The Z Directive (Book 1): Extraction Point

by Thompson, Chris

“We need to focus on what we’re doing right now, not what we’ll be doing tomorrow, next week or next month.” Tyrone told the group. “And it doesn’t change our rules of engagement: kill any infected that get between us and our objective.”

  The group responded with their affirmation.

  Time passed, with only the loud droning sound of the helicopters rotors overhead as they sped towards their destination breaking the taut silence. Jack had never really felt afraid going out on a mission before and, despite the extraordinary enemy they would be engaging, he didn’t feel afraid this time either. Instead, he was filled with a kind of nervous energy; a desire to get on site, assess the situation and carry out the mission. Even though he’d been out of the game for a few years, he knew his instincts were as sharp as they’d ever been. The plan wasn’t bad - even though he had some reservations about the method of extraction - and the team seemed confident.

  “We’re coming up on the city now!” The pilot alerted the team over the radio. Jack stood, Tyrone following, and approached the helicopter door. Together, they opened it, sliding it all the way across so that they had a clear view of the city below.

  The travel corridor they were on would be the land-based extraction they would use should they be unable to make the primary or secondary air extraction points. The power was definitely out in this section of the city, but there were fires burning, illuminating some of the streets below. What wasn’t lit by the flames was lit by the powerful lights mounted on the helicopter. Vehicles had crashed into buildings, perhaps as panicked drivers attempted to avoid someone as they were uncertain whether or not they were infected, and others had overturned. Some were on fire, their gas tanks having ignited and, from his vantage point, it seemed clear to Jack the flames had spread to nearby buildings. Some side streets were completely blocked by vehicles, a pileup having occurred after the crashes had limited the amount of available space on the road. Despite the carnage there was still movement amidst the chaos: shuffling about, sometimes alone and at others in groups, were figures. Judging by the unnatural, stiff movements they were making, Jack realized these were the undead. Some were starting to follow the direction of the helicopter’s sound; others were swiping upwards, their arms clawing at the air as though they might snatch it right out of the sky and bring the prey inside down to their waiting jaws. Passing over an intersection, Jack caught sight of what could best be described as a horde; there were hundreds of figures grouped up together, packed tightly as though moving as a herd. They were moving at what seemed to be a moderate walking speed towards a vehicle that had come to a stop about a dozen paces ahead of them. It was a flatbed truck which had overturned and was about to be swarmed by a dozen infected that had pulled ahead of the main horde. Thinking there may be some way to help whoever was in there, Jack was about to order the pilot to come about; but knowing what his instinctive reaction would be when he came across someone in trouble Tyrone grabbed his shoulder.

  “There are people like that everywhere, man. If they’re stuck like that there’s nothing we can do for them.”

  Jack glanced at him, then let it go, returning to watching out of the open door. The speed with which the helicopter was moving gave him little time to focus on specific details of the city, but it was clear that the infected were everywhere. The closer to the centre of the city they came, the more prevalent the hordes became, with one street being packed practically wall to wall with shuffling, agitated figures. Jack realized that if they were to be pursued by groups of that size, then all the ammunition they’d brought would barely dent their numbers before the infected overwhelmed them. It was clear that stealth and speed would be vital. He just hoped that, if there were agents hired by Bolvinox down there, they were dealing with the same problems Jack and the team would soon be facing.

  Looking up to the horizon, Jack saw other helicopters - three of them - flying in formation roughly in the same direction Jack and his team were heading.

  “How many other operations are active in Dewbury?” Jack asked.

  “Dozens.” Tyrone told him. “As of the last sitrep, there’re still three large groups of civilians to extract from secure zones, and a bunch of people spread throughout the city.”

  “How long until the city is clear?”

  “A day, probably longer. We’re running continuous extractions, but there are just too many to collect and the infected are pressing pretty hard. So while we’re pulling civilians out we’re dropping ammo and fresh teams in to keep the perimeter secure.”

  Jack nodded.

  “Air support?”

  “Some gunships, possibly. But it’ll be danger close if they’re called to engage; the streets can be tight, and when a horde is coming in then they need to fire practically on top of you sometimes.”

  A distant explosion rocked out from not far away. Jack turned to look as the fireball completed unfurling itself in the sky.

  “What was that?” Cross questioned, moving up to the door to look out.

  “Something big, but nothing we’ve launched. Maybe—” Tyrone was saying before a series of huge explosions interrupted him, belting out along the street in a chain reaction that created a massive string of fireballs which were instantly followed by chunks of buildings visibly launching into the air, though some crumbled altogether, turning into nothing but piles of rubble and dust.

  “Gas pipe?” Bridges questioned.

  “Maybe.” Tyrone answered thoughtfully.

  “Wonder what caused that?” Cross questioned. None of them had immediate answers; it would be wild speculation anyway. Maybe a car had crashed and, somehow, the detonation of the gas tank had ignited a gas leak, or perhaps someone possessing explosives had detonated them in the hope of stopping an infected swarm. In either of those hypotheses, the creator of the explosion was surely dead. If it was a desperate attempt to not be eaten, then Jack thought it was probably better than that alternative.

