My Sniper System in a Zombie Apocalypse World-Chapter 110: Dancers in the Storm

From behind, Jaxon caught up with the group after killing the last of the infected dogs. He dropped to one knee beside a soldier struggling to protect a survivor, hoisted the person up in a single motion, and shoved them forward.

"Keep your head, run!" he yelled, voice sharp.

Ahead, Thomas fired at a crawler leaping from the trees, but his shots missed as it lunged toward him. Before it could strike, the creature’s head exploded mid-air.

Thomas blinked, his ears still ringing from the crawler’s roar. He glanced back, and his eyes widened. Jaxon was already there. ’He shot that while moving?’

Their eyes met for a brief second, and an unspoken understanding passed between them. Thomas would hold the front, and Jaxon would cover the rear. Without a word, they moved in sync, each taking their position as the chaos pressed in around them.

"Everyone! Stay calm! Stay behind the soldiers!" Thomas barked, rallying the scattered men and re-forming the front line.

Natasha and the others adapted quickly. She, Cindy, Isabel, and the rest took position on the right flank, while Elena, Elaine, and her students moved to cover the left.

Jaxon moved like a shadow along the rear, eliminating anything that got too close, covering blind spots and keeping the group from being surrounded. Meanwhile, Thomas and the soldiers kept the front clear, firing with deadly accuracy.

Between Jaxon and Thomas, they became the pillars holding the collapsing line together, a wall of order against the chaos that pressed in from every side. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

The group pressed forward in a tight, defensive formation, killing every infected that lunged at them. At last, they reached the lower slopes of the mountain and paused for a brief, tense moment.

"Ben, try contacting them again," Thomas barked. A soldier quickly pulled out his walkie-talkie, pressing it close to shield it from the pouring rain.

Static crackled sharply, but no voice came through. The storm was a maelstrom of interference, but Ben suspected the mountain’s mineral-rich rock was also to blame.

"I can’t get through, Sir," the soldier panted, adjusting the dial. "But... the reinforcements we requested... they should be on their way."

Jaxon, catching up behind them, spoke without lowering his guard. "So you contacted someone."

Thomas glanced back at him. "Yes. And they should be coming... any moment now." His eyes scanned the shadowed trees, restless and alert.

Thunder rolled overhead, shaking the treetops, yet the forest behind them was far from quiet. Faint growls echoed through the shadows, and shapes moved just beyond sight, shifting between the wet trunks and underbrush.

"We can’t stay here waiting. If those reinforcements don’t arrive soon, we move ourselves. We head straight to the safe zone," Jaxon said, his voice steady.

Thomas hesitated, looking at the drenched, exhausted survivors, then the dark, shifting tree line. Finally, he nodded. "...Agreed."

He raised his rifle, signaling the soldiers to form up. "Move out!" he shouted, his voice cutting through the rain.

.....

Half an hour later, a group of soldiers arrived at the spot where Thomas and the survivors had been. Strange harnesses hugged their waists, bristling with cables and hooks that glinted in the rain-soaked light.

Without warning, a hook shot from one soldier’s launcher, embedding itself in a nearby tree. In an instant, the cable retracted, yanking him forward with startling speed.

Another hook fired from his left wrist, latching onto a second tree, and he was flung through the air, spinning with precise, fluid motion. Mechanical springs and tiny electric motors worked together seamlessly, propelling him like he was defying gravity itself.

It wasn’t just one soldier. Dozens of them moved through the forest like shadows, vaulting, swinging, and leaping from branch to branch. The cables webbed around the trees, pulling them through the air with effortless grace.

"Command, Special Unit is on-site. Coordinates clear, no survivors detected," came the calm, clipped voice of one soldier over the radio.

"Copy that. Investigate thoroughly, we just received the signal," a voice replied.

"Understood. Sweeping the area," the soldier confirmed.

Suddenly, an infected erupted from the underbrush, letting out a guttural roar. Others quickly followed, drawn by the movement and noise.

"Engage!" the squad leader barked, voice sharp and controlled.

The soldiers launched themselves into action, firing hooks and swinging through the trees. The creatures leaped after them, but the cables pulled the soldiers upward faster than the creatures could follow.

The infected tried to keep pace, leaping from branch to branch, but were systematically killed, bullets striking clean and precise.

"Recon Squad, sweep the right!"

"Hunter Squad, cover their advance!"

They moved like parkour specialists fused with the impossible agility. Grappling hooks shot, cables retracted, propelling them over the trees in arcs of fluid motion.

Sparks flew as hooks latched onto steel supports, the forest alive with the sound of wet ropes, bullets, and the screams of the dying infected.

While the soldiers moved through the rain-soaked forest, picking off infected with steady precision, a girl of about nineteen moved with effortless grace, her every step fluid and controlled.

"Annie!" she called out beside her, eyes sparkling with mischief as she looked at her friend.

The girl she called Annie was about the same age, with dark chestnut hair and grey-blue eyes, a stunning beauty with a calm, steady presence. "Isn’t this a little boring? Think we should have some fun?"

Annie looked at her best friend, a striking woman with pale, smooth, pale skin, long auburn-blonde hair, and hazel eyes. Calm but sharp, Annie’s lips curved into a small, amused smile. "So, you’re bored again?"

Lina tilted her head, a playful lilt in her voice. "You’re not coming with me?"

Annie’s lips curved into a smile. "Let’s go."

Without another word, the two girls broke from the formation.

Through the comms, their squad leader’s voice rang out. "Annie, Lina! Hold your positions!"

The order was clear, but neither glanced back, grins spreading across their faces. Without hesitation, they shot forward, waist-mounted hooks firing in quick arcs to snag distant trees, propelling them through the air with effortless speed.

"God, those two again," the squad leader muttered under his breath. "If they weren’t our aces, they’d be in deep trouble."

Annie and Lina moved like dancers in a storm. From tree to tree, they swung, leapt, and landed with perfect timing. Their compact assault rifles, fitted with suppressors, cracked with muffled pops, each shot taking down infected heads as they lunged after the girls.

The forest echoed with wet thuds and the hiss of gunfire, but the girls giggled, threading their way through the chaos.

A few moments later, distant gunfire echoed through the trees. They froze, exchanging a quick look, then nodded almost simultaneously. With synchronized speed, they raced toward the source, disappearing into the stormy shadows.