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That night – the night of the mission, when it all went down - the weather was really, really nice. The moon shone bright and they barely needed to use their flashlights.
Frank and his Nightrunners, or at least those who decided to stay with him, fuck Hakon and his pessimistic nature, established a temporary camp on the roof of the building with the perfect view over the VNC tower’s entrance.
‘It looks innocent on the outside’ said Edgar who crouched next to him. The only feature Frank could see of him were his blue eyes; his fellow Nightrunner usually hid under the hood and covered his face with a mask. ‘It is not even “growling” as much as some buildings. If you know what I mean.’
‘It’s because Volatiles don’t growl,’ answered Ivy, pragmatic as always. She stood just next to them. She was small and slender, but very agile. She and Hakon were probably two of Frank’s fastest Nightrunners... The thought of Hakon only irritated Frank even more. Let the bastard join them and Frank will really kick his ass. ‘They scream… or rather screech. If there is really a nest inside, it’s possible they can also command other types of infected to behave well.’
Edgar glanced at her skeptically from under his hood.
‘This again?’ he asked. ‘Do you really think they still have any brain left in those rotten heads, Ivy?’
‘Someone in the canteen told me about…’ Ivy hesitated. ‘A strange man. Masked even more than you, he also talked weirdly.’
‘So you really did believe in a tale of some weird masked man in the canteen, who was probably just drunk, and not what you can see with your own set of eyes.’
‘I just had this feeling that… Whatever. You are not going to believe me anyway. You “don’t believe in myths and urban legends”.
‘Exactly.’
Frank couldn’t care less about some weird man in the canteen and his drunk theories. He focused and looked through his binoculars again, trying to spot the most important parts of the building for his plan to succeed. His companions stopped talking, maybe aware of his bad mood.
But honestly, how could his mood not be bad? Frank had a plan, a good, honest plan. And exactly when he was halfway through explaining it, Hakon – the same Hakon that joked with him about his ex-wifes half a day before – had looked Frank dead in the eye and said:
‘Is this some kind of a sick joke, Frank? Because if it is, ha ha, very funny. And now we can all agree to stop wasting our time.’
They were sitting in Fish Eye, in one of the rooms upstairs that was reserved only for them. They didn’t have much light, so Frank could hardly see some of his people but they were anyway all located around the table with the map on it. They were all listening closely; Hakon was the only one that was bold enough to just cut in.
‘Don’t be an asshole, Hakon,’ answered Frank, sneaking into his tone a little bit of a warning. He and Hakon were best friends, but if you asked Frank, Hakon could be a real idiot at times. The man also had this tendency to speak before thinking which sometimes made the communication really difficult. ‘It’s possible. We just need to stay away from the main rooms, use the staircase or lifts… Maybe even climb this second tower, who knows. I don’t ask you to fight Volatiles with sticks.’
‘But it may come to it, won't it?’ Hakon did a few steps right and left, crossing his arms. ‘All it takes is one closed door. Broken stairs. It is a Volatile nest after all, isn’t it?’
‘It is.’ Frank had no desire to lie to his Nightrunners, but he started to become slightly irritated. ‘But our intel states that the building is not wholly overrun by them. During the day the sun shines into the apartments on upper floors, so the biggest amount of the infected stays on lower levels. And in the basement.’ Frank tapped at the map with his finger. ‘That’s why we are not going in through the main entrance and as fast as possible, we need to climb up.’
Hakon didn’t look entirely convinced. He shook his head. The tension in the room became more and more apparent; all eyes were on them, the Nightrunners waiting who will gain an upper hand in the talk. Frank was their chief, but Hakon and Cillian were almost as respected, especially since they were first Nightrunners to ever exist.
‘In all honesty, Frank, how many of us are there, more or less thirty people able to fight?’ asked Hakon after a moment. He turned and looked around – to Frank’s disappointment, some of the Nightrunners nodded. ‘Against hundreds, no, thousands of infected in eighty-what-not store building? It’s madness, Frank, not a plan. I don’t agree with it.’
‘What happened to the belief there are things more important than death?’ demanded Frank, trying to stay calm and failing. ‘That we are fighting for something more than only us? It’s in our creed, Hakon!’
That seemingly made Hakon really angry. The man almost growled, but instead took a few steps and approached their creed hung on the wall. Only then he answered, his last words emphasizing by tapping on the poster with his finger:
‘There will be no creed, no sacrificing, no saving common people, no things more important than death if we. Are all. Dead!’
