Lucas's eyes fluttered open just a crack, upon coming awake the first sensations he recognized were an aching sting in the pit of his belly. With the vague recollections of dreams still receding into nothingness, he laid inert, staring up at an undefined ceiling somewhere above. A faint patter of water licked against the window. At some point in the night, one leg had drifted close enough to the bed's edge to dangle over the side.
Eventually, he realized that he could see the ceiling and sat up. The first slight traces of morning light had crept into the room from the windows, spilling over the scattered detritus and general clutter of his life. It seemed as if it had been light for a few minutes, judging by the growing levels of sight now present. Jumbled thoughts to place the day as either Friday or Saturday morning were temporarily put on hold once a befuddled process to remember the previous day had begun.
Rising once he had recovered from initial bewilderment, Lucas tested his room's light switch. The electricity was out, supporting the notion that memories of the last day were indeed accurate. It wasn't precisely as if his recollection of the previous day felt dreamlike. But in the early morning line separating conscious lucidity and quixotic nonsense, it seemed possible that the whole previous day was a strange phantom. Yet his notes were on the table beside his glasses, ready to affirm everything unbelievable he had observed the previous day.
Even directly beside the window, it was still too dark to read, but beyond that, there was his hunger to concern himself with. The previous day, Lucus hadn't eaten much at all and now he could feel the outcome of that neglect. Although without power to boil water, cooking the cheap noodles would not be an option. After searching for the opener mostly by touch, he emptied the can of chili into a bowl with an unsavory wet squelch. Fetching a can of soda and a spoon, he sat at the computer desk and gazed out the nearby window at the scenery while eating.
As the intensity of light steadily increased, Lucas could make out ripples on puddle surfaces dotting the pavement below. Like the previous day, no figures were visible in the walkway between this building and the drab structure across from his window. A slim slice of the park blocks was visible just at the right edge of the frame, but at this angle it yielded little to see except bare branches, grass and a building further down that way. Above, low clouds edged across the sky.
Scraping the last bits of chili from his bowl, Lucas speculated on what to do with his time until the promised rescue. He had already thoroughly puzzled over the curious properties of the zombies nearly the whole previous day. Apart from running his ideas past someone else, it didn't seem likely that he would make much more progress on that front without additional things to observe or more sources of information to peruse. While careful, he had already drifted quite far into strange speculative avenues.
What he really felt like doing was going for a walk to escape his cramped room, but it would still not be safe outside. After a few minutes consideration, it occurred to him that he could probably go up to the roof and walk around in the fresh air. While there, he also figured he could survey the immediate vicinity for any activity.
The clothing he had worn from the previous couple days was disheveled, so he exchanged them for fresh jeans and a blue shirt. If this were a normal day he would have taken a shower as well. However it didn't seem like he badly need the cleaning, not that he expected the water would work anyway. Neglecting to consider the flashlight, Lucus opted to adorn himself in a rather breezy rain jacket and slid on his glasses. With his usual resilience it would probably be more than enough to keep him comfortable.
Locking his room on the way out, he navigated partly by touch along the wall to the stairs. Large windows at the ends of the halls leaked murky light into the stairwell, aiding his ascent. He didn't encounter anyone else on the way, but the sounds of other residents elsewhere in the building were unmistakable.
The air outside was brisk, but tolerable. With the moisture had come a modicum of warmth, curtailin the worst of the previous night's dry freeze. Drizzling rain pattered down upon the heavy stone rooftop, producing a slick sheen across the hard surface. The sky indicated it would likely remain stormy throughout the day, with heavy, dark clouds drenching every horizon.
One other person was already present, hiding under the shadow of a big black umbrella and wearing a raincoat. They didn't notice him and were at the narrow edge facing the downtown city skyline, so Lucus opted to not draw attention to himself. Instead, he approached the long edge adjacent to the green park blocks, above the main entryway to the building.
Placing his arms on the stone edge lining the perimeter Lucas carefully leaned forwards, idly staring out at the empty walkways and streets below. No movement was notable along the ground, indicating the area was still likely relatively free of nearby zombie activity. Somewhat closer to the horizon, the Willamette river and the waterfront was visible along with the numerous huge bridges of the city.
Despite the hazing effect of the rain on his viewing distance, the rooftop of the six floor building still provided a pretty decent view of the city skyline. Occasionally Lucas thought he saw something moving in the distance, but looking again he saw no
obvious vehicle movement along the bridges or open roads.
Pushing away, Lucas gradually paced from one end of the building to the other, savoring the relaxing familiarity of the steady rainfall and its fresh smell. His own low breathing and the sound of each footfall as it hit with a wet slap were among the only other audible noises. Despite the sight of the urban environment the atmosphere upon the rooftop remained one of extreme isolation. Aimlessly walking, he thought about the previous day, still overwhelmingly baffled but excited by the potential implications he had considered.
The silent contemplation was soon broken by a faint crackling noise, not that dissimilar from the regular patter of the rain. It almost could have been mistaken for an increasing of the storm's activity except for the fact that it was more irregular in timing and slightly different in tone. After some time, the sound came again, significantly louder and almost sounding like an irregularly timed string of firecrackers. Returning to the edge of the building near the park blocks, Lucas examined the streets beyond, scanning for signs of activity upon the nearby ground.
Slow, plodding movement nearby created a heavy splashing with every step as it drew closer. "Was that gunfire? Is that the army?" Came the unfamiliar man's voice with a slight Hispanic accent.
