Chapter 2: Cover Fire & Escapes
An hour after leaving camp the Expedition pulled up outside a department store where the other would wait for Glenn while the former delivery pizza boy went out in search of places that had stuff worth looting and enough to last the group a good while before having to do another run. Meanwhile, Jake drove a half block further down the street where he parked the Mustang in an alley behind a 80 meter tall apartment complex which had fencing one side that cut it off from the street on one end while providing three other escape routes. Fortunately, he had a couple bundles of heavy duty rope which could be tied together which could be anchored down then used by him for an emergency escape without having to take the stairs.
Wouldn't be his first time having to escape a situation in such a way while in a hurry and that time he had a slower vehicle with less exits routes. Plus, then he'd been chased by living people who could drive and fire guns at him which in a way was ultimately worse than somewhat slow moving/jogging walkers who fortunately, couldn't drive or shoot guns.
The former Hitman climbed out of the Mustang then slung the TAC-50 across his back then slide the tactical backpack over it with both arms through the straps then lastly, slid the HK strap over his across his shoulders, but held it with both arms. Once he'd closed and locked the car doors he turned and entered the apartment complex cautiously with his rifle raised and ready to fire, while it would only attract attention he had to turn on the flashlight in order to light more of the hall he was walking through.
Groaning, several groans came from the lobby's direction causing him to aim in that direction only to see seven walkers heading in his direction, the 27 year old scanned them over then proceeded to shoot each of them in the head then did a quick search for more before heading for the front doors and blocking them the best he could prior to heading towards the stairs.
He didn't encounter any undead obstacles on the steps, least not until he reached the second level where there were a few just standing in the hall where some door were opened letting out whatever was in them while others were closed cutting of the threats in that space.
Knowing the least amount of walkers he left standing that would cause him any trouble, the better and therefore, began clearing out whatever undead bodies of rotting flesh decided to make themselves known whether they were men, women, or even sadly children who gonna try to eat him. Before he even made it halfway through the third floor and with little to hardly any time to reload he let his weapon hand from his chest while drawing both his P30L and knife then began shooting and hacking his way through the undead.
A walker popped out from one of the rooms he was passing and fortunately, the undead woman's rotten teeth bit into his backpack giving him a chance to turn and drive his knife through her skull followed by blowing her rotten brains out. Once that was done the former Hitman went back to clearing the hall then reloaded and headed up towards the next floor.
The next two floors were more of the same and by the time Jake reached the roof he was covered in walker blood and there was no denying that it smelled worse than shit. Kicking open the roofs door giving him a chance to react in case there were walkers on it, the 27 year old walked out with his gun raised high and upon seeing it empty he let out a sigh of relief before turning and making sure nothing and nobody could sneak up on him, so he blocked the door.
Heading over towards the ledge overlooking the street which the department store where everyone was, he proceeded to get into his overwatch position. By the time he was done the TAC-50 was set up on its bipod with a suppressor on , a makeshift canopy had been made from the rifles pouch to protect him from the sun, bag being used as a pillow and eye looking down the scope and aiming for the department store where he spotted Merle on the roof.
Reaching into his bag he brought out a piece of beef jerky and began eating it slowly followed by pulling out his walkie talkie and turning it on then switched it over towards the channel everyone else would be on. After all that was taken care of the former Hitman got as comfortable as possible seeing as it could be a while before he got any word from the group or anything happened, hopefully, whatever did happen didn't go South.
-x-
Seems whatever God still in existence wasn't listening to Jake's plea seeing as an hour later gunshots began ringing out from the end of the block where everyone had been holding up in. Minutes later he heard Glenn's voice over the radio and listened as the Korean male talked an unknown male through escaping the confines of a tank surrounded by walkers and making it over towards him. Loading a round into the chamber of his rifle Jake aimed for where the man would be coming from and prepared to fire.
A couple moments later a man wearing a Sheriff's deputy uniform came around the corner firing off rounds into any walker that got to close to him and seemed to be doing a good enough job. Though he wasn't doing that great seeing as the former Hitman had to fire a round that blew the head off a walker which almost took a bite of the man from behind and the deputy not turned into the alley a split second before firing then he'd be dead as well.
Pulling the bolt on his rifle back and ejecting the round then loading another one the 27 year old fired off another round this time keeping several walkers from entering the alleyway for a good minute longer since downed undead flesh eaters caused the others to slowly climbed over them.
"That's some good shooting overwatch" Glenn's winded voice came over the radio.
"It's what I'm here for. Listen, do me a favor..." Jake started while moving so that he was watching the roof where the Korean male and Sheriff deputy would be appearing once they made it up the emergency ladder on the buildings side. "Tell deputy dumbass that I better have not wasted valuable .50 cal rounds saving his ass for no reason. Should've let him get bit for shooting off unsuppressed rounds in the first place. Shit, I still might just because he was being a fucking idiot" he continued before turning back towards the street to see more walkers appearing from everywhere and crowding the area.
'Son of a bitch, the one thing I really fucking hoped to avoid' the former Hitman mentally cursed as he saw the mob down below. 'Well, it seems plan B will have to be put into effect' he sighed out before going back to roof where Glenn just barely appeared.
