“You can go ahead and stop looking”, came a voice over the continuing sound of gunfire in the distance.
John immediately ducked back under cover, unsure of where the voice was coming. Devon meanwhile refrained from any sudden movement, still not entirely convinced he wasn’t currently decorated with bloodied holes and scars of gunfire.
“Over here”, called out the voice once again.
Looking to his right, it took John several seconds of scanning before he was able to figure out where the words were coming from, and even then it took him several more to find the person themself. But eventually, he was able to latch eyes onto the long scruffy brown ponytail of a girl wearing a large, black jacket, its hood drawn up over her head and a familiar smirk evident on her face.
Jennifer had first come into John and Devon’s life back in the hospital towards the start of their current journey, making her initial impression by holding a gun up against Danny’s head when they accidentally wandered into her base for the night. In fact, John’s first sighting hadn’t been a great deal different to what it was now. Both times she’d been stood up tall, both times she’d oozed confidence and both times she’d had a silver revolver outstretched in front of her. The one different factor this time however, was that a small amount of smoke was still billowing out from the barrel.
“Jennifer?”, John asked, utterly bemused by the sudden appearance of someone he’d seriously doubted they would ever run into again.
“That’s my name”, Jennifer replied, lowering her weapon and taking a few steps forwards from the darkness of a storefront she’d been stood under. “How you doing over there handsome?”, she asked of Devon, who was just now managing to climb back onto his feet.
“Good”, Devon replied, before turning to face the approaching girl, “Thank you”.
“No problem”, Jennifer replied.
Looking over at RP, John was now able to put the pieces together, courtesy of a small but noticeable hole in the back of the man’s head. Despite drawing on Devon and having his finger in place and ready to go, Jennifer’s shot had just barely managed to reach the man before he’d had time to pull on the trigger, and had ripped its way into the centre of his brain quick enough to prevent him from doing so. Tearing apart sections of the head indiscriminately was often a fairly risky tactic when someone had their finger on a trigger, but evidently, this time it had worked.
Now glancing back to the newest arrival, John couldn’t help but think back to the first time they’d met the girl, and the eventual de-escalation that had resolved the situation. At the time, Jennifer’s same revolver had been drawn on Danny, and things had only been resolved peacefully when John had made the observation that the visible side-barrels of the pistol were empty, indicating that the gun itself was more than likely harmless. There had always been the possibility that the chamber had a round in it, but John had hedged his bets at the time that this wasn’t the case. Accordingly, he now couldn’t help but look down at the pistol, gripped in Jennifer’s right hand, and notice that while the pistol had clearly been loaded, there didn’t appear to be another bullet in any of its chambers.
“So it was loaded after all?”, John said with a slight smirk, knowing now that Jennifer could have taken a shot during their first meeting, but had decided not to.
“Well”, Jennifer replied, with a facial expression that indicated she clearly had no intention of making things easy. “I’m not about to tell you whether it was or wasn’t loaded the last time we met”, she said, waving the gun around slightly, “But it sure as hell was today”.
“Well, we appreciate it”, John said, before another rally of gunfire sounded out from the far side of the stadium, “Any idea what’s going on over there?”.
With that, Jennifer’s face changed once again. Despite her normal expression being a fairly no-nonsense, non-descript one that gave little away about the girl aside from the fact she was unlikely to put up with anybody messing her around, it often changed in minor ways just noticeable enough to give away her underlying feelings, and at this moment, it was most certainly a feeling of accomplishment.
“That might have something to do with me”, she eventually replied.
“How’s that?”, John asked, curious for an explanation but not at all doubtful that it was the truth. From what little he so far knew about the girl, this sort of chaos seemed entirely within her skillset.
“Well, for the last few weeks, the goons in this little hellhole have been a real pain in my ass”, she explained, nodding towards the stadium, where most of the guards on the nearside had now begun making their way around the outside to the source of the continued commotion, as fire ravaged the centre of the building. “But they crossed the line when one of their snipers nearly took my head off”.
“One of their snipers?”, Devon asked, joining into the conversation now that his previous dislike of the girl that once stuck-up his younger friend had been overshadowed by the huge debt he now owed her.
“Yeah, on top of one of the apartment blocks”, she replied, pointing down the street towards the same apartment building Danny had been stationed on top of.
“Yeah”, John said, “We’re familiar with it”.
“Well the asshole on top of it took a pot-shot at me, missed me by a few inches”, Jennifer continued, “And as far as I was concerned, that was the last straw”.
Suddenly something began to make sense. The empty sniper’s nest on top of the apartment block had clearly been manned at some stage, and John was beginning to wonder if that stage had only ended when a target had gotten away. In light of what he knew about RP, it didn’t seem like much of a stretch for someone to have wanted to chase down a target on foot rather than admit to their boss that they’d missed the shot, and that would in turn explain why two guards had returned to the apartment block just as John and Devon were leaving. The strangely intertwined storylines of the three groups of people in the immediate area were all beginning to unravel.
