Chapter 6 - Le Chute(The Fall):
Boston Streets, 9:48 PM/Friday/April 14th/2011
Streets, cracked pavements, flooded with people running as people infected with the Necromxious virus chases them down.
Black boiling blood spreads through the arms, chest and face of a wild infected man with deep dark eyes. Nails begin to protrude from its fingertips like porcupine's spikes, sharp as razors. Sandy, dry skin lines the pale body of the Necrohuman as his veins go from blue to black. Like a fierce jumpy human the abomination rises to his feet with a shaky, yet sharp exhale. Carnage echoes out around him causing his ears to tremble only curable by tightly gripping them. Until the sound becomes too much and the smart, yet feral Necrohuman shrieks. He paces around the burning buildings, people being ripped apart by his now close allies, cars crashing, and gunshots ringing out. Death and murder grow in the eyes of this man as a wave of what seems like hundreds of Necrohumans run up the street behind him in a strategic manner, some holding guns and others trying to use their new found strength and speed.
Down, still by the Bower, everyone from inside evacuates out into the streets and begins to run in the direction of the Boston City Hall. Many recognizable faces from the building as soldiers try to cover them from the ongoing assault. One man seems noticeable though, the officer who had helped Kenny and Braden before is helping citizens evacuate through a small gate covering a bridge that leads to Boston City Hall.
From the Bower, Brien runs through the chaos to the small gate and he pleads to the officer "sir, hey sir. Can we get in?"
In response the officer looks the kid up and down, then he says, in a blank manner, "you can enter, but you all will be consenting to a full body search," he stops to count how many people are there, "you four will be allowed access and will need to head into that tent over there," he points to a medical tent.
Confused by only hearing the officer refer to his group as 'four', he reaches the gate Brien tells the officer "there's more than four of us here, officer."
"Looks like only four to me kid," the officer says while shooting into the quickly moving horde of Necrohumans.
After hearing that Brien swiftly turns around to check, behind him is only Sarah, Kenny, and Christian. Out still in the street is Manny, Max, Aidan, Shawn, and Rich. While entering the gate, everyone watches their friends in the street. Everyone, not just the people they know frantically run through the chaos, though Max is viciously snagged by his shirt's collar by an infected.
While getting maliciously dragged through the street Max screams and kicks for help, "someone please help me," until suddenly the infected reaches a brick wall where it slams him against it causing his arm to snap and his ribs to poke out of his body, the wall cracks, "fuck! Someone ahh, help-!"
Once the last exhale leaves his mouth as the infected lifts Max up and slams him into the floor leading to its arm to rip into his chest and grip the kid's heart while, what seems to be, laughing with distortion.
Absolute disgust grows on everyone at the gates as they all line up for their check in the protected checkpoint. Disbelief shows on their faces as they turn their attention to the other side of the street where three infected are already eating and ripping apart what's left of Rich as Shawn is frozen watching his twin get eaten in horror. Shawn tries to reach out for his brother's hand, Rich is shot in the head by a soldier standing on top of the gate.
Anger courses through Shawn as he turns around and run towards the gate leaving his brother's corpse to maimed and chewed on by the Necrohumans, he makes it, "what the fuck," in silence everyone looks past him at the street, "my damn brother, someone shot my damn brother! I was gonna save him!"
"Nothing you could've done kid. Now hurry in we need to make evac time," says a soldier trying to rush everyone inside.
Stomping his way in, Shawn enters, but still behind the gate is Manny and Aidan still trying to make their way to the gate. Quietly they travel behind cars and fallen telephone poles avoiding the smart infected beings. But then comes the mistake, Aidan steps on a metal soda can causing it to make a crushing sound. Right as he does so Manny backs away to hide. Instantly after Manny backs out, an infected jumps around the corner and bites Aidan's right hand. As it does so a man, the same new reporter from the announcement Nasir, takes a picture of the bite as he reaches for a large machete at his waist to slice Aidan's hand off. Chop. The knife cuts through Aidan's right hand like butter.
Before passing out from pure shock and pain Aidan stares at his hand as he screams in pain, Nasir tells him in a confident way "we're gonna get you to safety kid," while he borderline carries a delirious Aidan to the gate, "hey, Jack open the gate I got wounded!"
"What do you mean wounded Nas," then Jack, the officer, turns to him seeing the handless kid, "holy shit Nas, he had no fucking hand! What even happened?"
While banging on the gate Nasir responds "the kid'll be fine, just let us the hell in,"
"How do you know that Nas," Jack asks while opening the gate.
While dragging the now bloody kid through the checkpoint, Nasir responds "I did it in Manhattan. Saved a life then I'm doing it now."
Jack looks convinced as he points to an ambulance, he says "take him there, now!"
Blood trails behind them as Nasir drags Aidan to the ambulance but he notices on the shirt a logo that symbolizes Boston University's biology program, "looks like he was a bio major this one's special, Jacky!"
