Prompt: You believe you're the one destined to save the world from the zombie apocalypse. Will you rise as humanity's hero, or succumb to the chaos?

**

Word quickly spread that a massive horde of zombies was approaching the border of our empire from the north. They were advancing slowly, but the urgency and emergency were palpable. Everyone was panicked because what we had heard about the zombies was terrifying.

Armies were dispatched to halt the zombies, but they never returned. As the ranks of soldiers dwindled, desperate measures were taken, including deploying wizards and dragons. Despite their valiant efforts, the zombie horde seemed unstoppable, casting a shadow of impending doom over the empire.

Without updates on the situation, the entire empire was on edge, eagerly awaiting any news. Where were the zombies? And where had each hero met their fate? The suspense was palpable, adding to the tension that gripped us all.

Then, one day, the wizard summoned me. I, a humble goblin, knew things would be dire if he called for me, likely wanting to entrust me with some message delivery. But were there any heroes left who could be asked to stop the zombies?

The wizard, Maxwell, a tall and imposing figure with a long beard and piercing eyes, awaited me with a map. As I suspected, he had found a retired, once-great wizard who might still be of help. "It's Abbie. Don't be fooled by her frail old lady appearance; she once wielded the most devastating earth magic. I hope she still knows how to use it," said Maxwell grimly.

"What if all our heroes have tried and failed?" I asked, worried.

"Then, my dear little goblin, we flee in great haste!" he replied.

I was curious if they had any concrete escape plans, but he hurried me, having calculated that the zombies would be crawling within the borders of Narig in seven days. There was no time to think; I just needed to grab Abbie and bring her before the zombies.

It wasn't mentioned that I had to get close to the zombies. But I hurried, not wanting the empire's fall to be my fault.

Abbie lived near the city in a small house by the river. Maxwell had marked the spot with a big red X on the map and precisely described the house: small with a well in front.

I found the well, but the house was far from sight. Desperately, I wandered further into the forest, then back to the well. Out of nowhere, a beautiful black cat appeared, and for a moment, I feared reencountering the hellcat. But luckily, this cat just rubbed against me and meowed.

"Have you seen a small house around here?" I asked, petting its head. It started purring, and when I looked up again, the house stood as if it had always been there.

An old woman stood before it with her hands on her hips. "Lucifer! Don't talk to strangers!" she scolded the cat, which seemed to understand. The cat meowed and slipped behind the woman, peeking out from behind her.

"So you're Abbie, right?" I asked, delighted.

"That depends on who is asking and why!" she replied, not sounding friendly.

"I bring a message from Maxwell," I said, preparing to deliver it, but she interrupted:

"That good-for-nothing better not be sending me messages!" And with that, she turned and went into the house, practically leaving me standing there.

"Abbie, please!" I hurried after her. "The fate of the empire depends on you! Zombies are marching this way, and they turn every living thing in their path into one of them!" I blurted out as I entered the tiny house. It was like a replica of Maxwell's quarters, with stuffed animals' glassy eyes staring at me from every shelf.

"Zombies?" I heard her astonished voice. I turned towards her, and she was sitting in an armchair. "And what is the message?"

I cleared my throat and delivered the mission to the intended recipient: "Abbie, you are our last hope to stop the zombies. Our army, every hero, has been lost. Petibone, the little messenger, will lead you to them. In the name of the king, we ask, we beg you to save our empire from ruin!"

Abbie snapped her fingers with satisfaction. "So, I'm their last hope? Where is the horde now? Will you show me on the map?"

I unrolled the map and pointed out: "Here, in another day or two, they will reach the orcs' forest."

"The orcs'? And the goblins', right? You're a goblin, aren't you?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, but even my mother was born in the city, in Narig," I replied.

"Hmm, interesting that you worry about the orcs but not the goblins. Is that because you've become urbanized?"

I didn't know what to say to that.

"Alright, Petibone, let's hurry. I'll gather a few things, and then we can go."

We didn't walk; she muttered something, and with a snap of her fingers, we were already on the small path at the edge of the orcs' forest.

"We should travel like this everywhere; it would be much easier," I remarked.

We headed north from the forest to see exactly where the zombies had reached. There, the massive rocks of the canyon were visible.

"Do you think they've entered the canyon?" Abbie asked. But she didn't wait for an answer as she took a spyglass and scanned the distant landscape.

