Special Event: Zombie Horde

(Game note: Occasionally, special events will occur that requires certain supplies, or certain actions. In this case, fortifying the house will pass this event. Future events will have more than one possible out, using different supplies or actions. This is a tutorial event.)

The days had bled together for Noah and Olivia, each one passing in a blur of work and survival. The world outside their little refuge was a constant reminder of the apocalypse, a chaotic wasteland full of rotting remnants of human life. But for a short time, it had been quiet—too quiet. The town had remained largely untouched by the undead since the night of the wedding, and Noah and Olivia had begun to find a rhythm in their new life.

But on this morning, that silence felt sharper than usual.

Noah had just returned from a supply run, carrying a bag of canned food, a few more bottles of water, and some old clothing he’d found in a nearby store. His eyes were wary as he set the bag down by the door, taking a quick glance around. There was no sound of the usual scuttling of distant zombies. The world felt strangely still.

Olivia was in the kitchen, carefully sorting through their dwindling stock of medical supplies. Her back was to him, the loose shirt they scavenged hanging off her frame, her blonde hair falling in loose strands around her face.

“Olivia…” His voice was low, cautious.

She looked up, her blue eyes meeting his with a furrowed brow. "What is it?" Her gaze was tired, but there was a quiet determination in her expression.

He stepped to the window, pulling back the faded curtains. The sight that met him made his heart lurch.

Down the road, he could see them. A group of them. A mass of walking corpses, shuffling aimlessly toward the edge of town. They moved slowly at first, but there were more and more of them, spilling out of alleyways, pouring from abandoned buildings, all heading in the same direction. The horde.

Noah’s throat tightened as he counted the numbers. At least twenty. Maybe thirty.

They were getting closer.

His mind raced as he turned away from the window, moving toward Olivia.

“We need to stay quiet," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "They’re close. Too close.”

Olivia’s expression shifted, her face paling. "What do we do?" she asked, her voice shaking just a little. She knew as well as Noah that there was no chance they could fight their way through a horde like that.

“We stay low. We don’t make a sound. We wait until they pass.”

They hunkered down behind the sofa, not daring to make a single noise.

A few moments passed. Then another. The footsteps outside moved closer, and Noah’s eyes locked with Olivia’s. He could see the same fear in her face that he felt tightening his chest. She reached for his hand, squeezing it tightly.

A long, low moan echoed from somewhere in the distance, followed by another. And then another. Then a body charged into the door, Olivia flinching at the loud crash. The frame rattled, and Noah prayed it would hold.