chance.
We made our
plans. We made them high up in the Sydney Tower, the castle in the clouds. We
knew we had to make a move. We had to do something. The city had fallen quiet. And
this was bad. It meant the last of the remaining soldiers were dead. It meant
that more and more infected were walking back into the city.
So we had to
act.
We were
doing the right thing. We needed an exit strategy and we needed to contact the
military. Simple. So we made our plans. And we were careful.
But we could
not have planned for what happened. No one could have.
We left the
safety of the tower and climbed down the ninety-four flights of stairs to the
shopping complex. We were looking for supplies and most importantly a reliable,
long range walkie-talkie. Walking through the shopping complex was still a
shock, even though we had been down there already. I couldn’t get over how empty
it was. It was like a shell, or a husk or something. It felt so lonely and
quiet.
Jack suggested
we try the security room of the shopping complex.
It was there
we found a couple of walkie-talkies.
The problem
was these radios were probably no better than the ones we had found previously
in the casino. They would most likely only have a short range and be designed
to be used within the shopping complex. But they would have to do. At the end
of the day they were better than nothing.
We were just
about to test them out to see if they worked when suddenly the windows began to
vibrate and shudder. I think we were on the third floor. Jack had moved out
into the hallway, over to the window to see what was going on. He was looking
down at the streets below. Maria and I moved to the window as well. The noise
was getting louder, the vibrations were getting stronger but we still couldn’t
see anything.
"What the
hell is that noise?" Maria asked.
I told her
to back away from the window. I grabbed Jack by the shoulders and pulled him
down so we were hidden below the window sill.
"What is
it?" Jack asked.
"Choppers,"
I whispered.
Slowly and
methodically two Apache gunships hovered into the streets, about two floors up
from where we were.
"Do you
think they’re looking for survivors?" Jack said. "Maybe it’s a rescue squad for
Maria?"
"How would
they know we’re even here?" Maria asked.
"I don’t
think it’s a rescue," I said.
"Well, what
the hell are they doing? And where did they come from?"
"Maybe the
airport?" I said. "It’s probably their base of operations."
"So what the
hell are they doing?"
"I don’t
know? Reconnaissance? Maybe they really are looking for survivors."
"Well,
whatever they’re doing, I wish they’d do it somewhere else," Maria said. "They’re
making too much noise."
Maria was
right. The rotor blades were the loudest thing in the world at that point in
time. And the noise was echoing off the buildings. The deep thumping noise was
being amplified.
"We should
go," I said.
"Wait!" Jack
said. "Look. It’s another chopper."
Another
chopper came in. A Blackhawk. With troops. A small team. Probably Special
Forces, I thought. They abseiled down from the chopper, into the middle of the
street. For a second, I thought maybe they really were here for us. But then
they started moving along the street, in the complete opposite direction.
I haven’t
been able to stop thinking about these guys. I have no idea why they were
inserted into the middle of the city. What was their objective? What was the
point? From where I was watching it looked like a suicide mission. And
unfortunately for these brave men, that’s what it turned out to be. I’m
guessing the noise of the rotor blades is what initially attracted such a large
number of the infected into the area. Then again, maybe they were already
there. Hiding. Waiting.
Within a
minute of the soldiers being on the ground they were forced to open fire on
multiple targets. The Apaches above provided covering fire but it wasn’t
enough. Another group of infected charged the soldiers.
We made our
plans. We made them high up in the Sydney Tower, the castle in the clouds. We
knew we had to make a move. We had to do something. The city had fallen quiet. And
this was bad. It meant the last of the remaining soldiers were dead. It meant
that more and more infected were walking back into the city.
So we had to
act.
We were
doing the right thing. We needed an exit strategy and we needed to contact the
military. Simple. So we made our plans. And we were careful.
But we could
not have planned for what happened. No one could have.
We left the
safety of the tower and climbed down the ninety-four flights of stairs to the
shopping complex. We were looking for supplies and most importantly a reliable,
long range walkie-talkie. Walking through the shopping complex was still a
shock, even though we had been down there already. I couldn’t get over how empty
it was. It was like a shell, or a husk or something. It felt so lonely and
quiet.
Jack suggested
we try the security room of the shopping complex.
It was there
we found a couple of walkie-talkies.
The problem
was these radios were probably no better than the ones we had found previously
in the casino. They would most likely only have a short range and be designed
to be used within the shopping complex. But they would have to do. At the end
of the day they were better than nothing.
We were just
about to test them out to see if they worked when suddenly the windows began to
vibrate and shudder. I think we were on the third floor. Jack had moved out
into the hallway, over to the window to see what was going on. He was looking
down at the streets below. Maria and I moved to the window as well. The noise
was getting louder, the vibrations were getting stronger but we still couldn’t
see anything.
"What the
hell is that noise?" Maria asked.
I told her
to back away from the window. I grabbed Jack by the shoulders and pulled him
down so we were hidden below the window sill.
"What is
it?" Jack asked.
"Choppers,"
I whispered.
Slowly and
methodically two Apache gunships hovered into the streets, about two floors up
from where we were.
"Do you
think they’re looking for survivors?" Jack said. "Maybe it’s a rescue squad for
Maria?"
"How would
they know we’re even here?" Maria asked.
"I don’t
think it’s a rescue," I said.
"Well, what
the hell are they doing? And where did they come from?"
"Maybe the
airport?" I said. "It’s probably their base of operations."
"So what the
hell are they doing?"
"I don’t
know? Reconnaissance? Maybe they really are looking for survivors."
"Well,
whatever they’re doing, I wish they’d do it somewhere else," Maria said. "They’re
making too much noise."
Maria was
right. The rotor blades were the loudest thing in the world at that point in
time. And the noise was echoing off the buildings. The deep thumping noise was
being amplified.
"We should
go," I said.
"Wait!" Jack
said. "Look. It’s another chopper."
Another
chopper came in. A Blackhawk. With troops. A small team. Probably Special
Forces, I thought. They abseiled down from the chopper, into the middle of the
street. For a second, I thought maybe they really were here for us. But then
they started moving along the street, in the complete opposite direction.
I haven’t
been able to stop thinking about these guys. I have no idea why they were
inserted into the middle of the city. What was their objective? What was the
point? From where I was watching it looked like a suicide mission. And
unfortunately for these brave men, that’s what it turned out to be. I’m
guessing the noise of the rotor blades is what initially attracted such a large
number of the infected into the area. Then again, maybe they were already
there. Hiding. Waiting.
Within a
minute of the soldiers being on the ground they were forced to open fire on
multiple targets. The Apaches above provided covering fire but it wasn’t
enough. Another group of infected charged the soldiers.
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