Chapter 208: Death from Above

Chapter 208: Chapter 208: Death from Above

On the evacuation convoy’s end, the endless stretch of trees finally began to give way to concrete and steel. Buildings slowly appeared along the road, growing denser as the convoy approached the outskirts of the city.

The lead vehicles gradually slowed before finally coming to a stop.

Inside the buses, the civilians uneasily looked through the windows at the abandoned streets. Empty buildings towered over them, their windows dark and broken, while abandoned cars were scattered across the roads. Some had been overturned, while others had simply been left in the middle of the street.

At the front of the convoy, the commanding officer lowered his binoculars and reached for the radio.

"Convoy, hold position. All vehicles remain stationary until further orders."

The soldiers immediately moved into position, weapons ready as they watched the surrounding buildings.

The officer turned toward one of the armored vehicles.

"First squad, advance and conduct a route check. Keep visual contact with the convoy. Report anything unusual."

"Roger that, sir."

The armored vehicle slowly moved forward, its engine echoing through the empty streets as it disappeared around a corner.

For the next hour, the soldiers waited while the scouting vehicle moved through the designated route, checking intersections and abandoned streets. Every few minutes, the radio crackled with a short report.

"Command, this is First Squad. Route remains clear. No infected spotted so far. No signs of movement in the surrounding buildings."

The commander frowned slightly.

"Understood. Continue the sweep. Check the rooftops and intersections carefully. Do not move beyond your assigned sector."

"Roger. Continuing."

Another two hours passed. With every passing minute, the soldiers became slightly more confident, but none of them lowered their weapons.

Finally, the radio crackled again.

"Command, first squad. Route is clear. No infected spotted. We have reached the next checkpoint."

The commander glanced toward the long line of buses and armored vehicles behind him. "Understood. Return to the convoy."

"Roger."

Not long after, the armored vehicle came back into view and stopped near the front of the convoy.

The commander raised his radio.

"All units, prepare to move. Maintain formation and keep your spacing. If you encounter infected, report them before engaging unless immediate action is required."

The lead armored vehicle accelerated slowly, followed by the buses and the remaining military vehicles as the evacuation column finally entered the silent city.

...

From a distance, Jaxon and his group remained on standby as the convoy slowly made its way into the city.

Claire kept her drone high above the streets, carefully scanning the roads and surrounding buildings through the feed.

"So far, everything is completely clear," she said. "I’ve checked several buildings along the route too. I haven’t seen any infected. There are some dead bodies, but they look old and are already badly decayed. Nothing seems to have disturbed them recently."

Jaxon sat beside her, watching the feed closely as he nodded. "Good. Keep monitoring the convoy."

The moment the convoy started moving again, Haris and Thomas started their vehicles as well.

For several minutes, everything remained quiet.

Then Claire suddenly frowned. "Wait."

Hannah looked over. "What is it?"

"I lost the signal."

Claire quickly tapped the controls, trying to reconnect to the drone. "The drone just stopped responding."

Cindy immediately looked toward Jaxon. "Brother, Claire lost her drone."

Jaxon frowned. "Could it have gone behind a building?"

"No." Claire shook her head. "I still had a clear signal. It just disappeared."

Jaxon thought for a moment before looking at Cindy.

"Go check it."

"Got it."

Cindy immediately launched her drone and guided it toward the convoy. Everyone watched the feed as the small machine flew between the buildings, slowly closing the distance.

Then the screen suddenly went black.

"What the hell is happening?" Hannah asked.

Jaxon stared at the empty screen for a moment. Then he quickly opened the System Store and purchased another Recon Drone.

"I’ll try."

A new drone appeared, and Jaxon immediately took control of it. This time, he kept it lower, carefully guiding it through the streets before slowly rising above the buildings.

The convoy soon appeared in the distance and nothing seemed unusual.

The buses were still moving, with the armored vehicles surrounding them. Soldiers were keeping watch as they advanced through the empty streets.

Then, just as the drone was about to reach the convoy, his eyes suddenly widened.

A massive mouth opened in the sky.

The enormous jaws came down so quickly that the drone barely had time to capture the creature before it was swallowed whole.

The screen instantly went black.

"Stop the vehicles!"

Jaxon’s sudden shout startled everyone.

Thomas immediately slammed on the brakes, and Haris followed a second later.

"What happened?" Elena asked.

"Get under cover!" Jaxon shouted. "The trees! Move under the trees!"

Haris and Thomas immediately turned the vehicles off the road. The Hilux and military truck rushed toward the nearest tree line before coming to a stop beneath the thick branches.

Everyone quickly grabbed their weapons and climbed out.

"What happened?" Elaine asked, her voice tense.

Jaxon stared toward the city. "There’s a flying monster. It was the thing that swallowed the drone."

Before anyone could respond, a burst of gunfire suddenly echoed from the direction of the city.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Everyone instinctively ducked.

"It’s attacking the convoy," Jaxon said, his expression grim. "Whatever that thing is, it’s up there."

"A flying infected..." Claire swallowed hard. "They can fly now?"

Everyone instinctively looked upward, cautiously scanning the sky above the trees. After everything they had encountered, they had learned not to underestimate the infected anymore.

They had already encountered fast infected, fused creatures, underground infected, and even the colossal infected.

But none of them had expected something that could hunt them from the sky.

Jaxon immediately opened the System Store again and purchased three more Recon Drones.

"Cindy, Claire, take the two. I’ll control the third."

He looked toward both girls seriously.

"Keep them high and don’t get too close. We need to know what’s happening over there."

Both girls nodded and quickly prepared their drones.

"Got it."

"Let’s see what we’re dealing with," Jaxon muttered.