Frank pursed his lips.
‘You are actually going to disobey my command?’
He didn’t really want to use this argument but it seemed he had no other choice. Hakon grabbed his head in the notion that looked like disbelief and then tilted it. After that, he actually looked back at Frank and said matter-of-factly:
‘Yes, if the said commander is trying to get us all killed.’
This one sentence was for Frank almost like being hit directly in the face. Has this bastard just suggested that Frank wants the Nightrunners to fall? That he wants bad for his brothers and sisters who, except for Lawan, were the closest thing he could call his family?
‘You know what, Hakon?’ said Frank, looking straight into the man’s face. ‘Fuck off.’
The tension in the room was at its peak – and then it all disappeared. Hakon turned around, infuriated, ready to go out – and then Cillian stepped in.
‘No offense, Frank, to you or your capabilities as a leader, but I think Hakon might be onto something here,’ he said carefully, but with conviction in his voice. ‘Maybe let’s talk more, try to find the common ground.’
That was a little bit too much. Frank hit the table with an open palm.
‘I thought it all through!’ he yelled. ‘It’s not a mere whim. I thought about it day and night for weeks now. It’s all going to work if we just stick together. Think about the outcome, about what we try to achieve here! Radio New Hope, actually being able to bring hope to people! You really consider simply chickening out?’
‘There is chickening out and there is good judgment,’ answered Cillian with his low voice. ‘We don’t want bad for the Nightrunners too, Frank.’
‘There is no use discussing it with him, Cillian, really.’ Hakon’s glaze was cold as ice. He took Cillian’s hand off his arm. ‘The idiot dug his heels in, you are not going to convince him. And you heard him anyway. If I have a different opinion, I am to fuck off. Good! I am going to fuck off. I hope you’ll be happy with your damn silence, chief commander Frank Marwey. My congratulations. You plan on sending your people to a suicide mission. Do you know what I am going to do now?’
No one managed to stop him and anyway, no one has expected it. Hakon stomped to the wall, grabbed the poster with their creed on it and just torn it in half.
Everybody froze. Frank couldn’t imagine more fucking petty move, more stupid symbol of revenge. He grabbed the edge of the table more firmly, trying not to simply scream at Hakon. Finally, he managed through gritted teeth:
‘Fuck off if you will. And take anybody who agrees with you. I don’t want to look at you.’
Hakon really went away that day, taking a few Nightrunners with him. Then Frank and Ravik’s glances met. Shit, even his calmest friend looked like he doubted the whole idea.
For a moment Frank really hesitated. But then he thought about all those steps they took to avoid any disasters and then about what they could achieve if they succeeded. Because of those two things he didn’t even raise his head while Hakon and the others were leaving the room. It was only a few people. Their mission was still possible.
Ravik and Cillian stayed with him then to hear the entirety of a plan, but at the day of the mission they hadn’t come - at least they didn’t till the moment Frank and his Nightrunners were standing at the roof of that building. A lot of other people resigned over time, probably convinced, like Cillian, by fucking Hakon. Alright, if they wanted to act like children, Frank didn’t plan on following suit. They were officially out. Let them try to ask him for forgiveness.
‘It seems that everybody who officially wanted to come is here.’ Dave was such a quiet Nightrunner it was a marvel to hear him speak and it actually surprised Frank. He swore mentally. Dave was great at sneaking around and often took them by surprise. ‘If Hakon didn’t change his mind… There won’t be any more of us.’
Edgar looked at the group standing nearby and crooked his head.
‘Ten… Fifteen… Only around eighteen people,’ he said skeptically. ‘Around half, maybe a little more. Do we wait for the rest, Frank?’
They’ve all fallen silent; the wind was blowing constantly. Frank again looked at the tower. They’ve managed to overcome so many obstacles, climbed sky creepers, went through Dark Zones full of Volatiles. Risked their lives every day for a higher purpose.
Seriously, fuck Hakon. Frank was absolutely sure he and Cillian were trying to force him into abandoning the mission. He was sure the rest must be observing them and they will appear once they understand there is no going back. And then Frank will tell them they are both late and fucking idiots.
‘We go,’ he answered simply. ‘You know what our creed is. By doing this we agree to die, sooner or later. The rest will join us if they can, but we can’t turn back now. There are things more important than death.’
