Author's Note:
This chapter is a bit of a prologue, but it'll give you a taste for what's going on! Please Read and Review!
-MON 9th SEPT/ 15:09-
"Come on, quickly, this way!"
They ran, the sound of their footsteps on the wet tarmac especially loud among the sluggish and jerky movements of those following them.
Where did these guys come from?
Rafe had no idea.
What was going on?
Not a question he could answer.
One minute he was with his team, next he was trapped in an office with Knot and Orca telling him to stay away from the door- that something crazy was going on and that Nadine was stuck elsewhere. Getting out was a blur, they spent the best part of an hour hearing ominous groans and screeches from behind the door. But the filing cabinets wouldn't be enough to hold, so they had to find a way out.
-MON 9th SEPT/ 13:22-
"Knot, you go on ahead and find a way down, I'll keep an eye out" Orca instructed, grunting as he struggled to keep the cabinet in place.
"What if they're down there?" Knot seemed reluctant to go, looking across at him.
"Just what is going on here?" Rafe was still trying to come to terms with whatever was lingering behind the door and had the mercenaries scared witless.
"It's some kind of crazy shit, sir, everyone's gone crazy" Orca answered.
"What is this bullshit?" The younger demanded to know, looking from one man to the other.
Orca didn't seem like he could explain any further, but the question was forgotten as a particularly hard tremor floored him.
"They're breaking in! Go!"
Knot scrambled towards the window, pushing it as far open as it would go, but there was no way it would go any further, but he didn't have to worry for too long because Orca's boot soon kicked the glass out.
"Well, get on with it" Rafe commanded, taking his gun up and checking the magazine.
Orca joined him in facing the door and taking up arms in preparation for when the final line of defence would fall.
Knot slid one leg out, testing the firmness of the ledge before slipping his other leg out and trying to find purchase against the brick but with his weight and the slickness of the rain, he fell right off. "Woah, woah!"
BANG.
"Knot!" Rafe called, waiting for an update and perhaps getting anxious about the second filing cabinet crashing to the ground. He didn't know what the hell was behind that door, and he wasn't exactly looking forward to finding out either.
"I'm alright! Got some cushioning down here!" Knot called back once he'd found his way out of the garbage bags and hopped down from the bin where he had landed. A quick survey of the alleyway told him it was clear. "All clear, come on down!"
Rafe looked across at Orca.
"You go on ahead, sir, I'll follow you down" He encouraged.
Without another word, Rafe slung himself over the window frame and slid down, landing in the bags and grumbling at the indignity of the whole situation.
"Orca!" Knot called, hearing the increase in volume of the groaning and growling.
The doors had obviously come free, but now they watched as the mercenary came flying out of the window, dropping down into the bags with such force that he rolled off the ledge of the bin and hit the ground hard.
"Are you alright, china?" His colleague asked with concern, watching him scramble to get to his feet with a grunt of pain.
"No time now, get your asses moving!" Rafe warned, watching with growing terror as the crazed Shoreline mercenaries came screeching towards the window and carelessly dropping out as though it was nothing.
"Jesus!" Knot scrambled to get away just in time as one of the men dropped right to the tarmac, a sickening crunch of bones resounding in the narrow passage as blood exploded from a broken nose and front teeth.
"Stop this madness, right now!" Adler demanded, dodging as another came charging at him. The third, however, latched on, his finger nails digging into the petite man's arms, wild eyes rolling around and that was when the fear really settled into his stomach.
"I got you!" A loud gunshot to the head sent blood spraying across his face and shirt, but at least the writhing creature could now be dislodged and he kicked it away before dashing after Orca who made for the mouth of the alley to escape before anymore could rush in.
They were fast but luckily not clever and they managed to lose them in the backstreets.
-MON 9th SEPT/ 14:09-
"Hey, how you holding up?" Orca asked, panting heavily as he checked his gun.
Damn, empty.
The Para-9 was thrown aside and a Jackal was retrieved from behind his belt. He had some ammunition left, that was good enough for now.
"You're asking me how I'm holding up? How do you think?" Rafe snapped, using his sleeve to wipe blood off his face.
Orca gave him a mildly annoyed look, but as usual didn't say anything about it. "Knot?"
The younger mercenary coughed, indicating his presence with a wave of his hand- the one that wasn't holding his side from all the running. "So… where to now? We haul up somewhere?" He asked, hoping that 'yes' was the answer. "Sir...?"
When there was no answer for two minutes, Knot moved from his current resting place to investigate what had got Rafe's attention.
"A virus?" Adler gave a sceptical scoff as he picked up what looked like a medical pamphlet from the floor. "You've got to be joking, so… so what these things are… are just sick people?" He couldn't believe this nonsense.
"Look more like zombies, sir" Knot's joke was not appreciated by either of his companions, so he just fell silent as he moved to stand beside Orca.
"I'd say we find ourselves a nice camping spot, get some supplies on the way" The other man suggested, but said it in such a way that suggested he was leaving it up to his boss to decide. Right now, Rafe Adler still had his standing between them.
"We should get one of the 4x4s or a Jeep. Hardy enough to keep us on the road for a while." Rafe pointed out, already turning to head through the main street so they could find their way back to the car park of the office building they had left nearly an hour ago.
