Heights

Vastly outnumbered yet having the advantage of greater mobility and higher ground, Courtney and Leon surveyed the town of Wakefield from the rooftop. There were a string of zombies stretching back as far as their eyes could see—thousands—and all of them were scampering to join the herd. On the other side of the building, stray zombies could be seen emerging from the flooded areas of town. Thankfully none had scaled the fire escapes to join them on the roof.

Now they just needed to find Dane.

Courtney took the rifle off her shoulder and pointed it into the distance, using the scope to view the rooftops far away. Most of the buildings in downtown Wakefield were the same height. None of them seemed to rise above six stories tall, so there was only about a ten-foot difference in some places. Most had a shack or a trap door with a staircase or a ladder that would lead down inside. She knew if she didn’t take care of Dane fast enough he might retreat into one of the buildings and hide, in which case she would probably never find him again.

She figured he would be near the vanguard of his army, but the rooftops in that direction were bare. She then turned her rifle in the direction she and Leon had traveled, towards Point Judith Neck.

That was when she discovered Dane.

He was hiding behind a small greenhouse erected on top of a building five rooftops away. Though she couldn’t see him directly due to the translucent panes of glass, his shadow betrayed him. The sun was beginning to fall from the west, so its light was concentrated to the east—right through the glass panes of the greenhouse, casting a long silhouette of his figure across the rooftop. It had to be him—the shadow of the antenna on the remote control he was holding gave it away.

She knew she would need to be much closer to fire an effective shot. Dane’s position was simply too far away and she couldn’t judge where exactly his head would be on the other side of the greenhouse.

An old piece of rusty iron grating was situated between her rooftop and the next, forming a makeshift bridge over the alley. It was only three feet wide and it was hard to tell how long it had been there. It didn’t look very secure, but that must have been what Dane used to cross over.

She lowered her rifle and turned back to Leon. “I know where he’s at,” she said. “He knows we’re here. He’s hiding from us.”

“No, he’s probably setting a trap,” Leon replied. He covered his mouth to suppress a cough, his face tensing up from the pressure in his lungs. He painfully continued, “If he’s smart enough to organize an undead-pride parade, then he’s smart enough to bait us into something.”

“Won’t happen,” she told him. She pointed to the rooftops in the other direction, past the vanguard of the mob, and said, “I’ll take Dane. You get the pack leader. Get in front of them where you can get a clear shot through the eyes of its helmet. Don’t go back down to the street. Stay up high.”

“You think I’m an action hero or something?” Leon scoffed, motioning with his arm to the gaping chasm three buildings away. “There’s an alley to jump over.”

“You can do it, stud. Just get the pack leader. It’ll be the only one that doesn’t look so damned aimless. You’ll recognize it.”

Unable to hold back any longer, Leon turned away from her, leaned over and put his hands on his knees, then began a coughing fit so hard and fierce that it startled even her. It sounded wet, like he was on the verge of vomiting.

Courtney put her hand on his shoulder and tried to comfort him. She whispered, “We’re almost done. The pack leader is probably the only zombie Dane equipped with a receiver to collect the signals he’s transmitting. If we stop the pack leader and Dane at the same time, it’ll be over.”

Leon continued coughing, eventually spewing droplets of gross yellow saliva. After taking a few moments to get his lungs under control again, he mumbled, “I’m trying, doll. I really am. I just don’t feel too good right now.”

She stepped in front of him and lifted his head so she could see his face. Though his physical appearance hadn’t worsened since the beach, she knew the infection inside his body was multiplying and consuming his organs. He was obviously trying to hide this pain from her, but his legs were noticeably trembling.

Through pale, chapped lips he uttered, “I bet you don’t think I’m such a pretty guy anymore, do you?”

She forced a slight grin as she replied, “You’re still a pretty guy.”

“So you finally admit it?” he asked. “You sleep with me, but you have to wait until I’m dying before you pay me a compliment?”

“You’re not dying.”

“Save it for the tourists,” he replied, bringing himself fully upright again. “Let’s get this over with.”

She took a step back and nodded her head with finality.

“Be careful with Dane,” Leon said.

“I will,” she replied. “You be careful too. We’ll meet back here when we’re finished.”

He nodded, though they both knew that meeting again might not be possible.

Leon took the rifle off his shoulder and held it at ready as he walked to the other side of the rooftop. He threw a leg over the short wall and put his foot on the adjoining building, then continued in the direction the zombies were headed on the street below.