Though still out in the street is Manny, who gets completely cut-off from the gate as the undead army arrives and is forced to run off out into the street trying to weave through the agile, strong infected. At the end of his run he ducks in a car to hide. While inside an infected stares him dead in the eyes, but instead of attacking the same Necrohuman from before leaves him be and attacks the loud military. They all pass him. Leaving him alone in the car.
Back on the other side of the gate everyone gets searched for bites, scratches or any other wounds.
"I got nothing on me," Kenny tells a medic who's searching him.
In response the female medic, a lady with the name Sandra on her name tag, says "it's procedure, now remain silent."
After the quick, yet skillful searches no one is found with anything. On the other side Aidan is getting patched up by a field medic in an ambulance. Everyone gets into an assigned Jeep, which is being driven by Jack. All of the three Jeeps, filled with minimal soldiers and mainly civilians, and the ambulance are set to be transported to City Hall.
In the back of the ambulance Aidan's wound is cauterized, swiftly wrapped and bandaged, then finally left to rest at his side as he sleeps in a medical bed. Neighboring the emergency vehicle is a Jeep. This Jeep is holding Brien, Christian, Kenny, Sarah, Shawn, and a few other civilians as the officer, Jack, drives them through the falling city.
Shawn, who's not crying at the death of his brother, but instead trying to seem tough, says "I was gonna save my brother… I was right there."
Muffled, Jack responds "you wouldn't do a damn thing. Even if you were the top of the line soldier your brother was as good as dead. One bite from the Necroes is as good as standing in front of a car going 300 miles, you ain't gonna stop it."
Angered by the threat, Shawn starts to yell at Jack "I could've, you don't know shit."
Trying to keep peace, Brien, who's leaning on a stunned Sarah, lightly says "cut the shit Bilk. Just stop. Look around," tears begin to form in the Irishman's eyes, "everything is gone. We fucking lost man. Stop being loud and just keep that in for now. You know I loved your brother, we all did, but man you got to cut it out and just think."
Finally struck by the weight of what just happened, Shawn becomes silent, and rolls over in his seat knowing his brother is gone. Nothing can bring him back and his life had just changed.
From the passenger seat, Kenny tells everyone "at least we got outta' the street. Now we can make it to Shangri-La."
"Yea come on guys look on the bright side of things, Manny is gone, Max is gone, Rich is gone," Christian says this in a sarcastic fit of anger, "nothing bad happened at all."
Jack, sternly, replies "look we just crossed the street, everything past here… well you better pray it ain't hell, because this city is done. Once we make it to D.C. then you get to be happy. Before that moment comes you will think about those things ripping you, your loved one, and everything you love apart because that's what's gonna happen in this world. Life or goddamned death."
Everyone goes silent after this, gaining more than just a sense of seriousness in this situation they're in. Things begin to change, not small things, but monumental events causing shifts in the lives of everyone on the planet. Fire spreads around the city eating it whole, bombs being dropped in the distance causing everything to shake and shift, people are screaming in the distance, some being eaten, some ripped up, and others turning into more Necroes. Bodies line the streets and blood trails lead right to them with the infected rising up from their once dead state. But the fleet of jeeps drive past them until they reach a large blocked off unfinished tunnel which leads part of the way to the City Hall. Once inside the tunnel the fleet of Jeeps, including the ambulance Aidan and Nasir were brought into stops.
"Why are we stopping," asks Christian.
While stepping out of the Jeep, Jack tells him "this is a checkpoint, after this I get you guys to the rendezvous," then he walks away from the Jeep towards a group of important looking military officials, "stay put and we'll leave in a moment."
After the clearly important officer walks off, Shawn asks "can we really trust this? I mean the government isn't the most honest folks."
Sarah looks over at Shawn, with a shocked and annoyed face, as she says "it's the military, they'll get us out. We just have to trust them. I don't like what's going on either, but you're acting like they're the bad guys," she begins to get more angry than annoyed, "but no the only bad guys are the things that… that killed your friends and hundreds of other good people. So just please let it go, they are the good guys. Humans are good, whatever those things are, are bad," then she rests her head on the door of the Jeep.
Once again silence comes to a deeply upset Shawn as he begins to think further while waiting. As they wait though, infected roar throughout the unfinished tunnel running shivers down the spines of everyone.
Confused, Brien asks with a loud voice "hey sir, officer. How far is the City Hall from here?"
"About a 5 minute drive if this shit-hole tunnel wasn't a shit-hole," Jack calls over, "but due to this tunnel's miserable fortitude, it might be a 10 minute drive around the damn thing."
Worried of both, Brien responds "whatever you think is best, sir. But how can we protect ourselves?"
Now with his helmet off, Jack, a man with black hair and tanned white skin, responds "civies with weapons," he thinks for a second, "y'know I wouldn't mind it too much, but these people here, my bosses, think otherwise so for now you will remained unarmed."
"Alright sir," Brien says with uncertainty creeping under his voice.
