My Sniper System in a Zombie Apocalypse World-Chapter 87: Rest Before the Noise

Three days passed in a blur. Jaxon spent most of them asleep, his family refusing to let him do anything but rest.

Sometimes, when he half woke, he would see someone sitting beside his bed. Cindy, Isabel, Natasha. They took turns, never leaving the room empty for long.

"Hehe, this feels nice, Brother," Cindy giggled as she fed him carefully with a spoon.

Jaxon opened his eyes just enough to look at her. "You don’t have to feed me, Cindy."

"No," she said firmly. "You’re injured. I’ll take care of you."

He gave a weak smile and let her continue.

Not just her, sometimes, Isabel or Natasha wiped him clean with a warm cloth. Jaxon remembered Isabel doing the same thing when they were younger, back when he was sick or hurt. Back then, it felt normal. Now, it felt... strange. Not bad, just unfamiliar.

As the days passed, his body healed faster than it should have. Wounds that would normally take weeks slowly closed in just days. The pain was still there, but it was dull now. He could move without feeling like his body would fall apart.

"Brother, stay in bed, okay?" Cindy said after she finished. "I’ll come back later."

"Mm," Jaxon replied softly. "Don’t get scolded again by Elena."

Cindy froze.

"Ugh." Her smile vanished as she rushed out of the room.

Just as Jaxon was about to drift back to sleep, a soft knock came at the door.

"Come in."

He expected Natasha or Isabel, but instead, Elaine stepped inside.

She looked as striking as ever. Her long blonde hair fell neatly down her back, her black eyes calm but observant, and her training outfit clinging to her toned frame.

"Hey," Elaine said quietly, stepping closer.

"You need something?" Jaxon asked, sitting up slightly.

"I... haven’t seen you for a while," she admitted softly.

"Yeah. Are the others looking for me too? Sorry, I’ve been resting," he said.

A moment of silence stretched between them. Then Elaine spoke again. "Natasha said you went out alone and got injured. That was reckless, Jaxon."

He knew Natasha had already told Elaine and the others about him going out at night, though she had tweaked the story to hide the truth about his system. According to Natasha, they had discovered a gun store through the drone, and he went to retrieve it on his own. She also filled them in where he got injured and the encounters with other survivors and mutated infected

"You’re right. I was reckless. I made things worse outside. I’m sorry," he admitted.

Elaine shook her head quickly. "No, that’s not it."

"Huh?"

"It’s... it’s just..." She hesitated, her cheeks coloring slightly. "I was worried about you, okay?"

Seeing her embarrassed, Jaxon’s eyes widened slightly as memories of their first kiss flickered in his mind.

"I see... thanks..." he said, clearing his throat with a small cough.

Elaine nodded and stepped a little closer to the bed. Hesitantly, her fingers brushed against the edge of the blanket covering his arm. "How are you feeling?"

He looked down at her pale hand, warm in contrast to the stiffness in his own body. "Better," he admitted, meeting her gaze again. "Especially now."

"That’s good," she said softly, a small smile tugging at her lips.

A comfortable silence settled over the room. Elaine’s hand lingered a moment longer before she pulled it back, tucking a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

"I really wanted to check on you," she said, a hint of complaint in her voice. "But your sisters... they’re on guard twenty-four-seven. Never letting anyone near you."

"Is that so?" Jaxon chuckled, shaking his head.

Elaine smiled, then spoke about the others, her students had wanted to check on him too, but Cindy and Natasha had kept everyone away. She mentioned how everyone was improving, how the food supplies had helped them regain strength, and how their bodies were even healthier now.

"I should probably go," she said after a moment, glancing toward the door. "Cindy will be back soon, and I don’t want to get in trouble."

"Elaine," Jaxon called softly as she turned to leave. "Thanks. For checking on me."

She nodded, cheeks flushing faintly. "Get some rest, Jaxon."

As she reached the door, she hesitated, then turned back with a small, hesitant smile. "And... Jaxon?"

"Yeah?"

"Be more careful next time, okay?"

With that, she slipped out. The door clicked softly behind her, and she pressed her back against it, letting out a quiet sigh.

"What am I doing?" she muttered, touching her flushed cheeks, feeling the warmth spread.

.....

Night had settled over the city.

The room was dim, lit only by battery-powered lanterns and the occasional flashlight. Everyone had gathered around the table, Burgors, Elena, Elaine and her students, and the rest of the group.

The city’s electricity had gone out two days ago. It was surprising that anything had lasted this long before failing completely. The bunker had a generator, but they didn’t dare turn it on. Any sound could attract the infected swarming the streets.

