My Sniper System in a Zombie Apocalypse World-Chapter 104: No Shelter in the Trees

Finally, they reached the trees.

Jaxon did not stop. He twisted back, pulled the pin, and threw the smoke grenade the way they came. White smoke burst out and rolled along the forest edge, swallowing the ground they had just crossed.

"Don’t sit," Elena called out sharply. "Hands on your knees or you’ll pass out."

Burgors staggered two steps before slamming a hand against a tree. "Huff... huff... I’m gonna die," he gasped. "I swear... I’m gonna die." His knees shook like they might give out any second.

Bong-gu bent forward, hands braced on his thighs, sucking in air. "My legs," he groaned. "I can’t feel my legs."

Elaine slid down a tree trunk before catching herself halfway. "Just... give me ten seconds," she whispered. "Ten seconds."

Natasha wiped sweat and dirt from her eyes, her chest rising too fast. "I can still move," she said, though her voice trembled. "I think."

Hae-in turned away and gagged, dry heaving into the leaves.

Haris let out a weak laugh, then groaned. "If anything touches me right now... I’m done."

Everyone leaned against trees or whatever they could grab, bodies shaking. Everyone except Elena, who stayed on her feet, eyes scanning the woods, Uzis steady at her hands despite the exhaustion around her.

Sumiko rested her forehead against Jaxon’s neck, barely awake. "Brother... your heart’s loud."

"I’m fine," Jaxon said quietly, though his chest was burning. He didn’t stop moving. Through the thinning smoke, shapes stumbled out of the white haze. He raised his rifle and fired, each shot dropping an infected before it could break through the trees.

"One minute," he said calmly, his voice tight. "Then we move."

Seconds slipped by, then vanished. The infected gave them no mercy, no time to breathe.

Claire clutched her chest, shoulders shaking. She hesitated, then forced the words out. "What if we just fight here... I... I really can’t go on." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"N-" Jaxon started, but something burst from the trees.

It came low and fast, straight for Isabel, who was barely standing as she leaned against a trunk.

Jaxon’s eyes widened as time seemed to slow. His body moved before his mind finished the thought. He dumped his last two stat points into speed and launched himself forward.

Shkk.

He slammed into Isabel, throwing them both sideways just as the mutated crawler flew past them. Its claws scraped bark, missing her by inches.

"RUN! NOW!" Jaxon shouted as he scrambled to his feet.

More infected poured out of the trees.

Two more crawlers skittered forward, bodies twisted and low to the ground. Natasha and Na-rin opened fire, shots cracking as they tried to stop them.

Another infected snapped forward, its arm stretching unnaturally long, snapping like a lizard’s tongue. Elena barely ducked in time, cursing under her breath as the hand moved past where her head had been.

And behind them, dozens of bald infected rushed out between the trunks, mouths open wide as they screamed and charged.

"This is bad, this is really bad!" Burgors yelled, firing his M16 nonstop as the recoil shook his arms. The others joined in, gunfire tearing through the forest edge, but the infected kept coming.

Jaxon ripped out his last frag grenade and hurled it with everything he had at the crawler that had attacked them. The explosion hit just as it lunged, as the creature vanished in fire and gore.

He didn’t stop. He spun and sprinted toward Natasha just as the crawler lunged at her side. Jaxon yanked her back with one hand, then snapped his rifle up with the other.

Bang. The shot took the creature’s head apart mid-air, spraying blood and fragments across the leaves as the body collapsed at her feet.

Then he lunged toward Na-rin’s side, swinging the butt of his rifle just in time to smash the crawler’s snapping jaws. It yelped, rolling back into the underbrush.

"Get out of here, NOW!" Jaxon yelled. Everything was happening too fast, and there was barely time to think, let alone react.

Elena leapt to the side, narrowly dodging a grotesque, elongated hand reaching for her. "What the hell is this?!" she shouted, breathless.

"Leave it!" Jaxon yelled.

"I can’t!" Elena yelled back, frustration and fear mingling in her voice.

Jaxon pivoted, leveling his rifle at the trees above. A single, clean shot split the mutated infected’s head in two.

"You should have done that earl..." Elena cursed, but her words froze in her throat.

Something massive burst from the trees and slammed into Jaxon from the side.

"Ahhhhh!" Hiromi and Jannah screamed in horror as Jaxon was thrown through the air. While the grotesque figure that had burst from the treeline continued to charge with terrifying speed.

Pain lanced through Jaxon’s side, but instinct took over. He tore the cloth wrapping Sumiko from behind him and clutched her tight to his chest.

BAM.

They hit the ground hard. Dirt and leaves sprayed everywhere as Jaxon curled around Sumiko, his body taking the brunt of the impact. It didn’t shield her completely, but it absorbed enough force to keep her alive and mostly unhurt.

"Brother... brother..." Sumiko whimpered, clinging to him.

Jaxon’s head spun, his ribs screaming with pain. Slowly, he pushed his eyes open. "Sumiko... are you okay?"

"I... I think so," she stammered, shivering, tears streaming down her cheeks. "But... something’s coming!"

Jaxon felt the ground shudder beneath him and the memory of their situation slammed back into him.

"Hold tight, Sumiko!" he called, hauling her against his back. His eyes darted to where his rifle had fallen when he was slammed to the ground.

It wasn’t far, but neither was the hulking monstrosity charging straight for them.

’Move... move... move...’ his mind screamed. He forced himself upright, every muscle screaming as he lunged toward the rifle, while the hulking form barreled down on him.

’Almost there... reach it...’

Before he could grab it, the hulking mass loomed over him. Panic flared, but instinct kicked in.

Suddenly, a box appeared out of thin air, landing just in front of him. He planted his foot on it, propelling himself upward.

