Part 2

The roar of a helicopter broke the silence of the city. Delta squad looked out over the crestfallen area below them.

"I never thought I'd see this hell hole again" one soldier commented.

Another soldier examined his assault rifle.

"Remember, this is standard maintenance." The pilot said through the speaker. "We'll pick you up at the extraction point; suit up."

The soldiers pulled gas masks over their faces, and strapped on their armor.

Five cables were dropped, and dangled loosely from the chopper. Each of the men attached themselves to the lines. A cloud of dust formed as the helicopter descended.

"Welcome to hell boys" the pilot said.

The masked figures rappelled down the ropes, easily. Fifty feet below, their feet touched ground. They disconnected their harnesses, and raised their weapons while moving in a group down the street.

Cole looked up to the sky as a military helicopter flew over.

"Shit, special forces are here!" he called into the window. A second later he heard James's reply.

"Damn, we should have known about clean-up." He scolded. "C'mon in, the stench is great." He teased.

"Smartass" Cole mumbled as he climbed through the window.

The smell of the room was unbearable. The bodies in the corner were being swarmed by flies. They walked down a long hallway to the front. James grabbed a shotgun and shells, while Cole took a sub-machine gun from a display case, along with some ammo, and a stock.

"Did you hear that?" James asked, stopping in his tracks.

"No, what was it?" Cole asked, attaching the stock to his gun, and loading it.

"It sounded like…breathing."

They both looked at each other, and then at the bolted door at the end of the hallway.

"Hell no." Cole said, predicting James's next words.

"C'mon, the door is bolted, and we're armed." James pressured

"Go on ahead, I'm staying back here." Cole announced.

James rolled his eyes, and walked down the hallway, his gun aimed at the door.

He approached, and pressed his ear to the door. Cole could see his eyes widen and he ran toward the front of the store just as the thing in the room started screaming and banging on the door.

"Have fun?" Cole questioned

"Kiss my ass." James said, still in shock of what just happened. They shot the lock off of the front door, and exited into the street.

Delta squad broke into two teams. One team would take the alleys, and one, the streets.

"You know your orders. Shoot anything that moves; infected or otherwise." Ordered one soldier as the other team entered an alleyway.

Delta one eliminated the infected from the streets in the surrounding area. One infected leapt at them from a bush, but was shot down. Two more ran around from the side of a building. A soldier ran at them, gunning them both down, with a barrage of gunfire.

"Delta two, delta two; hostiles encountered and neutralized. Over." One soldier spoke into his mouthpiece.

"Roger delta one, we are relocating to the rooftops for a vantage point. Please advise."

"It looks clear from down here delta two. Proceed"

Delta two cautiously made their way up the stairs. One soldier unlocked the door, and opened it. Just as he stepped outside, he was tackled to the ground by an infected.

"Shit! Hostile encountered, Delta one, Private Mitchell is down, I repeat, Private Mitchell is down!" The soldier screamed into his mouthpiece as he fired a burst of fire into the infected's back. It fell off the building, and hit the concrete with a sickening thud.

"Mitchell, are you okay?" he asked.

Private Mitchell shot up, the veins in his eyes pulsating, and his eye color turning a reddish color. He screamed, and flung himself onto the parapet, vomiting over the side of the building. He grabbed his stomach, and fell back onto the roof, howling in pain.

"Delta one, we need a medic, ASAP."
"Roger Delta two, we are inbound on your position."

Private Mitchell screeched as he tore at his skin. Seizures plagued him as he fought to stop the infection in his body. He finally lay still. The soldier walked up to him slowly, expecting the worst. Mitchell whirled around, and leapt to his feet; hunger in his eyes as he stared at his teammate. Delta one busted through the door just as the infected Mitchell dove at the soldier; two quick bursts of fire, and he lay on the ground. His teammate leaned against a wall, panting.

"Ah, shit." A soldier said solemnly. They said a blessing, and walked down into the street.

Hearing the gunshots, Cole and James sprinted down the abandoned streets to the military base. The sun was setting, casting an orange glow across the city.

"Damn, they can see our shadows." Cursed James

"Let's, find somewhere to sleep." Cole suggested. "The infected will be out soon."

"Well, how about that old-"James's sentence was cut short as an ear-piercing scream filled the night air.

Two infected sprinted at them from down the street. Cole fired blindly behind him as he ran, hoping to get a lucky shot.

"Quick, in that alley!" commanded James.

They cut through the alley, and began climbing up the fire escape. James was up, and Cole had started climbing when the infected skidded into the alleyway. They ran at the platform, screeching like animals. Cole finally reached the top. He whirled around and swung the stock of his gun like a bat, knocking one infected into a dumpster.

The duo began to climb ever higher, not wanting to know what was behind them, or ahead.

James leaned over the railing and fired off rounds at the infected that was climbing after them. Discarded shells flew out of his gun, and rattled onto the floor as he fired. The infected dodged the shots, and clambered onto the final platform; the one Cole and James were on. James ran backwards, but tripped, and slammed onto the grate floor. Cole was running towards him, but the infected was already on top of him. Its tongue slithered in and out of its mouth, and its eyes flicked wildly from side to side.

"You sorry piece of shit"

Those were the last words the infected heard. James angled his shotgun barrel up, and pulled the trigger.

An eruption of blood flew into the air, the infected's intestines were shot out, and wrapped around poles. The blast blew the creature's spine completely in half. It was blasted upward, and of the fire escape. It landed in a heap at the bottom of the alleyway. James quickly wiped the blood on his face off with his sleeve. Cole just stood there, in shock. Their celebration was short lived. They soon heard a walkie-talkie buzz to life.

"Delta one, two male civilians located; proceeding to neutralize."