usatvline Chapter 123 Crisis on the Highway (5)
Chapter 123 Crisis on the Highway (5)
……
Meanwhile, in the lush jungle, two zombies were relentlessly pursuing Sophia, who was now completely terrified and ran wildly forward without a care in the world.
“Huff…Huff…”
Rick finally caught up, panting heavily, but the two walkers were now very close. He had neither a suitable weapon nor dared to fire his gun rashly, and he was not confident that he could deal with two walkers at the same time with his bare hands.
"..."
Rick paused for a moment, quickly determined Sophia's escape route, and chose to bypass the walkers and take a shortcut in pursuit...
......
After running for an unknown amount of time, Sophia was filled with fear and kept looking back because she could not shake off the ugly and terrifying zombies behind her. Suddenly, she lost her footing and fell to the ground.
"uh-huh……"
Sofia groaned in pain.
Ignoring the pain in her body, she quickly got up and tried to run away again, only to find herself in someone's arms...
"what......"
Sofia, already on edge, screamed in terror...
"Shh, be quiet..."
The person who arrived was Rick. He knelt down and repeatedly comforted Sophia, checking her for injuries while asking in a low voice, "Are you alright? Are you okay...?"
"Shoot them!"
When Sophia realized that the person who came was Rick, instead of calming down, she eagerly reached for the pistol in Rick's holster.
"No, no..."
Rick quickly stopped Sophia's impulsive behavior and patiently explained to her:
"Those zombies on the street will hear it, and then there won't just be two, there will be hundreds coming..."
"..."
Sofia then abandoned the idea, but due to extreme fear, she nervously clung to Rick's neck, as if only in this way could she find some sense of security...
"Come to me, come..."
Seeing the walkers getting closer, Rick had no choice but to pick up Sophia's petite body and continue running deeper into the jungle.
“Huff…Huff…”
Because he was holding Sophia in his arms, Rick's escape speed was greatly reduced, and he was unable to shake off the two zombies clinging to him like maggots.
……
Soon, a winding river blocked their way. Because it was not the flood season, the water was shallow and the riverbed was almost exposed, so there was a drop of about one person between the riverbank and the riverbed.
"Okay, wait here for a moment..."
With the walkers closing in from behind, Rick had no choice but to put Sophia down first, and then jump into the river himself.
With a splash, Rick managed to steady himself on the soft river sand; thankfully, the water only reached his ankles. He turned and reached out to Sophia, saying:
"Come quickly."
On the riverbank, Sofia naturally jumped into Rick's arms without hesitation.
"..."
Rick, carrying Sophia, looked around, wondering which way to run, when he spotted a cave on the riverbank. The entrance was mostly hidden by tree roots and rotten branches, making it look quite secluded; it was probably an otter's den...
But there was no time to worry about anything else. Rick waded through the river to the cave entrance, put Sophia down, looked into her eyes, and said:
"Sophia, you must do exactly as I say..."
Rick pointed to the dark cave as he spoke, then added, "Hide there, the deeper the better. I'll go lure them away..."
"no no......"
Upon hearing this, Sofia became so anxious that she was about to cry again, pleading urgently, "Don't leave me..."
"Listen to me, listen to me..."
Seeing her genuine fear, Rick patiently explained, "They don't pant, but I do..."
"I can only take care of one of them at a time, so I can't protect you..."
"Only in this way can we all survive, understand?"
Rick reached out and gently stroked the little girl's cheek, trying to soothe her anxiety, and continued to coax her softly, "Okay? Go, go hide..."
"Uh-huh......"
Sophia understood Rick's meaning and could only nod reluctantly with a pained expression.
"call……"
Seeing Sophia obediently crawl into the cave, Rick, while looking up to see if the walkers were moving, gave her another warning, still worried:
“If I don’t come back, you run back to the highway…”
"Run straight back the way we came to find the others, and make sure the sunlight falls on your left shoulder..."
Before he could finish speaking, the two zombies had already caught up with him...
"..."
Seeing this, Rick quickly stepped back a few paces away from the cave entrance, then scooped up river water and splashed it at the zombies on the riverbank to attract their attention, shouting provocatively as he did so:
"Come on..."
"..."
Inside the cave, Sophia clutched the doll tightly in her arms, afraid to make a sound, and watched the situation outside with a tense expression...
"Ho...ho..."
The two zombies chased each other to the riverbank but unexpectedly stopped, letting out unwilling howls, as if the height of the riverbank made them hesitate...
"You ugly little bastards..."
Rick was worried that his plan would fail and the walkers would discover Sophia's hiding place, so he continued to taunt loudly, "Come on!"
……
Just as Rick was trying to distract the two walkers, a figure suddenly appeared from behind them and quickly approached the back of one of the walkers.
With a sharp, piercing sound, a dagger pierced the back of the zombie's head and emerged from its gaping, foul-smelling mouth. As the zombie's body slumped to the ground, the identity of the person behind it was fully revealed...
"..."
Rick was stunned; the person who came was none other than Lee Allen, who was usually very quiet.
It turned out that when Lee Allen learned that Rick had no weapons for self-defense and was all alone, he figured that Rick would not be able to protect the little girl and deal with the walkers at the same time, so he decisively chased after him into the jungle.
He tracked the zombies all the way here and luckily arrived in time.
"Ho...ho..."
The remaining zombie then realized what was happening and immediately lunged at Li Ailun with its gaping maw.
"careful......"
Upon seeing this, Rick immediately became anxious and shouted a reminder.
"..."
Li Ailun simply turned his head to look at the zombies rushing towards him, his expression calm and composed, showing no sign of panic.
puff...
Just as the zombie approached, Li Ailun thrust his blood-soaked dagger out with a backhand motion, the dagger piercing the zombie's eye socket with perfect accuracy. The zombie's roar abruptly ceased, and then Li Ailun forcefully pulled out the dagger, drawing out a string of blood droplets.
The zombie's body slowly tilted to one side, then plunged headfirst into the river, splashing up a large spray of water...
"..."
Seeing Rick covered in water and looking rather disheveled, Lee Allen couldn't help but smile and tease him:
"Looks like you need to carry some weapons for self-defense, so you won't be chased this far by walkers next time..."
Yes, you're right...
Rick snapped out of his daze, wiped the water from his face, and, remembering how badly he'd been chased by the walkers, couldn't help but laugh self-deprecatingly: "Heh...heh..."
"..."
Li Ailun looked around but couldn't see the little girl, so he asked, "Where's Sophia?"
"It's hidden..."
Rick waded through the water to the cave entrance, bent down, and called inside, "Sophia, come out quickly..."
"..."
Sophia cautiously peeked out of the cave, her young face still showing lingering fear. She asked hesitantly, "Is...is it safe?"
"Yes, it's safe now..."
Rick smiled, reached out and took Sophia's hand, then picked her up and waded back to the riverbank.
"Come......"
Li Ailun reached out and took Sophia, carrying her ashore before placing her on the ground.
Then he reached out his right hand to Rick on the riverbank, ready to pull him up.
"..."
Rick glanced at him and readily extended his right hand.
And so, their hands clasped together for the first time, and they felt a warmth and strength emanating from each other's bodies.
"..."
They smiled at each other, and everything was said without words.
......