"Speedy, listen up, we're going to have to put plan B into effect, so once you get back to the others I suggest you take time to search for a way out while I draw these sons a bitches away from y'all" the 27 year old informed the 23 year old who stopped in his movements and looked in his direction as if he could see him clearly, which he couldn't, but with his makeshift shade one would easily be able to spot him, somewhat.
"Dude, come on, there's gotta be another way. We got to at least explore our options before even considering plan B" Glenn replied over the comms before continuing on his way with the deputy on his tail.
"There aren't really any other options. The way you guys just came from is now blocked off, the street is filled with walkers, there's a bus blocking the alleyway next to the department store which honestly is helping you guys by keeping these fucks out, and unless you guys somehow find your way into the sewers which I'm ninety-nine percent sure isn't safe and dark as fuck or magically start flying, I don't see any other way" Jake ranted off every option he could immediately think of while watching the two until he lost sight of them after they entered a different building then aimed back towards the street and took a glance at the stores glass front door which had a walker lightly hitting it with a rock. While it wasn't going a great amount of damage, but if you continue hitting the same spot on a glass window consistently no matter how low the force, it'll eventually break.
"Plus, if you don't move quick enough they'll be through those glass doors in less than an hour, hour and a half at the longest. If y'all don't move before that then you're going to be walker chow and I'm not going back to camp and telling the others that the reason you all were dead was because you didn't listen to me. Losing one person is better than losing several" the male finished and it was honestly the most he'd ever said without someone interrupting him or letting someone speak before continuing. It wasn't because he wasn't a talker, it's just when you do the same thing and see the same people everyday, you run out of things to speak about.
Hence, why Glenn was his sort of best friend since the two were able to talk about where to go on runs, what they saw while in the city, and etcetera.
"Look, give us a half hour to look for another way out and if we don't find anything then we'll go with plan B... Guys I'm in the alley, with two walkers between us and the building, open up" the Korean male responded while also contacting the rest of their group. It was then the 27 year old remembered that the others were on the same frequency and heard the whole conversation, but didn't really care. It wasn't like he said anything that they shouldn't have heard.
"Alright, you guys got half an hour before I initiate plan B and work on getting you all the fuck out of there" he responded before starting to search for ways the group can go to escape the walkers below while he drew their attention, though judging by how many there were he wouldn't be able to distract them all. It was while scanning the roofs when he caught sight of something he didn't like.
'Fucking dick, there goes our deal' Jake thought to himself upon seeing Merle climb up on the led and begin firing down at the walkers below drawing more towards them. "Listen, y'all better stop Merle before I blow his head off" he growled into the comms lightly. It was the first time the others would hear him sound angry even if just a bit though the same couldn't be said for Speedy who on occasion saw him this way on a run.
He watched as the others appeared on the roof a few moments later only for T-Dog to get assaulted, the deputy to get knocked down, and the others to have the Dixon male point his rifle at them while making a few arm gestures. Jake had aimed at the man's head and was about to pull the trigger, but the cop got up and gave him a nice hook that sent Merle to the ground. He couldn't exactly see what happened next since the ledge block it from view though Merle didn't get back up which meant he was either unconscious or they somehow subdued him.
Everything that happened after that the man vaguely understood since nobody had felt the need to inform him of the situation though it wasn't like he didn't already know. Merle was no longer currently a problem, T-Dog might be injured from the beating, and the others were possibly searching for a way out. They had contacted the camp telling them of their current predicament, but didn't get a response which the male couldn't see he hadn't seen coming. It wasn't like anyone back at camp could really do anything without putting their own lives at stake, everyone knew the risks of coming.
"Hey, overwatch, we think we've found a way out of here without putting you at little to no risk. We're going to try and get one the construction sight down the road, steal a cargo truck, and use it to get the fuck outta here all while you watch over our asses" the 23 year old told him over the radio sounding everything but sure on the plan they had cooked up to get them out.
"Ready when you are, got eight rounds in total left, so let's make sure to make them all count" was all he said before adjusting his position slightly and aiming for the street knowing that if they were making a break for the construction site three-quarters of a mile down the road from their current position then the only way to get there was by walking.
Reaching towards the front of his rifle he began unscrewing the attached suppressor knowing that he'd have to draw as much attention to himself and away from whoever was going to head for the construction site. He also, reached into his bag and pulled out two frags and a flashbang knowing they'd be fundamental in his own escape.
A few minutes while giving the street a complete glance over he noticed some unwalker-like movement catch his eye and looked to see two figures climb out from under the parked greyhound bus and get up on their two feet. Taking a closer look at the figures he noticed that it was Glenn and the deputy both wearing trench coats covered in walker's blood and guts with the 23 year old carrying a baseball bat and the other man had a fireman axe.
They'd barely made it twenty feet before he fired off a round blowing the walkers head nearly full off with the bullet hitting another two in different area making them crawlers. Seeing another getting a little too close to Speedy he quickly reloaded, aimed, and fired blowing half its face off and the leg of another. The last round had gone into the head of a walker who had been sniffing the cop a little too close for comfort which causing the former Hitman to change magazines to the remaining full one.
