by Kempf, Shaun
Without looking back at Ben, Captain Perret made his way towards Standing Bear and the corpse. Ben followed closely behind. They reached the body of the pilot quickly. Standing Bear stood, backing away, and lifted his rifle to provide additional cover.
Although the Captain knelt down to take a closer look at the body, Ben didn’t need to. Even in the soft light that filtered in, he could see the lifeless gray eyes that had glossed over even before Annie had taken her shot.
“Captain, if the pilot was infected chances are everyone is either dead or infected as well.” Standing Bear was saying exactly what Ben was thinking.
“I want it confirmed. Clear the plane,” the Captain said without looking up.
Static and Gatlin had quickly stepped forward and entered the tattered remains of the plane. Annie and Standing Bear stayed back, but held their guns at the ready constantly scanning. Ben kept his eye and the barrel of his weapon trained on the whole in the fuselage where Static and Gatlin had disappeared into the plane. This was always the difficult part; two entering a small space that probably contained Infected and risking being bitten and turned. Ben knew what he would have to do if either of his guys came out infected. Those types of thoughts always terrified him more than anything else. He feared he might hesitate.
“Captain, permission to speak,” Ben requested trying to distract his mind from the possibility of what he might have to do.
“What is it, Lieutenant?” Captain Perret stood and glanced around, but didn’t look down at Ben.
Ben kept his voice at a whisper, “Please don’t tell me you’re that naïve to realize that Annie made the right call.”
“Are you questioning my leadership?” Captain Perret looked at him.
“No Sir, just reminding you that hesitation can be deadly out here, Sir.”
“Just let me remind you of who’s in charge out here, Lieutenant,” Captain Perret said Lieutenant as if it was an insult rather than Ben’s rank.
They heard the soft puff of suppressed gunfire and the ping of bullets hitting metal within the plane. Ben raised his weapon, but did not move from his position. It was foolish to rush into an unknown situation. A lesson Ben was hard pressed to learn and almost paid for it a number of times with someone else’s life. Had it been his own there would have been no harm, but since someone else had ended up in situations too close to call, guilt often reminded him of the dangers of rushing in. So, instead, he waited for the good or bad to come to him.
Gatlin’s large frame appeared taking up most of the gaping whole on the side of the plane. “All clear, Sir.”
Ben let the air out of his lungs that he had not realized that he had been holding. He stood and signaled to Standing Bear and Annie to continue to be sentinels. He then turned back towards the plane which the Captain was already approaching.
Gatlin squeezed himself out of the plane and was quickly followed by Static, who made his way quietly towards the nose of the plane. Ben watched him go, but didn’t follow. Static was always quiet after engaging the Infected. No matter how many times they have, he seemed to have the most trouble disconnecting the Infected from the people they had been. He could be counted on to do what was necessary, but once the moment was over, once he had a chance to walk away from the situation he always reflected on what he had done. If anyone was to burn out, Ben feared it would be his radio man. The one guy he most relied on regularly.
Ben stooped to climb into the plane through the hole, but was stopped by Gatlin who grabbed his arm.
“Everyone’s dead. We need to get the hell out of here,” Gatlin said with a tight jaw.
“We will,” Ben answered.
“Lieutenant,” Static called to him before he could even step away from Gatlin. He was near the nose of the plane and the edge of the building. He was motioning for Ben to come over by him.
Ben made his way to where he was standing followed by Gatlin. He pointed down to the street below.
“The welcoming party is getting bigger,” Static said.
Ben looked over the edge of the building and saw the mass of Infected crowded around the building pushing ever tighter against it. It was almost as if they were attempting to squeeze the base of the building to get it to collapse. While he knew this wouldn’t happen he did know that it was only a matter of time now before they found their way in or worse, up the stairs.
He turned to look at Gatlin, “Right. Time to go.”
“You think?”
“Go give Twitch some back-up. I’ll get the Captain moving.”