"Good idea"
The main street was a wreck, a bus having crashed and blocked off the road, some cars having had an unfortunate fate driving into it, though perhaps more unfortunate were the people who had died inside them and were now bait for the hungry infected.
Rafe grimaced at the sight of the carnage, the scent of gasoline and death making him feel queasy, but he remained composed as he turned to go in the opposite direction.
"Well, now we know where not to go" He heard Knot remark to his colleague.
The street was fortunately not crowded, the few infected who paid them attention being knocked out with fists to save on ammo, but otherwise the rest seemed preoccupied with eating what was already available- a sickening thought if someone dwelled on it.
They reached the car park in twenty minutes, the stench of gasoline and something burning now strong, and Adler cursed as he found that most of the cars were gone already, but worst of all was that one of the armoury trucks had crashed into the side of the building- probably the cause of the entire structure shaking earlier- and now there were more of those things swarming towards it.
"Do you think we could get some of those guns, sir?" Orca asked, peeling back the mesh wire fence from a car that had been lodged half through it so he could climb under and get into the parking area.
"Could be worth a try," Rafe replied, crouching low as he slid across the hood of the crashed Toyota. "I'll see if any of the cars are in useable condition, you and Knot go salvage what you can" He instructed, turning back to look at them both.
Knot looked as anxious as he normally did when he was told to do something particularly risky, but Orca tapped his shoulder and they turned to head back towards the building.
It wasn't like he was going to miss them, and most importantly, if they couldn't even make it back in one piece, there was no way in hell he was waiting up for them. He would find one of his safe houses and lay low until the madness passed.
-MON 9th SEPT/ 14:41-
Rafe jerked when he heard footsteps moving behind him, shuffling to hide behind a pillar and take a deep breath in. It was really dark in the underground car park, but if he wanted to get a vehicle out, there was no way he would be able to do it through the front so he had to find the back exit that looked out onto another street.
The sound of the rain was somewhat calming, but when he thought back to the deranged look he had seen in that man's eyes back in the alleyway and what he had read about these things in the pamphlet, his skin crawled and reminded him that it was one thing killing for profit, but another to fight for survival.
Looking around, he slipped down to try the door of the nearest car but it didn't budge. Sighing, he shifted himself out of cover to inspect the model. A Hyundai. Not the ideal choice.
A bit of further inspection and he found a Jeep. It looked a bit run down, but it was the sturdiest option.
A strange sound caught his attention.
Breathing? No, that wasn't it. It sounded more like… clicking.
Click. Click-click. Click-click.
Rafe retrieved his gun, trying to steady his hand as he aimed for the creature with the strange growth covering the entirety of its head as though its brain had somehow blossomed on the exterior.
Bang!
"What the hell…?"
The Clicker veered on him with a loud screech, flailing its arms about as it advanced.
Bang! Bang!
Several more shots and it fell to the ground squirming in its own blood, but Adler couldn't take a break there as the sound of gunfire had brought every one of those lurking things running towards him.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang- click, click, click.
"Ah shit" Rafe cursed, throwing the now empty weapon at the nearest Runner's face to stun it before he backed away, his back hitting the Jeep. What options did he have?
"Run!" He didn't recognise the voice nor the British accent, but there was some gunfire and the nearest Runner collapsed with a big hole where its ear should have been.
"Get out of there, idiot!" Again.
Rafe made a break towards the voice, seeing a man standing at the back of a pick-up truck with what looked like a Hunting Rifle. He seemed to have a steady hand, but it wasn't him who had called out to him. It was the driver.
The short man quickly hopped in the back, wincing as he hit the side when the vehicle lurched forward without warning, starting to drive off. His companion in the back also seemed to have lost his footing, almost falling right out if he hadn't managed to regain his balance and drop to his knees.
-MON 9th SEPT/ 15:15-
Rafe crashed through the door after his two companions, watching as the taller one slammed the door shut and together they pushed a shelf to block it.
"Are we all good?" The British man asked, looking between them.
"We're good. For now." The other had a Spanish sounding accent, but his features suggested South American.
"Alright, let's take a look around… see what we can find" The first said, but Rafe had to interrupt.
"Hey, excuse me, this is great and all, but… I don't take orders from you" He cleared his throat, wearing his best game face as the two turned to look at him then exchanged silent looks. "Look, I don't even know who you two are" He tried to word things better. He didn't know what these two were after.
"I'm Talbot." Introduced the more refined of the two, looking somewhat dishevelled but still smart in his dress shirt which had the sleeves rolled up, a vest and slacks. He was too agile to simply be a rich man, maybe just worked for an important organisation.
Rafe looked towards the other man expectantly.
He was about 6'2" in height, and seemed generally quieter in a reserved manner. His jeans and black shirt were on the casual side, but definitely not practical in the rain, even if he was wearing a sleeveless jacket.
"Navarro" Came the short introduction.
"Good, good. I'm Rafe Adler, you've probably heard of me" He gave a business-like smile before turning around to face the pillaged bookstore.
Who knew if they could get out of here alive.
Author's Note:
Rafe, Talbot and Navarro? Probably not the trio you were expecting, right?
Thanks for reading, if you're interested in finding out what happens next, please review/favourite/follow!