Luis began talking on the radio, relaying the good news. The sound of a raging firefight echoed outside.
I bursted the glass display open with the butt of my PARA-FAL sending glass everywhere. I did a thorough job making sure I wouldn't rip the flag as I took it out of the display.
I took the silver laurels first, stepping inside the display and reaching with my hands, I took it off the mannequin. I took my boonie hat off letting it fall to the floor and wore the crown.
Afterwards I took the flag off the display cautiously.
“Yes, he got the relics, we’re ready to go. Understood, out.” Luis said over the radio, he was crouched by the door, the dog was beside him.
“We gotta regroup at the entrance, there’s a huge horde coming and the Harpies will take some time to reach us.” He said as I approached.
“What about the bombing?” I questioned.
“They are coming, our timing is good so we should be able to come out of this alive.” He said as he stood up.
The dog barked and ran out of the room.
As the sounds of firing resounded from outside like a great waterfall, we moved through the halls, following the dog. The flag was a bit too tall for the building which made it a bit difficult to move through the thresholds and stairs.
We reached the outside, the air was cold and the rain was still falling below the gray sky. The sounds of the guns echoed throughout the empty streets now bustling with action.
The flag hustled in the cold wind while Luis and my squad moved to the barricades.
I took my time and took a breath while admiring the golden-green standard in my hands.Reluctance clouded my heart at that moment like an invisible weight trying to stop me from moving. There was something very eerie with that standard.
I ignored it, closed my eyes, took an even deeper breath and followed Luis and my squad to one of the many barricades, Flag in hands and the FAL in my sling beating against me as I ran.
The enemy… there were so many of them, the floodwater was becoming red as the bodies piled up, the rifles kept on firing and they kept on coming, all shapes and sizes, from kids turned undead to giant abominations of muscle and bony protrusions, it was like the monsters in the abyss of our nightmares were given freedom to roam the world.
Our position was composed of some civilian cars put together to form a makeshift wall.
Reaper, our flamethrower operator, was with us; he's pretty much an unofficial part of our squad, clenching his LCT1 flamer, his Raincoat and fuel tank making him a characteristic silhouette among the bracing men in the barricade.
Luis was shooting in careful aimed shots, bracing against a car’s windshield, he had magazines laying on top of the car, ready for use.
Paulo, our machinegunner was giggling like a maniac while making his gun giggle with fire, he set the gas to the highest setting and fired in short bursts, making a characteristic cloth-tearing sound. He wore a standard camo uniform, an old and worn ALICE pack, filled with ammo, he relied on us to carry his daily amenities, preferring to carry the bare minimum of with him and filling the rest of the pack with ammo, we called him mule because of that.
These three weren’t the only ones there, but the only ones that I could recognize beneath this rain.
I came closer, bringing the flag up making sure everyone could see it.
The Flag fluttered proudly while the men fired away, the undead screamed, but not in pain.
They started retreating, they turned away from the barricade and ran the opposite direction, leaving carcasses and cut-off limbs behind, it was spectacular. They are usually nothing but mindless husks of hate and evil, but they showed intelligence upon seeing the banner. A scary sight indeed, but an awesome one too. The flag brought fear into the hearts of those mindless abominations, it saved us.
“Corporal Matias!” The familiar voice of my sergeant was directed to me. “Good fucking job, you fucking crazyfuck”
He approached me, the Sergeant was a middle aged average sized man, the opening signs of a beard in his worn out face, he was my instructor in basic training so he knew me quite well.
While Sarge was congratulating me on a job well done, I saw that dog, the same one from the museum, he ran towards the barricade at full speed, splashing the flood water as he moved. When he reached the barricade he jumped on top of one of the cars and started barking, barking very aggressively.
“What the fuck is that mutt doin’?” Mule said, while he reloaded his MAG. He dropped some cold water on top of the barrel of his gun after he finished.
“SHIT SHIT SHIT, guns ready, guns ready caralho!” I said while pointing towards the street, a short period of calmness during a firefight was a sure sign of an enemy counterattack, and experience taught me to trust dogs.
FALs, IA2s and MAGs were reloaded, the sound of magazines entering the wells and bolts being cocked were heard, almost in unison.
And then, nothing. We waited and waited while the rain fell on our faces and mingled with our sweaty anxiety.
“Matias… i think it’s over” Luis said, while maintaining his eyes on his sights.
The flag fluttered, while the rain continued to fall on us.
And then, the rage-filled screams echoed in the streets, followed by a stampede of feet, it came for us.
These zombies, the old ones that were laying under the sun for a long time they turn decrepit and unable to run, unable to move correctly, they are like flesh puppets, but this time, even the most decrepit ones were running, running towards us, toothy smiles on their furious faces, it was surreal.
