Pawn of the Gods

"Hand over your rifles. You can keep the bayonets," Tony said, his authoritative voice cutting through the air.

They shut the alley gate, trapping the Wanderers inside, and moved down the street, alert to any movement.

The silence was broken by static on the radio. A man tried to contact Tony, who, with an impatient glare, asked, "What is it?"

The message failed, transmitting only static, and Tony grumbled in frustration. He tried again: "The message isn't clear. Repeat. Over."

When the response finally came through, his expression hardened into a mask of coldness. He turned to the men and commanded firmly, "Smiley is looking for us. Spread out! We'll attack stealthily. Diaz, take the left. Rodrigo, go right."

With the instructions given, the men split into three groups, disappearing into the alleys and blending into the shadows.

In the chaos, Elias saw an opportunity and, lowering his voice, leaned toward Helena. "If we can grab the rifles, we can shoot them and escape on Tony's motorcycle."

Helena looked at him, her face filled with doubt and caution. She whispered hesitantly, "Let's wait for a better chance. We can't rush now."

As they spoke, an explosion shattered the silence in Diaz's team's direction, echoing through the city.

Moments later, a building collapsed, sending dust and debris everywhere. The event drew the Wanderers' attention, plunging the situation into even greater chaos.

Tony gripped the radio tightly and pressed the communication button. "Diaz, what happened? Respond. Over."

Silence persisted on the other end, despite several attempts. Irritated, Tony cursed and ordered Rodrigo to investigate.

Still waiting for good news, he and his team continued toward the territory, trying to stay out of sight. The fear of an attack from Smiley loomed over them like a shadow.

In the narrow alleys, they moved cautiously, avoiding both humans and Wanderers. Turning a corner, the tension in the air solidified. In the middle of the street, two cars with armed men came into view.

Among them stood Smiley, in all his flamboyance.

Wearing yellow-lensed sunglasses and sporting impeccably combed hair, he exuded an aura of dangerous eccentricity.

With a confident smile, he shouted, "Hey, Tony! Miss me?"

Before Elias could react, the man raised his rifle and fired in their direction.

"Shit! Get down, Helena!" Elias shouted, pushing her in an attempt to protect her.

In the heat of the moment, he felt something warm trickling down his chest. For a moment, he thought he'd been hit. Trembling, he looked down, searching for the bullet hole. Then he realized: the blood wasn't his.

"Helena..." His voice trembled, his eyes widening as he saw her collapsed, struggling to breathe.

"No! Helena, stay calm... Please, don't..." He knelt beside her, tears already blurring his vision as he gently held her face.

But it was useless. The gurgling sound and the terror in her eyes said it all. The bullet had pierced her throat, stealing her air and her life.

"No, no, no... My God, please!" Elias sobbed, holding her tightly against his chest as if he could keep her there, as if he could stop her from slipping away forever.

But Helena's life faded before his eyes, leaving behind an emptiness impossible to fill.

With the one person who kept him anchored to this world gone, Elias felt an overwhelming void.

Nothing made sense anymore. Why keep fighting? Why insist on surviving in such a cruel, merciless world?

As gunfire echoed around him, Elias crawled along the ground, his body heavy as if crushed by despair itself.

Clutching the bayonet tightly in his trembling hands, he had no choice but to try to escape, even though every movement felt futile, and every breath was a battle against the urge to give up.

As the conflict escalated, the number of Wanderers increased rapidly, turning the area into a true war zone.

What once seemed like a skirmish between Smiley and Tony had become utter chaos, with the undead converging from all sides.

Smiley, sensing the imminent danger, decided to retreat in his SUV, skillfully maneuvering to escape the growing horde.

Tony, on the other hand, chose to fortify himself in the building across the street, seeking a defensive position amidst the pandemonium.

As Elias crawled among the corpses and debris, his eyes caught sight of a rifle lying beside a lifeless body. Before he could reach it, a Wanderer lunged at him.

Without hesitation, Elias drove the bayonet into the creature's head, bringing it down with precision. With the rifle finally in his hands, a burning determination surged within him.

Fixing his gaze on the building where Tony was hiding, Elias began to advance. He saw nothing else but a clear goal: to settle the score. A debt of blood needed to be paid.

Breaking through the barricades separating him from Tony, Elias stormed into the building with no regard for stealth.

In a frenzied rampage, he fired at anything that moved, indifferent to whether it was alive or undead.

"Damn it, Diaz! Take this lunatic down!" Tony shouted, alarmed.

Diaz's team, previously searching for Rodrigo's group, seemed to have abandoned that mission and regrouped with Tony.

Diaz immediately signaled tactically, splitting his team into two units: one advancing from the right and the other from the left, forming a line to encircle Elias.

Anticipating the move, Elias dove behind a wall for cover. Clutching a grenade tightly, he hurled it toward Diaz with brutal precision.

"Fire in the hole!" Diaz shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos as he alerted his men.

The soldiers reacted instantly, abandoning their positions in desperation and seeking cover.

The explosion's impact disrupted the formation, and as Diaz's men scrambled to regroup, the Wanderers continued closing in, drawn by the sound and movement.

The scene quickly descended into chaos. The Wanderers swarmed the gangsters, and Elias, realizing the massacre was inevitable, retreated. He fled the building, leaving behind the desperate screams of Tony's men as the undead devoured them.

