by Kempf, Shaun
Slowly the Infected began to take notice of the sound and started to shuffle in the direction of the broken windows. Ben felt a wave of relief flow through him as he saw the Infected start to move. He hadn’t been entirely certain that this part of his plan was going to work. Ben would be the first to admit that not all of his plans worked, but it was important, now more than ever, that they did work. He wondered if it was because, perhaps, the stakes were higher in this situation. He had to believe so.
Ben felt the stress gripping him in the shoulders as it always did when the team found themselves in tight situations. Any plan could fail or go wrong and people could get hurt or die. He had been dealing with that since he formed his team. There was something else at the root of his anxiety with this plan and he then realized it was the fact that it was Captain Perret’s presence. It was like having a parent observe you for the first time while you took responsibility of a task. Ben shook the feeling off as best he could. What mattered now was that the Infected down on the street were starting to move away.
Ben watched with surprising interest as some of the Infected began moving immediately after the first row of glass broke, but other Infected didn’t immediately notice. It wasn’t until a larger number of Infected began moving with an apparent purpose that they too finally noticed the commotion. He wondered if their sense of hearing was damaged or limited compared to others and so they now relied on the group to point them in the direction of potential living human flesh. The horde moved like a school of fish; all moving together towards their destination.
“Well, I’ll be damned. All right, let’s get ready to move,” Captain Perret said at a whisper. He didn’t want to redirect the Infected’s attention back toward them. “Taylor, I want you down first, you’ll be responsible for getting the manhole cover off. Williams take his place and keep those windows breaking. “
Gatlin lowered his weapon and moved to the window where the rope dropped off the edge and fell to the ground below. Twitch took up Gatlin’s spot, raised his weapon and started to fire at more windows down the street.
Ben and the captain stood watching the Infected carefully to make sure they were far enough away before sending the team down. Getting down would be easy, but if they had to abort the plan, getting back up the rope would take time. Something that isn’t always easy to come by when dealing with the Infected. When the nearest Infected was a building and half away the captain sent Gatlin down the rope.
Gatlin quickly slid down the rope and as soon as his boots hit the ground he turned and ran for cover behind a van that was parked on the side of the street. The others began to follow also taking cover behind the van. As Static made ready to head down the rope, Captain Perret waved Twitch and Annie over. Ben wanted to be the last one to grab the rope and slide down to the road. He had always been the last to leave ensuring that no one was left behind. It was a responsibility he felt was always his to carry. The Captain, however, indicated for Ben to climb down the rope. The captain would be last out of the building. Once Ben’s boots touched the ground he ran over to the van where the rest of the team waited.
Captain Perret arrived moments after Ben. The captain made his way to the front of the van and around the bumper. He peeked down the street, exposing only one eye. Then he turned back and pointed to Gatlin and motioned him to head over the manhole cover and pry it open. Captain Perret turned to Annie and indicated that she should follow him and give him cover. Ben was reluctant to mentally note that the captain had made a good choice in sending Annie out to cover Gatlin. Annie was the team’s best shot and if things got intense she would allow Gatlin the most time to get the cover off or run for cover. It was what Ben would have done.
Ben moved to the front bumper of the van just behind the captain to watch as Gatlin and Annie silently made their way over to the manhole. Gatlin pulled out the chair armbar that he had removed from the office chair and used it to fit into one of the holes on the manhole cover. Annie dropped to one knee again, raised her assault rifle and watched the horde as it continued to explore the broken glass. Gatlin worked the cover up just enough to move it to the side before he bent down and partially picked it up and pivoted it to the side as quietly as he could until there was enough room for someone to get through the hole.
As soon as Captain Perret saw that the manhole cover was out of the way he motioned towards everyone else to get moving. At that same moment, they heard a thump come from the building they had just left. Ben turned to look and saw one Infected man, the man in the red polo shirt staring back at him from behind the glass in what appeared to be some type of gift shop. The Infected man had both his hands flat against the glass on either side of his head. He pulled them back and slammed them against the glass again. The noise wasn’t loud, but Ben could see other Infected inside making their way towards the window. He quickly urged the team towards the middle of the street.
They ran toward the manhole, which wasn’t far, but the pounding started to get louder. Gatlin had already taken his pack off, thrown it down into the sewer and was now making his way through the hole. The others were all starting to take their packs off.
Ben heard a soft pop as if someone was letting out pent up air quickly out of their mouth. He turned to see Annie starting to fire towards the horde which was beginning to take notice of the pounding. Ben took up position next to her and fired only at the Infected that had taken notice of the noise and, in turn, of them. He felt another person kneel to his other side and turned to see Twitch there. “We’ve got this,” Ben said looking back towards the horde. “Get everyone below.”
Twitch reluctantly got up, but continued to fire as he back towards the manhole. More and more of the horde was beginning to take notice of the team as they scrambled to get down into the sewer. They weren’t going to be able to hold the Infected off much longer. Ben glanced back and saw Twitch throwing his pack down into the sewer, he was the only one left standing in the street.