Gatlin didn’t wait around to be given further instructions. Ben quickly made his way back to the airplane door and ducked inside to find the Captain. Gatlin and Static had shot one of the passengers, a senator who Ben recognized from his picture that was in the newspaper recently, who was infected and still strapped to his seat. Another man, also in his seat had clearly died in the impact as a large piece of metal protruded from his chest. A third man sat slumped against the wall of the plane leading towards the cockpit with bullet holes in his chest and two in his head. Ben didn’t recognize the man, but guess it had been the other security man for the senator. Ben couldn’t see into the cockpit, where he assumed the second pilot was. That pilot had either been killed on impact or shot by his men, either way, it wasn’t worth investigating.
Ben found the Captain kneeling on the floor near the dead senator pulling files out of a briefcase on the floor and stuffing them into his own bag.
“We have to go, Captain. Our time is up.”
“Just a minute,” The Captain said as he stuffed another folder into his bag.
“Sir,” Ben attempted more sternly this time hoping his voice alone would indicate the urgency in which they needed to act.
“I said, just a minute, Lieutenant,” responded Captain Perret without looking up. He then moved over to another body on the floor of the plane that Lieutenant hadn’t noticed. He had been more focused on getting out of the building and had only glanced around quickly. He saw now that it was the body of an Army Officer. He wasn’t certain, but it looked like it was a Major. The Captain quickly opened the top of the Officer’s blue uniform and pulled out, what looked like a jump drive on a chain, and then pulled it off the dead man’s neck before also stuffing that in his bag.
Finally, the Captain looked up as he stood and threw the pack onto his back. “All right, Lieutenant, let’s go.”
The two men hastily exited the plane. Without a word, they motioned to the rest of the team to move out.
As they moved back down the hallway from where they came, it seemed to Ben that every sound was intensified. He could hear the wind as it whined through the open structure created by the wrecked plane, the groans and screeches from the infected stories below, and each footfall from the team as they pounded against the carpeted floor. That was why he wasn’t surprised when he heard the two bangs that seemed like thunder created by Zeus himself come from the directions of the stairs.
SIX
Ben knew before they even reached the stairs that the two bangs he had heard were grenades, which meant that they were not going to find a good situation at the door. He hoped that meant that Twitch and Gatlin were all right. This mission was already not going well and he didn’t want to lose any men, but Ben also knew that the odds were stacked against them. Of course, the odds were always stacked against them whenever they went out into the field.
They rounded the corner and saw Twitch with his hands gripping the door handle and leaning back, holding the door shut. Ben didn’t see Gatlin. He picked up his pace when he noticed movement off to his left. It was Gatlin dragging a leather couch toward the door. On the couch was a padded chair. Ben slowed to a jog as he watched the big man jam the chair under the doorknob and hefted the leather couch, with Twitches help, leaning one end on the chair and leaning the other against the stairwell door. Both men were breathing heavily as they took a step away from the now barricaded door. Pounding could be heard on the door as the infected
on the other side attempted to get in.
“You know, that’s not going to stop them, right?” asked Annie as she raised an eyebrow at Gatlin.
“It makes me feel better.”
“Shouldn’t we brace the door more effectively?” asked Captain Perret.
“They don’t open doors. They knock them down and because that door opens up into the stairwell rather than the other way around, it works in our favor,” Ben responded as he began to look around for their next exit option.
“What happened?” Captain Perret asked Gatlin and Twitch.
“It was creepy. They were almost on us before we noticed them,” Twitch said as he bent over putting his hands on his knees and breathing heavily.
“If I hadn’t glanced over the railing, we probably wouldn’t have seen them until it was too late,” added Gatlin.
“But that’s not . . .” Ben could finish his sentence. The thought was too terrifying. The Infected were a noisy bunch. They did not quietly stalk their prey like a lion on Sierra. They moaned, groaned, grunted and screamed. Their noisiness and inability to see in the dark were the few advantages that could be exploited.
