Aftermath (Book 2): Chicago Calling

by Duncan McArdle

  “Harvey!”, Lester cried out, “Thank God!”.

  “You can thank him later, right now we have a job to do”, Harvey insisted, just as another body began to wrestle free of the wreckage in front.

  Harvey took aim once more with his M16, but before he could squeeze off a shot, an axe began submerging itself into the outer layers of flesh and bone atop the being’s head, as Lester managed to get himself back in the game with incredible pace. Pulling the bloodied blade free, Lester turned to face Harvey, simultaneously wiping off the teeth imprint that had so nearly been a bite straight through his neck, and prepared to discuss tactics.

  But before either man could begin to communicate how they were going to deal with the remaining fifteen or so undead, the noise of moaning coming from outside the car-park suddenly began to grow, and a look of horror quickly spread across Lester’s face.

  “They heard the shots”, Lester declared, “They’re coming back”.

  “Shit”, Harvey said plainly.

  “What do we do?”, Lester asked after a brief moment of thought, hoping Harvey had planned for this eventuality.

  “Uhh”, Harvey scrambled hopelessly, looking around for inspiration.

  At this point another being emerged through the wreckage, but was quickly dispatched once more by Lester, who was clearly trying to recover some pride.

  “Okay”, Harvey declared, “We have to draw them away. We need to get out there before they get back”, he started, pointing to the main car-park entranceway, currently devoid of movement. “If we can get there first, we can lead them back the way they came, away from here”.

  “And what about any that come inside?”, Lester asked.

  Harvey thought his plan over once more, and again Lester used the opportunity to dispose of another approaching enemy, this time using the back of his axe to crush the advancing figure’s skull before it had even come close to their position.

  “I’ll go alone”, Harvey eventually announced, “You stay”.

  “No let me, you stick here”, Lester argued.

  “We want someone here who can defend, you can do that better than me right now”, Harvey pointed out, referencing his latest injuries. “Now just get me in the truck, before they get back”.

  Lester knew there wasn’t time to argue, so he instead began clambering over the wreckage in front, as well as the numerous bodies that had become tangled within it. As he moved, Lester did what he could to clear a path in the ruined furniture and tables for his less mobile fellow survivor, who was still struggling to keep up, knowing time was now more important than ever.

  Arriving at the truck and clambering over its hood, Lester gave a swift and heavy kick to the side of a particularly slow moving nearby biter, sending it flying backwards to the ground behind, and then turned to help pull Harvey over the hood, dropping him off just outside the driver-side door of the red pickup. Without another word, Harvey swung open the door and began climbing in.

  “It’s dead!”, Lester called out before Harvey could even try the ignition.

  “What!?”, he replied in disbelief.

  “We gotta’ get to the other end, to the other truck!”, Lester yelled, himself already moving forwards to the nearest biter.

  “God damn it”, Harvey yelled, punching the steering wheel before climbing out and gazing over to the other pickup.

  The far side of the car-park was a long limp away.

  But there was no time for venting, so Harvey began slowly moving towards the other end. Occasionally looking to his left, he caught the odd sight of the horde outside, moving at a not dissimilar pace to his own. Some had chosen to peel off and begin pounding on the walls of the building, but most continued on, searching out the entrance just up ahead. Whilst enough of them concentrated on one spot might eventually break through even the thickest of concrete, it was far from being their most pressing threat.

  Up ahead, it seemed that in a bid to speed things up, Lester – who was still dealing with the more immediate threat – had now switched out the axe with his M16, and begun firing at his targets. Harvey couldn’t argue with the decision, after all speed was now much more important than sound, but he couldn’t help but think that if they didn’t make it in time, all that noise was going to make an already big problem, even bigger.