Lucas responded without looking at the person who had just spoken. "I think so." From his limited vantage point, he hadn't yet observed anything nearby. Since most of the surrounding buildings were shorter than this one, some pretty broad swaths of nearby streets were visible beyond the park blocks along with a good chunk of the nearby freeway. "It doesn't sound like they're very close, though."
"I hope they show up soon. I'm about ready to be done with this." There was a note of relieved excitement as he gazed at the scenery around them. "Look, helicopters!" The man raised his free arm, indicating a couple shapes hovering in the sky at a considerable distance.
"It will probably still be a while before they get to us." Lucas replied in a bored monotone. Without the masking effect produced by regular city traffic, the sound of gunfire seemed like it ought to carry for miles. Although the helicopters were apparently distant enough for their sound to fade into the background. Evacuating a city would not be a trivial effort. "If they really are going to check the whole city, there's going to be a whole lot of people for them to get to."
"I can wait. I'm just happy to know they're finally coming."
"Yeah, it's something at least." Lucas paused for several seconds before adding a bit of an afterthought. "Actually, I'm surprised the power isn't back on yet."
"Why does that surprise you?"
"It seems like it would be the top priority. For one, power would make it a lot easier to communicate with everyone who's stranded. Plus people would probably be a lot more calm if everything was otherwise normal."
"I'll be fine with anything as long as I know the rescue is coming." Replied the man before he turned away. He skirted the perimeter of the building, excitedly examining the ground immediately beneath them.
Over the next few minutes a couple others came up onto the roof and grew excited as they noticed the signs of their rescue growing imminent. Lucas kept to himself, letting them talk amongst each other while he pondered alone. There was nothing much left to do now but wait; he had little to add to their dull conversations. Calmly waiting, Lucus gazed out at the surrounding scenery as he relished the relaxing feeling of the weather.
Lucas idly wondered what the organized response to finding someone who had been infected but not yet zombified would be. He didn't think there were any obvious solutions for what ought to be done in that case. If someone infected were mixed in with the other refugees, it would sort of ruin the point of any careful and deliberate evacuation process. In his attempts to imagine what kind of response the people in charge would have to that situation, Lucas largely found it difficult to guess what might be done.
Lost amid his speculations, Lucus jumped as a loud bang startled him back to his senses. Within the rain he could hear the sounds of engines and gazed around with fresh awareness. The situation had changed far more rapidly than he had expected; he could see armored vehicles moving along the surrounding streets. In the air not too far away some helicopters had approached, the sound of their blades producing a distinct buzz. Looking up to watch them, droplets of rain gathered on his glasses.
On the walkways below a small armored vehicle drove down the narrow sidewalk of the park blocks. Lining up alongside the university library, it gradually approached at a pace no faster than a walk. A booming voice echoed out on a bullhorn as it moved closer and then down the hill. It took Lucas a while to understand the speech as a firm command to remain inside until further notice and a further message that rescue vehicles would be along to transport everyone shortly. Despite that, many of those on the roof left with an air of excitement, no doubt eagerly anticipating their rescue and the end of their trivial ordeal.
Everything was now moving with a whirlwind pace as the pouring rain hammered down. Several hundred feet behind the armored vehicles came a vanguard of soldiers riding in jeeps. On the streets a few blocks away several buses arrived, coming to a stop. Milling groups of people congregated around the transport vehicles, jostling for entry as the soldiers attempted to impose some kind of disciplined order upon the riotous mobs. Urgent shouting below mixed into a distinctly human white noise.
Observing the proceedings from the edge of the rooftop, Lucas noticed some refugees were exiting nearby buildings and rushing forwards to join the swarms a few streets away despite the firm warnings given not to do so. Occasional cracks of gunfire broke out, but were rare and mostly distant. The helicopters had flown beyond the immediate vicinity, keeping pace with the leading armored vehicles, which had incrementally proceeded further into the downtown region as the minutes wore on.
Everything suddenly changed as a jolting flash tore through the universe, a discordant piping note concurrently striking with an overwhelmingly intense clarity. The next moment of awareness brought with it an intense feeling of cold moisture as a dull, aching pain lingered throughout every nerve. Recovering his sense of place, Lucas realized he was laid out on one side within a shallow puddle, the jarring fault line in his consciousness had somehow left him staring at the water streaking down the concrete lip. No sounds but the soft patter of rain came to his ears.
Slowly pushing himself to his feet, Lucas braced upon the edge lining the rooftop for support. His glasses were streaked with obtrusive rivulets of water, so he removed them to clear his view. Drawing in a slow, deep breath as he took stock of his surroundings, he suddenly felt utterly alone. Every person had departed at some point prior and there was no evidence of the helicopters remaining on any horizon. Carefully peering over the edge of the building confirmed that vehicles and people were still gathered below. Lucas exhaled in relief at the blurred sight as he recognized he could hear the cacophany of the disorganized crowd after all.
Water had thoroughly soaked every scrap of clothing despite the rain coat, providing a minor contextual clue for the passage of time. Drenched as he was, it would make no sense to linger in the cold, so he began making his way back inside. When he was dry, he could safely ponder what had taken place. Favoring the leg with a stinging soreness, Lucas limped back to the doorway leading inside.
From the periphery of vision, Lucas thought he detected a flicker of light but it wasn't there when he turned to look. It dawned on him suddenly that he could have been struck by a solitary, errant bolt of lightning. Lightning was never something he would normally worry about, yet even he realized it would be foolish to remain exposed on a towering rooftop during a thunderstorm. Breaking into a rush, he darted towards the dark opening leading back inside and descended several steps into the inky abysss before the door behind him shut out the light with a heavy thump.