“We both tossed a grenade to just slow them down to give us enough time to barricade the door.” Twitch stood. Lieutenant could see the terror in Twitch’s eyes.
“What are you men saying; that those infected out there tried to sneak up on you?” Captain Perret asked.
“Yes,” Gatlin said softly. His eyes were distant as if he was reliving the experience.
“But, that’s not possible. Is it?” The Captain looked at Ben.
“Apparently it’s not,” was Ben’s only response. “Are you sure they weren’t making any noise?” Ben asked both the men.
“We were standing there, not talking, just listening like we always do. Then I heard what sounded like shuffling sound, which is the reason I looked over the railing. Like Twitch said, it was creepy to see them, and so many of them, moving up the stairs without making a sound.”
The group fell silent again. The only sound was the constant pounding on the metal door to the stairway. Everyone except the Captain was trying to take in the news that the infected had climbed flights of stairs in silence. The Captain was nervously glancing back and forth between the door and everyone else standing there, lost in their own thoughts.
“Great. Fine. They can move silently. Whatever,” Captain Perret said breaking the silence, his voice finding its way through the booming of the door. “We’ll tell our scientists when we get back. However, that route to the roof is now barricaded and blocked by the infected. Let’s head to the other set of stairs.”
“You heard the Captain, let’s move,” Ben barked at his team to get them moving.
The squad took off down the hall towards the other end of the building. The skyscraper wasn’t huge, although it was plenty tall, but the run to the other stairwell wasn’t quick. Ben knew they were losing valuable time getting back to the roof, but what choice did they have. Not soon enough for Ben, they found the other stairwell. Again Static removed his helmet and leaned in towards the door, but before he could even get his head against it a deep thump pounded the door from the other side. The Infected had gotten into that stairwell as well.
“So, what? We're trapped now?” asked Twitch. There wasn’t any fear in his voice, at least none that Ben could detect. It did have a tone of frustration. They had been in similar situations before and had made it out just fine. They could do it again.
“Come on, Twitch. Use that functioning brain of yours,” Standing Bear double tapped Twitches helmet. “We’re smarter than them. We’ll find a way out.”
Standing Bear was always the voice of reason when the time called. Ben felt lucky to have him as his right-hand man. When it came time to pick a Sergeant there had been no hesitation and Ben’s choice had come as no surprise to the rest of the team. Everyone looked to Standing Bear for guidance. Ben was confident that if any were to happen to him, here or anywhere else, that Standing Bear would step up and be a perfect leader for their squad.
“He’s right. We just have to find our way back to the top of the building,” Ben said glancing around again. Nothing had come to him at the first door and nothing was immediately coming to him now. “Any ideas, Captain?”
“Let’s just all get on the elevator and take that back up,” Captain Perret said sarcastically.
“Not a bad idea, Captain,” Ben smiled at him and made his way around the corner of the hall to where the bay of elevator doors stood. Everyone else followed.
“Lieutenant, I don’t think I need to remind you, of all people, that the city has no power. Anywhere. We’re not going to be able to get the elevators to work,” Captain Perret said.
“You’re right, Captain, but we can use the shafts to climb up to the roof.” Ben’s squad already were slinging their weapons to their sides and attempting to open the elevator doors. Ben just hoped that all the elevator cars were below them so that they wouldn’t be another obstacle they would have to attempt to find a way around. Captain Perret hesitated for just a moment before jumping in and helping to get the doors open.
With a great grunt, Gatlin was able to force the doors he was working on apart, but only a little. Twitch rushed over, slide down between Gatlin and the doors, and slide one of his extra ammo clips into the gap keeping the door open. Gatlin released his grip and stood back for a moment huffing and puffing at the doors as if they had insulted him. When he stepped back up the doors everyone else was there to join him. They all gave a pull and were met with some resistance at first, but once they got the door about a foot open, something gave and the doors opened the rest of the way with ease. The sudden give was unexpected and the group nearly toppled backward to the floor.
