Dixon fires off two shots in quick succession as if to chastise me for even thinking our luck is changing. The Rabids aren’t done with us yet, and I hear Dan’s voice in the back of my mind taking the piss for letting my mind wander, so I redouble my concentration.
“Take the right flank, with Josh, Lance Corporal,” I order Watts, behind the Browning. “I’ll take over, here.”
Watts’ chiselled face looks surprised and aggrieved by my order as if it is some kind of personal slight against his competency, which it is not. I see that he is about to make some sort of protest and tell me that he has it covered, but I tell him that he has his orders before he can. Watts stands aside and relinquishes the Browning to me, not looking too happy, and joins Josh on my right.
“Alders, receiving, over?” I say into my comms unit.
“Receiving, we are three minutes out, I can see the building, over.”
“Received. Evac point is the North East side of the building to your left of the rooftop door, over.”
“Received and understood, over.”
“Get into position as quickly as possible. The noise of that Lynx will kick things off here, over.”
“Received, over and out.”
“Right,” I say, “this is it. When the Lynx arrives, I will cover the Evac. Evac point is over there,” I say, pointing to the right side of the building behind the stairwell door. “Josh and Watts, you're first to go. When you’re on board, cover Dixon and Downey’s retreat. The Lynx’s door gun won’t be accurate enough. Then I will make a break for it with your cover, understood?”
Everyone says “Yes Sir,” apart from Josh.
“I’m not happy with that plan, Dad.”
“It’s the only way to do it. You have your orders.”
“Dad, it leaves you too exposed!”
“Someone has to cover the evac, Josh. It’s manageable unless someone has a better plan?”
Nobody does and silence ensues.
“Okay then, standby for Evac,” I tell them.
In the distance, the sound of a helicopter starts to pierce the constant patter of rain falling onto the rooftop. I risk a quick look around behind me to where it will be approaching from and see the Lynx’s lights floating in the air, through the rain and not too far away.
“Here it comes!”
Everybody tenses up and my stomach lurches. Josh is correct in his evaluation of the evac, I am going to be very exposed. He knew it as well as me, as did the rest of the men. Desperate times call for desperate measures, no matter how positive I tried to spin it for Josh. With each member of the team that breaks for the Lynx, the more exposed I will be until I will be here alone, with no backup. Just me and the Browning and then, when it’s time for me to break for it, I will be leaving the power of the Browning too.
Noise from the Lynx’s engines and rotors is now clear to hear. A feeling of relief is there amongst the one of anticipation and fear. I seriously doubt we would have held out for another twenty to twenty-five minutes waiting for the transport arranged by Winters. Whatever happens in the next few minutes was inevitable, even if we’d had to wait, so I’d rather do it now with the Browning loaded with a full chain of ammo.
“Dixon, before you go, throw two grenades down, okay?”
“You got it, Sir, and good luck.”
The Lynx swoops in fast over our heads, before pulling its nose up and air braking suddenly out across from the north side of the building. A glimpse up shows me Alice gripping on at the open hold door, while Alders performs his sharp manoeuvres and a welcoming empty hold behind her.
Like clockwork, the noise brings the inevitable Rabid attack from the dark depths of the stairwell. I see Rabid heads and eyes first above the mounds of minced flesh on the stairs and in front of the doorway. Multiple targets present themselves as if they know this is their last chance to feed.
Dixon opens up first, shooting almost constantly at Rabid targets as they surge up and towards the open air. He is closely followed by Downey firing in more short-targeted bursts, and then Watts has to join in too, firing off single shots. I resist the nearly overwhelming urge to pull the trigger and unleash the Browning’s fearsome power as I see the eyes of the baying creatures attacking, thirsty for blood.
With the onslaught in front, I cannot afford to watch Alders as he positions the Lynx ready for our evac. My eyes flick away from the fight and across the rooftop, checking the Lynx’s progress, willing it to get into position quickly. At least then, Josh can retreat, get onto the transport and get the fuck out of harm's way.
That in itself will be a massive weight off my mind.
Each time I do steel a glace away from the attack and over at the Lynx, it is closer, and Alice gets bigger as she shouts directions out to her pilot. Rainwater starts to fly at us sideways across the rooftop as the downdraft from the spinning rotors of the Lynx starts to take effect, affecting our atmosphere. Alders seems to be taking an age to get into position, the noise from the helicopter increasing constantly. This isn’t actually the case. I know that in the heat of battle, things happen very quickly until it’s time to wait for something, especially for help when you’re under fire, and then time extends.
Dead bodies are piling up inside the stairwell and around the doorway, and I see them all as dead as human dead bodies, not dead Rabids or dead Zombies. They are dead people. They were infected with