“FIRE! FIRE! FUCKING FIRE!” Sarge proclaimed and set an example with his IA-2 rifle firing away in full auto.
Mule followed, and the rest of the guys soon supplanted them.
They kept firing, the bodies kept on piling up but something kept pushing the undead closer and closer, their disfigured bodies still reminiscent of people brought with them the acrid smell of rot and disease.
Bones, flesh and muscle were being destroyed by bullets, like meat being hacked away in a butchery, some continued to move even after losing most of their bodies, fueled by some unnatural evil.
“Fireteam Brahvoh! retreat, Fireteam Alpha will cover us” Sarge said, while pointing to the guys in Fireteam Bravo to move back, while me,Luis, Reaper, Mule, Sarge and two other guys stayed.
I didn’t fire my gun, I had to hold the flag.
“Back, Back, move back!” Sarge said while he popped a new STANAG magazine in and moved back, keeping his aim at the street, Mule followed, Reaper Sprayed flames on the barricade while the rest of the guys moved back.
The sound of aircraft was heard in the distance, Super Tucanos escorting the C130s that were carrying the thermobaric bombs that would level this place. Luckily the C130s were nowhere to be seen, the Super Tucanos always come first to make sure the airspace is clear for the slower C130s.
We thought that the flames were gonna give us some breathing space, but they kept on coming, burning as they came.
So many of them, So fucking many, they just kept on coming, some of them had bony protrusions on their bodies, it acted as both weapons and armor.
“Where are the helicopters?” I heard one of the soldiers ask in between the firing
“I don’t know fuck, I don’t know, now shoot, shoot!” Another one responded.
Were we fated to die here? Did the company commander really send us to death for a flag and a crown?
We kept on retreating while the bodies of both friend and foe piled up, when we left the asphalt and reached a part of the green park I stabbed the flag into the ground, and started using my rifle.
“Don’t retreat!” Sarge proclaimed upon seeing me “We need space for the helicopters to land, DON’T RETREAT!”
I fired and I fired, the metal folding stock hitting my shoulder was like a form of meditation for me, I could shut myself off while keeping my concentration on what’s in front of my sights.
I didn’t need to care about dying. I wasn’t a kid anymore, I didn't need to feel scared anymore. I’m sure Saint Peter would greet me when I reached the gates.
They reached us, no matter how much we fired the tide was closer and closer, grenades exploded around us but it did little to change the unwavering tide.
They managed to pull one of the guys closer to me into their mass, they tore him to pieces while he screamed as loud as he could. I was in the middle of reloading. I was forced to watch. I could feel sadistic satisfaction in their faces while they tore the young man limb by limb.
They looked at me, and I knew that’s how I would die.
The sound of rotor blades was heard in-between the firing, like the singing of angels, like a desert mirage in sound form, it was a dream. I smiled, I smiled like never before I knew I wouldn't die today.
https://youtu.be/4rTb20IoM4I
Puma helicopters, armed with Skyfire rocket pods attached in an improvised way to the sides, fired over us, their lethal payload like rocks impacting quiet water, hope given rocket form.
They came closer, making the flag flutter even strongly on the wind.
“We are leaving! Get on the choppers!” The Lieutenant exclaimed while pointing towards the now landed choppers behind us, their side gunners firing away over us.
“SELVA!” Was heard almost in unison by everyone still standing.
I slinged my FAL and reached for the flag, someone clawed away at me, cutting the side of my face as it reached for the flag.
I instinctively pulled it towards me, a shot rang and the undead body that tried to steal it was lifeless on the floor. I took the flag and ran as fast as I could towards one of the Pumas while being pursued by the enemy.
I boarded it making sure the flag would enter, I was one of the last to enter, the undead followed me but before they could reach the doors the helicopter began to climb up.
I looked around, the helicopter was filled with people, like a bus in rush hour, the smell of blood, wet clothing and sweat was heavy in the air. I heard a dog barking happily inside the chopper too near one of the seats, the caramel mutt, happy as everyone else.
The sound of jubilation echoed in the chopper, like a christmas reunion, everyone was hugging each other and congratulating themselves. There was blood all over the side of my face and parts of my shirt, half of the flag was gone, the rest was dirtied with blood.
I took the laurel crown out of my head and looked out from one of the windows, we were already alway from the place, the undead were nothing but dots.
I saw a C130 with an open ramp approaching it flew over the plaza where we were making a stand. Short moments of anxiety later something slid off We were too far away to discern what exactly it was a parachute opened, providing a good clue about the nature of the object..
A loud explosion was heard, everyone shutted up and looked out to see a gray liquid cloud on top of the park a few moments later an even louder explosion rang and a shockwave of destruction spread around, destroying the plaza.
We won.
