adjacent rooftop.
"Looks sturdy enough."
He gingerly stepped out onto the wooden plank, testing how his weight would affect it. It sagged
slightly, but fortunately held.
Samantha released a breath she had not realised she was holding. When it came her time to cross
the gangway, she made the mistake of sparing a glance down at the large crowd of Infected in the
streets below.
Oh god, it was a long way down.
"Wonder why they bothered to set this whole thing up," Markus said suddenly. "Bridging the law office and the crane, I mean."
"I got your answer right here," Jacob cal ed from the top platform of said crane. He passed around a crumpled and blood-spattered piece of paper when the others had had crossed over to join him.
"There's a safe-room in the Harbour View Hotel, not too far from here. Some gangways have been
set up across the roofs, straight to a stairwell which can be taken down to it."
"Where did you get that?" Corvo asked.
"From him." He motioned to the slumped body of a crane operator, minus the hardhat, an arm, and
half of his torso.
The others grimaced at the sight.
"He was clutching this piece of paper like it was his last lifeline or something," Jacob continued.
"Probably wanted to make sure future folks who came through here knew where to go."
Corvo cast a sorrowful glance at the dead body. Another good man dead. He wondered what sort of
person he had been. Obviously a selfless one, seeing how his last act had been to create a bridge to
the safe-room and leave instructions on how to get there.
"Put the directions back," he said. "If any future folks come through here, they'll need to know where to go as well."
Jacob nodded and careful y placed the folded sheet of paper in the dead man's breast pocket.
"Alright, lead the way," Corvo said. "Let's move."
The four survivors careful y made their way down the crane using the ladder, past various work
platforms. Markus was glad Samantha had taken out those Infected from the office window earlier –
it would have been much harder to deal with them from the ladder.
After a few minutes of climbing, everyone final y reached the bottom of the crane, and Corvo was
glad to have his feet back on solid ground again. However, he paused when he heard a strange
noise – it was a thick and guttural retching, choked, heavy, and very nearby.
"Hold up," he said. "Anyone else hear that noise?"
"Yeah…" Jacob replied, his eyes narrowing.
At that moment, the perpetrator stepped out from behind the base of the crane.
"Holy crap!" Samantha cried.
What had once been a man was now bloated to horrific proportions, his stomach straining with
whatever foul fluids were swimming inside it. His entire face and arms were festooned with hideous
boils.
Corvo stepped forward and raised his rifle, but before he could shoot, the rotund man opened his
mouth and vomited al over Jacob. It was absolutely disgusting – a foul-smelling green sludge
slewed down the shocked biker's front.
" Fuckin' sick!" he roared, wiping the gunk from the top of his chest, and then aiming his MP5 at the monstrosity. "You're gonna get it now, Pukey McGee!"
"Jacob, don't!" Markus yel ed, but it was too late.
BOOM.
As it turned out, shooting a man that already looked like he was about to burst was a bad idea.
He exploded – vanished in a foul explosion of blood, gore and green bile that coated Corvo from
head-to-toe.
"GODDAMN IT!" he shouted in shock, turning to curse Jacob furiously. His rant was drowned out by
a terrifying chorus of ravenous howling.
Samantha looked over the edge of the roof to a see a frightful change in the behaviour of the
Common Infected in the streets below. They al began to rush into the building through doors, some
even diving head-first through windows. She noticed that many of them had their heads tilted to the
sky, sniffing the air furiously.
What on earth…
Her train of thought was momentarily disrupted by a foul stench assailing her senses. She looked
toward the source of the terrible smel to see Corvo, dripping in the rank bile, stil cussing Jacob
angrily, while the latter spouted defiant retorts.
The horrifying realisation hit her a moment later.
"Uh, guys? I think we have a problem…"
Everyone immediately looked at her.
"What is it?" Markus asked in alarm.
Samantha gestured to the disgusting bile that covered Corvo and Jacob. "Whatever that crap is
(thank god none of it was on her), I think the Infected can smell it, and it's making them stir-crazy."
Corvo peered over the edge of the rooftop to see the Common Infected storming the building in a
murderous rampage. He could already hear the growls echoing off the walls and stairwel s as they
made their way up toward the roof. "Aw, hel …"
"Shit! What do we do?" Markus exclaimed in a panic.
"We haul ass to that safe-room!" he barked. "Run!"
Chapter 47
14.5 HOURS UNTIL FAILSAFE
The snarls of the Common Infected grew louder and louder as they stormed the area, sent into a
crazed frenzy.
"Let's go!" Corvo barked. "Make for the safe-room!"
No one needed to be told twice. They broke into a run across the roof. Luckily, like the instructions
from the crane said, several gangways had been set up between buildings by previous passers-by,
to allow quick passage across the rooftops to the safe-room. However, the sturdy planks were fairly
narrow, and the group was forced to cross one at a time.
