It didn’t take long for the soldiers around me to react. Like me, they were stunned for several seconds as this swarm of zombies charged out of the fog. The rifles were soon discharging at the oncoming wave.

Like earlier, the soldiers didn’t waste time firing at the torsos of the oncoming zombies. They took their time marker targets and aimed for the head. It was harder to hit a moving target, but the soldiers were doing quite a good job. The fact that the zombies were charging right at us helped. Zombie bodies were quickly dropping and not getting back up.

I placed my axe in my right hand and pulled my pistol out. I was just behind the main firing line. I again used my shield as a brace and got ready to fire. The distance between us was closing terrifyingly quickly. I used a few seconds I had to focus my breath on my mind knowing that I needed to be in the moment. I cannot let my anger control me.

As the zombies got closer, the fire increased, and some defenders began to panic. The more level-headed ones kept firing, but they would still need to reload. Looking at the distance and what was in front of us, I knew we didn’t have time.

They reached the barriers.

I started firing my pistol marking my targets for headshots. The first fell and was replaced by a second, which received a bullet to the brain. Some soldiers were pulling back, which was the worst thing to do. Brutal hand-to-hand was taking place now in many areas.

I dropped the pistol and grabbed the axe handle—time to get to work.

The fight became a blur of motion. All around me, zombies were fighting the soldiers and trying to claw their way over the barricades. I struck out with my axe and used my shield to bludgeon, trying to hold back the waves at the barricade. There were so many that I was striking at any target before me.

I rammed my axe into a skull of a zombie that appeared and the black blood with brains flew as I ripped the axe head back. It was trying to get over the barrier that left it open to my attack. Grave chill swept through my body again and the smell of rotten flesh quickly filled my nose.

My anger surged and my chest got hot. Adrenaline pumped through my veins, fuelling my assaults. Fighting and staying focused were becoming a problem. I quickly fell into a series of actions. Block, bludgeon and strike. Again and again, zombies filled my vision.

I barely registered hits on my armour and shield. I was running on instinct to survive and fighting as desperately as I ever had. But I was being pushed back by the sheer weight of bodies. They were climbing the barriers over the bodies of the fallen.

Step by step, I was being pushed backwards. I was aware of this, but there was nothing I could do. I become focused on just killing everything around me. It was the only way I was going to survive this.

I struck out where ever I thought there was an opening. I was doing damage but not putting down any. The number of blows I had received was beginning to take its toll on my body.

A zombie grabbed my left arm and latched on to it, trying to chew through my armour. I violently shook my arm, but it was not budging. I used the side of my shield to hit the zombie’s head.

Another attacked me from the right, forcing me to use the shield against it. The zombie on my left was weighing me down, slowing my ability to react and cracking the zombie to my right hard with the flat of the shield knocking it down, giving me a short opening to try to get the other off my arm.

I was getting desperate and the chance of losing myself to my anger was real. I realised I could angle my arm to attack the attached zombie, hitting again. The skull caved in after more blows spattering my face plate with gore. The other zombie slammed into me and I was on the defensive again.

I was vaguely aware of weapons fire still happening around me. I could hear screams and cries. I was too focused on the danger before me to pay attention.

A soldier wrestling with a zombie holding off with his rifle bumped into me. A glance told me what I needed to do. I quickly realigned my position and drove the axe into a zombie’s head in front of me. The soldier slipped or was knocked over I wasn’t sure. He fell with a cry.

The zombie was on top of him, trying to claw his face off. I quickly pivoted and kicked as hard as I could into the skull of the zombie. I was wearing steel-toe-capped boots and I managed to get a pretty good bit of legroom for the kick.

I made a good solid contact knocking the zombie to the side. This allowed the soldier to aim his rifle and put a bullet through the head of the zombie. I didn’t see anything else. I would soon be attacked again in this melee and was forced to look away.

A zombie came running towards me as it had cleared the barriers. I leapt forward, using my shield as a battering ram with my total weight behind. I collided with a zombie knocking it to the ground.

The shock of the impact went through my body, but I kept moving. My axe quickly began swinging down in brutal strikes. Many missed, but enough hit the head, causing it to collapse, splattering black blood and brain.

I received no respite as another zombie soon took its place.

This one soon fell as I used the side of my shield to smash its face and give me an opportunity hit it with my axe.

Unfortunately, I was not as lucky with the next opponent.

I saw a flash of movement from the corner of my eye. I barely got my shield up as something fast and hard knocked me from my feet by sheer momentum. I hit the ground hard. The shock impact passed through my body from my spine. My axe was dropped from a hand as I was winded.

Another wave of more substantial grave chill swept through me and a terrible smell of rotten flesh assailed me. Looking around desperately, I realised that a ghoul had knocked me over. I looked for my axe. It was out of reach and the ghoul was on me before I could do anything more. My shield was on my chest and blocked the initial strikes. Woodchips flew as the ghoul’s claws ripped deeply into them. I desperately reached for the handle of my gladius. It took me a few attempts at fumbling around to find it.

As soon as I got my hand firmly, I tried to pull it from its scabbard. I had to roll slightly to get it free, as it was partially pinned under me. My right arm was taking a brutal pounding from the shock of the blows careening down on me. But I could now try to go on the offensive if I could find an opening.