A cold smile spread across his face as he walked away, feeling a bitter satisfaction as the screams faded. For a moment, his pain over Helena's loss seemed distant.

Suddenly, like a lightning bolt, a realization struck him.

"Wait... Smiley. It was Smiley who killed Helena." His voice was a whisper filled with hatred. "I was so consumed and frustrated with Tony that I forgot. He played a part in keeping us in this hell, but Smiley... Smiley took her from me."

With clenched fists and renewed fury, Elias changed direction. Without hesitation, he set out for Smiley's camp, determined to settle the final score.

Elias moved silently along the perimeter of Smiley's camp, observing every detail. The defenses were robust, but he knew he wouldn't have to take down any barriers himself.

The plan was already clear in his mind: he would use the greatest destructive force available in this world—the Wanderers.

In the distance, he spotted a motorcycle parked near an abandoned watch post. It was dusty but looked functional. A quick check of the fuel tank revealed enough for what he needed.

Gripping the handlebars, he started the engine. The roar of the motor broke the night's silence, drawing the first curious stares from nearby Wanderers.

"Perfect," Elias murmured with a dark smile.

He revved the engine, making it roar louder, and fired a few shots into the sky, the sound echoing like a scream in the void.

Gradually, the Wanderers began to emerge from the shadows, shambling toward him. Elias didn't hesitate. He continued firing as he circled the area, growing the horde with each pass.

Once he felt the numbers were sufficient for the chaos he intended, he turned the motorcycle toward Smiley's camp. He fired a few more shots to keep the undead focused on him, ensuring none lost interest in his presence.

The camp's torches and spotlights began to appear on the horizon. Elias accelerated, closing the distance between him and the walls.

With the motorcycle roaring like thunder, he passed near the entrance, firing into the air and shouting, "Smiley! Look who came to visit!"

Inside the camp, Smiley's men immediately went on high alert, confused by the sound of the engine and gunfire.

When they noticed the approaching horde of Wanderers, panic set in.

Elias continued circling the camp, drawing the Wanderers toward the gates and the most vulnerable points.

He fired sporadically at the barricades, knowing the sound would help concentrate the horde in the right places.

When Elias was finally certain that chaos had taken hold, he sped off toward the farthest exit. He glanced back one last time, watching as the Wanderers tore through parts of the camp's improvised defenses.

The screams and gunfire of Smiley and his men now competed with the relentless groans of the undead.

"Enjoy it, Smiley. This is just the beginning," Elias muttered to himself as he vanished into the night, leaving the camp at the mercy of the horde he had unleashed.

While chaos engulfed the camp, Smiley remained calm. Sitting in an improvised chair inside his tent, he listened to the screams of his men and the unending groans of the Wanderers.

His eyes scanned a worn map spread across the table, his mind working rapidly.

"This isn't a coincidence…" he murmured to himself. "An attack this well-orchestrated can only be Tony's doing."

He stood up, adjusting his bulletproof vest and grabbing his pistol. This wasn't the first time he'd faced such a scenario, and he knew he couldn't defeat a horde of this size without a strategy.

After a few moments of reflection, he reached a conclusion: it was time to temporarily abandon the camp and redirect the Wanderers.

Stepping out of the tent, he called to the men nearest him.

"Fall back. Let the Wanderers take this place. We'll come back later." His voice was firm and unshaken, even as the camp crumbled around him.

Without haste, Smiley walked toward the main gate. The sounds of gunfire and groaning formed a symphony of destruction, but he moved as if strolling through a peaceful Sunday morning. His plan was to lure the horde away, using his own movements as bait.

At that moment, Elias, hiding atop a ruined building near the gate, saw his opportunity. The rifle's sight easily locked onto Smiley.

"Let's see you bleed, you bastard…" Elias murmured before pulling the trigger.

The shot echoed through the area, hitting Smiley in the shoulder and knocking him to the ground.

The noise immediately drew the attention of all the nearby Wanderers. Elias, satisfied with the hit, was preparing to retreat but realized too late that he had made a grave mistake.

The sound of the shot and his movement had attracted the horde to his position. He was surrounded.

"Damn it… no, not now!" he exclaimed, reloading in a rush.

The Wanderers began closing in on him from all sides. He fired frantically, but the sheer number of undead was overwhelming.

One of them crept up from the flank and sank its teeth into his arm.

Elias screamed in agony, struggling to break free, but more Wanderers were already on him.

When it seemed like he would be devoured alive, something inexplicable happened. The world around him froze.

The groaning stopped, the Wanderers' movements halted, and even the wind seemed to suspend in the air. Everything fell into an absolute, surreal silence.

Still panting and bloodied, Elias looked around in confusion. Before he could comprehend what was happening, the vision around him began to distort, as though the very fabric of reality was being torn apart.

Suddenly, he found himself lying in a clearing in the middle of a forest. The sunlight filtered gently through the trees, and the sound of birds filled the air. The blood and wounds were still there, but the threat of the horde had vanished.

Elias slowly got to his feet, dazed.

"Where… what is this?" he asked, looking around.

The world seemed different, more vibrant, yet it carried an invisible weight, as though something greater was watching.

He knew something extraordinary had just occurred, but the answer to it was still beyond his understanding.