  Soon enough Harvey came within sight of the truck, and used up every ounce of strength to quicken his pace. The approaching horde had fallen back a little, and at this point it looked as if the plan would work, but as Harvey watched Lester climb into the pickup ahead – apparently in an attempt to get things ready for him – he couldn’t help but notice the look of disappointment on his face, and the notable clicking noises adding to the moan-filled afternoon air. Just like its predecessor, the truck wasn’t starting.

  “Are you serious!?”, Harvey shouted forwards.

  Another set of clicks sounded out.

  “C’mon man, pump the gas!”, he yelled, now within a few metres of the truck.

  More clicks became audible, followed by the sight of Lester jumping out.

  “It’s no use!”, he declared, defeated.

  “The hell it is!”, Harvey replied, himself now clambering into the cabin and trying the ignition, causing yet more clicks to sound out.

  “C’mon you son of a bitch”, came Harvey’s rage-filled voice.

  “Harvey”, Lester said.

  “C’mon! C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!”, the voice continued.

  “Harvey!”, Lester said again, this time more forcefully.

  “C’MON”, yelled Harvey, above all other noises.

  This time, there were no clicks. Instead however came the sight of spewing exhaust fumes, and the sound of an engine kicking into life, as the pickup finally found the ability to start.

  “YES!”, Harvey added to all the commotion.

  Quickly he jammed the truck into drive and prepared to U-turn out of the building, but before he could pull away, the sound of his fellow guard’s voice came yet again.

  “HARVEY!”, Lester all but screamed this time.

  Harvey looked around, and suddenly realised the true reason for the yelling; the dead were already here. Twenty or so of them stood right outside, and the odd few had already made their way in, it was too late to head them off.

  “C’mon, we need to go!”, Lester yelled, to which Harvey shut off the engine and threw himself out.

  Without another word, the two began moving back towards the other end, Lester firing off a barrage of shots as they moved so as to keep the threat back, but both of them knowing that it was hundreds and hundreds, maybe even thousands, against two. This wasn’t a fight they could win.

  “What do we do now?”, Lester yelled over to Harvey, who had also begun firing as he moved.

  “I don’t know”, Harvey replied.

  “We could try and get people out?”, Lester asked.

  “Out to where!?”, Harvey replied, “We can’t go anywhere, the only way out is down here”.

  “Well we have to do something, we can’t just leave them up there waiting to die!”, Lester insisted.

  Harvey stopped long enough to fire off a long series of shots, suppressing the threat until he emptied the clip, and had to begin loading up the second.

  “We don’t have the ammo, the people, or the time to get out of this Lester”, Harvey said, himself now feeling defeated.

  “So, what happens?”, Lester asked.

  Harvey shot a glance to the larger man, making eye contact and holding his stare. “You know what happens”, he replied.

  For a moment, the two men stood there, knowing what was coming but neither one of them wanting to say it out loud. Defeat was never something they could be ready for, especially when so many people’s lives rested on their shoulders, but it seemed as if there was no other choice.

  “Well”, Harvey started, clicking his second clip into place, “If this is the end”, he continued, again making eye contact with Lester, “Let’s make it a good one”.


  After mustering a smile back, Lester nodded his head, and almost instinctively both men turned around and began firing once more into the approaching masses. Some shots were taken with accuracy and control, some a heat-of-the-moment affair whose only real purpose was to intimidate a foe that felt no fear, but all were done by two men adamant not to go down without a fight.

  Magazines ran dry and were reloaded, and the duo kept retreating, until eventually, with their backs against the south stairwell wall, and not a full clip left between them, they stopped, and looked on at the oncoming attack.

  “If it ever had to end, I guess this is a good way to do it”, Lester said, as he tried in vain to count the huge numbers still amassed outside, waiting to barge their way in just like the others.

  “Yeah”, Harvey replied, “And now that-“.

  Both men’s necks snapped to the left, a distant and unusual sound filling the air and cutting Harvey off, getting louder and louder by the moment. Before long it was so loud that the first group of the biters outside had begun turning to investigate, and then the next group along, and then the next, and then before either Lester or Harvey knew that was happening most of the horde not in the building had become more interested in this unusual, unheard of for so long sort of noise.