The ghoul staggered as a bullet ripped into it, I was unsure who shot it, but I took the opportunity to get up on my feet. The bullet had caught it in its shoulder, causing a nasty wound. I knew from experience that this would only slow it down briefly. This was proven correct as I had just gotten up and was under attack again.

Ghoul was attacking. There was no method in its attack. It was just lashing out. This told me that it was only recently created. Older ghouls are much more intelligent and nastier in a fight.

It staggered forward as another bullet hit it from behind. I noticed that was more shooting around me. I took the opportunity as it lurched forward. I stepped in and rushed forward with my Gladius. I was rewarded with a terrible scream as the blade ripped deep into its stomach. I gave a good twisting of the blade and pulled out. Black blood oozed from the wound.

Before it could attack again, another bullet hit it. This one was dead on the money and hit it from the side of the hedge blowing out the other side of the skull. This caused the ghoul to drop to the floor dead. I quickly looked around for another opponent.

It took me a few seconds to realise, as I spun around looking frantically for another target, that there were none left. I processed this site in front of me and realised we had won. But at a cost.

The area was on a charnel house. Corpses lay all over the place. At the start, there were 18 of us here. I could see five others still standing. Two of them desperately tried to save wounded soldiers lying on the floor.

The bodies of zombies and soldiers are scattered all over the area. The area is smeared with black and red blood.

I saw that Gregson and Greco were still standing but covered in black blood. The two soldiers trying to save their comrades were failing. Both were severely wounded in the fight.

I was slightly shocked by the sheer intensity of the fight we had just been through. And so were the others. I walked over to Greco as I realised she was wounded. Her left arm had a nasty wound on it. Blood was steadily seeping from it and usually needed to be treated.

I re-sheath my Gladius and started to fumble for my med kit. The adrenaline keeping her on her feet was now exhausted, as she quickly slumped to the ground. I was able to catch her as she went down. She dropped the pistol she was holding.

“Stay with me, Greco. You have got a nasty injury on your arm. I need to look at it.” I told her, trying to remain calm. The adrenaline was starting to leave me now. I was beginning to shake. The cost of the battle on my body quickly became apparent with the pain I was feeling.

“John, is she okay?” Gregson asked as he came over, reloading his rifle.

“Give me a minute.” I was checking the injury on her arm.

“All right, I’ll check the perimeter.” He moved off.

Greco was missing a chunk of her arm from a bite wound. I could wound with a gauze bandage to stop the bleeding. She was in pain and was suffering from blood loss. There was a good chance that they were infected with the ghoul virus. It was known that the bite of zombies had a good chance of infecting you.

I had heard that there was a medication for it. I hope that they had some on-site here. She was in no danger, but that could quickly change.

After dealing with her wound, I look to the other survivors. One was reloading and the other was sitting on the ground crying. The two others that they were trying to save were dead. I knew that grave chill would be affected them.

“How am I doing?” Greco asked me weakly.

“You have lost a bit of your arm, but you live.” She nods at this.

“Gregson!” I called him. He quickly looks back at me and comes over.

“We need to go.” I tell him as he gets over to me. He nods and looks at Greco.

“How are you doing?” He asks.

“I’ll live.” She tells him as I help her to her feet. “Look!”

I turn to where she is pointing. The zone edge was now less than 5 m from the barriers.

“Fuck! We need a go now.” I get her to lean on Gregson as I move to reclaim my pistol and axe. Finding the pistol in all the mess and gore takes a few minutes. My axe is much easier to find.

Gregson used this time to get everyone onto the lorry at the back of the area we were defending that had the extra supplies. I ran up to the back of the truck and jumped onto it.

“Let’s go!” I called out. Gregson and Greco were in the cab and seemed to have a plan for where we were going. Looking at the other two soldiers in the back with me, it was clear the one who had been trying to save the others was broken mentally. He was going to have to be evacuated. I wasn’t sure about the other. We drove through the city that was almost totally abandoned now. We still saw drones and helicopters but, on the ground, hardly anyone.

Occasionally there was a small checkpoint of police and soldiers. But they were all getting ready to pull back. I wasn’t sure where. I wondered if they were planning to abandon the city altogether. Depression was hanging heavy over me. Today had been a hard day and wasn’t over yet. The external heat and internal cold kept me uncomfortable and on edge. The pain from the minor injuries I had acquired was not helping either.

The signs of the hurried evacuation were everywhere. I found it all too similar and familiar to places I had been before. But I have never seen it on this scale. I mused about how different it was here rather than seeing the news feeds.

We navigated through the streets until we reached a road bridge over a river. Here we were met by a large reinforced barricade. Greco got out and spoke to the defenders. After a brief conversation with Gregson, she came to the back of a lorry.

“The lorry is almost out of fuel. We need to leave it here.”

We get out and several soldiers come down from the barricades to take what little we have in supplies still left in the back. I look back East and see the zone approaching. In the North and West, the zone seemed more static.

The lorry is moved to a side road. Greco comes to speak to us.

“Command has assigned you to help defend this bridge. Goodbye, for now, I have been ordered back due to my injury. Sgt, I have additional info for you and will introduce you to the bridge senior officer.”

“I will stay here for a few minutes.” I told them. They knew I wasn’t going anywhere. I went off to take care of business.

I needed the alone time.