphill for some time, and soon the road went downslope. They could slowly make out the sight of the urban roads. There, Reeds suddenly stopped walking. 

There was a faint layer of fog cast on the ground. Reeds nodded at this. He put up a hand sign, and exchanged eye contact with the other man behind him.

It’s up ahead. They conveyed to each other.

Proceed with caution.

Rupert was an expert at shirking his job when he wasn’t needed, but at the same, he could also tell the seriousness in situations when it mattered, such as now. His superior’s face was filled with a level of tension and unease, and that mood grew on him as well. Both men’s firearms were held up, ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

Rupert nodded in acknowledgement, and slowed down his movement. Only relying on the scope of his rifle, the man edged closer and closer to the designated point.

The mist became thicker.

And then, he was the first to see it.

“...What is… that.” He mutters unconsciously. 

In the middle of the road, something seems to have crashed hard into the ground. Cracks and debris stretched out from the impact point. The object in the middle stood about 8 feet while lodged into the ground.

The two men dropped their guard slightly, and walked closer to what seemed to be a metallic white cryogenic pod. The smog seems to be leaking from the capsule.

The word “alien” crossed the minds of the two for a brief moment, but it was left unspoken. Their rifles raised slightly again and they drew even closer to see what was inside of it.

The glass was tinted purple, but it seemed to be transparent. They could make out the shadowy figure of the organism inside.

“Doesn’t that look like… a human?”

“Space zombies? …Looks like your intuition dug up something interesting again, platoon commander.”

“...It just happened to fall close by. Anyone could come to that conclu… …sion.”

Grip. The handgun was held even firmer now.

“We’ve got company.”

“...I know.”

Rustling sounds of the forest could be heard close by. 

That’s right, surely he wasn’t the only one thinking of something similar.

10 flashes of light crashed down from the dark sky just a while ago, piercing through the night clouds. It looked like divine intervention, or even some kind of interterrestrial message. 

Regardless, the lights had become something like a flare in the sky. It had drawn out more than just people who had come out of morbid curiosity.

No, they had also attracted the struggling survivors.

Sure enough, a group of teenagers appeared from another side of the road. They saw the pod and had similar reactions. Soon, they too noticed the two soldiers standing guarded on the other side of the cryogenic pod.

Before the two could begin a conversation, a third party entered the fray. Then a fourth… a fifth…

Two armed soldiers.

Five delinquent-looking teenagers.

Three middle-aged adults in ragged, office wear.

And a girl who had headphones and a hooded jacket on.

As one man slept, the rest of the world began to move.

And from within the pod…

[You have been summoned.]

An artificial voice rang out, waking the senses of the person within.

Her dull blue eyes slowly opened.

[4-Star Electra, Lunallu, awaits collection at the extraction point.]