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Our mission is twofold: Destroy or capture all enemy ordnance and terminate all infested personnel

Terer’s on the point; she has the best eyes We follow her past the stern-faced statue onto the bridge; Flint, Du our rear Weaving through the stalled cars that seeh a white curtain, covered in three seasons’ worth of debris Soraffiti, looted for any valuables, but what’s valuable any in front oftakeaway fro us, they showed us the idiocy of stuff The guy ned this BMW? He’s in the same place as the woman ned that Kia

We pull up just shy of Patterson Boulevard, at the southern end of the bridge Hunker down beside the smashed front bumper of an SUV and survey the road ahead The snow cuts down our visibility to about half a block This ht take a while I look at my watch Four hours till pickup back at the park

A tanker truck has stalled out in theour view of the left-hand side of the street I can’t see it, but I know fro on that side, a prie I e, putting the truck between us and the building

She pulls up sharply at the truck’s front buround The squad follows her lead, and I belly-scoot forward to join her

"What do you see?" I whisper

"Three of thehon the other side of the street Through the cottony fuzz of the snow, I see three green blobs of light bobbing along the sidewalk, growing larger as they approach the intersection My first thought is, Holy crap, these lenses actually work My second thought: Holy crap, Teds, and they’re coer

She shrugs "Probablyto check it out" She’s lying on her belly, holding thereen blobs grow larger; they’ve reached the opposite corner I can barely reen beacons on top of their shoulders It’s a weird, jarring effect, as if their heads are engulfed in a spinning, iridescent green fire

Not yet If they start to cross, give the order

Beside er takes a deep breath, holds it, waits for my order patiently, like she could wait for a thousand years Snow settles on her shoulders, clings to her dark hair The tip of her nose is bright red The s out What if there’sa hundred of thee or wait? I chew on h the options

"I’ve got the reen blobs of light are stationary, clustered together as if locked in conversation I can’t tell if they’re even facing this way, but I’m sure they don’t knoe’re here If they did, they’d rush us, open fire, take cover, do soer Even if she misses with the first shot, the follow-ups won’t It’s an easy call, really

So what’s stoppingthe salances over at me and whispers, "Zombie? What’s the call?"

There’s ut instinct: Don’t rush Don’t force the issue Let it play out And there’s me, squeezed in the ister the high-powered rifle’s report, the paverates in a spray of dirty snow and pulverized concrete That resolves s by the icy wind: "Take theer’s bullet sht winks out One light takes off to our right Ringer swings the barrel toward ht winks out The third see back the way he caet away to sound the alar er, what are you do--"

"It’s a trap" She points at the six-inch scar in the concrete "Didn’t you hear it? It didn’t come from them It ca on the opposite side of the street "Froh up, maybe the roof"

I shake my head A fourth infested on the roof? How did he knoere here--and why didn’t he warn the others? We’re hidden behind the truck, which e--spotted us and held his fire until ere blocked from view and there was no way he could hit us It didn’t oes, like she’s readof war’"

I nod Things are getting way too complicated way too fast

"How’d he see us cross?" I ask

She shakes her head "Night vision, has to be"