‘To bring hope.’ Edgar rubbed his hands. Recently he also, just like Cillian, decided to take under his wing a Nightrunner apprentice. This time, however, it was a girl. In their group there weren’t many women, but if they could prove they were able to go through the training, they were obviously allowed in. ‘Through darkness to light.’
‘Through darkness to light,’ mumbled Ivy, and then she added something under her breath, probably some religious comment. Frank wasn’t sure how one stayed religious after the fall of civilization, but it looked like some people managed it somehow. ‘Let’s get this over with, shall we?’
It looked like everybody agreed. They’ve checked their gear for the last time, made decisions about their choice of weapon, tied their shoelaces. And then, they all got moving.
Observing the Nightrunners running through the city was like watching a group of extremely talented athletes or gymnastics. They were incredibly fast and agile, sometimes one could argue they didn’t take an unnecessary step during their runs. Some of them jumped onto the ground and killed a few infected, some helped to quickly take out Howlers. Frank decided to use his paraglider to get to the bottom of the tower.
Everybody was heading to the side of the building. There they were to climb over fancy supporting beams that were attached above the ground floor. From there Frank planned to find the window they could fairly safely be taken out to get inside and then, to get to an inbuilt fire escape staircase. It was almost certain the stairs wouldn’t be completely free of the infected and damaged but they were surely the safest option for them to get in.
As for now all went well. They’ve managed to get to the room on the first or second floor. Dave looked through the window, nodded and then broke the glass with the back of his axe. They’ve all gone inside slowly but steadily, one after the other, sneaking with their weapons in hands.
Dave showed Frank by gesture he was going to have a look around. They were standing in the small office room without the door, but with a doorframe clearly visible in sight. Behind the room they could see a big open space of a main hall. Almost everywhere they could also notice sleeping infected – Frank and a few others Nightrunners immediately killed those nearby to let people fully into the building. Yet, there were still hundreds of biters nearby, standing and sleeping, in the hall and on different floors.
And up there, on the balcony… Ivy lightly tapped Frank’s arm and pointed at the same thing he was already looking at. Someone – something – was walking right and left with characteristic erratic movements, something big and scary, silent except for quiet clicking noise. Initially Frank thought he was looking at the viral, but the stray ray of moonlight revealed something else – long, white arms with wide claws, characteristic long face with destroyed jaw, chest covered in armor-like substance.
There was no way they could have contacted Dave. Except for their initial meeting they’ve decided to use only their own channel and use it only in times of emergency. Calling Dave now, when he was sneaking around, could be a death sentence to him. And so, they all just stood crouched in darkness, looking wearily at the Volatile patrolling his space above the hall. Frank was the person standing the nearest to the doorframe so he instead focused on observing the slight movement in place when he presumed Dave would be sneaking around.
Again, Ivy tapped at his arm slightly.
‘It doesn’t make sense he is the only one out there,’ she whispered so quietly he hardly heard her. ‘I’ll cover the right wing.’
‘You sure?’ he answered.
Ivy just winked at him and showed him thumbs up before sliding off into the darkness of the main hall.
There was nothing more they could do but to wait and watch the Volatiles’s moves. It was hard to determine where exactly were their Nightrunners scouts, but it was obvious alarming even one biter would end up in a catastrophe; not only in terms of the mission, but probably their lives.
Suddenly there was a very quiet clatter noise, then scratching. Some of the infected moved slightly, the Volatile stilled for the moment, they’ve all stopped breathing – next soft sound – and then on their left, near the wall of the building, a soft green glow appeared on the ground.
Dave was their usual scout. It seemed he remembered to take with him their special “improved” lamps; the ones that didn’t alert the infected, but was visible to the human eye. Frank looked back to see if he could maybe spot Ivy – there was no way to actually communicate with her, just hope she saw the signal – and went to join Dave.
And so they went, one after another, slowly but carefully, skilful as always. One step after another, bend in half of actively crouching, listening to their own breaths, beating of their hearts, quiet growling and sniffing of the infected. It turned out Dave really did find the staircase they were hoping for. It was a narrow corridor with stairs going up and down, but quite well lit because of the glass wall at its back. Some Nightrunners needed to go slightly up and down to fit into the corridor, and so after some gestures from Frank Adrien went up to check the upper floor for safety reasons – as much as they could be safe in this hellhole – and Edgar to check the lower levels.
