The sound of helicopter blades echoed across the mountains.
Three Black Shield helicopters descended into the valley.
Wind kicked up ash from the destroyed laboratory.
The smoke from Facility Two still rose into the morning sky.
Breddy looked at it one last time.
"...Goodbye, Mason."
---
The survivors boarded the helicopters.
The rescued Walmart associates sat quietly, still trying to process everything they had been through.
Some stared out the windows.
Others simply closed their eyes.
For the first time in years...
They were finally leaving Black Eden behind.
---
Inside the lead helicopter...
Raven wrapped fresh bandages around Breddy's ribs.
"You should've let the medic do this."
Breddy smiled.
"I trust you more."
She rolled her eyes.
"You're impossible."
"That's why you like me."
She couldn't help but laugh.
"Don't get cocky."
"I'll leave you behind."
"You'd miss me."
"...Maybe."
They both smiled.
For a brief moment...
Things almost felt normal.
---
Across from them...
Ethan sat silently.
His eyes never left the mountain disappearing beneath the clouds.
Breddy noticed.
"You okay?"
Ethan took a deep breath.
"I spent years down there."
"I watched people disappear."
"I watched friends become experiments."
"I still hear them."
Silence filled the helicopter.
Even Colonel Graves lowered his head.
"I'm sorry."
Breddy said quietly.
Ethan nodded.
"So am I."
---
Hours later...
The helicopters landed at a massive military base hidden deep inside the mountains.
Concrete walls surrounded the compound.
Heavy machine gun towers overlooked every entrance.
Black Shield soldiers saluted Colonel Graves as the survivors stepped off the aircraft.
The rescued Walmart associates looked around in amazement.
"It's... safe."
One former Team Lead whispered.
"For now."
Graves answered.
---
The survivors were escorted into a medical building.
Doctors immediately began treating injuries.
Breddy's face was stitched where Titan's punch had reopened his scar.
His ribs were wrapped tightly.
Raven refused to leave his side.
One doctor smiled.
"You two married?"
Both of them answered at the same time.
"No!"
The doctor chuckled.
"Could've fooled me."
Raven's cheeks turned slightly red.
Breddy couldn't stop smiling.
---
Meanwhile...
Tyler quietly wandered through the base.
He eventually found a small memorial garden built for fallen Black Shield soldiers.
He looked at the rows of engraved names.
Then placed Mason's empty coffee mug beneath a young oak tree.
"You weren't a soldier..."
He whispered.
"But you earned a place here."
Tyler saluted.
Then quietly walked away.
---
Later that evening...
Colonel Graves gathered everyone inside the command center.
A giant digital map covered the wall.
Red dots flashed across the country.
Zombie outbreaks.
Black Eden facilities.
Military safe zones.
Graves pointed toward one blinking location far to the north.
"This..."
"...is Black Eden Headquarters."
The room fell silent.
"It was built long before the outbreak."
"It has remained hidden ever since."
Ethan stared at the map.
His expression immediately changed.
"...He's really there."
Graves nodded.
"Dr. Victor Kane wants us to come."
Raven frowned.
"Sounds like a trap."
"It is."
Graves answered.
"But it may also be our only chance."
---
Breddy stepped closer to the map.
"So..."
"What's the plan?"
Graves pressed a button.
A thick steel door slowly opened behind him.
Inside...
Rows of brand-new weapons lined the walls.
Advanced combat armor.
Prototype rifles.
Heavy machine guns.
Military drones.
Rocket launchers.
Enough equipment for an army.
Graves looked directly at Breddy.
"If we're going after Kane..."
"We're not going as survivors."
He smiled for the first time.
"...We're going as hunters."
Breddy looked around the armory.
Then toward Raven.
She smiled back.
"Looks like we're gearing up again."
Breddy nodded.
"This time..."
"We finish it."
Later that night...
The Black Shield base was unusually quiet.
Most of the rescued Walmart associates had fallen asleep for the first time in years without hearing alarms or screams.
Some slept in real beds.
Others refused to leave the lights off.
The memories of Black Eden still haunted them.
---
Breddy walked alone through the military base.
His boots echoed against the concrete floor.
He eventually stopped outside the armory.
Inside...
Rows of weapons lined the walls.
Combat gear.
Heavy armor.
Military helmets.
Everything a soldier could ever need.
He quietly looked down at his own black Walmart AP tactical vest.
It was stitched together in several places.
Scratched.
Covered in dried blood.
The Walmart Spark logo was faded...
But still there.
An older Black Shield armorer noticed him.
"You've been through a lot with that vest."
Breddy smiled.
"...Yeah."
"I have."
The armorer picked up a brand-new military vest.
"You can have this."
Breddy looked at it for a moment.
Then slowly shook his head.
"No thanks."
The armorer looked surprised.
"Why?"
Breddy rested a hand on his own vest.
"This one reminds me who I am."
"It reminds me where I started."
The armorer smiled.
"I respect that."
Instead of replacing it...
He reinforced it.
Fresh armor plates.
New shoulder pads.
Stronger stitching.
Extra magazine pouches.
A reinforced radio mount.
When he handed it back...
It was still unmistakably Breddy's Walmart vest.
Just stronger.
Breddy grinned.
"...Perfect."
---
Outside the armory...
Raven was waiting for him.
She looked at the upgraded vest.
"I like it."
Breddy smirked.
"I knew you would."
She gently brushed some dust from his shoulder.
"It suits you."
He smiled.
"So..."
"You really like the Walmart look?"
She laughed.
"I like the guy wearing it."
Breddy froze for a second.
"...You know..."
"You make it really hard to come up with clever replies."
She leaned closer.
"Good."
---
The two walked together across the base.
Passing Black Shield soldiers.
Passing helicopters being refueled.