  “We’re coming up on the drop zone, sixty seconds!” The pilot reported, bringing them around a little. Jack held the support rail tightly and peered out, to see that in the streets below the infected numbers were fewer than in earlier streets.

  As the helicopter arrived at the place they were to disembark the team worked together to secure the rappelling ropes to the strong, metal hoops on the floor. A quick, final scan revealed that the street was clear - except for a few infected that had started to shuffle around a corner on the west side. Jack grabbed the rope, hooked himself on, and bailed out, controlling his descent as he slid down so he didn’t land too heavily. Once on the ground, he detached from the rope and raised his weapon, surveying the scene closely after lowering the monocular into place.

  They were landing in a fairly standard residential area, with apartment buildings on the left and right of the street, four or five stories each, with a couple of small stores set on the corners or between building which had more apartments stacked on top of them. There was considerable damage at ground level of the buildings, with front window shattered, doors broken inwards and stoops covered in debris. There weren’t any cars on this particular street, but there were bodies - at least what was left of them. The sidewalks were littered with skeletal, bloody remains, some of which were just limbs that had been torn away from more or less intact skeletons not far away from them. Some remains were stacked, and seemed to contain the mutilated bodies of ten or more people; a gruesome heap of horrific death awash with copious amounts of blood. The thing Jack was most taken aback by, however, was the stench; the unmistakable odor of decay, a coppery, metallic smell from the blood and, equally repulsive, an odor that could only be described as sewage-like. He coughed as the smell caught in the back of his throat, wishing he had a mask or something to block it out.

  Tyrone landed next, followed quickly by Cross, Bridges then Smith. Rodriguez arrived last, leveling his sub-machine gun rather than the rifle to help secure the immediate area. The unit formed a circle, their backs to one another, and then looked careful
ly around to ensure there were no immediate threats. About ten infected had come into the west entrance of the street, joining the three that had been following the sound of the helicopter. Their heads were all facing the direction of their transport; seemingly not noticing the living morsels almost within their grasp.

  “We’re going back the way we came, see if we can’t take any of the stragglers with us. Good luck down there!” The pilot informed them over the radio as the helicopter turned, banked and headed away. The ropes were being pulled back up, presumably being reclaimed by the co-pilot. As the helicopter flew over the infected, they turned on their stiff limbs to follow it. Jack watched them as they started to shamble away, completely oblivious to the team’s location.

  As their immediate area was clear of threats Jack turned and tapped Tyrone on the shoulder; a gesture repeated by each member in the defensive ring before Jack turned and passed through the middle of the circle, which prompted the rest of the unit to shift into single file and follow him down the centre of the street. Tyrone was just behind Jack, followed by Cross, Bridges and Smith, with Rodriguez guarding their rear - now wielding his primary weapon. They advanced in a relatively straight line, the map having indicated they needed to pass through two blocks then turn left to approach the primary hospital building from the rear exit. This had been the side of the structure with the fewest infected, and it was hoped that entering here would allow them to gain access with a minimal amount of danger.

  There was no power in the area of the city they were traversing, so using their night vision was vital in order to see hostiles. It quickly became apparent to Jack that, even though the street itself was relatively clear, the buildings on either side definitely contained large numbers of concealed threats. The infected were stirring with audible moans, mutterings, groans and hushed, throaty noises that trickled out from broken windows, shattered doors and under the stoops of the buildings. A quick glance to the side revealed moving, gloom shrouded figures that bumped into unbroken glass panes or where there was no glass, tripped and fell out onto the street, the loud sound of their bodies thumping onto the concrete.

  “This LZ wasn’t quite as clear as they advertised!” Bridges hissed quietly.

  “Quiet!” Tyrone snapped back in the same hushed tone. “Keep moving!”

  The group continued hustling quickly towards an intersection; the distant sound of a car or store alarm audible and echoing through the silent streets. Jack twisted quickly left and right to see if there were any threats, and wasn’t surprised to find that there were a number of infected on the move in their direction. Between the left and right turns, the infected were in double digits - an alarming amount, but not anywhere near the horde levels Jack had seen on the way in. There was a problem, however. Ahead, on the street they were intending to travel down, Jack could see a subway entrance. Whether drawn by the helicopter, some sense that told them prey was nearby or just because they were already on the way out was unknown, Jack however, could see a number of figures spilling out onto the street. Some were crawling, some were shambling and some that were possibly more recently killed and weren’t suffering from rigor mortis were moving at a normal gait. However they were moving they were starting towards Jack and the team, forcing him to make a quick tactical decision. They could stick to the right side of the street, but that would mean they’d be awfully close to the buildings there, and knowing that the buildings contained a number of concealed threats, it didn’t seem like the best plan - especially if something forced them to turn back and face the threat from the subway. It’d be too easy to become boxed in fighting an enemy force that was surrounding them. Conversely, they could turn off at this intersection and attempt to take an alternate route, which should lead them to the same location; albeit one that wouldn’t be quite as quick.

  Without breaking stride, Jack gestured left and turned. There were a half dozen infected scattered on the road advancing towards them; it didn’t seem prudent to waste time engaging them, so he gave softly spoken instructions that would prevent his voice from carrying and alerting more distant infected.

