Road to Grissom: Part three of the Aftermath series

by Duncan McArdle

  The rooftop was made up of two levels. The first, which was slightly higher than the other, housed most of the air conditioning units for the building, all of which were high enough to obscure smaller objects – something that caused John a great deal of concern – but just low enough not to obscure overall vision. The second level appeared to be two or three feet lower down, and unlike the first was almost completely empty, itself the nearer side to the stadium.

  Navigating his way through the various AC units on the left-hand side of the rooftop, John peeked, ducked and dived around every corner, refusing to expose any more of himself than he had to before he’d made absolutely sure that the area was safe. Devon meanwhile did much the same on the right-hand side, before the two eventually met back where they’d begun, confident they were alone.

  “Here”, John said, throwing over a fairly substantial brick he’d found while wandering around, which he imaged had been used to prop open the door before.

  “Thanks”, Danny replied, catching the brick, placing it down on the floor in place of his foot, and then immediately stepping away, happy to once more be able to move around freely, “How’s it looking?”.

  “Looks clear”, John said, “If anybody’s been up here, they ain’t here now”.

  “Nope”, Devon called over, himself having moved down to the lower portion of the rooftop, his hands now disappearing out of sight beneath the lip present between each section, “But they might be coming back for this”, he continued, whilst raising up a long black sniper rifle, as well as a radio he’d found just next to it.

  Chapter 21: Vantage point

  All three men immediately descended into silence. There had been numerous signs throughout their ascent to the rooftop – only some of which they had noticed – that others were either there now, or had been, but this was by far the most worrying. Whoever had been atop this same roof, presumably somewhat recently, had been well armed enough to be a match for anyone, and well equipped enough to have seen anybody coming, including the three men now stood there holding this unknown person’s rifle.

  “We should go, right?”, Danny chimed in, the first to break the silence.

  “Screw that, we can take them”, Devon replied, confidence oozing out of the man just as much as it ever did, his trademark smile thrown out alongside the statement to back it up.

  “We don’t even know where they are”, Danny pointed out, looking around feverishly as he said the words before coming to a stark realisation, and descending accordingly to a whisper, “Or whether or not they’re still here”, he added.

  “If they’re still here they’re in for one hell of a fight”, Devon replied, raising his newly acquired sniper rifle onto his shoulder, “And if they’re gone, then it looks like we’ve found a new piece of equipment”.

  While the two men debated the situation with a general lack of analysis or risk assessment, John meanwhile remained silent. The hooded man was a veteran not only of war, but also of a lifetime spent over-analysing every situation he’d ever found himself in. It was both a blessing and a curse, and had often led most to assume he had severe anxiety issues, but John preferred to think of it as a feature of his personality rather than a drawback, and routinely used it to his advantage. Whilst the others had stood bickering pointlessly about their personal opinions on the situation, John had played out each potential scenario, and decided upon the best course of action.

  “We’re sitting tight”, he announced suddenly, jumping in between another of Devon’s more confident statements regarding their fighting abilities. “One of us scopes out the stadium, another watches for approaching vehicles, and the last of us keeps an eye on the door just in case they come back”. John paused to assess his audience, happily noting that he seemed to have retained their attention thus far. “We find out what we can about the stadium from here”, he continued, “and then we split up”.

  Suddenly, John’s growing support all but fell flat on its face, as he watched both men in front tilt their heads and open their mouths, dumbfounded by the final part of his plan.

  “We split up?”, both men said in perfect unison, before blurting out a tirade of reasons why this seemed like a bad idea.

  “We shouldn’t be leaving anyone alone”. “We’re stronger as a group”. “What if they come back and it’s one on who knows how many?”. Reason after reason flooded out until the voice of both men blended to one and John could no longer tell what either was saying, a point where he sensed he needed to better explain the final part of his plan.

  “We secure the door up here, and two of us head down. We start making our way towards the stadium to get a better look up close, and whoever stays behind provides support the whole time. We’ll keep the radios on so we can keep talking, and we’ll come straight back the second anything seems off. I don’t like leaving anybody behind, but I like the idea of advancing on that place with a vacant sniper’s nest right behind us even less, and I don’t think we’re gonna’ find out everything we need to know from up here”, he explained.

  Once again the attitudes and emotions shifted, albeit for the better this time. Throughout John’s explanation each of the men in front had gradually come around to his way of thinking, and by the end, were all but convinced. They knew as well as he did that while the incredible vantage point they now had control of would go a long way to giving them an insight into the stadium and its contents, it would never tell them as much as being right there in the thick of it would. But one thing was for sure, and that was that if they could have it both ways, that would be even better.

  “First things first”, John started off again, sensing that the silence in front was the closest thing he was going to get to support, “I want you keeping an eye on the perimeter”, he instructed Devon, “Nothing gets close without us knowing”, he continued, before adopting a much sterner tone, “And nothing at all gets in”, he added, with a nod of acknowledgement following soon after. “Danny”, John continued, “I want you on the door, make sure nothing’s making its way up here, and figure out a way for us to lock it shut from this side for when we split up”. Again, John received a nod to his order.

