The day was now late afternoon. This had not let up in the heat, however and I used this brief respite to continue to cool down. Henry is sitting next to me on the “wall” of containers. He is still trying to process what I told him.

In the distance, I could see the top of the zone. The weapons fire from the castle had died off. I know the zone edge had now passed it. The fighting would start again soon when it reached us.

Above us, there were now only drones flying around. Behind the domed building at the end of the plaza, I could still see helicopters landing and taking off. I could see that the meeting that Gregson and Hawk were in was over and they were heading back to me. Walker, the ever-shadowing presence behind Hawk.

All the British operatives gathered around Henry and me for a group meeting. I noticed that about a third of us from the plane was missing. This was gonna be interesting.

“All right people, this is the position wherein. We are going to try to make a stand here for as long as we can.” Behind us, along the road I’d come up, we could hear weapons fire. It looks like the first barrier has been engaged. Hawk just continued. “Euro Corps have almost completed the evacuation of the city. Only the Western part of the city remains. We will try to buy as much time as we can hear.”

He explained the new threats we had seen out in the eastern part of the city. I drowned this part out mostly as I lived through it. I did hear the gasps and muttering as they were explained to them. I looked over to Lou, who was listening off to the side while loading several combat shotguns.

Normally the British Army wouldn’t have any as they were banned under the Geneva Convention. But as zone threats were not human, it was deemed that combat shotguns were legal to be used against them. The shotguns were 12 gauge, I learned from the ammunition box. Lou was loading up the third one, the other two leaning against the crate next to him. They were the US military standard Remington’s, I think.

I heard the briefing change direction and quickly focused on it again.

“We are to hold here and along that route around the Basilica.” He was pointing to a map he had unfolded. “If you miss the helicopter transport, you head to the airport here. From there, we will arrange transport for you to get out.”

The airport here pointed to us when we arrived and was a fair distance from us at this moment. I really did not want to miss the flight and be forced to walk away to the airport with the zone chasing us.

Hawk pointed to our oppositions along the rough line of crates. Henry and I were holding the centre where we were sitting. An explosion echoed from the road behind me and I turned to see a plume of smoke.

They would be here soon.

We all got to the position assigned and got ready. I noticed that there were three other European operatives with us. So, there were 10 operatives here and the number surprised me.

Before I could ask Henry or Lou, there was another explosion. That would be the second line of barriers. I could see that the zone had reached the end of the road. The soldiers manning the last barriers were firing and I could make out the shapes of two of the big things I’d seen on the bridge heading away.

“Fuck this!” Henry muttered next to me.

“Smile Henry. It can always get worse.” I tell him jovially. He looked at me briefly and flipped me off. Lou laughs from my right.

There was a sudden blue flash and an explosion. This marked the end of the third barrier. The force of the explosion scattered the soldiers defending it; several were still clearly alive and injured.

“COVER!” I yelled as I jumped over the crates and ran towards the closest injured man. I pulled my pistol out from its holster as I realised had left my axe behind. Several zombies were coming through the smoke from where the barrier had been.

I didn’t hesitate. I pointed and fired. I took down the first quickly and weapons fire from behind me quickly began taking its toll on the others. I grabbed the nearest man to me who was still alive. His legs were messed up. I knew I didn’t have time to pick him up, so I dragged him with one hand. I held my pistol in the other and fired on any zombies that got too close.

Several others had left the position behind me. I will try and get the other wounded men. They were, however, too slow and the men were quickly killed by the zombies that got through the weapon’s fire. Their screams echoed around the Plaza, intermingling with the sound of weapons fire.

I managed to get the soldier back to my lines and Lou hauled him over the crates. They had been some of the most terrifying few minutes of my life. Looking back, I could see the trolls coming through the third barrier’s wreck. I was wrong. There weren’t two. There were three!

Watching their advance, I came up with a crazy idea. It was time to do something stupid.

“Shotgun!” I called to Lou. I put my pistol back into its holster. He didn’t hesitate and handed me one of the combat shotguns.

I turned to see that the trolls were absorbing the bullets being fired at them. They clearly had thick hides and a lot of body mass. The soldiers were now concentrating on firing on their heads which was a good idea. In response, they used their thick arms as a shield to block the incoming rounds. Moving forward at a slower rate because of it.

We could not focus on them exclusively because zombies were still running out from behind. Watching the trolls advance, I knew what I had to do.

