My Sniper System in a Zombie Apocalypse World-Chapter 30: Eyes in the Dark

Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Eyes in the Dark
"Do it," Jaxon replied without hesitation. His gaze firm.
The woman paused, surprised. Then she let out a short laugh. "At least wipe the sweat off your face if you want to sound convincing."
She then pulled back her bow and slowly lowered it.
Seeing that, Jaxon let out a quiet breath. In truth, he didn’t know if she was reckless enough to shoot. If she did, he could only try his best to dodge. An arrow was slower than a bullet, so maybe he could dodge it? Maybe.
"Natasha, lower your gun too," Jaxon said.
"Are you sure?" Natasha asked, her grip still tight. "She’s dangerous."
"I know, that’s why we shouldn’t escalate this into a fight."
After a moment, Natasha moved to his side, passing the woman with caution, her pistol ready to fire at any moment.
"This is my sister, Natasha," Jaxon said, keeping his voice calm. "Like I said earlier, we live nearby and are checking the area. If you are also doing the same, then we can forget what happened and go our own ways."
The woman studied them for a moment, then relaxed. "If you have the nerve to explore, then you must have faced those monsters outside. You are not bad." She straightened slightly. "My name is Elena. I am a policewoman."
"A policewoman?" Jaxon frowned. "Then why aim at me like you were going to kill me? Aren’t you supposed to help law-abiding people like me?"
"Sorry," Elena said lightly. "It’s a habit. You were sneaking around, so I had to be careful. My seniors always told me to sound intimidating when interrogating someone."
"So that was just an act?" Jaxon asked.
"Maybe," she replied with a smile.
That smile sent a chill down his spine. He could not tell if she was joking or not.
"Anyway," Jaxon continued, "what are you doing here, Miss Elena? If you live here, you could have just greeted us at the door."
"That’s dangerous. I didn’t know your intentions."
"Makes sense," Jaxon said. "But how did you hide so well? We were sure no one was inside."
"That’s a secret," Elena said, giving him a quick wink.
Her attitude had completely changed. If Jaxon had not seen her earlier, he would have thought she was just a friendly woman.
"So," she asked, "did you find what you were looking for?"
Jaxon glanced at Natasha, giving him a small nod, a sign that she had found it. Strangely, Natasha had stayed silent the whole time, her eyes never leaving Elena.
"Then we’ll be leaving," Jaxon said. "It’s getting dark, and we need to head home. Sorry again for intruding."
"I’ll let it slide this time," Elena replied with a light laugh. "But be careful next time. You don’t want to lose your life for no reason, right?"
She was smiling, but the words carried a warning.
Maybe, just like they did not fully trust her, she clearly did not trust them either.
With that, they said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Elena stayed behind, watching them until they disappeared down the street.
"That woman was dangerous," Jaxon said as he walked beside Natasha. "She’s hard to deal with."
"I don’t trust her," Natasha replied, her voice tight with anger. "She’s unstable."
"She is not like the two siblings," Jaxon said thoughtfully. "She is hard to read. Still, we got what we came for, so it ended well. If we can, we should avoid her place." He smiled faintly and adjusted his backpack, feeling the solid box of the drone inside.
Before long, they reached home. Cindy greeted them with her usual cheer, but she quickly noticed Natasha’s tense mood.
At dinner, Jaxon and Natasha told them about the woman they met and what happened in the house. Natasha made it clear that everyone should stay alert around her.
.....
That night, Jaxon could not hold back anymore. He took out the drone and began to operate it.
Bzzzz.
The sharp buzzing broke the silence.
’It’s too loud,’ he thought. ’Every time it takes off or comes back, it could draw attention. I’ll have to be careful, or this thing might cause more trouble than help.’
The drone lifted into the sky. From above, Jaxon saw their house and the nearby streets shrink below. The night was dark, and most details were swallowed by shadows.
He guided the drone farther out, moving slowly as it explored the neighborhood. He kept it high in the air, letting it glide instead of dropping lower, until the buzzing faded into nothing.
Within a one kilometer radius, he saw no infected. Either there were none, or were hidden in the dark.
He pushed farther, reaching nearly three kilometers away.
That was when something felt wrong.
Jaxon frowned as he noticed small movements below. He could not see clearly in the darkness, but there were movements.
From that height, they looked like ants crawling across the ground.
He carefully guided the drone lower.
Bzzz... bzzz... bzzz...
The buzzing grew louder as it drew closer to the ground. Then Jaxon saw them. Dozens of infected, moving together like a swarm.
The sound of the drone had reached their sensitive ears. Their groans and low snarls turned into sharp, frenzied roars. One of the zombies sprinted first, leaping from the rooftop of car to car with unnatural speed. Then it launched itself upward toward the drone.
Its powerful legs pumped with terrifying force.
Jaxon’s heart skipped a beat as it shot two stories into the air, jaws opened wide, its teeth blackened and caked with decay. The camera captured every detail, the ragged flesh, muscles bulging unnaturally, and black veins pulsing under its skin.
Thud.
Its head slammed into the asphalt, crushing a piece of the ground.
Even though it had an impressive physique, surpassing high-level athletes and beyond what any human could possess, the drone was at least thirty meters from the ground.
The infected rose again, as if nothing had happened, eyes glowing faintly in the dark. It jumped once more, straining for the drone, and then another, and another. Soon, dozens of them were leaping like monstrous grasshoppers, each trying to reach the hovering camera.