Two military trucks show up and we don’t hesitate, all get in them. Thankfully we’re not attacked during this. So we could get out of the area quickly once the civilians had been loaded in.

We drove deeper into the city, following the Via Salaria past the park. The buildings around us became denser and taller. All civilian vehicles had been pushed off the roads to allow military vehicles free access.

I sat across from Gregson as we drove. The grave chill was sitting heavy on him. As this was his first exposure, it would be a challenging experience for him. I was not in the mood for conversation but knew I would have to speak to him.

Here and there, we saw small groups of soldiers and police herding remaining civilians down roads to waiting vehicles. Then they would be taken away from the zone edge. We stopped at the junction, which had been turned into a military checkpoint. Greco got out and spoke to the ranking officer.

After a few minutes, she returned. She said something to the drivers of both vehicles and then came around our back to where we were sitting.

“This is where we get off.”

“Just us?” I ask.

“Yes.” She does not elaborate. I can tell the grave chill is messing with her as well.

As we get off, the mixture of soldiers and police around us put back the considerable heavy concrete barriers across the road. Here is another U-shaped blockade set up around this junction. The transport lorries we came in drove off down the open highway deeper into the city away from us.

There was a lorry parked with its back open full of supplies and ammunition, which Gregson quickly wandered over to. As he was restocking, I looked around the area. We had travelled far away enough from the zone edge, no longer seeing it directly. But in the distance back along the road we came down, I can make out the top of the zone.

We had some time before it reached us. Around us are high-rise buildings between 3 to 6 stories high. Down the roads could see abandoned mopeds and cars, but fewer than the other sections of the city I was in earlier.

The sun is high in the sky now, beating down on us and I am forced to unzip my armour as I did once again as the heat is becoming unbearable. I choose not to remove my helmet this time, even though I’m sweating like there’s no tomorrow. I drink from a canteen, trying to rehydrate. I noticed the site looks I’m getting from the men and women around me manning the barricades.

I look over my armour, noting the damage to my leg’s armour plates and shield. I’m also splattered with gore, which probably does not help my smell.

“Here.” Gregson says from behind me. I turn and he hands me another pistol. I had dropped mine in the previous fight and could not retrieve it. He was holding out its grip, pointing at me. I took it off him, checked the weapon as had been trained, and then put it into my holster.

“How are you holding up?” I ask him again. Grave chill is insidious as it doesn’t always affect you immediately but works its way inside.

“Now that I know and facing it, I can handle it.”

“Okay. Best let command know where we are.”

“I was about to after restocking our supplies.”

“Thanks for that.” I tell him.

He nods and moves away, pulling out the sat phone, quickly dialled up command and began speaking to them. Greco came over to me. I noticed that she was pale and shivering even in the summer sun. Grave chill is a bitch.

“You good?” I ask her.

“No, but I can work through it.” She tells me honestly.

“Okay then.” I decide not to ask anymore. She motioned to follow and lead me away from the rest to ensure our conversation could be overheard. She waited until Gregson had finished his call here and joined us.

“As you have already figured out, things are bad.” She starts, her voice quietens as she goes on. “The city to the east is being overrun. We do not know how long we can hold onto the central part and the West.

Euro Corps command is trying to hold as much of the city as possible. Reports from all over the city indicate that we are facing many threats. As we saw with the number of creatures and grave types, we faced.

We have been ordered to delay whatever we can here. This is why you were dropped off. I have been ordered to remain as your liaison, but I do not have operational control over this position.”

Gregson and I stay quiet as she lays it out for us. I knew it was bad, but I even hoped it was not this bad. Euro Corps command learnt its lessons from the fall of the other cities over the last few years. They had gotten most of the population out in time.

“How long do we need to hold here?” Gregson asked. Like me, the ever pragmatist.

“As long as we can.” The flat tone she delivered it with told us everything we needed.

“No support then?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“The collapse in the East caught many of our assets in it. All available support has been sent their way.”

Before anything else could be said, the officer in charge called her over to talk about something. Probably us knowing the day we have been having.

“Not how I would have wanted to see Rome.” I say out loud.

“Yes, it’s a beautiful city with a lot of great attractions and history.” Gregson says. I turn and look at him, surprised.

“Been here before?”

“Yes, my husband and I have been here several times. He enjoys the culture and the shopping. We both enjoy the wine.”

Okay, then I knew he was married, but I did know it was to another man. Different strokes for different folks and all that. I was trying to remember if he had told me this before. Hell, I have trouble most of the time remembering names!

