Day 30 – The Warning

Day 30 – The Warning

The signal carried Jackson’s voice into the wasteland, reaching ears he would never see.

But he wasn’t the only one listening.

“Got something,” one of the radio operators said, adjusting the frequency dial. “Weak signal, but it’s out there.”

Jackson leaned in. The voice coming through the static was frantic, barely intelligible.

“…don’t come here… R-Riverside… not safe… they’re—”

Then silence.

Jackson’s stomach twisted. “Can you clean that up?”

The operator shook his head. “It’s too garbled. But whoever that was, they were close.”

Sam frowned. “You think it was a trap?”

Jackson’s mind raced. Someone out there was trying to warn them. But from what?

Or worse—from who?

---

Day 31 – The Patrol

Rourke didn’t waste time. The moment he heard about the transmission, he ordered a scouting party.

Jackson went with them. He needed answers.

The air was cold, the sky overcast. The world felt heavier than usual.

They found the source of the transmission three miles outside Riverside.

It wasn’t good.

A man lay slumped over a small radio setup inside an abandoned diner. His throat was torn out. Blood stained the cracked tile floor.

Jackson knelt beside him, checking the corpse.

“Fresh,” he muttered. “Few hours, maybe.”

Emily stayed by the door, her fingers twitching near the pistol Sam had given her.

Rourke’s second-in-command, a wiry man named Graves, scowled. “Could’ve been infected.”

Jackson shook his head. “No. This was different.”

Something had killed this man.

And it wasn’t a mindless corpse.

---

Day 32 – The Stranger

Night fell over Riverside. Jackson sat near the radio, his thoughts tangled.

That warning hadn’t been random. Someone had died trying to get that message out.

And then, just as he was about to shut the transmitter off—

A new voice came through.

Low. Steady.

And terrifyingly clear.

“Riverside. We’re coming.”

The transmission cut out.

Jackson’s blood ran cold.

Whoever they were, they weren’t the infected.

They were worse.

---

Day 33 – The Storm

The attack came at dawn.

Explosions rocked the outer barricades. Gunfire crackled in the distance. Screams echoed through the streets.

Jackson grabbed his revolver and ran.

Emily was already up, pistol clutched in shaking hands. “What do we do?”

Jackson’s mind snapped into focus. “We fight.”

Outside, Riverside burned. Shadowy figures moved through the smoke—men, not the dead. Raiders.

And at the center of it all, a single symbol painted on their gear.

A red skull.

Jackson had seen it before.

Once.

A long time ago.

And he knew exactly what it meant.

Riverside was never safe.

Not from them.

The Last Broadcast (Part 6)

Day 33 – The Siege of Riverside

The world outside was chaos.

Gunfire snapped through the air, echoing off the barricades. Smoke billowed from burning buildings. The smell of blood, sweat, and fire mixed into something suffocating.

Jackson crouched behind an overturned cart, reloading his revolver. Emily huddled beside him, gripping her pistol so tightly her knuckles turned white.

“Stay close,” he said. “We don’t stop moving.”

She nodded, eyes locked on the carnage ahead.

Across the street, Sam fired from behind cover, her rifle kicking against her shoulder. Beside her, a Riverside guard collapsed, his chest torn open by a bullet.

Jackson gritted his teeth. The raiders were tearing through the defenses too fast. If they didn’t push back now, there wouldn’t be a Riverside left to save.

A voice rang out over the chaos—booming, cruel, laced with dark amusement.

“Riverside!”

Jackson froze.

He knew that voice.

Slowly, he turned toward the barricades.

A man stood in the open, framed by the firelight.

Tall. Lean. Dressed in black tactical gear with the red skull insignia painted across his chest. His long coat swayed in the wind, and in one gloved hand, he held a sawed-off shotgun.

His face was mostly covered by a mask. But Jackson didn’t need to see his features.

He already knew who he was.

Cutter.

The leader of the Red Skulls.

The man who had burned Jackson’s old home to the ground.

And now, he was here.

