Aftermath (Book 2): Chicago Calling

by Duncan McArdle

  Finally, John saw the one thing he needed to see before deciding to risk going inside, a series of empty fuel tanks laid out against one of the back walls, just barely visible through one of the rare clean patches on the window, and no doubt placed there ready to be filled up and sold off. More canisters meant being able to bring back more fuel from runs such as these, and that alone was worth the risk of entering. With this in mind, John gave the signal for Andrew and Sonja to line up on each side of the entrance in front, and prepared himself for the next stage.

  John raised the barrel of his Ruger and pointed it dead centre at the entrance door, took a deep breath, paused to regain some form of composure and allow the others time to get into formation, and then moved swiftly forwards, kicking hard at the handle in front. The immense force of his boot sent the door flying open, cracking the upper pane of glass as it bounced off of the wall behind. Suddenly, light cascaded into the building, illuminating a thin strand of the interior for all outside to see.

  Knowing better than to head straight in, the trio held position, and within moments, the first figure approached. It was a large mass almost as wide as it was tall, and it moved clumsily from the darkness in the vague direction of light, seemingly drunk from the long and slow grasp of death. How the being had managed to stay such a weight was beyond anyone there, but one thing was at least reassuring about the sight in front; whatever else was inside, was definitely dead.

  “One coming, Sonja’s side, five foot two”, John called out as the creature emerged into the brightness.

  Instantly, Sonja sprang up from her crouched position, knowing roughly where the head would be thanks to John’s description. Blade in hand, she swung the metal upwards, straight through the lower chin of her target, piercing neck, jaw, and eventually brain, all in one swift movement. With blood immediately dripping down the weapon and towards her hand, she used her now controlling grip to swing the body out of the store using its own momentum, and pulled it off towards her side of the entrance, withdrawing her knife at the last possible second.

  “One down”, she called out confidently, having dispatched the first of an unknown number of foes.

  “Andrew you’re up, ‘bout six feet”, John called out again.

  This time Andrew sprang into action, standing up tall and reclining his blade behind his shoulder, ready to stab it forwards as soon as the outline was in sight. Soon enough, Andrew found himself confronted with a taller woman, her once blonde hair now so coarse, split and discoloured that it made for what could only be described as a pile of bloodied mess attached to the head. Without even thinking, Andrew launched the blade forwards, embedding it into the side of the woman’s skull. Soon thereafter he saw the life quickly drain away, before he copied Sonja’s method of using the weapon as a handle and swung the body away from the door.

  “Two down”, Andrew said proudly, clearly feeling that things were going well.

  From John’s perspective however, things were looking much less favourable, as the silhouette of at least four or five figures came barrelling towards the door, with even more visible off to the sides and some picking up a considerable pace. How on earth such a concentration had amassed inside he had no idea, but what he did know was that even using their current strategy they’d struggle against these numbers.

  “Close it quick!”, John instructed Andrew, who without hesitation promptly reached inside and grabbed part of the door’s frame, swinging it over to try and temporarily shut off the danger.

  Realising the gravity of the situation, Sonja started to stand, preparing herself for a retreat, just as a hand lunged around the closing door and grabbed Andrew by the arm, preventing the barricade from shutting.

  “JESUS”, Andrew cried out, the sight of the blood-dripping exposed bone of his attacker latching onto his arm suddenly all he could see.

  Repeatedly Andrew tried to pull the door closed, but it was no use, the body in front was now stood in the way of keeping the entire group safe. Realising there was nothing else for it, John took aim with his Ruger with a professional level of grace and speed, and fired a single .22 calibre round through the top of the glass door and into the cranium of the beast, the loud pop of the gun the only evidence that such a devastating blow had been dealt.

  Quickly the body flopped, dropping straight to the ground, its arm still in the way of the door, but no longer presenting a danger.

  “Get him out the way!”, John called out, to which Andrew quickly complied, grasping his attackers arm in an almost complete role reversal from just seconds before.

  “QUICKLY!”, John yelled again, seeing more figures approaching the still ajar entrance.

  Andrew pulled hard, putting all his weight into the move, leaning far back in an attempt to exert as much pressure as possible.

  “SNAP”.

  What little bone remained in the shoulder of the deceased suddenly separated even further in a loud and visual display, sending Andrew flying backwards onto the floor. At the same time, the rest of the biter’s weight pushed the door closed, to which both Sonja and John breathed a sigh of relief.

  “You alright?”, Sonja shouted over.

  “Get back Sonja, more coming!”, came John’s voice, just as another being suddenly appeared in the now missing top half of the door.

  Its body lunged outwards, coming to a stop just inches from where Sonja was still standing. But as the being folded over the still remaining middle section of the door, Sonja quickly dispatched it with a swift blow to the head, before pulling her blade free and retreating away from the entrance.

  Soon after, a thud sounded out behind the newly decimated biter, followed by another, and another, as a series of bodies began piling up against the weakened door.

  “ON ME, NOW!”, John ordered urgently, fearing that the group would be separated if they didn’t act quickly.

