Chapter 52: Chapter 48
The pistol repeatedly struck Sylvia's forehead, causing her consciousness to gradually fade away. She could no longer hold on, and her tightly clenched jaw finally relaxed as Joseph pulled her down from atop him. She lay there on the ground, struggling weakly.
Joseph was sweating profusely as he struggled to stand up from the ground. He tugged at his collar to catch his breath, then looked around the room. Most of the hostages had fled, leaving him infuriated. Those hostages were his bargaining chips for negotiations, and their disappearance only added to his frustration.
However, his anger subsided slightly when he noticed five or six children still huddled in the corner of the living room, untouched by the chaos. He felt a glimmer of hope knowing he still had some leverage.
As he surveyed the soldiers surrounding the house, Joseph couldn't shake off a sense of strangeness. Despite being entangled earlier, the soldiers hadn't stormed in. It was odd, considering he would have been a sitting duck if they had attacked earlier.
Unbeknownst to Joseph, his location had provided a blind spot, making it difficult for the soldiers outside to assess the situation. Focused on fleeing civilians, they hadn't received any updates on the situation indoors. Seeing a mass exodus, they were bewildered by the lack of information.
Combined with the sight of several children cowering in the corner, they hesitated to rush in, fearing it might be a trap.
"Damn you, I'll kill you!"
Joseph glared at the unconscious black woman beneath him, feeling a surge of pain in his ears and an overwhelming rage.
She was the cause of all this chaos, and he wanted to unleash his fury upon her. He raised his foot to kick her head, releasing some of his pent-up anger.
Just then, Brian appeared behind Joseph, brandishing the knife the black woman had thrown earlier. It was his quickest route to a lethal weapon.
Seeing Joseph's towering figure, Brian hesitated to deliver a fatal blow immediately. Instead, he opted for a familiar attack, aiming for Joseph's knee before he could retaliate. With a swift kick to the side of the knee, Brian acted preemptively.
"Damn it!"
Joseph's knee buckled, and he fell to the ground once more. He managed to brace himself with his left hand to avoid collapsing completely. He cursed inwardly, wondering why he was being ambushed again. His mind raced with frustration as he voiced his anger.
Brian, realizing his initial strike had succeeded, didn't waste a moment. He swiftly moved to capitalize on Joseph's vulnerability, his left hand pressing Joseph's forehead back as his right hand aimed the knife at Joseph's throat.
This was a move Brian often used against infected individuals, except for the time he had used it against a thug. This, however, was his first time using it to take a life.
Feeling the chill on his throat, Joseph cursed the attackers for their relentless assaults. Without thinking, he raised his right hand and instinctively grabbed Brian's wrist holding the knife.
As Joseph clutched Brian's wrist, he noticed it felt small, almost like a child's arm. His eyes widened as he realized Brian was just a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy, his eyes gleaming with determination as he attempted to slit Joseph's throat.
Seeing the grim expression on Brian's face, Joseph felt a chill run down his spine. He couldn't believe a child would dare to challenge him like this. He squeezed Brian's wrist, intending to wrest the knife away.
However, as he grabbed Brian's wrist, Joseph sensed something amiss. Brian's strength was no match for his own, and Joseph easily overpowered him. Yet, even if he let go, he couldn't escape unscathed. The soldiers outside would surely gun him down if he abandoned the confrontation.
Caught in a dilemma, Brian suddenly had an epiphany. With a gleam in his eye, he swiftly lifted his left knee and forcefully slammed it into the back of Joseph's head, simultaneously releasing his grip on the knife and pulling his trapped arm away.
Joseph felt a surge of relief as he thought he was about to seize the knife. But before he could fully comprehend the situation, he felt an intense pain in the back of his head. His vision darkened, and the hand holding his chin loosened. His body lurched forward, almost losing consciousness.
Thankfully, Brian was just a child, and his strength was limited. Joseph's head spun with dizziness, and he struggled to stay conscious, using the nearby wall for support as he forced himself to stand once more.
Joseph's appearance was grim and disheveled, his eyes bloodshot. He scanned the room and spotted the small figure of the boy. Brian leaned against the wall, smiling slyly at Joseph, his face adorned with a mocking grin.
"Ah! I'll kill you!"
Feeling utterly humiliated, Joseph reached for his rifle. He was determined to eliminate the boy in front of him.
Unbeknownst to Joseph, while all his attention was on Brian, another figure had appeared behind him.
Seeing Joseph reaching for his rifle, Brian remained calm. Remembering a scene from a movie he had watched, he decided to play the part of a tough guy.
He mimicked a gun with his hand, aimed it at Joseph, and made a shooting motion with his mouth silently saying, "Bang!"
At the same time, Sarah, standing in the dining room, seemed to receive a signal. She lifted the shotgun in her hands, aimed it at Joseph's back, and without hesitation, pulled the trigger.
Boom!
With a deafening roar, countless tiny steel pellets flew out of the gun barrel, striking Joseph's back in an invisible barrage. Joseph's body jerked as if hit by a tremendous force. He dropped his rifle, unable to even scream, and collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony.
Brian watched as Joseph fell, his body convulsing and spewing blood. His back was drenched in crimson, and it was evident that he wouldn't survive.
Brian didn't feel any remorse for Joseph's fate. Considering Joseph's disregard for the lives of the mother and child earlier, Brian concluded that Joseph was irredeemable. Although witnessing another life come to an end left him feeling somewhat helpless.
In a world where everyone seemed to act out of selfish desires, Brian couldn't help but wonder why cooperation wasn't more prevalent. Did committing atrocious acts truly lead to a better life, or were they merely indulgences to satisfy one's inner demons, disregarding the lives of others?
Sighing deeply, Brian pushed aside these complex questions. Seeing no sign of the soldiers rushing in, he quickly glanced at Sarah and nodded discreetly.
Turning his attention to the children who had been left behind, Brian noticed they were either unconscious or covering their ears, traumatized by the events. They seemed to have gone unnoticed, which was fortunate.
Thinking that perhaps they had escaped detection, Brian curled up on the ground, feigning the behavior of a frightened child.
Taking the cue from Brian's signal, Sarah swiftly retreated and began disassembling the shotgun, hiding its components among the furniture in the dining room.
Well, none of this was the black woman's doing; they had no connection whatsoever. As for the gunshot wounds from the shotgun... who cared? They had disassembled the firearms, so they wouldn't be discovered, right?
However, moments later, a figure dressed in officer's uniform led several soldiers into the house. They looked around, surprised by the scene.
One of the soldiers, approaching the officer, whispered, "Sir, when you infiltrated earlier..."
But the officer raised a hand to silence the soldier's inquiry. He observed the unconscious black woman and the children in the living room, glanced casually at Brian's feigned terror, and scanned the furniture in the dining room.
"You need not inquire further. Get a few men to clean up this mess immediately. Afterwards, escort the women and children out."
"Yes, sir!"
The officer, seeing no need to elaborate, gestured for the soldiers to tidy up the area.
At that moment, the officer's radio crackled to life, and a man's voice came through, "Justin, what's the situation over there?"
Justin took the radio, casting a meaningful glance at Brian's act of terror in the living room, and replied, "Everything's under control here. All suspects have been apprehended, and the ringleader is deceased. I'll tidy up here and join you shortly."
With that, Justin signaled to Sarah with a glance and started making arrangements for their departure.
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