My Sniper System in a Zombie Apocalypse World-Chapter 47: A Place to Stay

"I think we shouldn’t use the car going forward," Jaxon said suddenly. He looked around the group. "Driving is like announcing where we are, we are calling the infected to us. What do you all think?"

Everyone exchanged a glance. They understood his point, they had lived through it. Still, their destination was far. Walking the rest of the way would take days.

"Uh... I don’t know," Burgors said, scratching his head. "Using a car still feels safer. If we run into trouble, at least we can escape faster, right?"

"And what if the jumpers show up again?" Cindy asked quietly. "We couldn’t outrun those."

Haris hesitated, then spoke. "But we would still have protection. We could find a sturdier car, or reinforce one. On foot, we don’t even have that."

The room fell silent. No one rushed to answer. Both choices carried danger. Walking meant they could stay hidden if they planned well and moved carefully, but if discovered, there would be little chance of outrunning the infected. Using a car meant noise, but also speed and some protection.

In the end, having a vehicle still felt like the more realistic option. If they could find a better one, reinforce it, and use the drone to guide them, then even facing another horde might be manageable.

The silence lingered until Natasha finally spoke. "The original population here was five times larger than our city."

Elena looked at her. "What are you trying to say?"

Isabel answered instead. "She means we’ll be passing through dense parts of the city. The buildings are packed close together, there will be more infected, and surely a lot of blocked roads."

"What if we take other roads?" Hannah asked. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"It won’t change much," Natasha replied. "This place was built too tight. If we use a car, we won’t have enough space to maneuver. Once a horde blocks the road, there won’t be a way out."

Elena fell silent, thinking it over. After a moment, she nodded. "Then we scout first with the drone. If the roads really are that bad, I agree with Jaxon, we move on foot."

The group finally reached an agreement.

For now, though, they needed rest. Their short break earlier had been cut short by the jumpers, and everyone was worn down to the bone. In the end, they decided to stay the night here, gathering their strength before moving on again.

...

As night fell, the group split up to rest in what little privacy the house could offer. Hannah stayed in one room with Elena and the twins. Burgors and Haris took another. Jaxon was supposed to join them, but his family had dragged him away, insisting they share the same room.

Burgors lay on the floor, staring at the ceiling. "Tch. That Jaxon bastard," he muttered. "I bet he’s enjoying himself right now, sleeping in a room full of beautiful women."

Haris let out a short laugh. "Why are you thinking about weird stuff? They’re his family."

"They’re not related," Burgors whispered back.

Haris turned his head. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Nothing," Burgors said quickly. He rolled over and shut his eyes. He knew the truth, that Jaxon had been taken in by Isabel. Natasha’s family had been his neighbors back then. But that was not his story to tell.

In another room, Jaxon lay on the sofa, his hands resting on his chest. His mind replayed the day again and again, the chase, the jumpers, how close they had come to dying.

Cindy stood quietly by the window, her eyes on the moonlit street. After a moment, she spoke softly. "This house seems nice. The view isn’t bad either."

Jaxon watched her for a moment, noticing her distant expression. "Something on your mind, Cindy?"

She stayed silent, her gaze fixed on the moon for a long moment. Finally, she spoke. "I have a question, Brother."

"Um, I’m listening."

"What if we stay? Do we really need to go?"

Jaxon was about to answer, telling her it was their plan from the start. But the words stopped in his throat when he noticed her hands shaking.

"I thought I had grown stronger," Cindy said, lowering her head. "But I’m still terrified, terrified of facing them again, of losing anyone in our family."

Before she could say more, Jaxon reached out and took her hand.

"I feel the same," he whispered. "I’m scared too."

"You? You always seem to know what to do when facing them, Brother. You lead everyone. I’m nothing like that."

Jaxon let out a quiet chuckle. "Is that how you see me?" He shook his head. "I’m very scared of dying, you know... And I’m even more scared of losing you."

"Huh?" Cindy froze. Her fingers tightened around his hand without her noticing, her heart beating faster at his words.

"The same goes for Mom and Natasha," he added.

Cindy puffed her cheeks slightly. "So that’s what you meant."

The room fell silent again. After a moment, she whispered, "But if someone has to die first... I think it would be me."

Suddenly, Cindy felt arms wrap around her from behind.

"No one’s going to die," Isabel whispered, holding her tight. Natasha stood close as well, just behind them.

They had been awake all along, listening.

"I’m more afraid than anyone here," Isabel admitted, her hug tightening. "But as long as we’re together, we’ll be okay."

Cindy felt their warmth and nodded. "Um..."

"You’re actually stronger than you think, Cindy," Natasha added. "Compared to that Elena, you can fight better, a LOT better."

"You’re exaggerating, Natasha," Cindy let out a small laugh. "But... thank you. I feel better now."

Jaxon watched the three of them and smiled quietly. "Actually, I thought the same thing you did, Cindy. Maybe we could just find a place and hide... but we wouldn’t survive that way for long."

The three women turned, listening.

"What I want is for the four of us to live together forever."

"Jaxon?" Isabel asked, startled. Natasha and Cindy shared the same look.

"I’m saying we can’t keep fighting alone. To survive, we need help, people we can trust. And we’ll find them in the safe zone."

He glanced toward their destination. ’Maybe... with my system, we could even build our own safe zone someday.’

Exhausted, Jaxon finally leaned back, closing his eyes. Sleep came easily, carrying him into a quiet, fleeting rest.