Over the next half hour he watched the two slowly make their way through the horde at the same pace of those undead fuckers just so they wouldn't draw too much attention to and give themselves away. Fortunately, his unsuppressed shots that literally echoed throughout the empty and quiet city had drawn a good portion of the walkers towards the building he was perched on as well as attract more from nearby. Though the department store still had a large crowd it was now much smaller than it was and a third of the amount gathered outside the apartment complex's front doors.
As if someone asked how a shitty situation could get any worse the partly cloudy sky darkened and like some fucked up moment from a movie or tv it began to rain, but only for a few moments which was long enough to clean off majority of the blood and guts covering the raincoats before it cleared up leaving it sunny. Though the damage had been done and whatever camouflage that Glenn and the other male had was gone since every walker near them began noticing their presence and started approaching.
Jake hadn't been paying attention to how many rounds he fired and when ammo became necessary to take out a walker that had almost taken a chunk out of his friend he couldn't do anything to stop it. When the 27 year old pulled back on the trigger to kill the damn thing all he got was a clicking sound which let him know he wasted all his bullets and couldn't do anything to help the two men.
Luckily, the two were close enough to the construction site which allowed them to make a run for it and less than a minute later they climbed up and over the gate which cut them off from the undead, but with how many bodies had piled up against it, it was only a matter of time before they broke through. Though it would seem he didn't have to worry about that because a couple minutes later a white cargo truck ran the small group down as it barrelled through the gate and headed for the department store.
"Guys, get ready by the cargo doors. We'll be there in less than a minute" Glenn hurriedly said over the radio as the truck came speeding down the road.
'it's show time' the former Hitman thought to himself and began packing up his things before pulling the pin from the flashbang and tossing it over the side. It hadn't reached the ground before going off, but either way it had the wanted effect and drew more walkers away from the others and towards himself. Grabbing one of the frag he pulled it pin before throwing it at the walkers and hitting one in the head a couple seconds before it blew sending blood and chunks all over the place.
"What the fuck was that?!" T-Dog shouted over the radio just as the truck was reversing into the cargo doors which seconds later opened and out of the building came the others who seemed to be waiting for something which happened to be the dark skinned man who appeared moments later and jumped in the back.
"Don't worry about it, just get out of here!" Jake replied loudly over the radio before grabbing his last frag and throwing it into the horde below which blew and sent more blood and chunks everywhere. Picking up his things and walked towards the back of the building where the alley was, fortunately still empty, he then pulled out his rope from the bag and anchored it down to a generator and lowered the rifle down first, then his bag, and lastly himself.
As the 27 year old was lowering himself down he heard a faint a terror filled cry come from somewhere down the alley and immediately stopped his descent and began looking over the area. After a moment he heard no other sound nor saw anything and began his descent once again that is until the sound of a trashcan being knocked out caused him to pause in his actions and turn only to this time actually see what looked like hooded person around Carl and Sophia's size running towards him what what looked to be seven walkers chasing after them.
Knowing he couldn't due much in his current position due to the high chance of hitting the other person, the former Hitman threw all caution aside and began repelling quickly which caused the rope to begin burning through his gloves. By the time his feet touch the ground Jake's gloves around his palm and finger were just barely covering him by a thread and his hands were slightly burnt, but the male ignored the pain.
Lifting his HK416 up and aiming above the still running person head at the walkers he made sure the firearm was still on semi-auto before beginning to fire off rounds. The fact that it took him half a clip to take out seven walkers annoyed him though not because of the ammo wasted, but because of the burns on his hands that kept him from shooting as accurately as usual.
"We have to get out of here!" The unknown person shouted and the 28 year old could hear that it was a young boy. "There are more coming!" He added as he ran for the passenger side of the Mustang and without much hesitation the former Hitman unlocked the doors, grabbed his stuff which he threw in the trunk, got in the driver side, started the engine, and tore off down the alleyway in the direction the boy had come from.
The kid wasn't wrong, more had begun to appear in the exit routes he'd seen earlier which caused him to have to make a detour, but all in all it wasn't a situation he had much trouble escaping.
"Where's your group kid?" The Hitman questioned without taking his eyes off the road as he made turns and on occasion dodged a walker or more.
"I-I don't have one" was the young boy replied while looking out the passenger side window.
"Look, I don't know you, and you don't know me, but we got a group with some kids around your age if you want to tag along with me. Or, I can find the clearest place I can and drop you off there... So what's it gonna be?"
A/N: So, here's the next chapter for this fic. I've rewrote the last few paragraphs different ways and it always comes out sounding rushed, which I guess in a way it is. Though I do hope you all enjoy it. Oh, and the part with the whole radio transmission between Jake, Glenn, and the group is a bit confusing, but they didn't interrupt and when it comes to the camp it's on a different frequency.
Also, for those who read my other Walking Dead fic, I know I haven't updated like I said I would, but I've been having a bit of trouble rewriting the first chapter only because I tried outdoing the previous one instead of taking from it. So, it should be up soon.
Plus, want to say updates will be coming slower due to work and some family stuff.