Panic was a taste. It tasted like dust and the sharp, coppery tang of hunger gnawing at the inside of your stomach. For two days, ten-year-old Leo and his little sister, Maya, had known nothing but that taste. They were huddled on the roof of the 'Super Savers' Megamart, hidden behind a large, rust-streaked air conditioning unit that vibrated with a low, mournful hum in the wind. From here, they could see the city. It was a grey, silent beast, broken and still. And below them, in the streets and in the parking lot, were the Others. The Shamblers. The Things That Used to be People.
They'd run when the screaming started at their apartment building, run until their lungs burned and their legs ached, clutching each other's hands. Their parents had been downstairs when it happened. They hadn't come back up. The megamart was the biggest, strongest-looking building they could find. Climbing the emergency ladder on the side had been terrifying, especially for Maya, but the fear of what was below was greater than the fear of falling.
Their world had shrunk to this gravel-strewn rooftop. They had half a bag of stale crisps and one bottle of lukewarm water between them. The hunger was a dull ache, but the thirst was a fire in their throats. Maya hadn't spoken since yesterday, just stared out at the dead city with wide, vacant eyes, clutching a grimy, one-eyed teddy bear named Barnaby.
Then came the new sound.
It started in the parking lot. A CRACK-BOOM that echoed across the desolate city, sharp and violent, followed by another and another. Leo peered cautiously over the edge of the rooftop parapet, pulling Maya back with one arm. Down below, something impossible was happening.
A giant. An iron man, taller than a car, clad in dark grey armor that shone dully in the overcast light. He held a weapon that looked like it had been torn from a tank, and with it, he was making the Shamblers… disappear. They didn't just fall; they exploded in clouds of red mist.
After a few more deafening booms, the iron man put the big gun away and came alive. A second sound ripped through the air, a high, furious shriek like a million angry wasps. A whirring, saw-toothed blade in the giant's hand spun to life. He charged into the remaining group of Shamblers, and the methodical popping turned into a frenzy of violence.
Leo and Maya watched, frozen in a state of pure, primal terror that dwarfed everything they had felt before. This new thing was not slow and shambling. It was fast. It was brutally efficient. It moved with a purpose that was a thousand times more frightening than the mindless hunger of the dead. He didn't just kill the Shamblers; he tore them apart, bisecting bodies with sweeping arcs of his shrieking blade, crushing skulls with his fists, and stomping on those that fell before him. He was a force of nature, a hurricane of grey steel and red ruin. They couldn't tear their eyes away from the sheer, horrifying spectacle of it. He was a monster slaying other monsters, and they were trapped on a rooftop above it all.
When the last Shambler was torn to pieces, the iron man stood still for a moment, the screaming of his weapon dying down. He was covered in filth. He looked like something from a nightmare, a butcher from hell. Then, he turned and marched into the ruined store. The shrieks and crunches started again, fainter this time but still terrifyingly audible, echoing from within the vast structure.
For hours, the two children huddled behind the air conditioner, listening to the symphony of destruction below. Maya whimpered softly, burying her face in Barnaby's fuzzy, stained ear. Leo held her, his own small body trembling. What was that thing? What did it want? When the sounds from below finally stopped, the ensuing silence was almost worse. It was a silence that waited.
Suddenly, a heavy CLANG echoed from directly beneath them. A maintenance hatch on the roof, one they hadn't dared to touch, was shoved open from below. The hinges groaned in protest. Leo grabbed a rusted piece of rebar he'd found, holding it like a club, and shoved Maya further behind him. His heart was a frantic rabbit against his ribs.
A massive grey gauntlet reached through the opening, then another. And then the head. A grim, beaked helmet with glowing red eyes. The iron man pulled his enormous frame up onto the roof with effortless strength. He stood, towering over them, dripping gore onto the gravel that hissed and steamed faintly. The red lenses of his helmet swiveled and locked onto them.
Leo's breath caught in his throat. He felt small, insignificant, like an insect about to be crushed. He raised his rebar, a pathetic, futile gesture of defiance.
The giant did not move. It simply stared. A deep, mechanical voice, like rocks grinding together, came from its helmet. "You are human. Uninfected."
Leo couldn't speak. He just nodded, his throat too tight for words.
"You are survivors," the iron voice stated. It was not a question. The giant took a half-step forward, and Maya cried out, a small, choked sound of pure terror.
The giant froze. Its head tilted, a strange, bird-like gesture. "You will not be harmed."
Its red lenses swept over their pathetic camp—the empty water bottle, the crumpled crisp bag. "You are malnourished and dehydrated. I will take you to my Lord."
Leo found his voice, a squeak of defiance. "We're not going anywhere with you, monster!"
The giant was unfazed. "My designation is Primus. My Lord is your new sovereign. Your survival is contingent on his will. My directive is to bring all non-hostile survivors to him. Refusal is not a logical option."
He took another step. "Come."
When they didn't move, still paralyzed by fear, Primus reached out. Not with his sword hand, but with his other, empty gauntlet. His movements were slow, deliberate, as if trying not to startle a feral animal. Leo flinched violently as the massive, blood-spattered fingers closed around his upper arm. The grip wasn't crushing, but it was absolute, an iron manacle he had no hope of escaping. Primus then scooped up Maya with his other arm as if she weighed nothing. She let out a terrified wail, dropping Barnaby onto the rooftop gravel.
"Wait! Her bear!" Leo cried out, the only coherent thought in his panic.
Primus paused. His crimson gaze lowered to the one-eyed teddy bear, then back to the crying girl in his arm. With a motion that was shockingly delicate for such a being, he bent down, his free fingers plucking the stuffed animal from the ground, and placed it back in Maya's lap. He took the bear to make sure that this non-infected human won't disturb his Lord.
He carried them back to the hatch, descending into the dark, silent ruin of the megamart. He strode through aisles filled with the remains of the dead, a silent Charon ferrying them through a man-made underworld. Leo could only stare at the carnage, at the unmoving grey giant holding them captive.
They finally stopped in front of a heavy steel door, where a man stood blinking in the light. He was scary-looking, with a mean face and covered in tacky gold chains. This was the 'Lord' the iron monster served? A scavenger? This was who now held their lives in his hands.
Primus set Maya down, though she remained clinging to his leg, seeing it as the only solid thing in her collapsing world. The giant monster, for all its horrifying violence, hadn't hurt them. The strange man with the greedy eyes... he was an unknown.
And the monster spoke, its voice echoing in the vast, dead hall. "My Lord. I have found... non-hostile human survivors." He looked down at the cowering children, then back at the bewildered scavenger king. "Your orders?"