“Go,” Ben said to Annie.
She got up and made her way back to the manhole.
“Let’s go, Lieutenant,” Ben heard Captain Perret call to him.
Ben, too, got up and started to back his way towards the hole. The horde was approaching more quickly as they were now motivated by the clearly visible flesh. Ben had to pause in his firing to get his pack off which allowed the horde to get even closer without the lead Infected being dropped by his shots. He threw his pack to Annie who dropped it through the hole and then started to climb down. Ben quickly move over to the hole before he tossed his weapon over his back and started to climb down on the metal rung ladder.
Once his head cleared street level he reached back out to move the sewer cover back into place. He heard glass shatter nearby and knew that the Infected inside the building had broken the window between them and the street. His time was out. He went to move the cover and found it much heavier than he expected. He was at the wrong angle to get good leverage.
“Lieutenant, move I can get it,” shouted Gatlin.
“No time. I got it”
Ben shifted himself on the ladder, got his hands under the cover and heaved with all his might. The cover finally began to move, but slowly. As he got it closer to covering the hole he saw the red polo shirt man shambling towards him, his eyes intent on Ben’s face. Ben strained and grunted. The manhole cover moving in inches. The Infected reached for him with blood encrusted hands. Ben could smell the stink of rotten flesh, not just from the red polo zombie, but from the others right behind him. He held his breath as he labored one last time and dropped the cover into place just before the Infected were able to get their fingers underneath it.
Ben wrapped an arm around the nearest metal rung and just hung there for a moment. He was out of breath and his arms were sore. They had made it. They almost hadn’t. If it hadn’t been for that Infected man with the red polo they wouldn’t have had to rush. The same Infected man that Ben had seen on the roof of the building. Why had that one Infected man come
down? Ben wondered if it had been the sound of the breaking glass, but even if it was he couldn’t have gotten to the ground floor that quickly. He had to have been making his way down well before that. But why?
The answer didn’t come to him and he didn’t want to think about it anymore. They were now safely below the city streets. Their next priority was to find their way to the Hudson and from there they would find their way back to infection free zones.
Ben made his way down the sewer shaft to the tunnel below. He could already see the beams of lights from the rest of the team bouncing around and off of the walls. He set his boot down on the concrete floor and looked around.
“That was a close one,” Static said.
“But we made it,” Ben replied.
“I’m impressed,” Captain Perret said quietly. Everyone turned to look at him. “That was a tough situation and you all handled it with precision. We just might get out of this yet. Well done.”
No one said anything, but Ben could see that the team was proud that they had made it this far. He hoped that meant they were ready to show the Captain just what it took to survive in an Infected Zone.
ELEVEN
“Based on our current location it’s going to be best if we head East,” Captain Perret said as he examined his map. “We’ll figure out what to do once we reach the Hudson.”
Captain Perret consulted his compass and then began to lead the way down the tunnel. Ben lifted his pack and threw it over his shoulders and followed behind everyone else. The sewers were not as roomy as he thought they would be, but they were still smelly enough. Then again, it was probably better than trying to make their way through the horde of the Infected.
“If anyone had ever asked me if I thought I would ever see New York,” Michael said as he walked in front of Ben, “I would have said ‘of course’. Now, had they asked me if I ever thought that I would be walking through the sewers underneath New York I would have laughed in their face.”
“And those people would have had the last laugh,” said Ben.
“Yeah, we gave up fighting off the Infected in turn to fight off New York sewer rats. I don’t know which is worse,” chimed in Static.
“I hate rats,” said Annie, sounding the most feminine Ben had ever heard.
“We don’t bother them, they won’t bother us,” suggested Twitch.
“Wish we could have said the same about you,” said Static. Twitch punched Static’s shoulder from behind as best he could in the tight space.
“Any of those little furry fuckers get near me and I’ll break their little necks,” Gatlin grumbled. He was crouched more than anyone. It was clear that tight spaces didn’t agree with him.
“That might not be so bad,” said Michael. “We may need to eat a few rats to survive.”
“Yeah, no,” Annie immediately responded. “I’d rather cut off an arm and eat that first before I eat a rat.”
There were a couple of chuckles. The bantering continued as they trekked on through the sewer tunnels. It was the most banter that Ben had heard since they had been out on their own in the Infected Zones. He found himself smiling for the first time in a long time. It was nice to hear his team let go a little even if it was with millions of Infected shuffling just above their heads.
After a few hours of slowly walking through the sewer tunnels, they came to an open junction that allowed everyone, including Gatlin, to stand straight. Captain Perret suggested that they take a few minutes to stretch out, drink some water and have an energy bar. Ben moved over to one of the walls where one of the tunnels connected with the junction, put his bag down and sat on the edge of the adjoining tunnel. As he sat there sipping water, Captain Perret approached him.
Captain Perret leaned back against the wall as he watched the others stretch and chat. After a minute he spoke to Ben, but didn’t look at him.
