Zombie survivor

[96] Buying time

Bullets ricocheted off the container truck, sending sparks flying as the firefight raged on. The air was thick with the acrid smell of gunpowder, and the shouts and screams of both sides echoed across the bridge. Jean crouched behind the rusted frame of a car, his chest heaving as he reloaded his pistol. To his left, Akira was locked in close combat with a raider, her twin knives flashing as she parried his machete strikes with deadly precision.

"Keep pushing forward!" Garrett barked, firing his shotgun and taking down a raider who had been trying to flank them. "We've gotta move that fucking truck, or we're screwed!"

"We're not getting through that without more ammo," Brad yelled back, his voice strained as he ducked behind the truck to reload. "These assholes are dug in!"

The raider leader's voice boomed over the chaos, dripping with cruel amusement. "Don't kill the women! They're mine when this is over!"

Chloe froze for a split second, her shotgun trembling in her hands. "What the fuck did he just say?"

"You heard him," Blake said through gritted teeth, firing off a round at a raider. "We can't let these bastards win."

Chloe's face twisted with fury as she stepped out from cover, firing her shotgun at the raider leader. The blast caught the man next to him, sending him sprawling, but the leader ducked just in time.

"Bitch has some fight in her!" the leader taunted, grinning as he fired a shot that hit the car Chloe was using as cover. "I like that!"

"Fuck this guy," Chloe snarled, pumping her shotgun.

"We've gotta move the truck!" Jean shouted, firing at the raiders pinning them down from behind the container. He ducked as another volley of bullets struck the car he was using as cover. "If we don't, we're stuck here!"

"Yeah, no shit!" Evan yelled, fumbling to reload his revolver. His hands were trembling so badly that the cylinder slipped from his grasp, the bullets spilling onto the ground. "We're outnumbered and outgunned! It's fucking impossible!"

Akira darted back to Jean's side, panting and splattered with blood that wasn't hers. "What's the plan?" she asked, her voice sharp. "We can't just sit here."

Jean clenched his jaw, scanning the battlefield. The raiders were dug in around the truck, their makeshift armor and superior firepower keeping the scavengers pinned down. Every time someone tried to move forward, they were met with a hail of bullets.

"I don't know yet," Jean admitted, frustration boiling in his chest.

"Great fucking leader," Chloe snapped, her shotgun roaring as she took out another raider trying to advance. "What happened to all that 'we'll figure it out' bullshit?"

"Guys," Trev said suddenly, his voice cracking as he crouched behind the same piece of cover as Evan. "I... I think I have an idea."

The group turned to look at him, their expressions ranging from skeptical to desperate.

"What kind of idea?" Jean asked, wiping sweat from his brow.

Trev swallowed hard, adjusting his glasses with a shaking hand. "We can make them move the truck... without having to take all of them out."

Evan snorted, his laugh bitter and incredulous. "You? You've got an idea? What are you gonna do, challenge them to a Discord debate?"

"Shut up, Evan," Akira snapped, glaring at him. "Let him speak."

Trev hesitated, glancing around nervously as the gunfire continued to roar around them. He seemed to be wrestling with himself, torn between the fear of speaking up and the hope that his idea might actually work.