"Oh, look who’s here. Our hero finally woke up," Elena said, smirking as Jaxon and his family joined the table.

"Jaxon!" Hae-in said, her eyes lighting up. "I heard you were hurt. Are you okay now?"

"I’m fine," he said, offering a small smile.

He noticed Na-rin watching him from across the table. Their eyes met for a brief second and Jaxon gave her a slight nod. She quickly looked away, though a hint of relief still lingered in her gaze.

As everyone settled, Jaxon spoke up. "How’s the situation outside?"

"Bad," Elena replied. "The infected are still active, day and night. It doesn’t look like they’ll stop anytime soon."

Jaxon sighed, then spoke. "I apologize for acting by myself, now I made the situation worse."

Elena raised an eyebrow. "You did? I’m curious what you did to get them so agitated."

Natasha and Cindy narrowed their eyes, about to speak up, but Jaxon quickly held up a hand, stopping them.

"I killed hundreds of them," Jaxon said quietly. "Or maybe they know there are still people alive in this city. Either way, it made things difficult for us."

"Don’t take the blame, Jaxon," Haris spoke, leaning forward. "Maybe the infected are just acting strange again. We really can’t know what they’re up to."

Elaine and her students remained quiet, silently nodding in agreement.

Elena exhaled and waved her hand dismissively. "Alright, alright. At least you brought us more weapons."

Natasha then placed a hand on the map spread across the table, her eyes scanning the lines and streets. "We only have two days left before the train arrives. We need to decide our route to the station."

"Using the drone, we found two possible paths," Natasha said, looking toward Na-rin.

Na-rin nodded, then slid Natasha’s finger aside and pointed to a narrow road running parallel to the main streets.

"This one," she said. "An old service road. It connects warehouses and delivery bays. There should be fewer infected since there aren’t many houses nearby."

Burgors raised an eyebrow. "You sound pretty sure about this."

"I grew up here," Na-rin replied calmly. "My uncle used to drive supply trucks through these streets. When the main roads got jammed, this was the alternative."

She then drew a zigzag line across the rooftops. "And this is another option," she continued. "Fire escapes and rooftop gaps. Most of these buildings are close together. We could move slowly and use cover along the way."

Bong-gu frowned. "Are you sure there aren’t infected on them? What if we use the sewers again?"

The girls exchanged sharp looks, clearly not liking the idea.

"No," Natasha said flatly.

"The sewers connect too many zones. We have no way of knowing where we’ll end up. Randomly popping out would only bring more trouble." Na-rin added.

Everyone shared their thoughts, offering suggestions, but no one seemed to agree on a single plan. Their options were too limited, with infected spreading and moving everywhere around them.

Then Jaxon’s voice cut through the noise. "None of those routes matter."

"If we walk straight to the station, we’ll be seen," he continued. "One infected spots us and screams, Another hears it. Before we know it, we’ll be dragging a whole horde behind us."

He studied the map, then looked at Na-rin.

"We need a distraction. Something big and loud. We draw them away and move while the infected are focused elsewhere."

His family frowned, catching on to what he had in mind.

"No," Natasha said sharply. "You’re not planning to handle the distraction by yourself again, are you?"

"I’m not saying that," Jaxon replied calmly. "We’ll use something instead."

"Use what?" Elena asked.

"Fireworks."

The room went quiet.

"We place them far away," Jaxon continued. "Then we add something extra. Fuel, maybe. When the time comes, I’ll snipe it from here. If I light the fuse from here... they’ll all rush to it. That should give us a clear path. One chance, and we move fast."

For a moment, the room stayed quiet. Then Elena nodded slowly. "That could work."

"But who’s setting them up?" Burgors asked. "And where do we even get fireworks?"

"I’ll go," Jaxon said. "I know where to get them."

"No," Natasha, Cindy, and Isabel said at the same time.

"I made the situation worse," Jaxon said quietly. "I’ll take responsibility for it."

"No one’s blaming you," Elaine said softly.

"Thank you," Jaxon replied. "But someone has to do it. If we hesitate, we miss the train."

Silence fell over the room.

"Alright," Elena said suddenly. "I’ll go with you then."

"Thanks," Jaxon said, shaking his head. "It’ll be faster if I go alone."

"No," Natasha said, standing. "I’m coming with you."

Jaxon let out a long breath, knowing it would be hard to convince her otherwise. Finally, he nodded. "Alright. But it’s only you. No one else." His gaze swept over Cindy, Isabel, Elaine, and Elena, all of whom had wanted to go with him.