Play Your Cards

Escape from Zona

The Zona truck finally pulls over after a long bumpy drive. They pull up to a small cabin.

Ace and Lucy are yanked out of the car with bags over their heads and their hands tied together. The soldiers drag them towards the cabin.

"Let go of me!" Lucy yells as she struggles against the restraints.

"Keep them quiet." A Zona soldier orders.

Ace digs her heels into the ground and tries to stop moving.

"Move it." A soldier orders as they whack her over the head

They are pulled into the cabin and thrown to the ground. A soldier loads his rifle and points it out the window towards some military trucks that were stopped.

Ace thrashes her arms around and tries to loosen the ropes around her hands.

A gunshot goes off. Lucy and Ace freeze. The gunfire continues.

"There are locals outside." A soldier says.

"Shoot them down." Another soldier responds.

'What's going on?!' Lucy asks Ace.

'I can't tell.'  Ace responds.

A bullet ricochets through the room. Ace and Lucy both pull the bags off of their heads. They crawl across the floor and try to take cover. Ace pushes Lucy behind her as they duck into a corner.

Ace guards Lucy with her body like a shield. Suddenly the soldier firing the gun is shot in the head. He drops to the ground.

"You!" One of the soldiers say.

Lucy and Ace both lift their heads and look to the soldier.

"Get over here! Get on that gun!" He orders

Ace doesn't move from her spot. The soldier loads his gun and points it at her.

"Pick it up." He says

Another soldier loads their gun and points it at her.

"You kill him or we kill you." The other says.

Ace clenches her jaw. She stands from her spot and takes hold of the gun.  She rests the stock on the front of her shoulder and grabs the trigger with two hands. She looks into the scope and readies her gun.

She loads it and sucks in a steady breath.

She pulls the trigger at the same time the other sniper does.

The two bullets collide in midair and fall to the ground molded together.

Ace raises her head and looks over.

'It's 10k. It has to be.' Ace thinks to herself.

'It doesn't matter. You have to focus or we both die.' Lucy thinks worriedly.

Ace sighs and wipes the thought from her mind. She loads the gun again and aims. She fires at the truck to indirectly tell them to back off.

They start firing at the cabin, rapid fire. Ace ducks down and covers her head.

"Get back on that gun." A soldier orders.

The man that was once on the ground in front of the cabin was shot in the head. The person starts to stir and gets back up.

With a clear headshot, the zombie gets up and runs at the people near the trucks. Someone fires at it in the head again.

It turns around and runs towards Ace. She moves her head from the scope.

"The hell?" She asks herself.

Ace aims again and fires. She hit it clean between the eyes. It turns around and goes after the others. They fire and hit it.

It runs back at Ace again she fires and it turns around again. They play monkey in the middle with the zombie until Ace decides it a good time to go after their main shooter.

She aims at the person under the truck.

A small wind blows the dry grass that was covering the shooter she was aiming at. It reveals to be 10k next to Doc. Ace's eyes widen.

"No way. He's alive?" She asks out loud again.

Ace loses her train of thought and thinks about why 10k is shooting at her and how he got here.

10k pulls the trigger on his gun and the bullet soars towards the cabin. Thankfully, it only skims her cheek but the wound was deep.

Ace drops to the ground as blood pours from her face.

"No!" Lucy yells as Ace hits the floor

Ace holds her cheek in pain.

The other trucks drive and away with everyone in it. Ace lays on the ground and groans in pain.

Ace rolls over to face Lucy. As she sees all the blood rushing down her cheek, her eyes fill with tears.

"Go." Ace says.

"No." Lucy protests and shakes her head.

"Go, I'll find you. I promise. Get out of here."  

Lucy stands up and so does Ace. Each of them goes after a guard. Lucy grabs one by the neck and throws them against the wall. She runs out of the cabin but a guard catches her.

Ace stands to her feet and a guard runs up to her. They grab her shoulder but Ace pushes their arms off. She punches them in the face with her hands still tied together.

Ace grabs their face and pushes her thumbs into their glasses. They start to crack and eventually shatter. She digs her thumbs into their eyes and blood sprays onto her face.

Lucy is dragged into the Zona car and they drive off.

'Ace.' Lucy cries

'Go. Find the others, stay together. I'll find you. Stay safe.' Ace says

Ace takes the bandana wrapped around her ankle and wipes some of the fresh blood from her face.

She looks over to the Zona soldier on the ground and watches as he finally falls dead.

She gets up and steps over the dead body on the floor. She picks her hat up and positions it on her head.

She leaves the cabin and slams the door shut with one strong push. She limps her way out onto the dirt path.

She spits some blood into the ground and looks for the truck tracks. She cracks her neck and follows the trail with one of her golden pistols in her hand.