The infected collided with the box, smashing it into splinters, but Jaxon landed on the other side. His hands snatched up the rifle as he swung it to aim. The crosshairs lined up with the monster’s head, and he squeezed the trigger.

Bang.

The bullet tore through the infected’s skull as its head split open, and crumpled to the ground, lifeless.

"Huff... huff..." Jaxon wheezed, chest heaving so hard he thought it might burst. "I... I have to get to the others."

Pain screamed through his ribs, his legs trembling, but he pushed forward, stumbling over dirt and debris, forcing every aching step toward his family and friends.

.....

Meanwhile, with the group still pinned by the forest, panic began to flare.

"Jaxon! We have to save Jaxon!" Cindy shouted, her voice trembling, her M16 shaking in her hands.

"Maintain formation! Don’t stray away!" Elena barked, twin Uzis chattering as she shot down any infected that came too close.

"But... but Jaxon..." Cindy started again, panic making her fingers clumsy.

"You move and we all die! Keep focus!" Elena yelled, firing again. The infected surged from the trees in waves, but the group held fast, forming a tight circle, each gun covering the others.

Natasha gritted her teeth, every fiber of her screaming to Jaxon’s side. But she forced herself to stay. Elena was right. If they scattered, they’d all be torn apart.

Na-rin’s face was grim, her knuckles white as she gripped her pistol. Every second that passed Jaxon could already be... gone.

Burgors felt the weight of it all, the fear, the desperation, the thin line between survival and death. His hands shook, but then he slammed his fist into his palm. "Burgors the Great will save the day!" he roared, and without another thought, he bolted from behind.

Everyone froze.

"Fatsu! What are you doing!?" Elena shouted, her voice cracking with panic.

"Go now! I’ll lure them!" Burgors shouted back, sprinting straight into the open, M16 swinging.

Elena’s mouth opened, but the words died as the horde shifted, drawn by his movement. Not all of them, but enough to give the others a chance.

"I said RUN! Keep moving!" Burgors shouted over his shoulder, grinning wildly, adrenaline turning his fear into reckless courage. "I’m fast. I’ll keep them busy!"

Elena gritted her teeth as they dashed toward where Jaxon had been sent flying. The rest of the group followed, though not everyone went forward. Haris and Bong-gu held their positions, firing from a distance to cover Burgors.

"You’re not the only one who can be a hero" Bong-gu shouted as he sprinted forward, his gun cracking. "I’m a man too!"

Haris smirked, sliding between trees. "Don’t forget me!"

Elena shook her head. "These idiots..." she muttered, frustrated.

As they moved, Burgors drew most of the infected with his reckless sprint, but Natasha, Na-rin, and Elena covered him, taking precise shots to fend off anything that got too close. Elaine, Hannah, Claire, Cindy, Isabel, and even the twins shredded the ones rushing toward the rest of the group, keeping their circle intact.

"HAHAHA! Burgors, you’re killing it!" Bong-gu shouted, the laughter breaking through the fear. For a moment, the hopeless, suffocating tension seemed to crack.

Burgors grinned wildly, panting as he ran. "Bring it on, you bastards!"

An infected lunged from the side, but Burgors slammed it back with his rifle, keeping it at bay. Arms clawed at him from every angle, but he shoved them aside, focusing on moving, not killing.

Suddenly, an infected lunged at Burgors, knocking him to the ground.

"Crap, I messed up!" Burgors panicked, rolling to the side and jamming his rifle against the creature’s snapping jaws. Its teeth scraped dangerously close to his neck, the stench of decay filling his nostrils.

Before it could bite him, a sharp crack split the air. The infected’s head exploded in a spray of blood.

"Jaxon!" Cindy cried, relief and excitement in her voice, as he emerged from the bushes, rifle raised. Sumiko clung tightly to his back, no cloth now supporting her, but held firmly to his neck.

Jaxon didn’t pause. Bullets ripped through the approaching infected, tearing flesh and bone. Two, sometimes three, fell with each shot.

Burgors curled into a protective ball on the ground. He moved as little as possible, keeping low, while Jaxon’s DMR roared with deadly precision. Bullets seemed to find every infected that came near, their bodies falling before they could even touch him.

Minutes dragged by, each one stretching like hours. Then, finally, the swarm thinned till no more infected came. The forest fell quiet, the only sounds the ragged breathing of the group.

Haris and Bong-gu rushed to Burgors, helping him to his feet.

"Senior Burgors, that was insane!" Bong-gu said, grinning.

Haris nodded, clapping him on the shoulder. "Seriously. I think we just found the hidden ace of our team."

Burgors straightened, brushing dirt from his clothes. "I thought I was... but Jaxon saved my ass again. And the girls aren’t even looking at me!" He glared at Jaxon, just as the others were running toward him.

Haris laughed. "Forget it. We need to keep moving."

Burgors sighed, letting himself be pulled along, the adrenaline still thrumming through his veins.

They soon caught up with the group, breathing hard.

"Fatsu, you idiot," Elena snapped, grabbing his arm. "Why would you rush out like that?"

"I..." Burgors started.

She cut him off, then exhaled. "But... you saved us back there. Good job." A quick, crooked smile flashed across her face.

Burgors blinked, then broke into a proud grin.

"But do that again," Elena continued, her smile turning sharp, "and you’re dead. I’ll kill you myself." She let out a short chuckle, looking straight into his eyes

Burgors laughed weakly, wiping sweat from his face.

Jaxon glanced at Burgors and gave him a brief thumbs-up before turning to the group. "Let’s move now."

Even though everyone was exhausted, bruised, and barely holding together, they forced their legs to move. They started sprinting again as distant howls rose behind them.