In response to this Kenny looks forward into the dark with some lights peering in down the line "it'd probably be good if we left soon," he says, "I mean I just wanna be safe so I can get some rest or just to think for a minute."
"I didn't plan on staying anyway," Jack says as he walks back towards the jeep, then he looks back over at his bosses "you fuckers better figure this shit out or I will personally make sure my dead corpse kills all three of you coprate fucks, godd-fuckin-night."
Ragefully the conversation ends as the officer gets into the driver's seat, turns the headlights on, and drives through the maybe infested wide corridor. Screeches come down the tunnel. Blood-curdling screams echo and death seems imminent as the Jeeps narrowly drive through the tunnel, thye get tracked by the ambulance.
Within that ambulance Aidan wakes up. Firstly, he looks around and then down at the stump his hand was once located.
Responding to his missing hand, Aidan asks in a freaked out and pained voice "what the hell happened!?"
"Well I saved your life kid," Nasir says, sitting to the left of the worried kid, "it just costed you a hand and now we're gonna get you to safety. After that the military might need you Mr. Bio Major. You, my friend, are more than useful. I'm not even military and I know that."
Still freaked out, Aidan looks into the eyes of Nasir as he asks "what are you then," while trying to move his nonexistent hand around.
Now standing up, Nasir looks down to respond "I'm a nut job reporter. I've been to New York, New Jersey, and every other place with a shit story just like the one here in Boston."
Worriedly, Aidan asks "what happened to my friends?"
"To be completely honest with you kid, some aren't so alive and others are more alive than ever," then he thinks back, "oh and the one you were sneaking around with ran off, he probably got ripped to shreds out there."
Now in tears and a sense of agonizing pain, Aidan begins to cry as he asks "are we almost safe?"
"Hopefully, kid, hopefully," Nasir says as the vehicles navigate through the dark somewhat infested tunnel.
Only moonlight greets them on the other side as they arrive at a road that leads to the large building, being City Hall. Silence is echoing through every vehicle in the fleet as all of them smoothly drive up to the overrun building. Infected rage around the building, some holding rocks, guns, and anything they can grab.
Though the sudden stop causes everyone to seem nervous, quickly Jack reaches for a radio, he speaks into it saying "we gotta code O.R. Here the Hall is surrounded. We are gonna need a parking lot landing zero-four. They have guns, ready to retrieve possible heavy weapons fire."
Almost instantly the pilot of a nearby helicopter responds "copy that, seven-sixty. We are gonna engage a landing sequence in t-minus two minutes. After that it'll be t-minus fourteen for the bombing sequence, do you copy?"
"Loud and clear zero-four, seven-sixty out," Jack says.
"Copy that, zero-four out," the pilot says as the radio becomes silent.
After the quick interaction the Jeeps remain in a state of shock staying completely silent as infected bang and shoot through the doors and enter through the windows of the Hall. What seems like hundreds if not thousands of infected saunter around almost as if they're planning on how to make their next attack. Just as they seem fully distracted by their scheming, one of the Jeep's horns beeps to no end. Disturbed by the sound Jack looks over where he sees the driver had turned into a Necro. All the infected rush through the parking lot as the former soldier rips apart innocent people in the back of the Jeep.
Trying to be calm, Sarah asks Jack "how long til we get picked up?"
"Thirty seconds," Jack says as he looks up to see the whirling blades of the helicopter dropping down to their rescue.
Metal clanks against the concrete as two helicopters land right in between the triangle made by two Jeeps and the ambulance. Swiftly everyone exits the vehicles to get aboard the whirly bird. Blood soaked Necrohumans rush the loud airbound vehicles. Hastily, Brien and Sarah make it on to the first of two helicopters as the horde makes it to the halfway point of the parking lot. Next, Aidan is dragged on by Nasir, followed quickly by Kenny and Christian.
Covering everyone as they get on Jack, who shoots two Necrohumans in their heads, yells to the second helicopter "lower the ladder for me!"
As even more civilians board the two helicopters, Shawn angrily stares at Jack.
"Y'know… I don't like you, but you made a pretty damn good point," Shawn says while pointing a gun at Jack.
Surprised by this, Jack looks Shawn dead in the eyes as he tells him "get on the damn chopper and I won't drop you right now."
Shawn shoots at Jack, not hitting him but an infected behind him as he says "you don't have to," then he rushes to the second helicopter as it begins to fly up.
Both of them grab the ladder and as they hang on it right across from each other they stare into each other's eyes. Men with priorities stare blankly at each other knowing what they did was the right thing.
In response to what just happened as they wiggle through the wind, Jack looks at Shawn with wind making it hard to hear him as he tells the troubled twin "what you did back there was stupid… If you got left behind that would've been your fault. You need to know when to cut someone off. You need to know when it's time to drop the dead weight," they both make it into the helicopter where civilians, including Laura and Patrick Florence are both watching, bombs drop on the city as jets flash across the sky and fire causes smoke to rise into the sky, "This is… The Fall."