Corvo urged the others across to the next rooftop while he covered them, and then gingerly crossed
the gap between the buildings himself. He spared a look down into the alleyway beneath him to see
a chil ingly large crowd of people fol owing them from the streets below. And more were rushing to
join the horde –
His head turned back at the sound of a splintering crack to see the doors to the stairwells flying
open, and many Common Infected pouring out onto the rooftop they had just vacated. Corvo
finished his crossing to the next roof and, without a second thought, kicked the gangway off the edge
and down into the al ey below to prevent the Infected from following them.
Regardless, many of them tried to jump across the gap anyway and fel to their deaths.
"Come on, Corvo!" Samantha cal ed from further across the roof, spurring him back into action.
However, as he began to move, he noticed two infected people appearing on the edge near
her. They had climbed up the entire side of the building!
"Look out!" he yel ed, taking aim and firing a quick burst from his assault carbine, flames flickering at the edge of the barrel. The two attackers convulsed as they were struck by the barrage and sent
tumbling back over the edge of the roof.
Samantha was visibly shaken with her close encounter. "Th – Thanks!" she stammered.
"Come on, you two!" Markus yel ed. He and Jacob had already crossed the next gangway.
Samantha and Corvo hurtled across the rooftop, their hearts pounding in their chests. The doors to
the nearby stairwells crashed open as they ran past, more Infected spilling out behind them and
fal ing into hot pursuit. Jacob and Markus cursed, and began firing across the gap between the
buildings at the Common Infected chasing down their compatriots.
At that
moment, the stocky biker noticed several more attackers appearing at the top of a nearby
fire-escape, eyeing him down hungrily. He thrust his HK MP5 forward and let loose with an extended
burst of gunfire, sending them toppling over the railing. Markus continued to cover the others.
"Go!" the war veteran shouted at Samantha, and she quickly crossed the gangway to join the others
on the far side. Bullets zinged past Corvo as he fol owed her and then kicked the makeshift bridge off
the building. "Next rooftop! Let's move!"
Unfortunately, the building they had stepped onto was larger than the others they had crossed. The
next gangway was rather far away, and more Common Infected were appearing from nearby fire-
escapes. The survivors ran, sending desperate shots over their shoulders. However, there were far
too many chasing them. Jacob' jaw was set in grim determination as he led the group, firing quick
bursts at anything that approached from the front. At that moment, the stairwel door off to his left
burst open and even more attackers emerged, screeching like banshees.
"Holy fuck!" he roared. "We gotta get off this roof now! "
The group abandoned their defensive retreat and broke into a ful sprint across the roof. Five
seconds later, they came to the gangway.
"There's no time to cross one at a time!" Corvo yel ed urgently. "Everyone, go now!"
With that, Jacob and Markus ran across the plank, fol owed immediately by Corvo and Samantha.
However, with their combined weight acting on it, the gangway sagged horribly. Just as Jacob and
Markus reached the other side, the unthinkable happened.
It snapped.
"Shit!" Corvo cursed, throwing himself onto the next roof in a desperate dive.
Samantha, fol owing behind him, let out a shrill scream as the broken plank fel out from under her.
She grabbed desperately for the edge, but was unable to hold on, and started to fall – when she
suddenly felt herself stop. She looked up to see that Jacob had thrust his hand forward over the
edge and grabbed her in mid-air.
"Hang on!" he grunted. "I've got you."
"Thanks!" she gasped grateful y as she was pulled upward.
She looked back to see the large crowd that had been chasing them reach the edge of their
respective rooftop. Most of them stopped and howled in outrage. However, several of the more
ambitious ones tried to jump across the gap with frightening determination. What was worse was
that three of them made it to the other side, digging their claws into the wal and starting to climb up.
"Look out!" Samantha cried, raising the pistol stil grasped in her left hand.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! With expert precision, she twisted around in Jacob' grip and blasted the
attackers off the side of the building.
The burly biker grinned as he finished pul ing her up onto the roof. "Looks like I owe you one now."
"Let's just cal it even," she replied, ejecting her spent clip and slamming a new one into the breech.
Meanwhile, Markus and Corvo had been covering them from the front, blasting away the Infected
climbing up the sides of the building or hurtling at them from across the rooftop.
"You guys okay?" the old man called over his shoulder.
"We're perfect," Jacob replied.
"Good. Let's go!"
At that moment, the al -too familiar screech of a Leaper echoed across the roof.
"It's gotta be one of those motherfuckers from before!" Jacob growled.
"Wel , let's not stick around and wait to be shredded!"
He and Corvo took point with their respective MP5 and M4 machine-guns, cutting down the odd
Common Infected that approached from across the rooftop with automatic gunfire, while Samantha
and Markus covered the rear with their respective pistol and Glock, shooting down anyone or
anything that appeared over the sides of the building behind them. Progress was slow but steady.
However, everything went wrong in the next instant, and Jacob' blood chil ed when he saw a figure
crouched down menacingly in front of the gangway. "Hunt – "
"RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
The Leaper pounced, flying straight at the biker with incredible speed. He rol ed out of the way, but
did not have time to warn the others. Corvo whirled, avoiding deadly claws by the skin of his teeth.
