Necrocide

Chapter 70

Colonel Schaefer and the rest of his squad creeped down the main street of the Dead Center in their APC's. Deadmen were blasted to shreds by mounted machine guns while a soldier in another vehicle was hurling Molotovs at the surrounding structures. Jonah and Kat were in the farthest APC all the way at the back of the line, completely unaware their comrades were being killed off by their best friend.

Jonah had a rifle in one arm and his backpack in the other. He had ditched all of his collectibles except for the nail bomb. Kat sat across from him wearing the same kind of mask Aaron wore earlier, her arm curled around her favorite sniper rifle. Unlike most missions, they were silent the whole ride from Longridge. They feared having to see the day where they'd have to hunt down someone they cared deeply about. And today felt like that day.

"You don't think it's him, is it?" Jonah asked.

"Some of them say it's one of the Cutthroats from Lovecraft," Kat replied. "I didn't think a Cutthroat would be capable of killing multiple DZI so fast, especially since both of them are in danger of being attacked by Deadmen."

"You think we're being killed off by an infected Cutthroat?"

"What I'm saying is," Kat continued, now glancing back at Jonah, "whoever is out there will clearly do whatever it takes to survive."

Someone started banging on the wall of the APC. It turned out to be Vaughn from Matheson's forensics department, marking one of a few rare moments where he actually left the safety of the tower to join the DZI. "Mathis!" he shouted from the passenger's seat beside the driver. "Schaefer needs a sniper on deck."

"But Garrison is already manning the machine gun," Kat replied.

"That doesn't mean he's good at using it. Now get up there and take your sniper rifle with you."

Kat rolled her eyes before stepping out of her seat, still holding onto her rifle. "Sorry, Jonah," she said, grabbing his hand apologetically. "Duty calls."

"No worries, bruv," Jonah replied with an amiable grin as he let go of her hand. He watched her disappear up the ladder to the roof of the vehicle before awkwardly returning his view to the rest of his comrades.

Aside from him, Kat, and Vaughn, the rest of the DZI officers in the vehicle were Pyro Boys, named for their preference to use flamethrowers and Molotov cocktails when fighting Deadmen. They wore bright red hooded coats over bulletproof armor along with gas masks and goggles with reflective lens to hide their eyes. Hardly anyone knew who they were or what they looked like underneath those masks, but everyone could agree they were major assholes to say the least. Some of them were regulars of Matheson's prostitutes while others were known for setting animals on fire or getting drunk off the alcohol they used for their Molotovs. In fact, Jonah realized he wasn't the only one watching Kat disappear up the ladder.

"If she doesn't kick your arse, I will," he threatened.

Kat peaked her head out of the hatch and planted her sniper rifle's bipod on the edge of the vehicle. Her fellow DZI officer Garrison had his hands on the mounted machine gun, with most of his face obscured by the same green mask Kat wore. "Y'know I can take them out alone, Mathis," he said in his Geordie accent. "Or does Schaefer not trust my aim?"

"In all honesty, I know you could've taken them out on your own," Kat replied, looking into the scope. "I guess he wanted me to finish off any strays."

A horde of Deadmen came charging in from around the corner of an abandoned shop. "Guess we'll find out," Garrison added.

He rotated his gun over to the Deadmen and opened fire. The beasts were shredded apart by bullets in the blink of an eye, limbs flying and blood splashing. Several DZI soldiers outside the vehicle helped finish off them off with their own guns.