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Saff adjusted the straps on her shoulder.Now that she had the bag of medicine, checking out the pharmacy probably wouldn’t be necessary.Instead, she could skip it and head straight out of the city.
As she made her way toward the end of the alley, the view of the street expanded, revealing old broken down vehicles lining each side.
She stopped.
There, on the other side of the street, the back of a blonde head bobbed slowly behind an old red pickup truck.
She pulled her rifle up, centering her scope on the zombie.
Saff took a small breath, lining up the shot.
Then she squeezed.
The gunshot rang through the air, immediately followed by the angry screech of metal as the bullet missed its target by a mere two inches, striking the truck's frame instead with a small spark.
The zombie gave a startled jerk and dropped to the ground with a veryhumanscream.
Saff flinched, her finger freezing on the trigger.
Zombies definitely did not scream.
She moved her gun, scanning every possible hiding spot around the truck.
A slight movement near the front tire caught her eye.
The zombie–or–woman–crawled along the ground to the other side of the truck.
Saff centered the scope on her again.
Why would a human expose themselves so openly with no regard for their surroundings?
Saff swallowed.
They wouldn’t. Unless they were part of a much larger group for protection.
A prickle went down her neck, and she wiped a small bead of sweat from her brow.Drawing her face away from the rifle, she scanned her surroundings, her gaze flicking around the street. There were no signs of additional undead, nor of any other humans.
Could the girl be alone? Or had she strayed from a nearby group?
She brought her eye back to the scope, zeroing in on the body still hidden behind the truck. If the girl got away, and she did have a group with her, she would warn them. Then they would undoubtedly come looking for the person with the gun.
And on the other hand, even if she was alone, she could unwittingly attract more zombies to the area.
Another bead of sweat trickled down her neck, but she didn't dare divert her attention to wipe it away.
She waited a few moments for the girl to shoot back or attempt to flee.
But still, she did nothing.
And the lack of either response left an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. In every previous encounter like this, the person had chosen one of those two options within mere seconds of the first shot being fired.
She had to think fast. Any delay in her escape from the city could be costly.
If she wanted to knock her out, she’d need to sneak up from the opposite side of the truck. But what if she was waiting there with a gun? Just because she hadn't shot back, that didn't mean she wasn't armed.
Saff inched to the end of the alleyway, flattening her back against the wall and cautiously peering around the corner to survey the street once more.
Still clear.