“You’re not wrong there.”
Dixon taps the top of the cab and leans back toward Downey’s window. “Downey?”
“Yes, Boss,” he replies as the pick-up comes to a stop.
“Any entry points?”
“There are doors, but they all look secured.”
“Keep going and looking,” Dixon orders.
Downey gently starts moving forward; he scans the building, a plane length away on their left, for any entry point.
“There,” Collins says.
Downey sees it too, a single black door that looks like it has a crack of light down its length on one side.
“You’re up mate, go and check it, I’ll cover you,” Downey orders as he stops the pick-up again and opens his door to get out and cover Collins.
Apprehension and fear course through Collins’ body. He doesn’t question the order though and he doesn’t hesitate. As soon as the vehicle comes to a stop, he opens his door and gets out. Ducked down behind his rifle that is raised and pointed forward, he moves swiftly around the front of the pick-up and on towards the door that is shadowed by the looming airplane above. He is quickly at the tail of the plane and starts to work his way down it, using it for cover while checking any blind spots.
“CONTACT RIGHT!” Kim shouts as his rifle erupts.
Adrenaline fizzes through Dixon as he swivels around from his perch on top of the cab. His rifle swings around with him to look for a target and he isn’t disappointed. “Where the fuck have they all come from!” Dixon hears himself shout as his rifle opens up into the mass of Rabids that are streaming like water in and around the landing gear, in their direction, coming from an airplane on the opposite side from the main building.
They are in serious trouble—that is instantly obvious to Dixon as he fires. Their bullets are having little or no effect on the Rabid’s charge and they are going to be across the expanse separating them in moments. Downey getting back into the cab and speeding off will be useless and it would leave Collins behind. Where would they speed off to? The Rabids would overwhelm them before they got very far anyway. There is only one possible salvation. To fall back to the building, hope Collins has that door open and hope they can reach it in time.
“Fall back to the building, covering grenades!” Dixon shouts to his two comrades as he pulls the pins on two grenades and throws them.
Neither Dixon nor Kim wait to see what effect the exploding grenades are going to have. They are both jumping down from the tail of the pick-up before they explode. Downey rolls two grenades under the pick-up as the two men hit the ground and then all three make a break for the building.
As soon as they are up and running, Dixon's grenades detonate and a moment later, Downey’s follow. The pick-up leaps into the air from the force of the blast, its petrol tank erupting with it. All three men don’t break their stride or attempt to look around when the blasts happens; they have only one objective, to get to the open door Collins is holding, down on one knee with his rifle pointed, ready to fire.
Collins sees the first two grenades explode and the blast takes out a few Rabids. More replace the fallen in their ranks, though, as they stream forward, the creatures coming at a tremendous rate. The blast from the pick-up is impressive but does nothing the hinder the onslaught. The Rabids seem to anticipate the trap and take a wide berth around the blast. Collins feels helpless as he sees the swarm of Rabids gaining on his mates. They are going to be on top of them before they make it inside.
Downey is lagging behind slightly, the screeches of the horde at his back only confirm his feeling. He knows how close the Rabids are; they are almost upon him and the door is still too far off. He rips the last two grenades from his body armour, pulls the pins and drops them down by his feet. He understands that he will probably still be in the blast radius when they go, but if he is, at least it may give the other two a better chance. The grenades away, he tries to increase his speed.
Two blasts follow one another as the two grenades explode. A searing hot piece of shrapnel hits Downey’s left shoulder at the same time as the shock wave.
Downey stumbles, but ignoring the pain, he tries to gather his feet, in desperation to survive and keep going. The stumble is all the Rabid that hits his back needed. The beast’s arms gather him in as Downey goes down and its teeth have bitten through the back of his neck before he hits the ground.
“Nooo,” Collins shouts as Downey goes down. The horror and his sacrifice impact deep within Collins and his rage builds. Without thinking, he opens fire, his rifle spitting out bullets into the melee heading his way indiscriminately. The only exceptions to his killing spree are Dixon and Kim, to whom Downey’s sacrificial grenades may have given a chance.
Collins’ rifle clicks empty just when he needs it most, when he has the best chance to cover his comrades. Cursing himself, he swaps out the magazine as quickly as he can and aims the rifle again ready to shoot. He sees Kim hit and lose his footing before he is enveloped by the oncoming Rabids, and Collins blames himself for his mistake. He doesn’t dwell on it, not yet, and he fires his rifle.
Dixon is almost at the door when he registers Kim go down. He is sure he hears Kim’s deathly scream or is it just more of the Rabid’s sickening noise? Dixon anticipates his ghastly fate that is surely inevitable. Bullets fizz past his head, giving vital seconds and suddenly, he is amazed that he is at the door. He runs straight through it as Collins empties