“Do you think it’s a good idea to let them carry on like that?”
“I don’t see any harm in it,” Ben answered.
“They might be heard by the Infected.”
“I suppose that’s true, but they can’t get down here.”
“How can you be sure?”
“I guess I can’t, Sir.”
“Let’s have them cut the chatter. No need to take any chances.”
“Come on, Captain,” Ben said as he stood and stretched a little. “Let them have their fun. We’re stuck marching through sewers.”
Captain Perret turned toward him. His eyes burned into Ben’s, but he didn’t raise his voice. “Lieutenant, I expect you to follow my orders.”
“I didn’t realize you were giving an order, Sir.”
“I’m not sure what your problem is, Lieutenant, but you better watch yourself.” Captain Perret turned to face the rest of the team. “From here on out, we cut the chatter. We’re not out of New York yet. Do I make myself clear?”
Everyone responded with a ‘yes, sir’ and Captain Perret picked up his pack and lead the way into another tunnel. The team quickly got themselves back in order and silently followed the Captain into the tunnel. Standing Bear stalled so that he was the last one to enter just before Ben. He gave Ben a questioning look.
“Not now, Michael,” Ben said with a sigh.
They hiked on through the tunnels. Twice the came to dead-ends and had to backtrack to the last junction and try again. Apparently, they were not going to find a straight shot to the Hudson, but the Captain assured them they were heading mostly in the correct direction. Ben was pretty sure they should have reached the river already, but he was basing that assessment on the judged walking distance to the river on street level. They were in a maze of sewer tunnels that required them to take the most indirect route to their destination.
Finally, upon reaching a larger tunnel near a junction that was more dry than wet, Captain Perret decided to stop for the day and make camp. It was decided that each man would take a turn at watch throughout the night. Ben offered to take the first shift and was met with no opposition because his team knew that was the shift he always took. The rest of the team volunteered to take shifts by speaking up one after the other. Once that was settled, everyone found a place to settle in for the night after having another energy bar for dinner.
Ben found a place near the junction that allowed him to overlook the team and see down a number of the tunnels that were connected to the junction. He sat there quietly glancing down each tunnel individually as he listened to the steady breathing of the team.
Ben reached down and gently shook Static’s shoulder. Static slowly opened his eyes, blinked a few times before looking up at Lieutenant and nodding. His radio man stretched and yawned before getting on his feet, grabbing his gun and heading to his post. Ben hated the middle shifts, so he always felt bad for the guys that, in his opinion, drew the short straw. Starting the watch or ending the watch was the best because your sleep wasn’t interrupted. The watch right after the first or just before the last was the worst because you only had an hour or two before you had to get up. Lieutenant gave Static a pat on the shoulder as he passed then he found, what looked like a good enough spot, to lie down himself.
He ended up stretching out between Standing Bear and Gatlin. He put his lumpy pack underneath his head as a makeshift pillow. He laid there listening to the gentle and rhythmic breathing of the men around him. He thought about how they had all learned to get what sleep they could when available. It wasn’t always the most restful, but their bodies needed it. Captain Perret shifted again nearby and Ben knew that he had not yet fallen asleep. Sleeping in an infected zone wasn’t easy, but add in their location and he knew the Captain wouldn’t get any kind of sleep tonight.
As he shifted himself to try to find some sense of comfort, he thought about all the places he had slept since this nightmare had begun. There was that night, early on, that he and Standing Bear had slept in a tree. Perhaps, slept was too generous of a term. They had closed their eyes and the night had passed, but it had been a long night. Then the
re was the time his team had slept in a cement truck. No, not the cab. They had all climbed into the big mixing drum. It hadn’t been so bad. The dried cement had provided a flat surface to sleep on, even if it was a hard one. All things considered, sleeping in a sewer wasn’t so bad.
He closed his eyes and eventual he fell asleep. It was a fitful sleep, one in which he dreamed. In the dream, he stood in a field of tall grass and the sun was shining. In the distance, he spotted a figure walking towards him. He smiled. It was a figure he recognized. It was the figure of a woman. As she got closer he could see her face. Her auburn hair danced gently in the wind. She reached up and attempted to sweep it back with her hand attempting to keep it behind her ear. She smiled at him and he called out to her, but she didn’t respond. Suddenly the sky grew dark, the field was on fire, and he began to choke on the smoke. He tried calling out to her again, to warn her, but couldn’t make a sound. He wanted to run to her, but something unseen was holding him back. Then suddenly there was a loud drawn out scream, it was her and he couldn’t do anything to help her.
His eyes shot open, he sucked in a breath and gripped the cold hard ground beneath him. He shook his head as he slowed his breathing and relaxed his muscles. He felt eyes on him and looked over to see Michael, on his side, watching him.
“It’s been a long time since you’ve had that dream,” Michael said softly.
“How do you know what dream I had? You do your dream walking again.”
“No,” he paused, a look of concern taking over his face. “You called out her name.”