The first steps were the hardest.
Andrew watched the street for a few seconds longer, studying the slow movement of the walkers drifting between abandoned cars and across the street.
Then he raised his hand.
Two fingers pointed down the street.
Soap and Gaz understood immediately.
They each held a glass bottle and waited for Andrew's signal.
Andrew scanned the street one more time, judging the direction the herd was drifting. When he found the spot he wanted, he gave a short flick of his hand.
Soap threw first.
The bottle arced down the road and shattered loudly against the pavement.
The sharp crack echoed between the silent buildings.
Several walkers turned immediately, their heads twitching toward the sound.
Gaz threw his bottle seconds later, sending it crashing against the side of a parked van further down the block.
More heads turned.
Slowly, the herd began to shift. Walkers drifted away from the parking lot, drawn toward the broken glass and the fading echoes.
Andrew watched the movement carefully.
The path in front of them began to thin.
He gave another quick signal.
Move.
The group stepped out from between the parked cars and into the street.
They moved slowly, the civilians kept in the center while the Rangers spread slightly around them. The foul-smelling clothes draped over their gear hung stiffly as they advanced through the thinning edge of the herd.
Walkers shuffled nearby, some only a few meters away.
One drifted across their path.
Ghost subtly shifted his direction and passed it without touching it, the rest of the group adjusting their steps to follow.
The walker barely reacted.
They continued forward.
Step by careful step, they moved through the scattered figures until the dark mouth of an alley came into view ahead.
Only three walkers wandered near the entrance.
Andrew stopped the group with a raised fist.
The Rangers immediately froze.
Price glanced toward the alley, then gave a quick hand signal.
Ghost. Soap. Gaz.
The three moved forward slowly, circling wide so the walkers wouldn't face them all at once.
Ghost reached the first one.
His knife came up in a smooth motion and drove into the base of the walker's skull. The body sagged without a sound.
At the same moment, Soap stepped in behind another and buried his blade into the back of its head, catching the corpse before it could collapse loudly.
Gaz finished the third with a quick, practiced strike.
The three bodies were lowered quietly to the ground.
Ghost glanced back and gave a small nod.
Clear.
Price gestured forward.
The group slipped into the alley one by one, disappearing into the narrow shadows between the buildings while the distant herd continued drifting toward the shattered glass down the street.
Only once the last of them entered the alley did Andrew allow himself to breathe a little easier.
Tall brick walls rose on both sides of the alley, their windows dark and lifeless. Trash bins, broken pallets, and scattered debris narrowed the passage until the group had to move in a loose single file.
The smell was worse here.
Rotting garbage mixed with the sickly sweet odor clinging to the walker guts draped over their gear.
Andrew raised a hand again, slowing their pace.
They advanced carefully, boots placed with deliberate precision to avoid loose debris. A crushed soda can near the wall earned a quick warning gesture before anyone stepped near it.
Price moved just behind Andrew, his eyes constantly scanning their surroundings.
Soap stayed near the middle of the group, keeping the civilians close along the Rangers, while Ghost and Gaz covered the rear.
Halfway down the alley, Andrew stopped again.
A single walker stood ahead near a dented dumpster, its back turned toward them. The corpse swayed slightly as it gnawed aimlessly on something clutched in its hands.
Andrew studied it for a moment before stepping forward.
Each movement was slow. Controlled.
Silent.
The walker shifted faintly, its head beginning to turn as if sensing something out of place.
Andrew closed the remaining distance before it could fully face him.
The hatchet sank into its skull with a dull, wet sound.
The walker went limp immediately.
Andrew held the body upright for a moment before carefully lowering it beside the dumpster. Only then did he pull the hatchet free.
He glanced back and gave a short hand signal.
Clear.
The group resumed moving.
They were nearing the end of the alley now.
A narrow service street opened beyond it, leading toward the next block they needed to cross.
Andrew approached the corner and crouched beside the wall.
Slowly, he leaned just far enough to look around the edge.
The street beyond was wider than he expected.
Abandoned vehicles clogged both sides of the road, some with doors hanging open, others burned out and blackened.
And the walkers…
There were more of them than he liked.