Frank and Dave stayed at the door counting the Nightrunners that were coming in. Thirteen… Fourteen…
Suddenly there was a suspicious sound - like something heavy hit the floor? - and then this clicking noise nearby. Frank as well as others stilled at once. Through the only slightly opened door they could see the nearest Nightrunner, bend in half, and his widely open eyes. The man hadn’t even blinked, frozen in place but visibly ready to run or fight. Frank didn’t have any doubts that if the Volatile saw him, Victor would just run to distract the infected, to sacrifice himself, and it scared him half to death. The Volatile sounded like he was directly behind the doors…
Suddenly there was a subtle, but strong noise on the other side of the hall. The Volatile screeched and then ran away – and Victor, with steady movements that seemed almost impossibly slow, finally managed to get to them.
‘Motherfucker,’ he whispered seemingly to himself, just slouching next to them, breathing heavily. ‘He was like- Like this far. Ugly as fuck. Ugly fucker. If not for my luck…’
The next Nightrunner in line, another woman, sneaked in. She stood up and then said quietly:
‘I don’t think it was luck at all, Victor.’ There was weight in her words. She wiped her brow with her sleeve, but didn’t seem to be distressed by the whole action. ‘Or that its name is Ivy.’
They fell silent. One more Nightrunner sneaked in, and then they all collectively looked at the door.
‘We need to go,’ said someone. ‘We don’t have time to waste.’
‘We can split up,’ suggested someone else. ‘I can wait for her.’
And then all eyes were on Frank. Before he managed to say anything, though, there was the quiet sound coming from his radio, subtle and fast. He covered the speaker with his finger and then looked up – Adrien showed him the thumbs up.
‘Next floors are relatively quiet,’ he explained. ‘They are mostly free of the infected and closed. You can talk freely… Well, maybe not fully freely, but...’
‘We get it, Adrien.’
‘The basement looks… Dark. I’ve heard some weird noises down there, but staircase is damaged and we should be ok,’ added Edgar. ‘Just… let’s be quick.’
Dave slowly closed the door. Frank grabbed his radio firmer.
‘Ivy, do you copy?’
‘Copy, chief.’ Ivy sounded distressed. ‘They’ve got me cornered. I can’t join you; but don’t even think of waiting for me or going back.’
It visibly made all Nightrunners uncomfortable. Edgar looked like he was personally offended by the idea and perfectly ready to disobey the pledge.
Frank needed to decide what to do. But the truth was… they had neither time nor way to get to Ivy.
‘Hang on there, you hear me?’ he said in his best commanding voice. ‘We’ll be back.’
‘Sure, chief. Oh, fuck-‘
Frank was not entirely sure if the screeching they’ve heard was really coming from his radio or did it just resonated in the whole building. Then Ivy screamed – screamed in a way that made Edgar hit the wall and swear, breathing heavily. Screams of the infected and radio silence that followed was so heavy to them they could almost grab it.
It was their friend. Their family.
‘Up, up. Let’s get moving. Three people in front, scouting.’ Frank heard his own voice. Truth to be told, they’ve never before experienced the loss of another Nightrunner – not like that, not this way. ‘Let’s get moving. We still have our mission to complete.’
Ivy’s sacrifice couldn’t be in vain. Radio New Hope must exist, decided Frank. For her. For the city.
Some of the Nightrunners seemed a little unwilling to go, but they got it together and moved up the staircase, through fourth, fifth and sixth floors. On all of them some Nightrunners checked if the doors were locked, and if they weren’t, they opened them just a little bit and then closed again. They didn’t look what was beyond it, just remembered in their minds possible escape routes.
Frank saw them do that. He observed them at all times and because of that he saw the exact moment the tragedy struck.
When Adrien opened the door, suddenly there was an explosion. No one had expected that – the man fell back and hit the glass wall, cracking the window, and suddenly there was some awful substance splashing all around them. It all came down in second, but Jule acted exemplary – he took a step back and fired a UV light, raising it in his hand, stopping the Volatile that ran into their small staircase.
Will, not thinking about his own safety as well, jumped behind him and closed the door with his own weight, sliding on blood. It allowed Frank, Jule and Tamaris to join the fight.
