The Mayor's wife… no, the thing that used to be the Mayor's wife, let out another chilling, guttural snarl. Sid's brain finally registered the truth, blindingly clear and absolute.
"She's a zombie. A literal, freaking zombie."
The creature looked around, tracking movement, its mouth leaking thick, ropey saliva. Everyone was paralyzed in deep, screaming shock, but Sid… the mind tempered by a thousand fictional apocalypses was the only one who instantly stabilized. The creature tensed.
"Everyone! Distance, NOW! It's a zombie! One touch and you're good as dead!"
His words were useless against raw, primal terror. Oshan shrieked, shielding the still kneeling Evelise.
"A what, Guard? A zombie?"
Sid ignored her, the guard body moving on instinct.
"She is gone! This thing needs to be execute! We have to kill it— now!"
The Mayor, who had dropped his pistol, scrambled like a wounded beetle to retrieve it, his focus utterly shattered by denial.