Not a full herd.
But enough that crossing openly would be dangerous.
Andrew pulled back into the alley.
Price was already watching him.
Andrew made a small circular motion with two fingers.
Walkers.
Then he pointed toward the street and raised three fingers.
Rough count.
Price nodded slowly.
Not ideal.
Behind them, one of the civilians shifted nervously, clearly sensing the tension even without understanding the silent signals.
Soap leaned closer to Andrew.
Barely above a whisper, he murmured,
"Plan?"
Andrew glanced back toward the street, thinking.
Then he made two quick hand signals.
Bottle.
Then a slicing motion across the street.
Price understood immediately and gave a small nod.
Soap and Gaz quietly pulled two more glass bottles from their gear.
Andrew pointed farther down the service street, well past the crossing point.
Soap stepped forward and tossed the first bottle in a smooth arc.
It shattered loudly against the pavement near an overturned car.
A second later Gaz threw his.
The glass exploded against the hood of a car further down the road.
The sound echoed between the buildings.
Several walkers immediately turned toward the noise, their heads snapping in the direction of the breaking glass. Slowly, the group of corpses began drifting away, shuffling toward the source of the disturbance.
Andrew watched the shifting mass carefully.
Not all of them moved.
Five walkers still wandered close to the alley entrance.
Too close.
Andrew raised five fingers and pointed toward the walkers near the alley entrance.
Then he tapped his chest.
Price. Soap. Two Rangers.
The selected men gave small nods and stepped forward.
They moved out of the alley slowly, spreading just enough to approach the distracted walkers from different angles.
The first one fell quickly.
Soap slipped in behind it and drove his knife into the base of its skull, catching the body before it could collapse against the pavement.
A second walker began to turn, drawn by the faint movement.
Price closed the distance in two silent steps and buried his blade into the side of its head, guiding the corpse down carefully.
Nearby, one of the Rangers intercepted another that had begun drifting back toward the alley. He grabbed the walker by the collar and forced his knife through the eye socket, twisting before easing the body to the ground.
Two remained.
Andrew stepped forward to meet the nearest one.
The hatchet came down in a short, controlled swing, cracking into the side of the walker's skull. The corpse folded instantly.
The last walker barely had time to react before the second Ranger drove his blade up under its jaw and into the brain.
Silence returned to the street.
Further down the road, the distant herd continued drifting toward the broken glass.
Andrew scanned the area for another moment, making sure nothing had noticed the brief struggle.
Satisfied, he turned back to the group and gave a quick hand signal.
Move.
The civilians were guided out first, the Rangers spreading around them as they stepped into the open stretch of asphalt.
Every step felt too loud.
Every second stretched longer than it should.
A walker several cars away turned its head slightly, as if sensing movement.
But the smell of the rotting clothes draped over their gear seemed to confuse it, and the corpse slowly lost interest.
One by one, the group crossed the street and reached the far side.
Ghost and Gaz slipped into the alley last, weapon raised as they checked the corners.
After a moment Gaz glanced back and gave a small nod.
The alley stretched ahead of them before opening onto another narrow service street.
Andrew slowed the group again and pulled the folded map from his pouch.
He crouched beside a dented dumpster while Price knelt beside him.
Andrew traced a finger along the grid of streets before tapping a spot only a short distance ahead.
"Here."
Price leaned closer, studying the map.
"The Fox News building."
Andrew nodded.
"One block over. Maybe two, depending on how we approach it."
Price traced the surrounding streets with a gloved finger, quickly measuring the remaining distance.
"Closer than I expected."
He glanced up the alley, listening to the distant groans drifting through the city.
Soap leaned slightly closer, eyeing the map.
"Let me guess," he muttered. "Place is crawling with walkers."
Andrew folded the map and slipped it back into his pouch.
"Most likely."
Price rose to his feet and adjusted the SMG that was attached to his vest.
"So we move quiet and we move careful."
He gave a short hand signal.
Move.
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Hi everyone. Due to a busy period,it will take a bit more time to finish a chapter. So i can't say when a chapter will be posted. I will continue the story and i have no intention of abandoning it.