The Volatile has fallen quickly under the UV light, but he managed to throw Tamaris at the railing and took a hit at Jule, leaving a long, deep, bleeding scratch across their collarbone. Miraculously, Frank managed to avoid being hurt.
There was a bang on the door and Will, still struggling to hold them, swore loudly.
‘Up, up!’ he growled at them quietly. ‘I won’t hold them forever!’
There was no time. Jule helped Will with the door despite bleeding heavily, Tamaris regained her footing and briefly brushed Adrien’s neck. She looked at Frank and shook her head so he grabbed her by the arm and they ran up the stairs.
Next floor. And the next one. Someone still checked the door, but they were even more careful now. They’ve advanced higher and higher.
Frank stopped and looked down the corridor like he could see his people still holding the door and grabbed the radio.
‘Will? Jule?’ he asked.
‘If we go after you, Frank, the horde will get to you,’ explained Will solemnly. But there was hardness in his tone, the conviction. ‘We will try to run fast enough… but only if… we know you have an exit ready.’
Was it really possible? Yet, Frank played their game. He raised his radio again and said:
‘… Of course. Waiting for you up.’
The next floor, next and next. Frank would say he himself was a quite fit person and that inhibitors shots increased his stamina a lot, but fuck, it was still tiring. They’ve stopped checking doors for now, just going higher and higher.
They’ve reached the twentieth floor. They needed to slow down. Twenty second. Twenty third.
‘Do you think we’ll manage to just go up there like that?’ joked someone, but no one laughed.
Frank joined the Tamaris, who was the slowest of them, slightly limping after the Volatile’s hit.
‘You okay?’
The woman leveled him with a death stare.
‘I am not so weak, Frank,’ she snapped a bit at him. She was considered the most beautiful of female Nightrunners, she had pretty, brown eyes and long, braided hair. ‘Better tell me… What exactly happened down there?’
It was a good question that haunted Frank too. After a moment of consideration he grabbed his radio again. They needed a break anyway.
‘Jule. Tell me what really happened down there when Adrien opened that door?’
It took a moment, but then Jule answered:
‘Truthfully, I am not sure.’ The Nightrunner was breathing heavily, they also hissed in pain. ‘Something just… blew up, that’s all I know. And it appeared it killed the infected at the same time… you saw it, right… the blood? Maybe restrain from opening more doors if not necessary. Maybe there is some kind of a trap on them?’
It didn’t really make sense, but what else made sense? They all looked at the door instinctively like it was ready to eat them.
‘Jule!’ suddenly screamed Will through the radio. And then, through the radio, ‘we can’t-‘
The next sounds were telling enough. The crack, hissing, scratching, howling, growling, human screams. And then, sounds of eating, squelching…
And the sound of Volatile screeching.
The Nightrunners were used to experiencing death. Not to the death of their own, though. They seemed shocked speechless for a moment there, but the scream woke them all up and they started running up again.
‘We need to get to the highest spot possible!’ yelled Frank after them. There wasn’t much use in keeping silent now. ‘The highest floor!’
They managed to get to the twenty ninth floor because higher the stairs were simply destroyed. Someone bravely took it upon himself to open the door, someone else got in first raising his weapon.
Stopping now would mean death. They ran into another big room and several smaller offices. In one of them they immediately spotted the hole leading to the upper floor. There were infected all around, virals and even one Volatile among them, but someone threw under his feet another UV lamp, someone else killed a viral on Frank’s left with a machete. They swept through the room, unstoppable, killing everything that got in their way and climbed up the hole to the next office room with closed door.
That’s how it should have looked like, thought Frank, high on adrenaline, when they were all up, preparing to open another door with sounds of screaming coming from behind. Not like before.
‘Let’s go, let’s go!’ he encouraged them. ‘It will probably be another big room. Weapons ready, just find our way up! Maybe back to the staircase?’
They were all ready. They opened the door and went in, effective almost like an army, in two rows, with Victor in front.
There were fourteen left of them. Frank really couldn’t find any fault in how they behaved – the first row started dealing with biters while the second had their backs. Frank found a spot for himself and looked around for an exit.
It was then when it happened. Frank managed only to hear Victor say:
‘What the hell-‘
And then there was a sound of an explosion. Frank has already heard it once on the much lower floor, when Adrien opened that door. Suddenly he heard someone’s scream and there was more of this disgusting substance splashing from his right. Some other Nighthunter almost bumped into him.
