At the Command Center, Basa Air Base.

"Looks like the VIP inside that LC300 is done for," Adrian said, looking at the screen showing the Hunter feasting on the Mayor.

The situation in the Forbes Park was starting to turn bleak as the wave of zombies poured in despite the earlier support from the gunship.

The screens told the story without anyone needing to explain it.

The earlier break in the swarm was gone.

The gap that had been carved out was already closing, red markers stacking over each other again as new waves pushed forward. What used to be a split formation was now merging back into one mass, slow at first, then faster as pressure built.

"Front and rear are reconnecting," one of the analysts said, eyes fixed on his console. "Choke point is gone."

Another operator adjusted the drone feed, zooming out just enough to capture a wider section of the area.

"Hunters are still active inside the compound," he added. "Multiple contacts. They’re not slowing."

On one of the side monitors, the overturned LC300 was still visible.

Or what was left of it.

Adrian didn’t linger on it.

He shifted his attention back to the larger picture.

Forbes Park. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The buses.

The defenders.

The civilians.

Everything was starting to fall apart again.

"Evacuation is compromised," an operator said. "We’re seeing multiple breaches across the inner perimeter. Civilians are scattering."

The feed confirmed it.

What had been an organized movement toward the buses was now broken. People were running in different directions, some trying to get back inside houses, others attempting to follow the vehicles that had already left.

"First convoy is out," another voice reported. "Second convoy stalled. One bus flipped earlier, blocking part of the route."

Adrian leaned forward slightly, studying the map overlay.

"Any signs of regrouping?" he asked.

"No, sir," the analyst replied. "Command structure inside the compound is breaking down. Units are acting independently."

That wasn’t surprising.

Without coordination, it wouldn’t hold.

Another screen flickered, showing a closer feed from a drone circling above the eastern side.

Hunters moved through the streets below.

Not in a pack.

But not alone either.

They moved between clusters of infected, targeting movement, striking anything that tried to regroup.

"Those things are accelerating collapse," one of the operators said quietly.

Adrian didn’t respond immediately.

He watched as one of the Hunter contacts crossed a street in a single burst, slamming into a group of defenders trying to form a line. The formation broke instantly, men scattering before they could even stabilize.

"Confirmed," Adrian said after a moment. "They’re not just threats. They’re force multipliers."

Another analyst pulled up the heat signatures.

"Zombie density still increasing, sir," he said. "We’re back to five-digit concentration inside and around the perimeter."

Adrian nodded once.

"Well, this is just sad. Forbes Park has fallen. But still, the zombies, we don’t have an explanation as to why they were congregating."

No one spoke after that.

The screens filled the silence.

Forbes Park was no longer a place.

It was a collapse in motion.

On the main display, the last organized pockets of movement broke apart one by one. The remaining defenders were no longer holding lines. They were reacting. Turning. Firing at whatever came closest. Their spacing widened, then shattered completely as pressure came from all sides.

"Central road is gone," one of the analysts said, voice low. "No control points left."

Adrian watched as a group near the inner intersection tried to hold for a few seconds longer. They took positions behind a damaged SUV, rifles up, firing in short bursts toward the incoming mass.

It didn’t matter.

Movement closed on them from the side.

Then the rear.

They turned to adjust.

Too late.

The formation broke.

Markers disappeared.

"Contact lost," the operator added.

The drone feed shifted, tracking deeper into the compound.

What used to be evacuation lanes were now choked with movement. The buses that had been loading minutes earlier were surrounded. One lay on its side, still. Another sat angled across the road, doors open, empty.

Around them, civilians ran.

Not in lines anymore.

Not in groups.

Just movement in every direction.

"Civilians are scattering across sectors," an analyst reported. "No direction, no coordination."

The camera zoomed in on one of the streets.

A man tried to pull a child forward, both stumbling as they moved between abandoned vehicles. Others ran past them, some falling, some getting back up, some not.

Behind them, the wave caught up.

Fast.

"They’re closing distance quicker now," another operator said. "Speed variance increasing."

Adrian didn’t look away.

He saw it.

The infected weren’t moving as one slow mass anymore. Pockets broke off, accelerating, sprinting through open lanes, cutting angles, intercepting anyone trying to escape.

"They’re not just pushing," he said quietly. "They’re hunting."

The drone tracked another street.

A group of civilians tried to get into a house, forcing the door open, pushing inside.

It didn’t hold.

Movement followed them in seconds later.

The heat signatures overlapped.

Then dropped.

"Interior structures are compromised," the analyst said. "They’re not holding indoors."

Another feed flickered, showing the inner wall near the southern side.

People tried to climb it.

Hands gripping the top.

Bodies lifting.

One made it halfway.

Then something caught his leg.

He dropped.

The others scattered.

The wall was no longer an exit.

"There are no viable escape routes left," the operator added.

Adrian leaned slightly forward.

"How many left?"

A pause.

"...Under five hundred," the analyst replied.

From thousands.

To that.

In minutes.

The drone pulled back again, widening the view.

Forbes Park was filled.

Every street.

Every open space.

Movement layered over movement, pushing inward, compressing what remained.

The Hunters still moved through it.

Not stopping.

Not slowing.

Wherever a cluster tried to form—

They broke it.

Adrian watched as one last group near a courtyard tried to gather, forming a loose perimeter around a handful of civilians.

They fired.

They held.

For a moment.

Then a Hunter cut through them.

The line collapsed instantly.

The civilians scattered.

They didn’t get far.

Markers flickered.

Then disappeared.

Silence returned to the command center.

Only the screens moved now.

Only the data updated.

"Human signatures minimal," the analyst said. "Dropping to near zero. Forbes Park is completely overrun."