  “Is that…”, Harvey began.

  “A horn”, Lester replied, as a large grin began to spread across his face, “They’re back”.

  Outside, the familiar sight of the F150 approached from a northern direction along the main road, its horn whaling loudly as it approached the horde in front.

  “C’mon assholes, over here”, came John’s familiar voice.

  “This way douchebags”, followed Sonja’s.

  From inside the car-park, the Ford’s engine was barely in earshot, but the sound of the voices were unmistakable, as was the noise of it spinning round and revving its engine once more. The horn meanwhile continued to honk repeatedly, until only those already inside the car-park had their attention elsewhere.

  With that, the truck moved off once again, heading north just as it had in the hours earlier, albeit at a much lower speed, and with significantly more noise. As had been expected, the horde began to slowly amble after the foreign object, their attention drawn completely away from the car-park, as well as its sixty-some inhabitants. That was of course, save for the small group of thirty or so undead that had already made it inside when the noise had arrived, and were now trapped in there, some walking into the walls in search of the commotion’s source, others still more interested in the much closer food available.

  “Odds just got a lot more even”, Lester called out to Harvey, as he slashed the throat of one of the more nearby biters, before twisting its head almost completely off.

  “Yeah”, Harvey replied, himself now surveying the numbers in front, “I guess this is easier”.

  Chapter 18: Grand return

  “Is that all of them?”, John asked as he leant back inside the cabin.

  “I think so”, Sonja replied, her upper half still protruding out the window into the afternoon air, intermittently yelling anything she could think of to draw attention.

  “You sure none got inside?”, John said, somewhat fearfully.

  “A few”, Sonja replied, herself now climbing back in, “But nothing they can’t handle”.

  “Alright”, John said, as he continued to honk the horn and now began accelerating away from the car-park, “Let’s get ‘em out of here”.

  The Ford began to move away, the closest biters coming within a few feet of its rear bumper, but most hanging well back, struggling to keep up. It was important they drive slow enough to keep everyone coming after them, but they were also more than a little worried about the base, and wanted to get back just as soon as they could. Through all of this, Andrew sat in the rear, nervously fidgeting, regularly checking to ensure the horde was following.

  “Andrew”, John said, seeing his friend’s concern, “There’s nothing we can do right now, we need to lead them away, we’ll come back as soon as we know they’re all out of here”, he explained.

  “I know”, Andrew replied, “I’m just... worried”.

  “You and me both”, John pointed out, “But right now we need to be strong for them, so get your head out there and yell”.

  Sonja smiled up front, enjoying every chance she got to see one of John’s famed but rare pep talks.

  After a moment of contemplation, Andrew leant out of the window, and followed orders.

  “C’MON YOU MONSTERS, OVER HERE!”, he yelled.

  “Jesus Andrew”, John chuckled, “Don’t be too mean, they might run away”, he said sarcastically.

  Andrew didn’t respond, but taking the feedback on board proceeded to escalate his language.

  “OVER HERE YOU… YOU FUCKERS!”, he screamed.

  “Whoa now, there’s kids in there Andrew, sheesh”, John said sternly, before breaking into laughter when he saw Sonja’s grimacing face.

  “C’mon”, said Sonja, in-between her own chuckles, “Let’s get them out of here”.

  With that, the F150 picked up speed once more, and began to cover some real distance, heading north along the waterfront road. Behind it, a sea of grey, black and red figures stumbled after the truck, hopelessly dreaming of what they might do if they caught the three occupants inside. Of course, this was a dream never to be realised, and as this was something those in the truck clearly knew, they continued to honk the horn and hurl various words of abuse, doing anything they could think of to keep every last biter’s attention.

