My Sniper System in a Zombie Apocalypse World-Chapter 48: No Safe Face

Morning came quietly.

"Hup... huff... huff..." Hannah’s eyes snapped open, her chest heaving as sweat rolled down her face.

She had been running in her nightmare. In it, none of them had made it out of Dunlow City.

Her gaze drifted to the twins, sleeping peacefully beside her, and then to Elena in the corner, lying soundly, her face calm despite the blood stains from yesterday. Relief washed over Hannah as she realized they were all safe.

"I need a shower," she muttered, pushing herself up. Luckily, the bathroom still had running water and electricity. ’I’ll use it first,’ she thought, shaking off the lingering fear from her nightmare.

As she stepped inside, her eyes landed on a small window near the shower, set low at chest level, as if it had been made that way on purpose. ’What kind of creep built this?’ she frowned.

There was no choice, though. She turned on the water, letting the droplets cascade over her.

As she bathed, an uneasy feeling crept in. She felt like she was being watched.

Hannah froze. Her heart skipped as her eyes slowly moved to the window.

There it was. A pale, wide-open eye stared straight at her from the gate outside.

A small yelp escaped her lips. She stumbled backward, covering herself, and quickly stepped out of the bathroom.

"There... there’s someone at the gate," she whispered, voice trembling. She glanced back at Elena, still asleep, and decided to wait, quietly dressing herself.

Then, a soft knocking echoed from the gate. Her heart skipped a beat. She froze for a moment, listening, then cautiously crept downstairs, careful not to make a sound.

From the other room, Jaxon’s eyes snapped open. The knocking snapped him awake.

Downstairs, Hannah’s hand wrapped around a kitchen knife. She moved slowly, pressing herself against the wall, and peeked through the window.

’A girl?’

At the gate, a girl stood perfectly still. She looked to be around seventeen or eighteen, wearing a school uniform. Her pale skin made her look almost fragile. Her features were above average, but her eyes remained fixed on the house without blinking.

Hannah blinked, trying to make sense of her. ’A survivor? Why is she just standing there? Is something wrong with her head?’ 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

The girl made no sound or movement, and just stood still.

Suspicious, Hannah scanned the room. Her eyes landed on a notebook and pen. Quickly, she scribbled a few sentences, tore the page, and clutched it tightly.

She watched the girl for a while, then slid the window open just enough to create a small gap. Crumpling the paper into a loose ball, she tossed it toward the gate.

The paper tumbled across the ground, stopping at the girl’s feet. The girl slowly bent down, picked it up, and unfolded it, her eyes scanning the words. Then, without a sound, she crumpled the paper again and threw it back.

Hannah’s brow furrowed in confusion. She opened the window a little wider and leaned her head out cautiously.

"Hey... what are you doing out there? It’s dangerous outside," she whispered, keeping herself mostly hidden behind the window frame.

The girl’s head snapped toward her. Their eyes met, and Hannah froze. The girl’s pupils were a deep, unnatural red, staring straight into her. Then, a sick, twisted smile spread across her face.

Bang.

Black blood sprayed everywhere as a bullet struck the girl’s head, exploding it in a grotesque shower of gore.

Hannah’s heart hammered in her chest. She pressed herself against the wall, unable to move, staring in shock and disbelief.

"Wh... wh-what was that?" she whispered, her voice barely audible as her mind struggled to process the scene.

The sound jolted the others awake. One by one, they stumbled downstairs, only to find Hannah frozen near the window.

"What’s wrong, Hannah?" Elena asked, rushing over.

Just then, Jaxon came down, his family close behind him.

"Ja-Jaxon... how did you know she was an infected?" Hannah finally whispered.

"An infected? Where?" Elena asked, her brows knitting together.

Questions bubbled up from the others. Hannah took a shaky breath and began to recount everything that had just happened,

"I’m telling you, she really looked like a normal girl. No grotesque features, she even knocked on the gate and threw the paper back... the only difference was her behavior. It was... strange."

The group listened quietly, frowning. There was no reason for her to lie, but her description didn’t match anything they knew about the infected.

"Was she pretty?" Burgors suddenly asked, breaking the tense silence.

"Why are you asking that?" Elena snapped, smacking the back of his head. "If she is, are you planning to let her eat you?"

"No, I just want to know," Burgors mumbled, rubbing his head.

"You have to be careful, Hannah," Haris said seriously. "Even if she wasn’t infected, don’t approach strangers. You have to tell us first."

"Sorry," Hannah muttered.

"She didn’t approach it," Jaxon interjected, stepping closer. "I had been watching the girl too when she started knocking."

"You... you knew she was infected?" Hannah whispered.

"I didn’t," Jaxon replied honestly. "My gut just told me."

Hannah’s eyes widened, and she muttered under her breath, "What if she wasn’t?"

Jaxon stayed silent for a moment, then spoke calmly. "I can’t risk it. I’ve seen much worse of them."

The others remained silent, their eyes fixed on him, but Elena’s brow furrowed slightly.

Seeing that, Natasha stepped forward and spoke. "There are infected out there far worse than you can imagine. The burden of others’ lives forces difficult decisions, and the morality of those choices doesn’t lessen their impact on everyone."

Hiromi tilted her head, whispering to Cindy, "What is Big Sister Natasha saying? I don’t understand."

"She means... if someone’s life depends on you, you have to make the hard choices," Cindy replied softly.

Breaking the tension, Isabel spoke with a small laugh. "Why don’t we eat first? I’m sure everyone’s hungry."

Slowly, the group nodded, their stomachs reminding them of the need to refuel.