Looking around the area, I realised I had missed something quite obvious when I looked at the traffic lights.

“Powers out.” I pointed to the traffic lights.

“I suspect it’s been out for a few hours. They probably have only kept the power to the city’s key points.”

“How long before dark?”

“Don’t worry. We got quite a few hours yet to go of sunlight. This time of year, it will not be setting here for quite some time.” He reassured me.

“That’s good to know. But not why I asked. I need to know because it will be the time most likely to pull us out then, as is no way we can hold the city at night.” He nodded at that, understanding what I was asking.

“This time of year, it will be set by 8 pm at the latest.” He told me as he checked his watch.

Before he could say anything, the soldiers facing up the Via Salaria the way we came began firing at something. I couldn’t see what they were targeting, but they were aiming and firing single rounds. I use this opportunity to zip up my armour.

We hung back for the moment, waiting for instructions on what to do.

The fire quickly died down and the soldiers became more relaxed. They seemed to have driven off or terminated whatever they were shooting at.

“It was a small group of zombies.” Greco told us when she returned.

“There will be more soon.” Looking up and down the side roads for any additional threats.

“I know. I have already warned the lieutenant in command here and his troops are ready.”

I nodded, acknowledging what she had said. It had been a long day and I was tired. I did sit down as I knew this would cause my body to lock up. I needed to keep loose. I rolled my shoulders around to ensure I was ready for action.

In the distance, the sound of weapons fire has become constant background noise. Helicopters still litter the sky, but I noticed that there are far more drones. I notice one that stands out from the others due to its colours. All the other drones I have seen today have been grey or black. This one was white and blue.

“Hey, Greco.” I draw her attention to the drone. He frowns at the sight of it and gets on her radio.

“It’s a civilian unit. Looks like a news station. We don’t know who yet, but they are violating the no-fly zone.” She tells me.

The drone is not pointing toward us and seems more interested in something that drones can see happening in the North, so I’m happy to leave it alone. Whoever owns it is going to get in the neck, in any case.

The zone can now be seen up the road as it continues its advance. It is still some distance away but steadily makes that distance much shorter. We will either be attacked or be pushed out by its approach soon.

God, I hate this heat!

However, before I could unzip my armour again, the soldiers began firing again. Looking up the road, I saw another group of zombies had emerged and were running down the road. The soldiers quickly picked them off on long the barricade.

Today has been a strange day so far for me. I am not used to this inaction. Normally I’m up to something in a zone, whether it be exploring or terminating any threats I find here. Today I’ve been standing around a lot. I had been in the thick of it but compared to the numbers we had faced. I had hardly done anything.

What concerned me was the speed at which I lost control in some of those fights. I cannot afford to lose control, not here, not today. I started the breathing exercises to help bring myself back to a centred mental state. I know this will not help for long, but they do help.

As I watched the zone relentlessly move forward, the inaction would not last much longer. In the distance, there is suddenly a loud bang and then we hear the stressed engine of a helicopter in distress. We hear a loud explosion and a plume of smoke and fire in the distance to the north.

The drone that belonged to the news network had gone off in that direction to see what was going on. I was glad that it was gone, as I had no love for the media.

“You’ll need this, John.” Gregson handed me another canteen full of water. You can see I was suffering in this heat. He knew from experience that I wouldn’t say I liked warm weather.

“Thanks.” I replaced the other canteen which was nearly empty. We went off to refill it.

I walked back to the barricades facing up the Via Salaria. Along the road, I could see numerous zombies put down by the soldiers manning the barricades. The road had a middle section with bushes and small trees that separated the road into a dual carriageway. I looked down both routes noting the bodies.

There was no wind at the moment and the area was quiet. There was little talking between the soldiers on the barricades and I could hear what little there was but could really make out what they were saying as I did understand Italian.

They were focused and ready for what they thought was coming. The sad truth was they weren’t. I knew what was coming, for I had seen it too many times and knew they were not ready. I doubt any of them were rated for zone two operations, let alone being rated a full operative.

Those who survive will be afflicted with the grave chill that will take months to recover from. I look over to Greco and know that she would be out of action for months after today recovering and so would Gregson.

The zone kept advancing and we kept watching. It was taking its toll on all of us, the stress and fear of just waiting, knowing that danger was ready to appear at any moment.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get much longer to enjoy the peace as a massive group of zombies came running out of the fog that was quite close to us now. I quickly lost count of the number.

And they just kept coming.