  * * *

  “Oh you want some of this!?”, Lester yelled angrily as he swung the bloodied axe in the direction of a nearby figure, severing the majority of skin and bone that connected its head to the body, and leaving it dangling there for a moment, before it eventually dropped down to the ground. “You too!?”, he continued, this time moving forwards and putting his huge boot into the chest of another undead individual, before shoving it hard backwards, sending it flying to the floor. Quickly he moved up and embedded the blade of the axe so far into the skull that the majority of it was reduced to little more than liquid and mush. The adrenaline was surging wildly in Lester, and he was keen to put it to good use.

  Harvey was also playing his part in the ongoing battle, albeit at a smaller pace. The injured man knew better than to use a gun at this point, and so was using his blade wherever possible, as well as just about any other object he could find nearby. Harvey was well aware he wasn’t going to be as much of an asset as Lester, but he also knew that there and then, those two men represented the last line of defence, the final barrier between the undead and the living. It was up to them and them alone to do something.

  Approaching a particularly large member of the undead army, Harvey quickly sized up his opponent and proceeded to use every ounce of energy left in him to propel himself upwards, wrapping his hand around the back of the being’s head as he moved. In one quick, swift movement, he used his left hand to drive the blade upwards, and his right to pull the head down, the two meeting in a squelching, bloodied mess somewhere in the middle, before sending the body tumbling down to the concrete below. Harvey too fell to the floor, wincing for a few moments in pain and trying to regain his breath, before eventually managing to stand once more.

  From what he could tell, in the time it had taken Harvey to fell one opponent, Lester had made his way through two or three. But that didn’t make him any less important at a time like this, something that became particularly apparent a few minutes into the battle, when Harvey heard a sound in the distance that he knew the adrenaline-filled giant to his left would have naturally blocked out; a scream, coming Harvey was sure, from the floors above.

  “Lester!”, Harvey yelled immediately.

  Lester didn’t acknowledge the noise, instead proceeding to carve his way up through the nearest moving biter with one swing of the axe, cutting it from crotch to face into two completely separate pieces, sending bl
ood spitting upwards with such power that some of it hit the ceiling.

  “LESTER!”, Harvey yelled again.

  This time Lester heard him, and turned to see what the issue was. What he saw though was Harvey pointing at the south staircase, the same location they had chosen to distance themselves from, due to its proximity to the source of the biters; the entrance.

  At the foot of the stairwell, in amidst the chaotic barricades, two or three moving bodies could be seen at least part way through the mess, and judging by the increasing number of noises coming from above, at least one had already made it to the other side.

  “GO!”, Harvey yelled, knowing it would be quicker for Lester to go, even if it meant leaving Harvey alone to deal with the still high number of undead that filled the ground floor.

  Immediately Lester abandoned his current task and sprinted in the direction of the nearby pickup, blood dripping from his axe as it swung limply at his side, marking a path along the floor to show where he was headed. Of course, his path was obvious; he was headed for the south staircase, and he was doing so with a pace Harvey had never seen from the man before now.

  Lester arrived at the truck blocking the south stairwell quickly, and using immense strength jumped clean onto its hood, running the length of it in a single stride and then dropping down on the other side. His right boot landed hard on the skull of a previously unnoticed biter – itself seemingly having crawled under the truck – and proceeded to press down with such pressure that the entire head appeared to burst underneath, like a water balloon suddenly hitting a hard surface.

  Lester had no time to verify the kill – though he felt little need to do so with that particular one – he had to get to the vulnerable residents above, fast. With that in mind, he opted simply to step on and over the biters crawling through the wreckage below, making a mental note of where to check later, but for now preferring to speed through the area. This was especially evidenced when he reached the stairs, as he chose only to grab and throw numerous targets to his rear rather than attempt to injure or kill them. Turning them into a problem that he would deal with later, Lester moved up the stairs with lightning pace, pushing pack another couple of the undead on his way, until finally he reached the problem floor, at which point the screams became louder, and he immediately caught sight of blood.