I ran forwards a short distance, now separating us. I lifted the shotgun to my shoulder and pointed out the first troll. However, I wasn’t aiming at its upper body. I was aiming at its knee.

I pull the trigger and felt the kick of the shotgun firing. I didn’t hesitate and pumped a new shell into the chamber. I fired again. As my shield was strapped to my right arm, the expelled cartridge bounced off it and bounced off me again. I didn’t flinch as one bounced off my faceplate and just kept firing.

The trolls had long upper bodies and elongated arms. Their legs, however, were short and stumpy, which meant they didn’t move fast but were very reliant on their knees. So, unloading the full number of shells loaded into this combat shotgun had an effect.

I was forced to leap back as the first troll fell onto his face. It dawned on me at that moment that they were making no sound. No cries of pain or roars of challenge.

It was trying to pick itself up and I saw a second opportunity. I quickly unclipped one of the grenades Lou had given me from my wedding, pulled the pin and through under the down troll. I did not wait around and turned to leg it back to the crates. I heard and felt the blast behind me. The troll’s body absorbs most of the energy and shrapnel released.

“Another!” I tossed the empty shotgun to Lou. He caught it in the air and passed me another. Henry was firing at a target behind me. I turned once more, marking my next target.

I saw that the first troll was now on its knees. It’s just a bloody mess from the grenade. Black blood oozed down its body. The other two were moving around it now.

I went after the one to the right that was closer to me. I didn’t have to go far and quickly got the shotgun to my shoulder, ready to fire. Several zombies tried to intercept me but were taken out by weapons fire from behind me. It gets too close and I am forced to hit it with the flat of my shield, knocking it back. The side of its head exploded outwards as a bullet ripped through it.

I turned my attention to the second troll again. Fuck! They are close to the crates now. As with the first, I concentrate fire on its knee. It collapses as it tries to move forward and puts weight on it. As it falls forward, my last shell is fired and hits its shoulder.

I again leap back to avoid the falling mass and keep myself out of arm’s reach. My shoulder is throbbing now from the day’s abuse of my body. I grit my teeth and quickly pull another grenade for my wedding. As it tried to pick itself up, I rolled this one under its body again.

I run back to the crates for another shotgun. Behind me, I don’t hear the sound of a muffled explosion like I was expecting. It turns out I didn’t roll a high explosive grenade but a thermite one. Instead of shrapnel damage, the troll’s body was on fire.

AAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

It now was screaming in pain. A loud roar that was echoing around us was totally inhuman. So, they burn good that’s how you gonna stop them, I tell myself. It was trying to put itself out but failing onto the flames to smother them with thermite that would not work.

“Reload and more thermites!” I called over to Lou as I reached the crates. He nods and passes me the third gun.

“Give me time for more thermite grenades.” He tells me. I start digging around.

“I’ll see what I can do!”

“I’m coming with you!” Henry said, climbing over the line of crates. He was holding an assault rifle. “You need close in covering fire.”

“Stay close.” We had no time to argue.

We moved on to the third troll. Henry covered me as we advanced. He quickly took out several zombies with headshots that were getting too close.

This allowed me to take out the knee of the third troll just in time. I fired onto its right knee, facing it from its right side. It was ignoring us and was almost at the crates.

As it collapsed near the line of crates, soldiers and operatives behind them jumped back to avoid it. I couldn’t risk a thermite grenade here as I could set off any ammunition inside crates.

I did need to as the soldiers unloaded all their magazines into the creature’s head. It had a thick skull but could not withstand that volume of fire and collapsed inwards, killing it.

Henry was still picking off zombies over too close. I quickly turned to see what the first one was up to. The rest of the line had concentrated on it and it collapsed forward, its head destroyed by dozens of impacting rounds.

We won!

Looking down the road, I saw that the zone's edge was two-thirds of the way up the road. It would be here soon.

Suddenly I got the feeling that I was being watched again. The cold shiver down my spine and the hairs on my back stood up. Looking down the road, I could not see anything, but I knew I was being watched from within the zone.

I turned and quickly returned to the position I was first in hand at the shotgun off to Lou. Hawk came over to us.

“Well done. That will give us more time. Unfortunately, the zone is moving in and we will not be able to hold you much longer.” I nodded. That was obvious. I was still looking down the road to the zone edge.

“John, what’s wrong?” Lou asked me, noticing my distraction.

“Were being watched.” I told them.

“Do you know what by?” Gregson asked.

“No, not yet. But we’re about to find out.” I told them not to turn away from the zone edge approaching us.

Something was coming.