Ben regained his footing underneath him and quickly went to the open doors. He was thankful to see that an elevator car was not directly on their floor. He grabbed his weapon and turned on the flashlight that was attached to it. He carefully leaned through the open doors into the darkness of the shaft. He felt a hand grab his pack and looked back to see that Standing Bear had grabbed hold give Ben the chance to lean a little further out. Ben shone his light up the shaft first to see if the car was above them. Even though his light didn’t penetrate all the way to the top of the building he was happy to see that the car was not directly above them. He then took a quick moment to look down and was delighted to find the top of the car about two or three floors down. It was one less thing they would have to worry about. Finally, he checked the walls around the shaft and found a small metal service ladder attached to the wall within arm’s reach. Ben hoped that this meant that their luck was turning and they would be in the air soon.
“It’s clear to the top and we’ve got a ladder within reach, we won’t have to try to rope climb the cables,” Ben said once Standing Bear pulled him back.
“No my first choice to exit route, but it’ll do,” Captain Perret said. “I’ll lead. Turn your lights on so you can light the way for the guy behind you. Let’s get out of here.” The Captain pulled his night vision goggles from his pack, attached them to his helmet and pulled them down over his eyes. Then he carefully entered the elevator shaft and started to climb. The light from his weapon danced all over the shaft. It wouldn’t perfectly light the way, but it was better than nothing and better than having to deal with the goggles over the eyes.
Static followed next without hesitation. Then Annie, Gatlin, and Twitch climbed into the darkness. Standing Bear moved to the door, but stopped and looked back at Ben.
“I’m right behind you,” Ben said defensively. “I’ve got no reason to stay behind.”
Standing Bear only grunted and disappeared through the doors. Ben glanced around one last time. It was a habit he had picked up out in the field. He was always afraid that they were leaving someone behind. Someone who could yet be saved, but there was no one there. He knew that. He knew that the floor was empty and yet he was unable to resist looking back. In
truth, he knew what he was really looking for, but he would never admit it out loud.
Ben turned back to the elevator shaft, reached in and pulled himself onto the ladder. The ladder was no more than a shoulder width wide. Ben was just able to get both of his feet on one rug. The metal felt cold to his hands, but they were not slick. They provided plenty of grip. Ben began his ascent moving hand over hand and foot over foot. The lights from everyone’s weapon danced around him and the shaft reminding him of search lights. However, they bounced and swayed to such a degree it was much more like frantic search lights then the slow steady ease of a search light. They were more like prison break lights, searching for the escape convicts.
SEVEN
Nick glanced over his shoulder at the door again. This mission was supposed to be a grab and go. He was anxious to be back in the air. He looked back to the instruments in the cockpit checking to make sure everything was still fine, which it was. There was no reason it wouldn’t be. They had more than enough fuel to make the flight back yet. Heck, if they wanted to they could take a tour around the city. He would rather that the team was back in his bird and they were flying home.
His orders had been to remain on the roof until the team returned with the survivors. He had suggested to his commanding officer that it wouldn’t take much to just hover near the building and then land as soon as he saw them. His suggestion was disregarded. They were in an infected quarantine zone and the team’s extraction might need to be fast. Time would be wasted in attempting to land the helicopter again, especially if some of the survivors of the crash were wounded.
Nick threw a look over his shoulder at the door, willing the team to emerge. He looked back out over the city before him. The world had gotten so messed up after the outbreak. Things were really bad that first month during the outbreak. People were panicking, running into danger and the government couldn’t react quick enough. The armed forces that were deployed were often quickly lost because no one completely understood what the outbreak was or how it affected people. It took a while, but eventual good information got out to areas not yet infected and things began to calm down. However, by that point civilian lives lost were unbelievably high and the military forces nearly decimated. Pilots had become invaluable and rare.