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towards him. It was no more than a couple of lumbering steps away and Cahz had only known of its approach because it had blocked his view.
    He adjusted his aim and fired. The reanimated shop worker’s head lurched back, its brains annihilated by the bullet passing through its skull.
    Cahz counted himself lucky. He quickly scanned the surrounding area and focused his attention back on the knot of survivors.
    The street was choked with zombies now. Cahz dipped in and out of using his scope, anxiously trying to spot the man with the pipe. He peered through the throng, hoping to glimpse the arm raise that held the sturdy grey pipe. But there was nothing.
    “Boss, this is Bates,” Cahz heard over his earpiece. “I’m running dry and there’s no let up.”
    Among the legions of walking dead, Cahz could see no signs of a struggle.
    “Angel, have you got eyes on the other survivors?” Cahz asked, hoping the view from the sniper’s vantage point would bring good news.
    A trio of zombies steadily advanced on the street corner. Getting too close for comfort, Cahz floored them with three well-placed shots.
    Angel hadn’t replied.
    Cahz again toggled his radio. “Angel, come in.”
    “Lieutenant,” came Angel’s Russian tone, “I have situation.”
    Cahz turned and scanned the skyline. Silhouetted on one of the rooftops he saw the team sniper. She was standing in a firing position, shooting at something on the roof. In a matter of seconds she had fired a whole magazine from her pistol. Whatever threat she faced, it wasn’t finished with her.
    Cahz sighted his rifle on her to get a clearer view through his scope. The feathery white clouds and the low sun scattered the morning light, leaving Cahz to see only the dark shadow of her silhouette. Her ponytail bobbed as she hastily reloaded her pistol. Then, without warning, she turned and threw herself off the rooftop.
    Lost from view, Cahz drew back from his sight, frantically scanning for her.
    There .
    Three or four floors from the bottom of the building, she dangled on her safety line.
    The rooftop now became full of shambling corpses. As they reached the edge of the roof they slowed, confused by their lack of prey. Then the first of them fell. Whether it had stumbled, was pushed from behind, or just hadn’t stopped walking, the result was the same. The corpse tumbled down the face of the building.
    The plummeting body narrowly missed Angel as she clung to the building’s façade.
    Now a torrent of undead plunged from the roof. Dozens of brainless cadavers hurtled the eight storeys to pile up in a heap of splattered and shredded flesh.
    Transfixed by the drama playing out across the plaza, Cahz watched on, his heart pounding. The worst of it was he knew there was nothing he could do to help her. Unconsciously his fingers caressed the toggle on his radio. As much as he wanted to call her he knew better than to distract her. The sniper acted alone, compromising her own safety for the sake of her comrades. Cahz turned his attention back to the street corner and dispatched the fresh batch of zombies encroaching on his position.
    Back along the street there were no signs of life. No glimpse of the survivors, not even a knot of undead that might indicate a struggle. Nothing.
    Cahz fired a few well-placed shots to thin out the zombies and took one last look into the mob. Reluctantly he turned to his buddy.
    “Time to go, big guy,” he said as he patted Cannon on the shoulder.
    He toggled his mic. “Okay people, time to bug out. Everyone back to the bird.”
    With Cannon in tow, Cahz jogged back to the chopper. The air had the tart taste of spent powder mingling with the reek of festering bodies.
    Cahz kept an eye on the team sniper as he made his way back. Dangling from her line, like a spider, Angel had pulled her side arm and was popping shots into the small gathering of zombies lucky enough to remain mobile after their dive off the roof. Her aim looked clumsy for the veteran