  “What about you?”, Danny asked of John, noting he was the only one without a designated task.

  “I’m on recon duty”, he announced, before taking a step closer to Devon and grabbing the newly acquired sniper rifle from his arms, “Now let’s get to it”.

  * * *

  From this vantage point, the stadium almost looked simple. A huge box in the middle of a desolate area of ground level parking, it stuck out like a sore thumb, something that made it incredibly easy to keep focus on without getting lost in what might otherwise be a vast metropolis of towers obscuring the view. There was very little to take attention away from the stadium, and from this position, they were close enough to begin really picking out the details.

  John’s sniper rifle – a seemingly unbranded Chinese model he wasn’t familiar with and didn’t particularly like the feel of – had one single benefit; its scope. Despite the several hundred metres separating the group from the stadium in front, John was able to pick out key aspects of the building, right down to the vehicles parked at each of its four corners, and in some cases the figures he could clearly see wandering around nearby. Although faces were a little out of reach, he was slowly but surely building up a detailed list of just what exactly he thought was waiting for them at their next stop. He only hoped the other men were having as much luck.

  At the opposite end of the building, Devon was making tracks around the edge of the rooftop. He’d so far completed several full checks of the perimeter, peering cautiously over the edge to keep an eye on any movements down below, and ensuring he didn’t do so in a circular fashion, something he knew would make his movement predictable to any onlookers. So far though he’d found nothing of any interest, and thus after nearly thirty minutes of doing so, he was fairly certain he wasn’t going to.

  Danny meanwhile was sat – somew
hat comfortably aside from the hard, concrete floor – leant against the wall alongside the door they had emerged onto the rooftop from. Using a series of ropes and hooks he’d scavenged from the now useless air conditioning units that littered the rooftop, and the heavy-duty chain that had been discarded on the other side of the door, he’d managed to create a fairly serious restraint-like contraption, which he’d then been able to wrap around the stairways exterior, ready to hold the door shut once he closed the loop. For now though, he’d opted to leave it open; if anything wanted to make its way up, he’d rather draw it out and take care of it than allow it to sit on the other side, waiting for them.

  Eventually, as he completed yet another sweep of the two east-side entrances more visible in his current position, John decided he’d ascertained all he was going to from what recon he could do from a static position. Opting to leave the sniper rifle in place, he clambered back onto his feet, steadied his own rifle which remained slung on his back, and then made his way over to Danny, signalling for Devon to join them as he did.

  “Best I can tell we’re dealing with four main entrances”, John began”, the two I can see fully are pretty well guarded, I count at least two guards on each, not sure what they’re shooting but they ain’t pistols”.

  By this point, Danny’s confidence in the situation was already beginning to dwindle.

  “We’ll head up along the road on the south side, from there we’ll be able to see one of the other entrances, and if we feel like it’ll be worth it, we can circle round to the far side and see the last one”.

  “Okay”, Devon confirmed, “So who’s going?”.

  It was an important question that John had so far avoided even hinting towards the answer of. Each member of the team had pros and cons to any position he decided to give them. He knew he was the best sniper, but that he needed to be out in the field. He knew Danny was the last person to leave alone, but that Devon would be a better man to have out there in case things went bad. The only thing he didn’t know was what might be waiting for them between the rooftop and the stadium, and that’s what helped him make the final decision.

  “Devon, you’re with me”, he announced, “Danny, you’re-“.

  “You’re kidding me”, Danny replied, “You’re leaving me here on my own?”.

  “It’s either that, or you come out to the front lines to face who knows what”, John stated, “And I’d rather have Devon out there in case things go bad”.

  “And what if things go bad up here?”, Danny asked, already dreaming up the worst case scenarios.

  “Then you get on the radio and we high-tail it back here, we’re not leaving you alone”, John reassured him, “We’ll be checking in with you the whole time, and the door will be locked shut from the second we leave, nobody’s getting up here”.

  “You’re putting a lot of faith in that rag-tag restraint I made”, Danny pointed out, nodding to the bundle of ropes and chains currently strewn out across the floor around the door leading back inside.

  “No, I’m putting faith in you”, John pointed out, “You’re gonna’ have our backs from up here, and I know you know how important that is”.

  It was important for a number of reasons. The first was the more obvious one, and that was the fact that he’d be the only thing able to intervene should the lead duo become pinned down, and the first to know if something was approaching them. He’d be in charge not only of helping defend his fellow survivors, but also of being the first to tell them details about any potential attackers, ideally before they themselves knew they were there.

  “You know I’ve never fired anything like that before right?”, Danny asked hopelessly.

  With that, Devon’s heart sank a little, and an almost visible knot formed in his stomach.

