Any pretence of a defensive line had collapsed. No, slaughtered.

Those not killed outright ran back up the steps in full panic as the killers chased them. They were slicing through people as they fled.

Ironically this meant that they had bypassed us in pursuit of their prey. They were, at the moment, ignoring us.

“We got to go. Now!” I tell the others.

Henry doesn’t argue. He grabs Goldsmith hauling her back to her feet. She gasped in pain and her arm messed up badly. We don’t have time for first aid. She is holding her arm upwards against her chest, trying to slow the blood loss.

“This way.” We headed right away from the landing zones behind the Vatican. Looking into the fog, I quickly see more zombies starting to emerge. There is a shop of some kind just on the other side of the barriers.

Any port in a storm!

“Henry, the store!” He manoeuvres the wound Goldsmith towards it.

I swapped the gladius to my other hand and pulled out my pistol.

The zombies were moving to follow the armour things that had just ripped through us. We passed the remains of two soldiers and one of the European operatives. They were sliced apart and remained scattered about.

I almost threw up at the sight but was able to keep moving. I was ready for any zombies that came after us. Several of the closest broke and came for us. I had to make sure I kill-shot them as they came on. That meant they were going to be close.

I aimed and fired four times, each shot hitting a zombie square in the head. I quickly really aimed the gun every time I fired. Fortune was with me as they came in a staggered line and were easy pickings.

We quickly crossed the barriers and Henry broke through the gift shop door. He quickly pulled Goldsmith inside and I followed. There was nothing in the area that could use to barricade the door straight away, so we just kept moving.

It didn’t seem that any other zombies were interested in following us, as none came through the door after us. We didn’t waste this good fortune and quickly pushed to the shop, looking for an exit in the back. We found one and quickly got out a fire door into a car park behind the building. I resealed a fire door the best I could.

“I need to treat her injuries.” Henry told me. I looked over at the zone edge that was approaching us and you wouldn’t have long.

“We don’t have time. The zone is almost on us.”

“I know, but I’ve got to do it no,w or she will not make it.”

“Shit! Go ahead and I will do what I can to cover you.” He nods at this and begins to inspect the injuries on her arm.

I look around the car park and towards the approaching zone edge. There is no sign of any threats. In the sky, however, several drones are still buzzing around. We can hear weapons fire and screams coming from the main buildings of the Vatican.

Henry put out his med kit and Goldsmiths. He was focused on dealing with her injuries as she had sat down clearly in pain and suffering from blood loss. Her face had gone extremely pale.

I continue to scan around and look through the gap in the door but still no threat at the moment. We all knew that could change at any time.

It was at that moment that the feeling of being watched returned. This time far stronger than I had ever experienced before. I knew it was coming from the zone, but I couldn’t see where from. The grave chill was messing with my mind, but this was not linked to it.

The zone continued to push towards us and was getting dangerously close mere scant metres away, when Henry said he was finished.

“She patched up the best I can.” He helped lift her back to her feet.

“Can you move?” I asked her.

“Yes. But don’t expect me to fight any time soon.” She was honest with her assessment of her condition. We are all affected greatly by the chill, so we are now getting messages again about the pain in our bodies. Our bodies felt like they were close to freezing and our joints were aching with every step.

“Okay, let’s go. I will assume that the main LZ will be or is compromised now. We need to head one of the alternates.” I have pulled out my map that has been supplied and updated by Hawk. “Here behind this hotel.”

“Let’s get going. It’s a bit of a walk.” Henry agreed with me.

We quickly get moving and sheath my gladius to reload my pistol. I take stock and know that I have five reloads and two grenades on top of my sword and knife.

There is a major motorway just south of us. We choose to ignore that route ahead through the side streets heading east. We are hugging the side of the church as we go. We could head around to the LZ, but the sounds from the building and what we could make out behind the building now convinced us not to go that route.

As we walk, I look at the composite shield I am holding. The top third has been cleanly sheared off. That thing’s claws were beyond razor-sharp. The damage done to the bodies of those unfortunates we had passed confirmed they were something I didn’t want to run into again.

We didn’t bother with small talk and just kept moving. Time was of the essence here. The drones were mostly gone from the sky but to still with us. The zone edge was really close now had just passed the edge of the buildings and were in the car park near where we had exited the gift shop.

We follow the road around several buildings and under some archways turning south to a metal sheet gate. This will get us out of the Vatican’s walled-off section. The gate was open, which was a relief to all of us we quickly moved to it.

