The six people that had just stepped out into the open air did not notice any of these things though. Their minds were preoccupied with the mission at hand. And controlling their fear.
John and Mel stepped towards the storage container, which was the last known location of the zombie. They kept their steps light. All the training from special ops coming back to them, despite it having been years since either of them had donned the green and blue patch of the 75th Army Ranger Regiment. Slowly, the two made their way closer to the sea can and started slicing the pie – a tactic for movement, with the intent of opening up visibility around a corner or obstacle, without exposing yourself.
Kind of a silly exercise without guns. John tightened his grip on the shovel with his good hand. The custom-made prosthetic worked fine, but John still couldn’t trust the damn thing.
Keith and Craig hung back a little and positioned themselves to intercept, hammers and axe held at the ready. They held the shorter-range weapons that would be employed to destroy the zombie’s head. This was to be a classic bait, flank and dispose tactic.
As John and Mel moved towards their target position, John took note of his surroundings.
Eyes and ears, soldier.
It’s too damn quiet. No planes in the sky, vehicles on the road. No sound of tools, equipment, people. ... Nothing.
No wait. That’s not true. It’s just there at the edge of your hearing.
There it was. Definite sounds – hard to place what they were, but they were noises. The world wasn’t completely dead yet. Or was it just the dead moving around?
Never mind that soldier. Eyes. What do you see?
John saw that the army grunts had left a few things behind. The Humvee and the army transport truck could come in handy. They could probably move the entire group in that vehicle if they needed to. A good backup plan to the bus.
Then there was the sea can itself. It was one of those half length sea cans. John had no idea how they had gotten it into the school yard in the first place – but there it was. John wondered what kind of goodies were in there.
Focus soldier. Eyes. What do you see?
Other items in the parking lot included a gazebo canopy tent, the water tanks, and of course the school bus. Plenty of places for a zombie to hide...
Don’t lose your focus. You’re about to engage contact. Check your team.
He quickly glanced over his shoulder and noted that Emily and Nat had made it to the gate. They would wait until he engaged the zombie before closing and securing the gate. Keith and Craig were at the right angle and distance.
Good to go.
As John swung his attention back to where they thought the target was, he heard and saw something at the same time. A kind of flapping noise, and something white.
One more slice of the pie and he would see it.
Get the visual. Brace. Calm in the mind, explosive in the body.
It was hard to keep the adrenaline from rushing through his body as he moved, Mel in lockstep just behind and off to his right.
The sheet of plasticised paper flapped again just then, as another gust of wind passed it.
Damn. Where the hell is it?
John took another step, completing the angle around the container. Then he raised his prosthetic fist to signal the team to hold.
Nothing. What the fuck. Ok. Focus. Eyes out.
John signalled the group to turn their attention outwards and scan for the target. After a few seconds, Mel, Keith and Craig had scanned their angles and hand signalled ‘no contact’.
John knew that he had to move his team. He quickly decided to move the group towards Emily and Nat. Less than a minute later they arrived at the gate.
The first thing John saw was the bodies. Several bodies littered the street near the gate – an obvious product of the soldiers that were posted there yesterday. John couldn’t help but notice that the bodies lay in the most awkward positions.
But dead bodies will do that. You’ve seen your share of them, haven’t you?!
No. Don’t go there.
John signalled to Emily to close the gate. The gate lifted from its open position into the tracks with a small clanking noise. The whole team froze for a second, but there was no movement. The gate slid in its track and met the bracket on the opposite side of the driveway. Nat lowered the clamp that would secure the gate. There was no lock, but somebody would have to undo the clamp and then pull the gate on its track to open the thing.
The undead shouldn’t be able to do that. ... Right? John didn’t feel like second-guessing, so he sent a signal to his team. Again, the signals came back that no contact was spotted.
“Stay alert and keep your distance from each other. Don’t bunch up on the way back.” He whispered to his team. He had already instructed them in the school, but he also knew these were mostly civilians. People get scared and let their emotions and fears control them. Those faults tended spell disaster for combat situations.
He had a quick look at his team before they moved. Craig looked scared. Nat looked ... angry? Emily and Mel also displayed signs of fear. Keith looked cool as a cucumber.
This guy is really something! John hoped that he looked as cool and collected as the oriental man.
The group started moving. John took point while Keith acted as rear guard. John again noticed how silent the world had become.
Then somewhere in the distance a