  “Go around; don’t engage unless necessary.”

  Glancing over his shoulder, he could see the team separating out a little, fanning into a wider formation that would allow them to weave around the infected without too much trouble. The street they were on now, however, was considerably less in width. It was designed for single lane traffic, with cars parked close to the sidewalk on either side. The infected, four in the road and two others on the left hand sidewalk, were shuffling forward eagerly, seemingly excited moans escaping their mouths as their meals came towards them. There was a great deal of broken glass on both sidewalks from the shattered windows of the apartment buildings that lined both sides - a quick glance to his right didn’t reveal any obvious indications of threats within the ground floor entrances, so Jack darted quickly onto that sidewalk and hurried past the infected on the road. As soon as he was clear, Jack returned to the road and turned, keeping his weapon level in case any of the team needed assistance. Fortunately, they had all managed to get passed the infected, either by following him or stepping between the staggered group in the road. Looking beyond the closest infected allowed Jack to see that the ones on the other side of the intersection were in pursuit, and a few of the fresher ones from the subway were already rounding the corner. He turned back to face their direction of travel and started to hurry along.

  Clear of any additional threats for the moment, Jack led the team to the point where the road ended at a chain link fence with a concrete barrier that went up to about knee height securing the fence to the ground. On the other side was a narrow pathway and, after a drop of fifteen to twenty feet, a divided highway. Perhaps agitated by the smell of living flesh, Jack could clearly hear the sounds of multiple - a hundred, probably more - infected echoing up from below.

  “Be careful. Don’t fall.” Jack instructed, probably unnecessarily, as he let his weapon hang on its strap and began to clamber up and over the obstruction. Once on the other side, he dropped heavily, retrieved his weapon and secured the other side of the fence. They were clear of threats for the moment, but he couldn’t resist looking down onto the highway, his eyes widening as he saw his first horde, with much more than a hundred undead, up close. A scene of devastation from a multiple car pile-up had essentially blocked the highway a couple of dozen feet to Jack’s left. Whether the infected had dropped down from a walkway like the one he was on now and just shambled along until they surrounded the cars and their fleeing drivers and passengers or fallen from the flyover about two hundred feet to his right he couldn’t be certain. What was crystal clear was that the people trapped down there had had very little room to escape, which had created a kill box; windows were broken, doors hanging open and there was so much blood, gore and skeletal remains it turned his battle hardened stomach. Now, weaving between the crashed cars or already at the bottom of wall beneath him and attempting to reach up to where he was standing, were a multitude of walking corpses seeking their next meal. Being this close to them allowed Jack to see the truly lifeless nature of them. Some were missing eyes, jaws, arms, or had massive holes in their torsos; all were wounds that should have immediately sent them into a state of unconscious shock or, more likely, death, but due to the unknown virus there they were, moaning, rattling, swiping at the air in a desperate attempt to sate the apparently endless hunger they felt. Judging by the bulges in some of their guts many of them had already feasted yet were still ravenously hungry. Jack had seen so much horror in war, but what he was seeing here revolted and appalled him in an altogether different way. He moved carefully a little further along the narrow path, roughly east, as they would need to continue moving in that direction to reach the hospital. All the while he kept watch for any threats that might need to be dealt with.

  Observing the rest of his team dropping down, he hoped nothing would happen that would cause them to lose their footing and tumble down into the valley o
f death below. Once all were over and ready to continue, Jack led the way. They had gone no more than sixty feet however, when a group of infected hastened towards them on their stiff limbs from a narrow alleyway close by on the right. Jack took a cautionary step sideways, a move followed by the rest of the team – even though it brought them too close for comfort to the edge of the path. Within a minute the walking corpses were slamming against the chain link fence that separated them from their prey; growling ferociously as they attempted to simply pass through the barrier, only to strain the metal and crush themselves against the still resistant obstruction - something the group was justifiably thankful for. Refocusing ahead, Jack checked the section of fence as far ahead as he could see and was relieved to discover it too appeared to be in a good state of repair. The path widened a little and a quick survey ahead as they came to a corner showed the fence giving way to the solid, high brick wall of a warehouse or large, non-residential building. There were no windows, which also meant there was no way for the infected trailing along the other side of the fence to smash their way inside the building, pass through and attack them when they broke their way out through glass panes on the other side. The only danger now that they had reached it was falling onto the highway below.

  The team moved along the wall until they reached the next corner. Here, Jack raised his hand in a closed fist and brought the team to a stop while he made sure they weren’t about to be attacked as soon as they moved out of their covered position. He advanced and leaned out around the corner of the warehouse to look down the street on his right. A dozen infected were milling about, but for whatever reason they weren’t moving, so Jack signaled the team to follow him. The next distance they had to cross was near the flyover on the left over the divided highway; the latter forming the main avenue of traffic to and from the city. Looking ahead, across the road that led to the flyover, Jack could make out the edge of a car park and, based on the images and maps he’d seen before heading out, knew they would have to keep the car park on their right and move past a series of buildings a little further on, and that would bring them onto the street which would enable them to view the hospital.