The rooster's left foot was crushed by the zombie's bite, yet the undead creature didn't stop, continuing to chew through muscle, sinew, and rigid cartilage. If not for the enormous white talons deeply embedded in the bloated flesh, the rooster would have fallen to the ground and be in an even worse condition. Even its pecking attacks ceased due to the pain inflicted by the ghoul.

  Juliana watched in horror. She crept slowly to the side to retrieve her weapon while the monsters tore each other apart. Just as she rearmed herself, the walking dead was at its counterattack on the avian. The rooster's screams were unbearable—though the creature was the size of a large dog, it still resembled a common animal, and witnessing such violence against it was overwhelming for her.

  Since the zombie focused solely on its prey, it was easier to strike it down with the dull blade. The meat cleaver, designed to cut through bone and flesh, remained effective even without its edge. With a powerful blow to the dead's cranium, it split open. Juliana aimed precisely at the wound created by the struggling rooster, and her strike connected perfectly. Gray-yellowish matter spilled from the fissure; both the smell and the texture presenting themselves were revolting.

  Juliana stumbled backward, fighting to keep from vomiting as anxiety churned in her stomach like living fire.

  “Oh merda, more logo pelo amor de deus”. With her remaining strength, she brought the cleaver down again and again, not stopping until the creature's head was reduced to pulp.

  ...

  "Wha-" Her attention snapped from the blue panel warning to the rooster still struggling against the now twice-dead body. The bird couldn't free its claws from the rubbery flesh, its wings beating frantically, feathers scattered everywhere.

  Juliana watched the pitiful scene, knowing that even if the rooster freed itself, it stood no chance—one foot was a mutilated mess. The creature trembled, screeching its agony for all to hear. At this point, ending its suffering was the most humane thing she could offer. Her weapon's long handle and slightly curved design provided excellent leverage, maximizing force. This large cleaver was meant to decapitate small to medium animals, and that's exactly what Juliana intended to do.

  She waited for the rooster to exhaust itself, its strength draining away, its breathing labored, until it merely gazed at her through half-lidded eyes.

  "Sorry."

  The blade cut through surprisingly easier than it had through the undead.

  “Wait, the chickens are enemies?”

  “Oh…”

  And that was enough reasoning for Juliana to go after the chickens. Getting them was not hard, there wasn't any spot for an avian the size of a dog to hide and they weren't aggressive, quite the opposite, she had to run after them a bit, but they weren't quick as their normal counterparts. She thought about breaking their neck like her grandmother teached, but by their size it would take too much strength.

  At the end, three large hens’ heads laid on the floor, along a traumatized latina with her head on her legs, crying not for killing chickens but by the absurdity of her new reality.

  Everything was bathed in white light, and Juliana found herself in the white room along the core.

  She screamed, although the blue pannels were theorically all but pop-up texts, she could hear it inside her head along the visual notification, and uppercase was like someone screaming inside her brain.

  "Hmm... What the fuck is happening?"

  -

  Chose the new aGdmOinisDtraOtorF