My Sniper System in a Zombie Apocalypse World-Chapter 56: A Fragile Hope

Jaxon began blocking the door, dragging chairs and desks into place with Bong-gu and the other two male students helping him. Once finished, the group sat huddled in silence, their classmates’ deaths pressed down on them, unspoken but deeply felt.

Bong-gu leaned slightly toward the others, his voice barely above a whisper. "Do you think... he’s planning to leave this school?" He glanced toward Jaxon, who sat near the door, his rifle resting across his lap.

"I think he will," Lucas said, adjusting his glasses nervously. "He has a gun, and you saw what he did to those infected."

Bong-gu swallowed hard. "...Will he take us with him?"

"Why don’t you just ask him?" Lucas muttered.

"You ask him," Bong-gu whispered back.

Before the argument could go further, Hae-in shook her head at them and stood up. Her small frame tense, and walked over to Jaxon.

She stopped beside him, her hands fidgeting. "Mister...," she began softly, her voice trembling with fear and hope.

"Mister... can you take us with you when you leave?" Hae-in asked quietly, her eyes searching his.

The room fell silent. The other students lifted their heads, their eyes fixed on Jaxon, filled with the same fragile hope, as if he held their only chance at escape.

"I can’t." Jaxon shook his head slowly.

The words hit them like a blow.

"If you go outside now, you’ll die," he continued calmly. "Staying hidden is the best way for you to survive."

Hope drained from their faces. Some lowered their heads. Others clenched their fists, their breathing uneven.

Hae-in’s eyes glistened with tears. "Again..." she whispered, her voice tired and broken. "Are you... are you going to abandon us too?"

Her knees gave out. She stumbled forward and weakly struck Jaxon’s chest with her fist.

"Why?" she cried, her voice cracking. "Why does everyone ignore us? We’ve lost our friends. We endured. We waited. We kept waiting for someone to save us." She looked up at him, her eyes desperate. "Is there no hope for us at all?"

Jaxon sat still, stunned. The words caught in his throat. He did not know how to answer. He could only remain silent as Hae-in clutched his clothes and broke down.

Elaine hurried over and pulled Hae-in into her arms, holding her close. She gently stroked her back before turning to Jaxon.

"I’m sorry," Elaine said quietly. "She didn’t mean to lash out. We’ve been trapped here for weeks, waiting for help. She just..."

Jaxon nodded slowly.

As the room fell silent again, Jaxon’s gaze swept over them. Earlier, he had almost spoken, words ready to leave his mouth, but he had stopped himself. Hae-in’s desperate plea had shaken him. He wanted to help them, wanted to tell them everything would be fine.

But he couldn’t lie. If they followed him, they would die. Unlike him, they couldn’t outrun the infected. The city was crawling with dangers, pressing him to reach his family and escape as fast as possible. Taking others with him wasn’t just risky, it was impossible. He was barely keeping himself alive.

A soft nudge at his shoulder pulled him from his thoughts. He turned and saw Na-rin standing quietly beside him, her calm, cold eyes fixed on him. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"You’re not our school guard, are you?" she asked softly.

Jaxon raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"In fact, you’re not even from this city," she continued, her voice low but steady. "You’re unfamiliar how the infected behave. And you only arrived after the explosion earlier, not far from here."

Jaxon looked at her, surprised at her insight, but kept his expression neutral. "That’s true," he said calmly, not denying it. "So... what do you want to say?"

Na-rin met his gaze without flinching. "Take us with you."

"I’m sorry. I can’t." Jaxon closed his eyes, his jaw tightening as if forcing his emotions back down before they could cloud his mind.

Na-rin did not step back. "You wouldn’t come this far into the city without a reason," she said quietly. "Help us, and we’ll help you."

Jaxon let out a slow breath. "It’s not that I don’t want to take you. I can barely survive out there myself."

He opened his eyes and met hers.

The look she gave him made his chest tighten. It was not anger. It was not fear. It was hope. A thin, fragile hope, like this was their last chance to live. The words he was about to say stopped in his throat.

Silence filled the room. Jaxon frowned as his thoughts clashed

Finally, he spoke. "If I take you with me... are you all prepared to die?"

Before Na-rin could answer, Elaine stepped forward.

"Please take us," Elaine said, her voice steady despite the fear in her eyes. "If you leave us here, we’ll die anyway."

"I can leave you food," Jaxon said. "You can survive longer."

Elaine shook her head. "No. Staying here is worse than death. Please take us with you. Even if we die out there... we won’t blame you."

Jaxon finally nodded. Na-rin gave him a small bow before turning back and slipping quietly to the corner.

"Wait." Jaxon’s voice made her pause. He moved to a corner of the room, out of their view.

(70 coins spent. Military Provision successfully purchased.) ×7

He pulled the packs from his bag, each containing MREs, water, and energy bars, using up the coins he just earned, but he didn’t care.

"Here, eat this," he said, handing the packs to Na-rin.

Her eyes widened at the sight of so much food. Weeks of rationing and drinking plain water from the faucet had left her unused to even seeing a full meal.

"Live..." he whispered, almost to himself. "...Don’t lose hope."

"T-thank you," Na-rin stammered, clutching the pack.

She returned to the group, and the others’ faces lit up. They bowed their heads to Jaxon in gratitude, then quickly began eating. The soft sounds of munching filled the room, a rare comfort in the middle of chaos.

Jaxon closed his eyes for a moment, letting himself breathe, when he felt a gentle nudge on his shoulder. Opening them, he saw Hae-in, the short-haired girl with glasses, holding out her half-eaten MRE.

"Are you hungry, Mister?" she asked, awkwardly offering it. "Sorry, I already ate more than half."

Jaxon let a small smile curve his lips. "Thanks. I’m fine."

Hae-in nodded, her cheeks flushing. She leaned slightly closer and whispered, almost too quietly to hear, "I’m sorry for my outburst earlier." Then she turned, hurrying back to the group to hide her embarrassment.

"Rest well. We’ll start moving at daylight," Jaxon said softly, closing his eyes again.