  Straight away, both Sonja and Andrew made a break for John’s position, just as the door’s hinges finally gave in.

  Almost without thought, John immediately let off three shots, all of them in the direction of the approaching group. The first hit the front-running attacker square in the face, whilst the second just grazed the temple of the second being, who was swaying violently from side to side. John’s third bullet however corrected the inaccuracy, and sent the creature plummeting to the ground.

  In conjunction with his companion’s shots, Andrew too began to fire, helping off five rounds into the emerging group in quick succession and taking down at least two of them, possibly three as far as he could tell. Andrew’s accuracy had improved dramatically over the passing months, but he was still no marksman, though thankfully that made little difference at a time like this. Waiting a moment to pick out another enemy, Andrew squeezed off a sixth shot, the bullet this time piercing the eye of his target, before carrying on clean through the head and embedding itself into the shoulder of a biter walking behind as well.

  Whilst the shots rang out into the midday air, a series of arrows also found themselves suitable destinations, as Sonja attempted to help in her own more conservative fashion. She was armed and ready to fire conventional weaponry if needed, but for the time being, it seemed that the situation was manageable this way. In addition, Sonja was also acting as the current surveyor, regularly pausing to ensure nothing approached from the rear or sides, a likelihood that was significantly increased by the suddenly high volumes of noise the group were creating.

  “Final few now”, John called out, noting what appeared to be the last three of the figures, “Go melee”, he ordered.

  Straight away both Sonja and Andrew switched to their knives, and as the final three figures emerged from the darkness, each of the scavenging trio picked a target, and began luring them away from each other.

  “Going left”, Sonja called out, as she convinced a thirty-something suit and tie type to follow her over.

  “On the right”, Andrew yelled back, himself having picked a large woman wearing what appeared to be a superma
rket apron, its fabric stained and dirtied with gore.

  “And I’ve got centre”, John finally declared, advancing towards the leading individual with knife in hand, before pile-driving it through the top of his target’s skull, cracking bone on its way through and sending the being into an instant and eternally deceased state.

  Looking up from his work, John couldn’t help but feel some pride in how his barely-trained group had managed the situation. Andrew was off to one side, himself now cracking open the head of his foe like a coconut ready to be drunk from, and Sonja stood tall to the left, her own blade now making the swift journey through the side of her target’s temple, encountering little resistance on its deadly journey. John’s little group seemed like they could handle pretty much anything at this point, provided of course that he himself was there to guide them.

  “Everybody good?”, he asked calmly, looking from side to side, and then to the now empty doorway in front.

  “Yep”, called out both Sonja and Andrew, each of whom sounded out of breath but otherwise okay.

  “How’s that arm Andrew?”, John asked of his friend, looking over to the limb that had been grabbed by the dead just moments before.

  “Looks good I think”, he replied whilst checking it over, “No marks… no scratches”.

  “Good”, John declared, “Wipe off any dirt too, don’t take any chances”.

  “Sure”, Andrew obeyed, before proceeding to wipe down his arm on his torn cargo pants.

  “You got them all Sonja?”, John asked, as he observed his female companion pulling the various arrows from the bodies of each of her victims.

  “All but two, probably went inside”, she replied.

  “Are you telling me you missed?”, John asked jokingly.

  “Hey I don’t think any of us did our finest shooting just now”, Sonja replied grumpily, “Let’s just get in there shall we?”, she asked.

  “Yes M’am”, John replied, smiling slightly as he laid eyes back on the door in front, “Let’s see what we’ve got”.

  Chapter 5: Breach and clear

  Inside the store, empty shelving and trash-covered floors stretched from end to end, a desolate scene that marked the end of a desperate situation. Useless products lay scattered around, thrown against walls or piled up in the corners, presumably cast aside in search of something more valuable. Most importantly, the store was still dimly lit at best – despite the now missing front entrance – thanks to the thickened layers of dirt, grime and blood spread across the vast majority of the remaining windows.

  Back at the now empty doorframe, a crouched figure began slowly making its way inside, the familiar small barrel of a Ruger SR22 leading its movement as John Parker made his way into the store, taking shelter behind the first shelf on the left. Turning back to the entrance, he pointed once to one of the two figures outside, and then to a shelf on the right hand side of the store. Having completed this first command, John then pointed to the other figure stood waiting outside and finally to the aisle leading up the centre of the building.

  The very moment his silent orders had been given, Andrew – the first of the two figures – made his way through the entrance, stepping over numerous newly deceased bodies as he did, and headed right, again taking sanctuary behind the nearest shelf. Looking quickly to the end of his assigned row, Andrew quickly ascertained a lack of threat, before turning to face John, who promptly nodded in confirmation that he had acted out orders correctly. The pair then looked back to the newly entering figure of Sonja.

  Upon entering, she too managed to step carefully around the numerous bodies laid out in the empty doorway, but fell short of a completely silent arrival, as she knocked into a jagged wooden plank, attached to the door and hanging on by a thread, until now. Knocking heavily against the floor as it fell, the sound sent echoes throughout the building, causing each of the three survivors to grip their weapons tight, take aim at anything they could see in front, and prepare for the worst.