Henry and I were checking to ensure we were not missing anything as we moved forward. I was in the front and he was in the back, with Goldsmith in the middle.

We passed through the gate and came out onto a road that had a small car parking area. Nearly all civilian vehicles were gone and those few that remained have been clearly abandoned. Around, we could see the degree of people panicking as they fled and abandoned what they truly did not need.

We turned east again and followed the road until we reached the end. We went down an embankment to get to the road we had to cross, which was below where we were right now.

Looking at the map again as we walked, I realised we had to go onto the main road and follow it. We got onto the Piazzale Gregorio VII. I quickly walked down the broad dual-carriageway. The feeling of being watched faded as we moved away from the zoned. Which was a relief for me.

The others were following me and made no mention of the change. They trusted me to follow the best route to get them out here.

I know I knew the drones that were with us at the Vatican were clearly following us.

“Anyone got a long-distance radio?” I asked over my shoulder.

They both answered in the negative. I knew this was a long shot as technology such as radios were completely useless to us usually.

“Okay, we’ll use a flare when we get there.”

“Surely the drone operators will let them know where we are?” Goldsmith questioned.

“I’m hoping for the best in preparing for the worst.”

“All right then.” The fact that she wasn’t questioning everything clearly showed how badly wounded she was. Also, the depression from the grave chill was sitting heavily upon us all. We had to remain focused and dedicated to getting to our goal.

We continued walking down the road at a good pace and walked under several road and railway bridges. Walking under the railway overpass showed that we were close to where we wanted to be. The city was quiet and hopefully empty.

We walked a little further and then turned east along a side road. We continued forward along it to another junction and then went south again. According to my map, there was a hotel at the end of this road which we should pass. Behind it was a wooded area and what looked to be a football field. That was the backup landing zone for the attraction team.

We reach at least another 30 minutes later, the football pitch. The wooded area was far denser than we expected and we did not have time to hack through some of the shrubberies to get up there as it was also on an incline. We followed the path up, which took a little longer than we thought.

The zone is close behind us now. As soon as we reach the football pitch, I put away my pistol and pull out my flare gun. I reloaded the cartridge and fired off the emergency flare to the sky.

The two drones which had been shadowing us were still there. Flying around us in a rough circle. Now we had to wait, hoping that some transport would come and get us.

By now, the zone had overrun the Vatican’s main buildings and was not far from us, but we had some time for arrived. The day had progressed into the late afternoon, but the heat was still intense. I had unzipped my armour again as we walked and lifted my faceplate to try to find some relief. I also drained my canteen during the trip.

The effects of the grave chill on us were confusing. Externally we were sweating from the heat. Internally we were cold as hell. This did nothing to improve our mental state from the day’s events.

“God, I hate the stand waiting!” Henry was in a similar condition to me. Goldsmith, however, was the worst of the three of us.

“Sarah!” I heard Henry exclaim. She was behind me and I turned to find that she had collapsed to the floor. Henry had run over and was checking her vitals. I, too, went over to join him.

The arm bandage was soaked with blood and needed to be replaced. I handed over my med kit to Henry without a request. I stood guard as he changed the bandage. The smell coming from the wound was bad as he removes the bandage. We both gagged.

The wound below was clearly affected. Green and yellow pus was oozing from the wound and we can clearly see black veins running through the skin where exposed.

“Fuck! That’s not good.” Henry said.

“You think she’s affected by the ghoul virus?” I asked.

“I don’t know.” The concerning his voice was obvious. She was not in a good way. She had clearly become feverish as well. This was no sudden onset of symptoms. She had remained quiet during our journey to hide the worsening condition. She was on the verge of losing consciousness.

I looked around and noted that only one of the drones was still there. In the distance, I could see several helicopters flying around and I think one was heading in our direction.

“I think we have a pickup in coming.” Henry did not look up as he was focused on Goldsmith.

“I hope so. If not, we are gonna lose her.” He was frank in his assessment of her condition.

As I watched, the helicopter was deftly heading in our direction. We were on the edge of the football field and was plenty of space for it to land. I looked back towards the zone and we had time to get out.

The helicopter landed on the pitch, the side door opened, and the crewmen exited. She came over to as in a crouched jog to avoid the propeller blades. Realising that Goldsmith was wounded, she returned and bought a stretcher with her. We loaded Goldsmith onto it and strapped her down. We carried her back to the helicopter, loaded her in, and boarded ourselves.

As we took off, I looked back as the zone swept through what was left of the Vatican grounds. I knew we had lost today.