僵尸觉醒：从行尸走肉到传奇

第11章 最后的逃脱

After dealing with a few scattered zombies that appeared out of nowhere, Nathan and Jessica finally made it to the rooftop, where four others were already standing. Lion and Tiger were both drenched in blood, but what shocked Nathan the most was that Tiger had lost an arm!

"He was already bitten. It was only a matter of time before he turned into a zombie!" Hound shouted, trying to defend himself against Lion's accusations and Silver Fox's account of events.

Hearing Hound's voice, Jessica, still slung over Nathan's shoulder, stirred. Her once empty gaze regained focus, and her agile reflexes returned to her body. With a swift movement, she flipped off Nathan's shoulder, unleashing a wave of murderous intent that surged directly toward Hound. Her hand swiftly slid over her back, pulling out her Barrett sniper rifle and aiming it with deadly precision.

"Jessica! What are you doing?" Lion, sensing the danger, quickly stepped in front of Hound and demanded an explanation.

"Snow Leopard went to save you, and you caused his death! Now you're still trying to slander him!" Jessica's voice trembled slightly as her icy eyes behind the scope filled with intense killing intent.

"Put down the gun! The iron doors won't hold back the zombie horde for long. They'll be up here any minute! You need to find a vantage point and await orders!" Lion barked out orders, but Jessica ignored him completely, keeping her sights trained on Hound. The only thing stopping her from pulling the trigger was Lion standing in her way.

Hound's face turned pale, sweat pouring down his forehead as he tried to shrink further behind Lion's broad figure. "Jessica... I..."

Bang!

To everyone's shock, Jessica fired her gun. The bullet whizzed past both their ears, narrowly missing them.

"It's you, Hound! After this mission, I'll take care of you myself!" Jessica slowly lowered her weapon, but her gaze remained locked on Hound with undiminished hostility. After a long, hard stare, she finally turned and walked toward a high point on the rooftop, ready to take her position.

"You! Whether what they're saying is true or not, this matter will be settled after we escape! For now, set up defenses! Go!" Lion ordered, his face stern.

"Yes!" Hound responded, relieved. As he turned and ran off, his panic-stricken expression turned to one of cold malice. His eyes flashed with a vicious gleam as he glanced at Jessica in the distance. "Bitch... just wait!" he muttered under his breath.

As the group moved to fortify their positions, Nathan asked, "What's up with Jessica? She's acting strange."

"Kid, everyone has their own story, don't they?" Tiger replied, grinning as if he were still whole, despite the blood-soaked bandages where his arm used to be.

"Snow Leopard was her brother," Tiger continued, shrugging. He attempted to reach for a row of bullets on his shoulder, but his right arm froze in midair. He smiled bitterly and used his left hand instead.

"What happened to you?" Nathan asked, eyeing Tiger's severed limb.

"I got bit, so I cut it off. Of course, if I still turn into one of them, make sure to put a bullet in my head. I've seen your aim. It's good," Tiger said with a laugh. "Sometimes I wonder if you're some kind of elite special ops guy sent on a mission, and we just dragged you into this mess, poor little Puppet!"

"Nathan, guard that ladder! Those brain-dead zombies might actually manage to climb up it!" Lion's roar broke the moment, and everyone braced themselves. The sounds of heavy impacts were growing louder from below.

"Brothers, hold this ladder! Just 35 more minutes, and the helicopter will be here!"

Hope. In this apocalyptic world, hope was both the most precious and the cruelest thing.

Nathan moved toward the far side of the rooftop, where a ladder extended from the tenth floor straight up to the rooftop. Were these clumsy zombies really going to climb a ladder?

He stepped to the edge, stunned for a moment. Damn, they really were trying! Though the zombies moved like infants learning to crawl, they were definitely climbing.

With a few bursts of his gun, Nathan quickly dealt with the closest zombies. He scanned the area for something to sever the ladder, thinking it would be best to take it down, like a siege ladder from ancient times.

Meanwhile, the distant gunfire and explosions echoed across the battlefield. The last line of defense was now in play—life or death, salvation or annihilation.

"Damn it, hurry up! I need to get back and help!" Nathan grumbled, shooting at the ladder's connection points to weaken them. It wasn't working as well as he'd hoped—he needed an ax or something to cut it down completely.

As he casually shot a few more zombies, Nathan suddenly remembered his points exchange system. "How could I forget about you!" he muttered, quickly checking his system. His points had shot up to over 500!

Just as he began browsing through the available items, a distant sound caught his attention—an aircraft.

"Boss! They're here!" Silver Fox yelled, nearly jumping for joy.

Boom, boom...

Tiger, now serving as the heavy gunner, wore a pale expression as he gripped the trigger with his remaining left hand, mowing down wave after wave of zombies without a word. There was no sign of relief on his face.

"Why are they here now? Weren't they supposed to arrive in an hour? It's only been a little over thirty minutes!" Lion said, suspicion flashing in his eyes.

"Boss, isn't sooner better? We're finally getting out of here!" Silver Fox said excitedly, his submachine gun rattling off rounds as he fought back the horde.

But Hound, his eyes gleaming with joy as the helicopter approached, shot a glance at Jessica before muttering coldly, "Bitch... just wait!"

"Over here! Over here!" Silver Fox shouted, waving a flare.

"Roar, roar!"

With each deep roar from the Mother, more and more zombies were hurled through the air.

Tiger's teeth clenched as his machine gun spat long bursts of fire, cutting down countless zombies, but the pressure was growing. Sweat poured down his face, blurring his vision. Yet even the eye not drenched in sweat was becoming foggy. Why? What was happening?

Pop, pop, pop... Nathan's precise shots easily picked off the zombies struggling to climb the ladder. He continued browsing his system, firing off rounds absentmindedly. Then, suddenly, the machine gun fire from Tiger's position stopped!

"What's going on?" Nathan yelled into the radio, turning to look.

"Tiger? Are you alright?" Lion asked, grabbing Tiger's shoulder and turning him around, only to be met by a low, guttural growl.

"Hiss..."

Tiger's eyes were clouded, and with a sudden burst of strength, he lunged at Lion, pinning him to the ground.

"Boss!"

"Lion?!"

Silver Fox, sensing something was wrong, turned around and saw Tiger attacking their leader.

"Damn it, couldn't you have held on a little longer? Just a little longer, even fifteen more minutes!" Lion shouted in frustration, fighting to hold off the zombie that had once been his comrade. With a heavy heart, Lion closed his eyes, knowing what had to be done.

Bang!

The shot was inevitable. Jessica's finger slowly moved off the trigger as she lowered her rifle, her head bowed in silent grief.

"Lion! What are you doing?! Snap out of it! They've broken through!" Nathan's voice shouted over the radio, snapping everyone out of their momentary shock.

Lion, wasting no time, pushed Tiger's body aside and scrambled to set up the machine gun again. But the sheer number of zombies pouring in was overwhelming. Even with Silver Fox, Hound, and Jessica providing cover, the situation was spiraling out of control.