  “It’s a piece of cake”, John replied quickly before Devon had the opportunity to inject any negativity into the situation, “It’s bolt action, we’re not gonna’ be far, and chances are that if you need to take a shot, it’s only gonna’ be as a warning”.

  “And what if it’s not?”, Danny asked, knowing how quickly things could turn from bad to worse.

  “Then don’t miss”, Devon interjected, only half joking.

  “We’re gonna’ head down the stairway, we’ll move slow in case anything new has made its way in, and you’ll lock yourself up here the second we’re gone”, John began again. “Once we’re outside, we’ll be on the radio the whole time, and a couple minutes after we get outside you’ll see us moving up along the road on the left, you’ll know what’s going on better than we do”, he explained.

  “So, if I see something coming, something I don’t think you guys have seen?”, Danny asked.

  “You radio first”, John replied. “Don’t take a shot unless you feel you have to, I don’t know how that thing fires and if we can avoid it, I’d rather not find out”.

  The Chinese sniper rifle presumably functioned, else John reasoned it wouldn’t have been up here to begin with, and judging by the lack of weathering on its frame, it hadn’t simply been left behind to rot. That said, it wasn’t beyond any rifle to misfire, often with deadly consequences, so John had no intention of risking anybody for the sake of what he was fairly certain would be far from an accurate shot. Danny had been briefly trained in how to maintain such weapons, including in how to load them and clear jams, but sniper ammunition was much too valuable to waste on training, so the younger man wasn’t even close to experienced. If he took a shot, it was more likely to do harm than good.

  “So what if someone comes up here?”, Danny asked.

  “If they make it up here, take ‘em out”, John stated matter-of-factly, “Soon as you hear someone, focus on the door, but don’t go shooting unless they break through. Chances are they’re just another biter, and if they ain’t, I’m figuring they’ll give up pretty quick”.

  “What makes you say that?”, Danny asked.

  “From what I’ve seen, these guys have got guns, vehicles, supplies and a damn good spot to hole up in, my guessing is they’re not gonna’ risk a body for the sake of one rifle, especially if they have to make a whole lot of noise in a building filled with the dead to get it back”.

  “Alright”, Devon jumped in, sensing Danny wasn’t going to be fully convinced any time soon, “Let’s get this show on the road”, he said, before turning and walking back over to the door leading inside the building.

  “One more thing”, Danny said, to John only this time.

  “Yeah?”, John asked, himself half way through the process of turning around to leave.

  “Once you know what’s in there, what are you gonna’ do?”, Danny asked.

  “This is a recon mission”, John replied bluntly, “I’m hoping it stays that way, but if it doesn’t, we know what we need to do”.

  With that, John completed his turn and began walking over to the stairwell, and Danny watched on as the two best trained members of his group left him behind atop an infected building, a few hundred metres away from a group that were out for blood.

  “Great”, he said, and then began the walk over to his new rifle.

  Chapter 22: First contact

  The now slightly more streamlined duo of John and Devon descended through the building much more quickly. Without the more fearsome Danny to hold back the speed, the pair now moved at a significantly faster pace, though they were sure to maintain high levels of safety throughout their trip, checking around corners and through the doors of each floor to ensure nothing unexpected caught them by surprise.

  Soon enough the slightly panting men reached the third floor, where they knew a large volume of the dead were housed on the other side of a fairly flimsy door. From their earlier ascent, John knew the numbers to be around fifty, but also knew that their level of life meant they were unlikely to be much of a threat, especially given the door and walls that kept them locked securely away.

  But what John was still unaware of, was that he had earlier fallen foul of an incredibly
discrete tripwire on the floor outside the third-floor door, and in doing so had disengaged the all-important lock, placing the door into a state where it might be pushed open at any moment. Thankfully for this pair of survivors however, this was a realisation the dead themselves had not yet come to, and so had yet to spill out into the corridor.

  “I hate leaving him up there knowing this mess is just sitting here”, John announced as he briefly paused alongside the door, the deafening sound of groaning on the other side enough to obscure the sound of his raised voice to anybody more than a few feet away.

  “What do you suggest?”, Devon asked, himself more than aware that while fifty of the dead were not an insurmountable challenge, they were not a favourable one in such close quarters either.

  John stood for a moment looking through the small darkened window into the masses of bodies behind it, spread out in all directions and shuffling around with minimal levels of movement. He knew better than to try and take them on, but that didn’t stop the thought from crossing his mind.

  “That we get back here as soon as we can”, John said eventually, and then continued on down the steps.

  Following close behind, Devon continued out of sight, the fleeting glimpse of his blonde hair the last thing the dead on the other side of the door saw of the pair. Such a small semblance of colour would rarely garner much interest, but in the dark, dreary world the undead had made for themselves, and particularly in that dimly lit hallway, it was more than they were used to. Without a second thought, the first of the dead began walking towards the door, following that faint sign of colour that had so quickly disappeared out of view, and colliding soon enough with the door that separated them.