First Person by Eddie McGarrity

in the shoulder and another two
before he hits the head and the Infected guy falls down.
    Gus
rushes up to see his kill. Lisa curses and we go after him. Gus has dropped his
stance, and holds his gun across him. I’m sure he would have dropped it if it
weren’t for the strap. Lisa and I keep our formation, watching out for each
other and more Infected. For the first time, I’ve got the MP5 at my shoulder
and I’m staring down the barrel. As Gus dances around the fallen Infected I
cover the body in case it moves again, while Lisa scans the area. She’s managed
to put herself into what’s known in a combat situation as the dominant position
and I feel cool under her watch. The body on the ground is quiet.
    “Hot
dog,” says Gus. “I got myself one. He’s actually finally really dead this time.
I got you now motherfucker.”
    It’s
like he’s taunting the prone body. Suddenly he shouts up into the air and lets
off a couple of rounds.
    Lisa
is mad. “Cut it out! You’re making too much noise.”
    “What
the hell are you worried about? Draggin’ more of ‘em here? That’s what we came
for!” Gus fires off another shot.
    We
all pause on that for a moment. Lisa sighs in agreement and all find ourselves
smiling at each other. He’s right. This is what we came for.
     
    I’m
on point as we head towards The Mall, a small neighbourhood shopping centre.
We’re in a good rhythm now. Gus is at the rear and Lisa is right behind me.
I’ve got my MP5 at my shoulder. Leaning into it, I keep my knees bent as I step
forward. We’re quite out in the open as we approach the low building. To our
left is an office block and what looks like an exploded public toilet. An
exhausted old pub has fallen off its stilts onto the courtyard below. We ignore
the boarded up supermarket and head for the main entrance to the Mall. A large
roller door is half opened. Rubbish has spilled out from the opening and been
blown around. I pause to get my bearings. Lisa taps me on the shoulder and then
points with a side on palm towards the roller door; Go .
    I’m
shaking with excitement as I start to move again. We reach the roller door.
It’s up at my chest. Gus and Lisa position themselves with their backs to it,
their weapons at their shoulders. Cautiously, I crouch down and peer into the
building. Silent inside, there is a hellish smell. It’s not just the discarded
trash. Lisa lowers her weapon as she turns to me. I nod. With a glint in her
eye, she nods back. I step inside and straighten, raising the gun. Lisa comes
in straight after me, with Gus following.
    Everything
is ruined. What isn’t broken has been burned. The few small shops have been
long looted. Bizarrely fresh and blue, a display stand from an earlier lottery
system sits outside the door of an old newsagent. A few tattered magazines are
on the floor of an otherwise empty shop. We make our way through, Lisa just
behind me, Gus covering the rear. Halfway through, we catch each other’s eyes
and make an agreement.
    Gus
is the first to speak. “Ain’t nothin’ here, guys.”
    Lisa
nods. “Shall we go?”
    I
relax. We all do, changing our postures and beginning the walk back to the
roller door. Just as I’m about to say something, we hear a shuffle behind us.
In one movement, we all whirl round, weapons at the ready. I can feel sweat on
my body and can even smell myself, clammy and unclean. There is nothing for a
moment, but then an Infected woman shuffles out of the old post office. She has
no shoes on and her feet are all ragged from having shuffled around here for
months. Her grubby outfit is an old skirt and top. Her hair is lank and falling
away from an exposed scalp. I’m ready to run.
    “You’re
on, point.” Lisa taps me on the shoulder again and steps back.
    My
breakfast of eggs and bacon starts to lift in my stomach and I just want out of
there. The smell has gotten worse since she appeared; a foul rotten stench.
Trying to move my feet, I somehow can’t shift.