This was, unfortunately, what it took. This element of surprise. No one was sure what happened, they all still fought, but there was this absolutely confusing sound coming from their left, and somewhere else. Soon, someone didn’t manage to warn Alex about an oncoming viral. The Nighrunner accidentally fell on his radio, transmitting his own screams probably for miles.
‘It’s the infected, bombers – they explode! Throw stuff at them!’
What the actual hell, thought Frank blankly, but took his throwing knife and when he spotted the movement, threw. It worked - there was a squishy noise and the infected blew some distance from him.
What the hell, what the actual hell, repeated Frank in his mind, fighting with the viral that attacked him from behind. He thought it was Ivy who screamed the info at him – but she was dead, wasn’t she?
It looked like she wasn’t. She jumped down from somewhere and cut off the head of the viral that Frank fought with. She was pale and covered in blood, her arm hanging useless at her side, she either didn’t have a hand or she hid it in her sleeve… but there was a lot of blood pouring from it. Next to her, shocking Frank even more, down jumped Ravik – one of his best Nightrunner friends, a very strong and well-built man.
Ravik also shouldn’t be here. He backed down with Hakon and Cillian. Maybe they all came back? Maybe they have help?
And maybe Frank was out of it so hard he saw ghosts?
The fight on the thirtieth floor stopped looking even remotely like a fight: it was a massacre. Dave died blown up by this new fucking infected. One of the Volatiles literally tore off Edgar’s legs. Tamaris fought well but her ankle, already hurt before, just gave up and the women fell silently. She didn’t manage to get up. In the heart of it all, Ivy grabbed Frank while Ravik took out his meat cleaver and scared off virals with his big, powerful moves.
‘To the lift, quickly,’ screamed Ivy. ‘You can climb up there, come on!’
Frank could be in shock over what was happening in front of him, but again his instincts kicked in. He jumped into the elevator shaft and grabbed onto one of the bars on its wall, hearing Ravik do the same. One other Nightrunner, Michael, also jumped in after them, pale, scared and limping and immediately started to climb just to get a little higher. The last person that made it was Valik, former IT technician, who apparently lost his glasses in haste.
It took a moment for Frank to realise Ivy is not climbing with them. When he looked down, she was standing on the roof of an elevator around the entrance to the room and smiling sadly. She had blood on her face but it didn’t make her look scary, but even the opposite: somehow soft. It was exactly the moment Frank remembered in absolute panic about her hurt arm.
He could do nothing. Even though he was ready to jump down there, he could still do nothing.
‘Through the darkness to light,’ Ivy managed to tell them before the group of infected jumped in.
Frank averted his gaze. He regrated it afterwards every day of his fucking existence, but he averted his gaze and started climbing up. He heard screams, it was impossible to not hear her screams – and then, only sounds of the infected remaining.
Just to get to the top. To make it at least somehow worth it. Please…
He couldn’t even bring himself to properly remember those that had fallen already. When he tried to spell their names, to memorize them again, his mind just… Froze. He couldn’t stop, not because of his treacherous mind, not because of his tired arms or shaking fingers. There must be the end of this madness and at this end – time to properly grieve.
Suddenly there was a short scream and then Valik, who was climbing behind them, fell down the elevator shaft.
Frank wasn’t entirely sure what had happened. Has Valik lost his footing, missed the bar with his fingers? Or did the bar break? Or maybe this small notion Frank saw in the corner of his eye was the infected jumping down from the half-opened door and grabbing him, taking him forcibly back into darkness?
They were professionals. The first possibility didn’t seem likely. The second seemed weird as well, but Frank has already seen the bombers and an insane amount of Volatiles this day. He wasn’t entirely sure anything seemed strange after this.
The safety ladder allowed them to have a little break. Soon they encountered another serious problem – one elevator shaft was pretty damaged and seemed really unstable and the other one was blocked by the second elevator.
At this point Frank felt numb and confused. He wasn’t even sure how they'd opened the door, how they'd sneaked inside and went around all those sleeping biters. Scenes from the last hours were still playing on and on in his head, again and again.
Suddenly Ravik tapped at his arm.
‘We need to take a break,’ murmured quietly the big Nightrunner. ‘And those are only biters. Let’s kill them and lock the door for a moment.’
Michael agreed, so they did exactly that.