A slow, mocking chuckle escaped from behind Cutter’s mask. “You’ve built yourselves a nice little kingdom here.” He gestured to the burning city. “But you knew it wouldn’t last.”

Silence.

Then Rourke’s voice cut through the air. “You’re wasting your breath.”

Jackson turned. The Riverside leader stood atop the barricade, rifle aimed directly at Cutter’s head.

“Turn around,” Rourke said. “Or we bury you here.”

Cutter chuckled again. “I like a man with confidence.” He tilted his head slightly. “But you should know, we’re already inside.”

A distant explosion shook the ground.

Jackson’s stomach twisted. The inner gate.

They weren’t just attacking from the outside.

They were already behind the walls.

---

Day 33 – The Fight for the City

Gunfire erupted.

Jackson barely had time to react before a raider rushed him, swinging a rusted machete. He ducked, rolling aside as the blade bit into the cart where he had been crouched.

Before the raider could recover, Jackson raised his revolver and fired.

The man crumpled.

Emily let out a shaky breath. “We have to get to Sam.”

Jackson nodded. “Stay behind me.”

They moved fast, weaving through the alleys as the battle raged around them. Riverside’s defenders fought hard, but they were outnumbered, outgunned.

The Red Skulls didn’t just kill.

They slaughtered.

Jackson caught glimpses of their brutality—civilians dragged into the streets, executed without hesitation. Buildings torched, supplies stolen.

This wasn’t just a raid.

It was a purge.

And if they didn’t stop it, Riverside would be nothing but another graveyard.

---

Day 33 – Sam’s Last Stand

They found Sam near the command center, pinned down behind a wrecked truck.

Three raiders advanced on her position, firing as they moved.

Jackson didn’t hesitate.

He raised his revolver and squeezed the trigger.

One shot. Two shots.

Both raiders dropped.

The third turned toward him, raising his rifle—

Emily fired first.

The bullet caught the raider in the throat, sending him stumbling back, choking on his own blood.

For a moment, Emily just stared at what she had done.

Then she steeled herself.

Sam peeked out from cover, her face streaked with dirt and sweat. “Took you long enough.”

Jackson smirked. “Traffic was hell.”

Sam’s expression hardened. “We’re losing ground. Rourke’s holding the main barricade, but the raiders are pushing through the east side.”

Jackson clenched his jaw. They needed a plan. Fast.

Then he remembered something.

“The radio tower.”

Sam frowned. “What about it?”

Jackson’s mind raced. “We still have the emergency frequency, right? We could send a distress signal—put out a call for any survivors, any groups nearby who can fight.”

Sam hesitated. “It’s a long shot.”

Jackson glanced at the burning city around them.

“It’s the only shot we’ve got.”

---

Day 33 – The Last Broadcast

The radio tower was on the far side of Riverside, dangerously close to where the raiders had broken through.

Getting there wouldn’t be easy.

But Jackson didn’t care.

He had come too far to let Riverside fall.

As they moved through the streets, Jackson caught sight of Cutter again, standing atop a pile of rubble, watching the chaos with sick satisfaction.

Their eyes met.

Cutter lifted his shotgun in a mock salute.

Jackson clenched his fists. One fight at a time.

They reached the radio station just as a group of raiders stormed the building.

Sam opened fire first. Jackson and Emily followed.

The fight was brutal. Close.

By the time it was over, Jackson’s hands were shaking, his knuckles raw.

But they had made it.

Jackson stumbled into the station, rushing to the control panel.

The system was still intact.

He grabbed the mic, took a breath, and pressed the button.

His voice rang out across the airwaves.

“This is Jackson Cole, broadcasting from Riverside. We are under attack. If you can hear this—if you can fight—we need you. Now.”

Silence.

Then—

A response.

A crackling voice, distant but firm.

“Copy that, Riverside. We’re coming.”

Jackson exhaled.

Help was on the way.

But would it be enough?

Behind him, the city burned.

And Cutter was still out there.

Waiting.

To Be Continued…

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