Markus, however, gasped in shock when the creature slammed into him, the force of the blow
knocking both him and the college student down, sending her rol ing away along the rooftop.
"Samantha!" Corvo cried, going to help her.
Markus groggily climbed to his feet and looked up to see the Leaper less than three metres away,
growling viscously and poised to strike. "Oh, shi – "
Clattering gunfire exploded as Jacob fired his submachine gun, shattering the monster's skull and
sending his brains flying through the air.
The force from the Leaper's pounce sent Samantha on a painful roll several metres across the roof.
She gasped in pain and shakily lifted herself to her hands and knees, just in time to see a smal
crowd of Common Infected bearing down on her, rage and bloodlust in their eyes. With a jolt of
horror, she realised that her pistol had been sent skittering away across the rooftop. The Winchester
was too slow-firing and unwieldy for a fight of this nature. She was completely defenceless –
No I'm not.
Samantha quickly drew the smal flip-knife from the left pocket of her jeans, rose to her knees and
stabbed it into the chest of a man about to grab her. She used the chance to push him backward,
sending him stumbling. A storm of bullets abruptly dropped him in a bloody heap. The young woman
whirled to see Corvo approaching slowly, shoulders hunched forward, Colt M4 carbine raised to his
shoulder. The rifle spat flame as he fired another burst in a wide arc, dropping the rest of the
attackers.
"Hey kid," he said, proffering a hand and pul ing her to her feet. "Think you might need this." He handed her back the SIG-Sauer that had been thrown clear when she was sent tumbling to the
ground.
"Thanks," she said breathlessly as they ran back to rejoin the others. "For the gun, and for saving my life."
"I think we're past thanking each other for that by now, don't you think?"
"You probably have a point there."
"The Leaper's dead!" Jacob yel ed triumphantly to them as Markus gunned down an infected woman
nearby. "Let's go!"
The group careful y made their way across the next gangway – the last thing they needed was a
repeat of what happened last time. Jacob led the way across and then immediately began firing his
MP5 at the Common Infected on the next rooftop. He was quite surprised at how quickly he was
chewing through ammunition – he had completely stuffed his new holster ful , but this shit-storm of a
run had already caused him to use over half. The others soon joined him and Corvo kicked the plank
down off the building as per usual.
"Let's go!" Markus shouted. "This is gettin' old real fast!"
They made their way across the roof, blasting away any approaching attackers. Samantha noticed that, although there were still a lot, the Infected were starting to thin out. Perhaps the smel of the
bile that covered Corvo and Jacob was starting to wear off?
Jacob narrowed his eyes when another fat balloon of a man wandered into view. "Watch out!
Another one of them Spitters!"
"What?" Markus yel ed over the roaring gunfire. "'Spitters'?"
The biker took
aim. "Boom, baby!"
Another foul explosion of blood splattered across the rooftop. Fortunately, this time, they were at a
far enough distance to not be covered in bile. In fact, the Common Infected nearby screeched in
delight and rushed toward the Spitter's remains, completely ignoring the survivors.
"Wel , this is a fortunate turn of events!" Markus exclaimed, leading the way in rapid progress to the next gangway.
Jacob noticed a familiar spray-painted symbol on the concrete, indicating that the safe-house was
right ahead. "For once, you're right, Markus! That next building is the Harbour View Hotel!"
The man in question reached the gangway and crossed over first, followed closely by Samantha.
However, as she was making her way across the narrow plank, she heard Markus cry out in shock
and looked up to see the tentacle-like tongue of a Smoker wrap around his waist, yanking him away
from them, further across the roof.
"Shit!" she cried, running after him.
"Samantha, wait up!" Corvo yel ed after her as he slowly crossed the gangway, but she ignored him.
"Someone, help!" came Markus' strangled voice from somewhere ahead.
"Hang on!" she cried, putting on an extra burst of speed. She wound her way through a maze of tal
chimneys and air-conditioning units, and soon found her friend being pulled up the side of a rooftop
stairwel . The tongue draped down over the edge, but the Smoker itself was staying out of sight.
"Get it… off…" he wheezed. "It's… ugh… squeezing me!"
Samantha stopped at a safe distance, aimed her pistol above his head and fired two careful shots.
The second one severed the tongue, immediately followed by a loud shriek of inhuman pain from
somewhere above them. The rubbery appendage and Markus dropped to the ground, and
Samantha ran over to help him to his feet.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I think so…"
"Stay down," she hissed, pressing herself against the outside wall of the stairwel . "That freak will show its ugly face soon."
The two of them stood for a moment, waiting in vain for something to happen. In a flash of
inspiration, Samantha pointed her pistol into the distance and squeezed off a shot, earning her a
puzzled look from Markus. Keeping her eyes skyward, she opened her mouth to quietly explain that
Damned Are We Page 28