"Ah, I see. The horde hasn't reached it yet; they are just approaching. Alright, little goblin. You don't mind if I don't magic you back, do you? I need to conserve my strength. But thank you for accompanying me this far."

With that, she disappeared, leaving me puzzled because I wanted to see how she would deal with the zombies.

So I found myself walking towards the canyon to see what was happening. From the thick clouds of dust and the thunderous sounds, I inferred that Abbie was working to block their path and destroy the horde.

But how was she doing it? As I got closer, the rumblings grew louder, and I saw one of the canyon's rocks collapse into the abyss.

Then silence. An ominous kind of silence. I didn't like it at all. Now, there were two possibilities: either Abbie had wiped out all the zombies, which is why I heard nothing, or she had perished, and that's why there were no more noises.

I had to find out, so I walked resolutely towards the canyon, planning to climb one of the rocks and see what was happening from above.

After a while, the silence was replaced by breathing and marching sound, which was not a good sign.

When I reached the top and looked down, I saw the zombie army moving slowly but marching. I couldn't tell in which direction they seemed to wander aimlessly. If a rock blocked their path, they turned around but were still moving towards Narig. I saw no sign of Abbie.

Suddenly, I noticed I wasn't alone, watching the horde from the top of the cliff. An orc was looking down, and as I took a closer look, I immediately recognized Desiré.

I headed towards him, and when he saw and recognized me, she grinned from ear to ear. "I've been searching for you since we last met, and here you are finding me!" Desiré said.

I had never heard anything sweeter. "What are you doing here?" I tried to hide my embarrassment.

"I brought our greatest hero, Fenir, here to stop them... but they just took him down. See there." He pointed towards a larger cluster.

"Did you see a wizard lady? I led her here."

"Yes, they caught her earlier. That's the other pile over there." He pointed, and as I looked closer, I saw the zombies climbing over each other, trying to get close to something, stepping over one another to reach the flesh.

"So they tore them apart?" I asked.

"Yes. The old lady held out a bit longer; she managed to pound some into the ground."

"Is that it then? Are we unable to stop the zombie apocalypse?" I asked, still scanning the zombie horde. To my surprise, there were even ones in soldier uniforms among them.

"It sure looks like it. And the army keeps growing. Those who aren't torn apart somehow turn into zombies themselves."

We silently watched the seemingly aimless but terrifying horde shuffle around.

"Now that all hope is lost and this is nearly the end, let me thank you for our adventures," said Desiré.

"Our adventures? I don't understand."

"During these 17 days of my missions, I kept thinking of you; somehow, you were always with me a little." He smiled.

"Are you a messenger too?" I asked.

"Well, yes, but not the king's messenger like you, just an ordinary one...And I want to give this back to you. I got it back from the goblins."

He opened his backpack and took out my three explosive devices and my little knife.

"Wow!" I exclaimed, clapping my hands.

"But what are these? I couldn't figure them out." He held them out to me.

"Well, these can blow things up," I explained.

Holding my devices and looking at the horde, I wondered if they would be enough to blow them all up. Desiré must have been thinking the same as he stared at me.

"Do you think I, a little goblin, could stop the zombie horde?" I asked him.

"It's worth a try," the orc replied. "If you teach me how, I'll go down with you and do what you say."

"It could be dangerous; you might get hurt. If you throw it at the wrong time, for example," I said.

"Are you worried about me?" Desiré asked with a smile.

"But what if we threw them down from here and then fought off the remaining ones?" I suggested.

"How much damage can your device do?"

"If I throw it in the right place and it explodes at the right time, the destruction could be immense. And luckily, we have three."

"Let's do it!" agreed the orc.

I armed my devices, and Desiré watched my every move with concern. "Will you promise me something?" he asked.

I nodded while fiddling with the timer, calculating the distance to the bottom of the cliff.

"If we survive this, will you go on a date with me?"

I lifted my head for a moment and saw his charming smile, and I think I blushed. "Alright," I replied.

After the three explosions, we hurried down the cliffs. We stood together against the horde, and I knew we would succeed.

I held my cleaver in one hand, and he had his massive sword. With our other hands, we held each other's, waiting to see how many zombies would emerge from the enormous cloud of dust. 

The end...