Chapter 27: Ambush at Echo Ridge

The snow had grown thicker by morning, coating the forest floor in a deceptive silence. Each step forward was muffled under the weight of ice, the trees around them leaning heavy with frost. Joel led the way, but Ethan stayed close behind, eyes constantly scanning the trail, ears straining for the crunch of snow that didn't belong to them.

Echo Ridge was still a day away, but the tension in the group made it feel like they were already on enemy ground.

"We stop in twenty minutes," Joel muttered. "We'll need rest and recon."

Hale, trudging behind with Carrow, said nothing. His eyes never left the tree line. Carrow had stopped trying to make small talk. The mood was too brittle.

Ellie stayed near Ethan, her rifle slung tight—a semi-auto she'd taken from one of the dead Fireflies weeks ago, when they'd barely escaped the orchard ambush. Her fingers twitched every so often like she was rehearsing something in her head.

"You good?" Ethan asked quietly.

Ellie gave a faint nod. "Just... got a feeling."

"Yeah," Ethan muttered. "Me too."

They found a frozen creek bed and followed it down until it opened into a shallow basin. The rocks formed a natural horseshoe, flanked by low brush and a few withered trees. Joel raised a hand.

"Here. Ten-minute break. Keep eyes open."

Ethan settled near a ridge of ice, pulling out a small tactical scope from his jacket. He panned the upper ledges. No movement.

Then something flickered.

A reflection—just a second—but Ethan's heart snapped into focus. He dropped low.

"Contact. Northwest. Scope glint. Maybe two hundred meters."

Joel didn't ask questions. He grabbed his rifle, dove into cover.

"Ambush?" Ellie asked.

"Looks like it," Ethan said. "They're waiting for us to move into the open."

A crack. Then another.

Sniper fire.

A round slammed into the rock above Ethan's head. Another skidded off the frozen tree trunk beside Carrow.

"Down!" Joel shouted. "Suppressive fire, move east!"

Ethan pulled his sidearm, returned two quick shots in the direction of the glint.

Carrow and Hale fired toward the ridge. Ellie dropped into a low crouch and crawled beside Ethan.

"There's a dip past the rocks," she hissed. "We move now, we can flank."

Joel caught the signal. "Go. We cover."

Ethan and Ellie dashed out together, weaving between frost-slicked stones. Bullets chased them, one striking a tree and sending splinters into Ethan's coat.

They reached the dip. Ethan rolled behind cover, breathing hard. Ellie was beside him, her hands already working to reload.

"I see one," she said, nodding ahead. "Top ledge, behind the dead pine."

Ethan pulled his makeshift scope again. "Got him."

He raised his pistol, aimed just above the line of frost.

"Now," Ellie whispered.

Ethan fired.

The sniper dropped sideways with a muffled grunt.

"Move!" he barked.

They surged up the path, cutting behind the sniper's perch. Another figure turned to meet them—bald, armored, Warden insignia on his chest.

Ellie lunged first, ramming her shoulder into his gut and slamming him into the snow. The man grabbed her rifle strap, yanking her sideways.

Ethan didn't hesitate. He drew his knife and drove it under the edge of the helmet, straight into the neck seam.

The man twitched, gurgled, and fell still.

Ellie pushed off him, panting.

"Thanks."

Ethan just nodded. "Two more up here."

They could hear gunfire echoing below—Joel holding the others off.

Another Warden rounded the rocks, shotgun raised.

Ethan ducked just as the shot tore through the pine trunk. He kicked upward, catching the man's knee, then tackled him down the incline.

They rolled in the snow, fists and elbows flying. Ethan took a punch to the ribs, twisted free, and fired two rounds into the man's chest.

The Warden spasmed, then went limp.

Ellie slid beside him, face pale. "That was the last one."

"Here," Ethan said, grabbing a comm piece from the corpse. He clicked it on, tuning to the Warden frequency.

Static. Then: "—Delta unit down. Ridge compromised. Orders?"

Ethan killed the line.

"We've got fifteen minutes, maybe less."

Joel and the others regrouped quickly. Blood streaked Carrow's temple, but she was still walking.

"Time to move," Joel said.

They didn't argue.

The group fled down the far slope, following the stream deeper into the trees.

