The road curved gently around a low hill.
Ryan slowed the SUV slightly.
Beyond the rise, the land opened into a wide valley.
Havenbrook.
Even from a distance he recognized it immediately.
The town hadn't changed.
But something about it felt… wrong.
The same water tower stood at the edge of the valley, the faded blue letters spelling HAVENBROOK barely visible from the highway.
Beyond it, rows of houses spread across the rolling terrain, separated by tree-lined streets and small parks.
A quiet town.
Or at least it used to be.
Marcus leaned forward in the pickup behind Daniel's van.
"That it?" he called through the open window.
Ryan nodded.
"That's Havenbrook."
Marcus squinted toward the town.
"Looks… peaceful."
Ryan didn't answer.
Because even from this distance—
he could see the smoke.
Thin gray plumes rose from several places across town.
Not thick enough to be active fires.
But recent.
Very recent.
Too recent.
Alice noticed too.
"Something's wrong."
Ryan slowed the SUV further as the convoy rolled down the hill.
The closer they got—
the clearer it became.
A car had crashed through the front of a small grocery store.
The glass storefront was shattered, the vehicle still half embedded in the building.
Further down the road—
another car sat sideways across the intersection.
Its doors hung open.
Blood stained the pavement beside it.
Marcus muttered quietly.
"…Yeah."
The convoy rolled into the outskirts of town.
The silence was worse here.
No engines.
No voices.
Just the wind drifting through empty streets.
Ryan scanned the road ahead.
A flicker—
Between the cars.
Then he saw movement.
A figure stumbled between two parked cars.
Its body twisted unnaturally.
Dark veins crawled across pale skin.
The creature lifted its head.
Yellow eyes locked onto the vehicles.
Marcus groaned.
"Oh come on."
The Fallen shrieked and sprinted toward the van.
Ryan stepped on the brakes.
"Stop the convoy."
Daniel's van halted immediately.
Marcus jumped out of the pickup.
"Guess we're clearing the welcome committee."
The Fallen reached the van just as Marcus stepped forward.
His fist swung.
Boom.
The creature flew sideways and crashed into a mailbox.
It twitched once.
Then stopped moving.
Marcus shook his hand.
"…Still weird."
Ryan stepped out of the SUV.
"Stay sharp."
He gestured toward the surrounding streets.
"Noise will attract more."
Almost immediately—
another shriek echoed from down the block.
Then another.
Marcus sighed.
"Yeah."
Figures began emerging from between buildings.
From alleyways.
From behind abandoned vehicles.
Five.
Ten.
More.
They kept coming.
Alice stepped beside Ryan.
"That's a lot."
Ryan nodded.
"Small towns didn't have the population density of cities..."
"... but that didn't mean there weren't many Fallen."
Marcus cracked his neck.
"Which means…?"
Ryan lifted the spear.
"Which means most of them turned."
The Fallen charged.
Marcus met the first two head-on.
His punches slammed into their bodies with heavy thuds, sending them staggering back.
But this time he didn't overextend.
Mana compressed tightly around his fists.
Ryan nodded slightly.
Good.
Behind them, Daniel raised his hands.
Metal from a nearby trash can twisted free and shot forward.
Clang.
One of the creatures collapsed instantly.
Robert Kane stepped forward beside his son.
The crowbar swung.
Crack.
Another Fallen dropped.
Sarah pulled Maria and Liam toward the van.
"Stay behind the vehicles!"
Ryan moved.
The spear flashed once.
Thud.
A Fallen collapsed.
Another lunged from the side.
Ryan sidestepped the attack and drove his elbow into its jaw.
Bone snapped.
The creature crumpled.
The fight lasted less than a minute.
When the last Fallen hit the pavement, the street fell silent again.
Marcus wiped sweat from his forehead.
"…Alright."
He looked down the road.
"How many more of those things are running around your town?"
Ryan glanced toward the deeper parts of Havenbrook.
Streets stretched in every direction.
Houses.
Shops.
Side roads.
Plenty of places to hide.
"Enough."
Alice looked around the empty neighborhood.
"So where do the survivors go?"
Ryan pointed toward the center of town.
"The high school."
Marcus frowned.
"Why there?"
"Large building."
Ryan started walking back to the SUV.
"Easy to defend."
Daniel climbed back into the van.
"So that's our destination?"
Ryan nodded.
"Yes."
The engines started again.
The convoy rolled deeper into Havenbrook.
They had barely traveled two blocks when a scream echoed from the next street.
High.
Panicked.
Alice's head snapped toward the sound.
"That was a person."
Ryan turned the wheel.
The SUV swung down the side street.
Three Fallen surrounded a small sedan halfway down the road.
A woman and a young boy were trapped inside.
The creatures clawed at the windows.
The glass was already cracking.
Marcus grinned.
"Well."
He jumped out of the pickup before the vehicles even stopped.
"Guess we're doing this again."
Ryan grabbed his spear.
"Move."
The convoy had reached Havenbrook.
And the real work was just beginning.
But this time—
It wasn't just about surviving.
Author's Note:
New town.
New problems.