North of France, Normandy, Lille, April 10 - 4:30 AM
It had been several hours since the soldiers left Rouen in SUV vehicles. Lille was already considered a major hotspot for contamination, a lost city.
"Guys, haven't you heard the reports? Lille is a lost city, refugees are flooding in, and no one is here to handle it… It's chaos everywhere, why not just stick with Rouen?"
"The police and the gendarmerie couldn't handle the riots and all this mess... The RAID, the CRS, the mobile gendarmes, the GIGN... Nothing works, we're really living through a scenario straight out of World War Z or some sci-fi series…"
One of the soldiers adds some lightness to the drama, but the sergeant, irritated by the jokers, steps forward and fixes them with a stern glare.
"So what? Do you think your ancestors would be proud of you? We're soldiers! We teach you to have guts, not the temperament of collaborators and defeatists! Your moms, your girlfriends, your families might be back there! So protect them, soldiers, a good Frenchman never lets himself be pushed around."
The sergeant's words stifle their cowardice and foolishness, motivating the soldiers. Their eyes shift to the squadron leader, freshly graduated from Saint-Cyr.
"ON MY COMMAND!"
The armored vehicle halts, arriving at the location, and the hatch opens with a metallic screech.
"FORWARD!!!"
Rose takes the lead, with other infantry units disembarking from the vehicles.
"Alpha team, deploy at the northern perimeter. Bravo, head to the hospital sector. Civilians are gathering there."
The order is transmitted by Captain Marchand to Rose's squadron, which she executes calmly and methodically, but a transmission interrupts her.
"This is Bravo team, we have eyes on civilians in the Wazemmes neighborhood… Wait… Shit! They're running!"
Rose's team is caught off guard by the news, hearing the screams of the "civilians" running.
"Fire at will!!"
Bravo team 1 says into the radio, shots ringing out one by one in the city. Some fell, but there were too many. The so-called "infected" dead amplified the streets in multiple hordes heading toward Bravo team. The surrounding chaos decimates the dead by the dozens, their bodies shredded by bullets now littering the hospital square.