  Much to everyone’s surprise however, after a few seconds, nothing had stirred in the darkness, a trend that continued until everyone felt confident they were safe. Both John and Andrew looked back at Sonja, expecting some kind of explanation but at the same time praying she’d make no further noise. Sonja simply shrugged and held her hands aloft slightly in a vague sort of apology, and then continued to move forwards into position.

  “Don’t know why anyone put a damn plank there anyway”, she murmured, so quietly that only she could hear.

  Moving quickly on from the disturbance, John gave the signal to move forwards, to which both him and Andrew began walking towards the ends of their respective aisles. Both sides were almost completely empty, and it was near impossible to avoid the various shards of glass laid out across the blackened floor, resulting in numerous crunching noises sounding out across the premises. That said, the pair eventually arrived at the end of each aisle relatively quietly, and then slowly peeked round the corner to view right up to the back of the store.

  No sight was visible up ahead and not a single sound was made, giving absolutely no reason to believe that anything was there with them. This was however, not a group who liked to take chances. John gave the signal for Sonja to move up, and so she inched forwards a few feet, bringing her in line with the others. Next, John signalled for Andrew to check the next aisle, a move he too carried out, before again ordering Sonja to move forwards.

  This staggered progression continued until all three arrived at the rear of the building, having walked past every single aisle to make sure there was absolutely nothing else in there with them. During their inspection, two rooms had been identified; a store room behind the cash register on the right hand side, and a bathroom, over on the left. Keen to minimise the risk of being overwhelmed by whatever might be waiting inside, the group opted to do each room one at a time, all three of them quickly converging on John’s side of the building once he had given the order to do so.

  The bathroom was the least likely place to house much of any interest. Its disgusting quarters were unlikely to give anybody a reason to enter at the best of times, and so this made it unlikely that anybody would have hidden out there when everything went wrong. But John didn’t want a single room left unexplored, and so he waited until all three bodies were surrounding the door, and then swung it open, pistol raised and ready for action.

  Despite his preparation however, he found nothing but a small, empty room in front, emitting a smell almost foul enough to make John vomit, and thus sending him quickly back into the main area of the store. Rare was it that any of those that were left in this ruined world found a sight or smell worse than the piles of undead that littered the landscape, but unfortunately for John, this had been one of those times.

  With his heart still racing and adrenaline pumping, John began leading the group in the direction of the register. As they moved, they passed by empty aisle after empty aisle, both Sonja and Andrew still checking each of them inquisitively, just in case something new had found its way in.

  “Thud”.

  The trio stopped dead. They were all certain that they hadn’t made the sound themselves, and it didn’t appear to have originated from their position anyway.

  “Thud”.

  It seemed as if it was coming from the area housing the cash register, and was so quiet and so low – and until now so infrequent – that it might easily have been missed under the only near-silent footsteps they were each making.

  John raised his pistol in the direction of the source, and stood tall, ready to move. After waiting for a moment to ensure that the group was close behind, he began moving forwards, slow enough to assess the situation, but fast enough to catch whatever was making the noise off guard. Rounding the counter however, he found nothing but an empty space, occupied only by a vacated chair, an emptied-out register, and a series of barren shelves.

  “Thud”.

  This time the source was clearer, and louder too. Almost in unison, John, Andrew and
Sonja all turned to face the supply room door, as if suddenly instructed to do so by some higher power.

  “Thud”.

  The noise surfaced once again, sounding softer this time, and with it came more of John’s various hand movements, signalling once more – and hopefully for the final time this raid – to get into breaching position.

  After analysing the options available to him, John eventually grabbed a screwdriver that lay on the ground nearby. Moving as close to the door as he was willing to go, he threaded the metal object through the small hole that marked the missing handle of the stock room door in front, and began carefully rotating the mechanism. Millimetre by millimetre, the lock began to turn, with only the slightest of sounds coming from its inners as it did.

  Eventually, a faint click signalled that the door had been opened, and John began pushing slowly forwards, until he knew there was no latch or chain in place.

  “One”, John signalled with his the fingers of his free hand as Andrew now holstered his own pistol, and withdrew the Remington 870 that was attached to his backpack instead, “Two”, John continued, Andrew now flicking the shotgun’s torch into life whilst Sonja checked their rear nervously, “Three”.

  With a swift push, the door swung firmly open, revealing a four-square-metre storage room surrounded by shelving on all but one wall, with no windows to let in any kind of direct light. Quickly Andrew shone his torch in, filling the room with an artificial glow that immediately indicated the presence of a body, its feet just barely visible in the middle of the floor, and its torso seemingly slumped against the far-left wall that was narrowly out of view.

  “Thud”, came the noise once more, as the feet twitched slightly.

  Cautiously John moved closer, aiming his pistol at the unknown’s feet and then the knees as they came into view, then the chest, and finally the head.