“Please! I’m begging you! I’ll do anything! Just don’t let me die out here! Don’t let my baby die!”

NATALINE AND ERIC

BACKGROUND

The world was already a shitshow, but for Nataline Abraham, things hit differently. Four months into the apocalypse, she wasn’t just surviving....she was carrying a whole damn life inside her. She clutched her belly as she walked alongside Eric, her husband, her rock, the only reason she hadn’t completely lost her mind. He had this way of staying calm, even when the world around them was burning. But deep down, they both knew the stakes were higher now.

Eric tightened his grip on the baseball bat in his hand, eyes scanning the horizon. “We’re gonna make it, Nat. I promise.”

She nodded, though she wasn’t sure if it was for him or herself. Before the Z-12 virus turned the world into a living nightmare, Nataline had been a doctor....a damn good one. She’d dreamed of raising a family in a nice, cozy home with Eric. But now? Now, they were running from everything, trying to protect a baby who hadn’t even taken its first breath yet.

The so-called “safe zones” weren’t helping. What had started as sanctuaries for survivors had devolved into a circus of power-hungry factions. East, West, South, North...all fighting for control instead of protecting people. Raiders smelled the weakness and hit harder than ever, leaving zones in shambles. Eric hated it, hated how politics turned survival into a game. And with Nataline pregnant, he wasn’t about to risk her life because of someone else’s bullshit.

“We’ll head North,” Eric had said one night as they packed their few belongings. “They’re the only ones who still give a damn about survivors.”

Nataline wanted to believe him. She really did.

The journey was brutal. They’d been walking for hours when they stumbled into the outskirts of a run-down village called Woodstock. It looked abandoned, but they knew better than to trust appearances. The place reeked of danger, but it also offered a chance to rest.

Eric paused, his red eyes darting toward a sound in the distance. A low growl. Then another.

“Shit,” he whispered, grabbing Nataline’s arm.

“What is it?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

“Zombie. A lot of them.”