“So, what exactly did you do?”, John asked, happy to be learning more about both Jennifer and the stadium, but still unsure of just what the distant sound of gunfire was all about.
“Well I decided I wanted to give those guys a reason to spend more time close to their little stadium rather than out in the wild chasing after people like me”, Jennifer explained, “And I couldn’t think of a better way to do that than to bring the fight home”.
“You’re kidding”, Devon jumped back in, “You’ve got a group? One with enough people to take on these assholes?”, he asked.
“Not exactly”, Jennifer replied, “But luckily for me, the biggest army this world has ever seen is roaming around the place just waiting for someone to lead them”.
John couldn’t believe it. The gun battle that had not only taken an entire stadium to combat – and a combat that was still ongoing for that matter – but had also provided him with the means to escape, had all been started by one single person. Not only that, but that person was the same girl that had seemed like she might be an enemy to John and his men just a little while ago, before eventually revealing herself to be a fairly non-violent, normal girl surviving out here with minimal impact on the world. Now, she was manipulating the dead in order to fight back against a foe far bigger in size than she was.
“So you led a horde to their doorstep, and then left them to deal with it”, John surmised.
“Something like that”, Jennifer confirmed. “Truth be told, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do once they moved all their guards to the other side, I just knew I had to be over here for when it happened”, she explained, “Then all of a sudden, the whole place goes up in flames”.
John smirked slightly and exchanged a brief look of achievement with Devon. “That one’s on us”, he admitted, “You’re not the only one they pissed off”.
“Yeah”, Jennifer said awkwardly, I didn’t want to ask but, I’m guessing from the fact your friend isn’t here that…well…”.
�
��Yeah”, John confirmed, “That was them”, he said, before turning to look at the emblazoned remains of the stadium, almost its entire population either fighting to keep it upright or shooting their now dwindling supply of ammunition into an unarmed army of the dead. “But we made them pay for it”.
Chapter 37: Bedding in
By the time the now trio of survivors had gathered themselves together and prepared to continue, nightfall was well on its way. Few cities were renowned for their population of the dead as much as Chicago was, and that was something only exacerbated by the coming of night time. Seemingly energised by the darkness, the dead were not only better able to move around due to a lack of sunlight blinding their vision, but were significantly more dangerous given how much more difficult they were to spot. It was far from unheard of to clamber into a car at night and have a biter appear from the rear passenger seat, or to be making your way along a darkened street only to suddenly trip over a grasping hand. The night was no time to be out wandering.
But whilst that remained the most dangerous aspect of heading back to camp at night, it was sadly not the only one. Despite their elevated positions in the ranks of those on duty at the Chicago base, and their recognisable faces that were known to just about every man, woman and child behind its walls, John was never foolish enough to believe that they would be recognised on sight. Even if they were to sail up the gates in a camp-maintained car brandishing a flag representing the place and leaning out of the window yelling their names, the official policy instilled in every guard was to shoot on sight anyone or anything that refused to halt before reaching the gates, and await inspection, and even then there were plenty of times when those on duty were quick to pull the trigger.
Accordingly, the idea of approaching at night seemed almost suicidal, and was not the way John wanted to end their trip. In fact, given that they had been out of contact with the camp for more than a day – a period of time big enough for a horde to wipe out an entire city in some cases – there was no guaranteeing that they were even going back to the same camp they’d left behind, giving even more reason not to go rushing back at the first opportunity.
All in all, the reasons were stacked heavily against attempting to return before the next morning broke, and given that Jennifer was unlikely to be going with them, John felt they owed it to her to at least hole up together for a night, especially given the attention they’d all now drawn to themselves. John was certain those left at the stadium would want revenge once they figured out what had happened, and he had no desire to leave Jennifer to fend for herself when they came looking.
Upon realising they were destined to spend the night in the vicinity of the stadium, and knowing that they had little time to find somewhere suitable, John had turned to their new companion for help. Knowing she’d lived amongst the buildings for some time, scavenging her way through the area and spending every night taking refuge in some building or another, John knew she’d have a list of possible spots in the back of her mind, and sure enough, she hadn’t disappointed.
After reeling off a number of potential locations, from boarded up corner-stores barely a few metres away, to abandoned mansions on the outskirts of the city, Jennifer had eventually mentioned a small home on the corner of a street a couple of blocks back into the city. John had been happy to try anywhere nearby at this point, but knowing it was in the direction of home was a more than welcome benefit.
The spot in question took barely a couple of minutes to walk to, and was actually on the main street John and Devon had originally been ambushed on, albeit a little further away from the stadium. Approaching the building, it was clear to see why Jennifer had favoured it, for the same reason that John now felt more comfortable with the idea of having to stay there for a night, though perhaps a little less comfortable than if they were back at camp.