Echo Ridge was still a day away.

But now the Wardens knew they were coming.

They ran for hours—boots crunching, breath visible in the frigid air, the trees blurring as the terrain sloped downward. The snow thickened in places, slowing their steps. Joel called for a pause only when they reached a bend in the ravine surrounded by high stone walls. It offered momentary shelter, but everyone knew it wouldn't last.

"Carrow's bleeding bad," Ellie said, kneeling beside the soldier. Blood seeped from a deep cut above her eyebrow, matting her hair.

"I'm fine," Carrow muttered.

"Hold still," Ethan said. He rummaged through his pack, pulling out a compact medkit. Joel stood nearby, weapon drawn, scanning the slope.

"You done this before?" Carrow asked as Ethan cleaned the gash.

"Too many times," he replied.

Her voice softened. "You move like someone trained you."

Ethan didn't answer.

As he wrapped her head, his mind flickered—uninvited—to the past.

He remembered sitting at a metal table, his dad sketching viral structures onto napkins, his voice calm and sure. He remembered his mom's gloved hands showing him how to suture torn fabric while calling it 'wound practice.' He remembered Grandpa Jason training him to hold his breath, to listen for the wind. It wasn't just survival. It was preparation.

A shadow passed over them. Ethan blinked the memory away.

Joel had spotted something.

"Incoming. Two at ten o'clock."

Ethan helped Carrow up. "We move again. Now."

They headed east, hugging the cliff wall. Hale covered their retreat with short bursts from his rifle. Ellie ran point beside Joel. Ethan took the rear again, watching the trees.

Then the forest erupted.

Gunfire cut through the quiet like tearing paper. Three Wardens burst from the far slope, rifles blazing. One bullet hit the dirt near Ethan's foot. Another ricocheted off a boulder near Ellie.

"Down!" Joel yelled.

The group scattered into the underbrush. Ethan spun, took cover behind a tree, and returned fire. One Warden dropped, shoulder hit. The others fanned out.

Ellie dove behind a log, aimed, and fired. Her round hit center-mass—clean.

Joel moved like a machine—one shot, one kill. Hale dragged Carrow behind cover and laid suppressive bursts.

Ethan darted to a better angle, knelt, and fired again. One last Warden remained, crouched behind a stump.

"I got this," Ellie said, already moving.

"Ellie—"

Too late.

She sprinted forward, slid into cover, and threw a bottle to the left. The Warden turned at the sound.

Ethan lined up the shot—and fired.

Headshot.

Silence followed. No movement. No backup.

They regrouped, panting.

"Is that it?" Carrow asked.

"For now," Joel said. "But this was just a forward team."

Ethan stared down at the Warden's gear. Fresh armor. Tags etched with numbers. Not mercenaries—specialized.

"They're not just tracking us," Ethan muttered. "They're testing us."

Ellie wiped her blade on her sleeve. "Then let's fail the test before they bring the whole exam."

Joel chuckled despite himself. "Let's move."

They didn't stop again until nightfall.

As they set up a makeshift camp behind a ring of collapsed boulders, the atmosphere grew quieter—less urgent, but not relaxed. The fire Joel built was small and carefully shielded from the wind. Hale took first watch, eyes locked on the darkened forest edge. Carrow leaned back against a tree, her breathing even but strained.

Ellie sat beside Ethan, unwrapping a protein bar and splitting it in two. She handed him the larger half.

"You saved my ass twice today," she said casually. "Don't make it a habit. I'll start owing you."

Ethan gave her a faint smile, but didn't joke back. He was still thinking about the sniper—the one whose scope he'd spotted, who would've picked them off one by one.

"Why do you think they're testing us?" Ellie asked after a long silence. "The Wardens, I mean."

"Because if they just wanted us dead, they would've brought a drone strike or explosives," Ethan said. "They're watching how we react. Trying to understand our tactics."

Ellie raised an eyebrow. "You saying we're the science experiment now?"

"Feels like it."

She chewed slowly, then leaned her shoulder against his. "Well, screw their experiment."

Joel approached from the shadows, having finished circling the perimeter. He knelt beside them.

"We move early," he said. "They'll be pushing toward Echo Ridge by morning."

Ethan nodded. "We need to get there first. Before they do."

To be continued...