Passing mechanics repairing armored vehicles.
For the first time...
Breddy noticed something.
People weren't just surviving here.
They were rebuilding.
One soldier planted a small tree near the barracks.
Another painted over old warning signs.
Someone had even started a tiny vegetable garden.
Breddy smiled.
"Maybe..."
"We actually have a future."
Raven looked at him.
"As long as people keep fighting for one."
---
Meanwhile...
Deep beneath Black Shield Headquarters...
Colonel Graves stepped into a heavily secured room.
The steel door sealed behind him.
A single computer terminal waited in the center.
He inserted the data drive recovered from Black Eden.
The screen lit up.
PROJECT BLACK EDEN
FILES DECRYPTED
A hidden folder appeared.
DIRECTOR ACCESS ONLY
Graves slowly opened it.
His eyes widened.
"...No..."
Inside was a personnel file.
A photograph.
He recognized the face immediately.
He whispered,
"That's impossible..."
Before the screen could display more...
The monitor suddenly went black.
White letters appeared.
«ACCESS DENIED»
Then another message.
«DR. VICTOR KANE IS WATCHING.»
Graves quickly disconnected the computer.
For the first time in years...
The Colonel looked afraid.
---
Back above ground...
Breddy stood outside the barracks looking up at the night sky.
He reached inside his vest.
His fingers touched two name badges.
His own.
And Mason's.
He closed his eyes.
"We're still moving forward..."
"...and I'll carry you with me."
The cool night breeze drifted through the base.
Tomorrow...
A new mission would begin.
But tonight...
The survivors finally had a chance to breathe.
The next morning...
The loudspeaker echoed throughout Black Shield Headquarters.
"All Strike Team members report to Briefing Room Alpha."
The base immediately came alive.
Soldiers hurried through the hallways.
Mechanics rolled armored vehicles into the maintenance bay.
Helicopters were loaded with fuel and ammunition.
Everyone knew something big was coming.
---
Breddy entered the briefing room with Raven, Tyler, and Ethan.
Nearly fifty Black Shield soldiers were already seated.
A massive holographic map floated in the center of the room.
Colonel Graves stood beside it.
"So..."
He began.
"Let's talk about what we're walking into."
The hologram changed.
A massive underground complex appeared.
Several buildings surrounded a mountain.
Tall concrete walls stretched for miles.
Watchtowers.
Missile batteries.
Research labs.
Barracks.
Power stations.
It looked less like a laboratory...
And more like an entire city.
"This..."
Graves said quietly.
"...is Black Eden Headquarters."
A low murmur spread through the room.
---
Ethan stared at the hologram.
"I've never seen this before."
Graves nodded.
"Almost no one has."
"It was built before the outbreak."
"When the world fell..."
"They sealed themselves inside."
"They've been expanding ever since."
Raven crossed her arms.
"So while everyone else was dying..."
"They kept building."
Graves nodded.
"Exactly."
---
The hologram zoomed in.
Several red dots began moving.
"These are patrol routes."
Another layer appeared.
Blue lines.
"Underground tunnels."
Then another.
Yellow symbols.
"Power generators."
Finally...
A flashing red circle.
"This..."
Graves said.
"...is Dr. Victor Kane's laboratory."
The room fell silent.
---
Tyler leaned forward.
"So we go in..."
"Kick his ass..."
"And get the cure."
Graves smiled slightly.
"I wish it were that simple."
He pressed another button.
The lights dimmed.
A security recording appeared.
A squad of heavily armed soldiers entered one of Black Eden's hallways.
Thirty men.
Fully equipped.
Suddenly...
The lights went out.
Screams echoed.
Gunfire erupted.
The camera shook violently.
One by one...
The soldiers disappeared into the darkness.
Then...
A massive claw reached toward the camera.
The recording ended.
No one spoke.
"What..."
Tyler whispered.
"...was that?"
Graves looked at Ethan.
Ethan's face had gone pale.
"I know that creature."
Everyone turned toward him.
"It isn't a zombie."
"It isn't human anymore either."
He swallowed hard.
"They called it..."
"...Cerberus."
The room became deathly quiet.
---
Ethan continued.
"It was one of Kane's first successful combat experiments."
"It hunts using sound..."
"It learns..."
"And it enjoys killing."
He looked directly at Breddy.
"If Titan was the strongest..."
"Cerberus is the smartest."
A chill spread through the room.
Even veteran Black Shield soldiers looked uneasy.
---
Breddy stood up.
He looked around the room.
At the frightened associates.
At the exhausted soldiers.
At Raven.
At Tyler.
Then at Colonel Graves.
He spoke calmly.
"We've lost good people."
"We've buried friends."
"We've watched the world fall apart."
He rested a hand on Mason's badge inside his vest.
"But every time Black Eden knocks us down..."
"We get back up."
His voice grew stronger.
"We're not walking into that place because we're fearless."
"We're walking in because if we don't..."
"...no one else will."
The room erupted into determined applause.
Even Graves smiled.
"That's exactly why I chose you to lead this mission."
Breddy blinked.
"...Lead?"
Graves nodded.
"As of today..."
"You are commander of Strike Team Alpha."
The room fell silent once again.
Tyler grinned from ear to ear.
Raven smiled proudly.
Ethan nodded in approval.
Breddy took a slow breath.
Then accepted the responsibility.
"Then let's end Black Eden."
Outside the briefing room, thunder rolled across the mountains.
Far away...
Hidden beneath miles of concrete and steel...
Dr. Victor Kane watched through a security monitor.
A cold smile spread across his face.
"They're coming..."
He turned toward a row of enormous reinforced containment doors.
One of them shook from the inside.
A deep, monstrous growl echoed through the laboratory.
Kane smiled wider.
"Excellent..."
"Prepare the next experiment."