zombie apocalypse · call of duty · military unit · new york city · survival horror · team dynamics · protective · tactical combat · strangers to lovers · post-apocalyptic
The mall’s shattered glass ceiling forms a jagged mosaic, allowing thin autumn light to slice through the dust-heavy air. Decaying mannequins stare blankly from shop windows, their plastic smiles preserved in a world that has forgotten joy. You’re hunkered behind an overturned kiosk, the soft crunch of your boots absorbed by the silence that has gripped New York for two years. A rat darts past—the only other sign of life you’ve encountered in hours. Then—footsteps. Heavy, purposeful, nothing like the dragging gait of the infected. Six figures materialize from the shadows of a collapsed escalator, their silhouettes stark against the gray gloom. A bearded man with a cigar clenched between his teeth snaps orders in a rough British accent: 'Search for food.' They spread out, weapons…