Aaron blew a huge hole in the chest of the slasher that had just charged at him. Pumping another round into the chamber, he swung the barrel of his shotgun toward a walker that was rushing at him and squeezed the trigger again. The powerful weapon bucked in his hands hard, the blast turning the walker's upper body into a gory mess.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain at the nape of his neck, where his armor didn't provide protection. One of the mutants had snuck up on him and lashed out with its claws! Fortunately, the damage wasn't severe. All the points he had invested in Constitution paid off, making his body much more resistant to damage than that of an average human.

Fueled by anger rather than fear, Aaron spun around, his finger tightening on the trigger, ready to kill the mutant that had dared to attack him from behind.

However, as he looked around, he saw no immediate threat. For a fraction of a second, he was confused, but he quickly realized what it meant: the mutant that had just attacked him had to be a wraith.

This type of mutant could turn completely invisible, which made it quite irritating to deal with sometimes. However, from experience, Aaron knew that wraiths could still be detected when they moved quickly. Because of this, they typically avoided fast movements to prevent creating visible distortions in the air.

That meant the wraith that had just attacked him was likely still close by. This was a common tactic for this type of mutant: strike and then retreat to safety, waiting for another opportunity to attack. Knowing this, Aaron aimed his shotgun at the area where he suspected the enemy lurked and squeezed the trigger.

The blast hit the wraith on the side, spinning it around and causing it to stagger. Aaron noticed this because the mutant shifted from complete invisibility to a translucent state. Wraiths would always become partially or fully visible when injured, with the level of visibility depending on how severe the damage was.

The injured mutant steadied itself, quickly turning to face Aaron, its lips drawn back to expose razor-sharp teeth. Blood poured from the ragged hole in its side, but the mutant was still alive. Aware that it was now visible, the mutant decided to retreat instead of charging at him.

Aaron wasn't willing to let it escape, though. Just as the wraith turned to flee, he fired again. The load from his shotgun struck true, finishing off the mutant, blowing its slender body apart.

"Nice shot, Mute!" Felix called out, clearly having noticed him take down the mutant.

Aaron nodded as both of them immediately shifted their attention to the other mutants all around the room. Although everyone knew his actual name, they all referred to him by the nickname he had been given, "Mute". He didn't feel bothered by it, as he had long since grown accustomed to the name.

A sudden, thunderous roar filled the room, prompting all four of them to turn toward the source of the sound. They caught sight of a gigantic armored brawler making its way in from the far side. It crouched low to fit through the doorway, barely managing to squeeze through.

For a brief moment, it halted, surveying the chaotic scene of battle before it. The majority of its body was encased in armor plates integrated with its flesh. Instead of hands, the monster had two massive spiked maces, and its helmet seemed to be fused with its head.

With another deafening roar, the brawler charged across the room. Felix and Rajan, caught directly in its path, quickly leaped out of the way. The brawler barreled forward, thundering toward Aaron as if its feet were pounding the floor like sledgehammers.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Just as it drew near, it swung one of its maces in his direction. This was the moment Aaron had been waiting for. He ducked beneath its arm and dashed behind the towering mutant. Aiming his shotgun at the unarmored back of one of the brawler's knees, he squeezed the trigger.

Letting out a bellow of surprise rather than pain, the mutant sank to one knee. Aaron quickly shifted his aim upward and blasted a load of buckshot into the back of the brawler's head. To his surprise, the shot didn't finish the mutant off, but it did damage its helmet.

"He's all yours, Mute!" Rajan called out, clearly mocking him.

Aaron gritted his teeth. The armored brawler was one of the most formidable mutants in the city's current danger level. Yet his teammates seemed unwilling to assist him in taking it down. In moments like this, he found himself really hating them.

On the other hand, he was well aware that the weapon he was armed with was much more powerful than those his teammates wielded. If anyone could take down the armored brawler, it was definitely him.

Just as the brawler began to rise to its feet, Aaron squeezed the trigger again. Instead of the earsplitting bang he expected, the weapon emitted a frustrating dry click. He quickly pivoted away from the rising mutant and ran, reaching into his pocket for the magically enhanced explosive shells he had stashed away.

One of the walkers jumped right into his path but went down immediately as Kira put a duo of rounds into its skull. Another walker that tried to lash out at him from the side collapsed as bullets from full-auto fire drilled into its body. At least his teammates were focusing on taking down the mutants that targeted him so he could give his full attention to the brawler.

Aaron loaded several shells into his weapon just as the bellow and heavy footfalls announced that the brawler was finally giving chase. He spun around, aimed the shotgun at the rapidly approaching mutant, and fired. The blast struck the brawler directly in the center of its helmet, exploding on impact and tearing both metal and flesh apart.

The heavy mutant stumbled and went down with a thud that shook the walls. It fell right before Aaron. The mutant was still alive, so he pressed the muzzle of his shotgun to its head, pumped another shell into the chamber, and fired a shot.

From point-blank range, the damage was devastating, and the helmet the brawler wore exploded into hundreds of shards, along with the bits of the mutant's skull and brain.

"Great work, Mute," Felix shouted, quickly turning his attention back to the other mutants surrounding them.

Aaron would have liked his teammates to cover him for a bit longer so he could top off his shotgun with more shells. However, the three of them had already turned their attention away from him.

He took out a couple more mutants before his shotgun was empty again. Just as he was about to start reloading, he heard an all-too-familiar shriek nearby. He glanced in the direction of the sound and, sure enough, spotted a chaser sprinting toward him.

Of all types of mutants, this one was one of his most hated. Once a chaser locked onto its target, it pursued it mercilessly, never taking its eyes off its prey. Clearly, this chaser had set its sights on him, and of all times, it had chosen now when his shotgun was completely out of shells!

Aaron ducked as the chaser lashed out at him with its claws. He felt the talons slice through the air, barely an inch above him. Chasers were incredibly fast and agile mutants, that was for damn sure.

As a mute, Aaron couldn't call out for cover. But lacking a tongue didn't mean he was entirely voiceless. He opened his mouth and let out a bellow, giving it all he had, but his shout was quickly muffled by the cacophony of mutant screams and the deafening roar of gunfire.

The chaser lunged at him once more, and this time, he didn't manage to evade its claws. The talons ripped into his armor, leaving long, deep gashes across his chest plate. Knowing he couldn't afford to try to get his teammates' attention, he quickly spun around and darted out of the room.

As he found himself in a long corridor, he turned left and sprinted down the hall. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the chaser bursting out of the room, with several walkers in tow. Now was the time to use his final spell against his pursuers.

The spell affected all the mutants chasing him, slowing them down just enough to give him a moment to catch his breath and reload his weapon.

What he didn't realize was that the real threat wasn't the chaser pursuing him, but the invisible mutant silently crawling along the ceiling, ready to pounce down on him!

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.