The house was a fairly standard affair with two floors and numerous boarded up windows. But what separated it from most was that it was on a corner plot of land, and had a completely empty area on either side of it. There were no fences to keep in trapped members of the undead, and no obvious signs of value to attract the various still living scavengers of the world. It was a perfect spot to hold out, if only temporarily.
“There’s an entrance around back”, Jennifer explained as they approached the house, the dark of night now all but upon them after falling in fast once the sun had set. “It’s safer than the front”.
Following behind, John led Devon off of the street – after checking to their rear to ensure nobody was following them – and onto the grassy verge, before walking across the building’s overgrown garden to its rear.
Just up ahead were two sets of railings, each either side of a descending staircase that appeared to lead down into the basement. Now so engrossed with ever-growing greenery, the metal of the railings was barely visible, and made it an almost perfectly concealed entrance – or emergency exit – for anybody not familiar with the property. John imagined Jennifer had probably found the exit whilst performing a more thorough inspection on the building prior to entry, something he currently felt less inclined to do given that the girl had been here before.
But that didn’t mean John was about to take any risks. He approached with his pistol – the magazine for which he had ejected and inspected after taking shots at RP, in order to ensure it was still loaded with enough rounds to actually serve a purpose – raised up and ready to fire should anything untoward pop out of the long grass, and his eyes constantly scanning in every direction. The darkness gave them the perfect advantage for sneaking around undetected by the dead, but it did little to hinder the efforts of those no longer living.
“Down here”, Jennifer announced upon reaching the railing, disappearing down the steps immediately afterwards, closely followed by John and Devon. “Now keep quiet”, she then continued in a much quieter tone. She’d vouched for the safety of this place, but not without disclaiming the fact that given her last visit here was several days prior, there were no guarantees it was going to have remained as she remembered it.
John watched from a few steps back – oddly happy to take a non-leading role for a change, but uneasy at the prospect of not being in charge all the same – as the slim girl in front slowly pushed the back door ajar with a long and agonising creak, its lock having already been removed on a previous visit. The sound of old, rusted hinges echoed out across the house, bouncing off its empty walls and then continuing on into the cold, dark night, before eventually disappearing somewhere in the long grass that surrounded them. On a normal day, such a noise would have given John a fair amount of concern, but given how un-phased his guide appeared to be, he was willing to look past it.
Soon enough the door was open, and John was able to take the final few steps into the grasp of the building’s basement, closely followed by Devon, who continued to keep an eye on their rear through the sights of his assault rifle. At times like this, John was incredibly grateful that his companion was such a seasoned professional with wartime experience; he never had to worry about whether or not his back was covered.
Standing there in the darkness, John was able to make out only some of the more key shapes in the basement, namely those illuminated by the small amount of moonlight that made its way in from the open door. But as Devon allowed the door to close behind him, that small amount of light suddenly disappeared, and plunged John into an unfamiliar location with almost no visibility whatsoever.
Luckily for both men however, Jennifer had come prepared. Unlike them – who had been stripped of all their more useful belongings upon entry into the stadium – she had been carrying around both a lantern, and the means to light it. John had previously wondered if the girl was simply so familiar with moving around in the dead of night that she didn’t need light for navigation, but this newly presented set of items said otherwise, or at least pointed out that she saw the need for others to see their path more clearly.
Striking a match into a luscious yellow and amber
glow of light, Jennifer cautiously lit the lantern and then closed up its glass surround, before blowing out and discarding the match, and then proceeding to illuminate the now much homelier looking basement around her. Standing there at the front of the group, Jennifer could almost feel the relaxing of previously tensed muscles behind her, now that vision had been restored for all.
The basement itself was fairly bare. With little furniture to speak of aside from an old sofa in one corner that looked like it was well past the point of being able to support the weight of a human, it appeared to be predominantly used for storage. John immediately counted at least twenty boxes with various words scribbled on them to indicate their purpose, as well as numerous bags of less important items stacked up alongside them.
But John’s ability to inspect said items soon disappeared though, as the light began to move through the basement in the direction of another staircase at the far end, Jennifer now having decided that they’d spent long enough in the underground area. John might normally have felt the need to question their hastiness at carrying out a task as important as an initial inspection, but as he himself wasn’t particularly keen on spending any longer than he had to in the dark and dingy basement of an unfamiliar location, he kept quiet.
Ascending the stairs, each member of the group had to make a conscious effort to reduce the noise their feet made on their ascent. The metal finish of each step meant that every footstep made a satisfying but potentially dangerous clinking noise, which John was confident would give away their approach to anyone or anything on the ground floor, if of course the lantern hadn’t done so already.
But Jennifer continued on, evidently unconcerned about such issues, and before long had opened up and moved into the next section of the house. Following close behind, John too soon emerged into what appeared to be a living room, now thankfully better lit due to various pieces of moonlight that broke in through gaps in the boarded-up windows, and seemingly much better furnished than the basement had been.
Road to Grissom: Part three of the Aftermath series Page 31