One after the other, the infected died by their knives. Soon the small room by the window was cleared and they closed themselves in.
‘Jesus Christ.’ Michael bent and put his hands on his knees. ‘What the hell was that? Frank… What had just happened?’
Frank closed his eyes, but all he could see were their faces – Will’’s, Dave’s, Edgar’s, Ivy’s, Timeris’…
‘No one could have predicted that.’ Calm voice of Ravik seemed so out of place. Frank loved him for it. ‘But we have the choice now. Are we trying to get higher or fly to Fish Eye?’
Frank didn’t open his eyes. He didn’t want their friends’ deaths to be in vain. He couldn’t go back empty-handed. Radio New Hope needed to be established, no matter the cost.
‘You shouldn’t have come.’ His own words. Frank hasn’t yet known that they will hunt him for life. ‘But shit I love you, man.’
‘We won’t give up.’ Michael raised from his strange position and stretched, a little bit calmer. He was younger than the most of them; the former apprentice of Edgar, but already a fully trained Nightunner. ‘We will get to the fucking top of that tower. I don’t care how. I will not let them all down. Not…’ Michael swallowed. ‘Not like that.’
Ravik nodded solemnly. It looked like he had already accepted his fate. Frank knew he would do the same as them. And Frank would never forgive himself if he turned back now.
‘We need to find our way up. Maybe this next room…‘
Michael has done that much as open the door. Then everything happened really, really quickly.
The Volatile that silently waited for them on the other side of the door jumped straight at the Nightrunner. They fell to the ground; Michael was well trained and had good instincts, he managed to throw the creature off, but soon into their tiny room ran another Volatile. And another.
Frank and Ravik took out their weapons, well aware it’s their last stand. Michael managed only a small yelp when the second Volatile bit through his neck. Another one jumped to Frank – they’ve both fallen to the ground. The Nightunner tried to stop the monster from eating him alive. Suddenly he felt the pain, stronger than anything he felt in his life and screamed, trying to get rid of the Volatile with his fading strength.
So that’s it, he thought. No radio. No hope. It’s the end.
Suddenly, a big hand grabbed the Volatile and threw him onto the glass. The already shattered window didn’t last and broke spectacularly; the monster fell down, screeching loudly.
Frank looked above. It was always strange to him how calm, kind Ravik changed when he was fighting – no, when he was protecting someone. He seemed twice his size, big and dangerous, indestructible. Not many people would manage to stop the advance of even one Volatile – Ravik held at bay three of them. It was impossible. No one else could have achieved that.
No one but protective Ravik.
And then, the man turned around and grabbed Frank by his jacket.
‘What are you doing?’ whispered Frank. The pain was unbelievable, he was barely conscious at this point. ‘Ravik…’
Ravik never answered. The only thing that he did was pushing him out of the window, at the same time pulling the line connected to his paraglider.
All of a sudden Frank was in the air; falling, and then gliding. More by instinct than conscious effort he grabbed the cords and looked back.
He could see the exact moment when Ravik, taking all three Volatiles with him, fell for certain death.
Frank tried to turn around, to see his friend’s body with his own eyes, but it was hard to balance his body. It took him a moment to realise why.
Ach, he thought weakly. I lost a leg.
It explained the pan and sudden fatigue. But there was only one thing that Frank wanted at that moment; to die, to fall into darkness as his friends and never come back. Just as they won’t come back.
His instincts, however, were too strong for that. He had fallen on some rooftop, crawled into some bushes and just laid there, breathing in the scent of blood and wet earth, numb and in deep shock. It didn’t happen, he thought. It couldn’t have really happened.
It wasn’t supposed to end this way…
***
In the end Lawan found and saved him. Or maybe saved was too strong of a word; she managed to keep him breathing.
Some part of Frank has, however, irreversibly died up there, with Ravik and the rest of his Nightrunners.
He was sure that his plan could have worked if only Hakon wasn’t such a coward and hadn’t convinced others to abandon them as well. Especially that, fuck, Frank considered Hakon a friend. His second hand. Potential leader in his place, second in command. Great Nightrunner and even better strategist. If only then he and Cillian, the best of them, were with him, maybe it all would have happened differently. It must have happened differently.
Frank needed to believe in it. Because if he thought of all of this as his own fault, it would simply get too dark for him; there would be nothing left.