Aftermath (Call of Duty 4)

"Something has happened...What appears to be an explosion of epic proportions...details remain sketchy and unconfirmed...damage totaling...to set off what appears to have been a nuclear explosion in his own country...stretching across a barren wasteland..."

- News broadcasts heard in Aftermath's opening cutscene.

"Aftermath" is the eleventh level of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. It sees the player controlling Sgt. Paul Jackson and crawling around the crash site. Jackson eventually collapses and dies.

Characters

 * Paul Jackson (playable, K.I.A.)

Plot
Sergeant Paul Jackson wakes up from the crash after Khaled Al-Asad's nuclear warhead was detonated from the previous mission, "Shock and Awe". Mortally wounded, he crawls out and around the downed CH-46 Sea Knight into the wasteland left by the blast, while buildings can be seen collapsing. The bodies of his squad members, excluding Lt. Vasquez, are lying around the area. After moving away from the helicopter, he collapses and succumbs to his wounds and/or radiation sickness by the bomb, the screen fading to white slowly, while the satellite lists his status as "Killed in Action".

The consequences of the nuclear explosion as depicted in this level had prompted General Shepherd to initiate the Russo-American War to test the American military's true strength and to build his country's morale.

Trivia

 * In the opening cutscene, a list of Marines who were in the city when the bomb goes off is listed, and Paul Jackson's name is highlighted in blue. However, eleven names above the blue name, Sgt. Paul Jackson is written again.
 * When the player walks while standing, they lean right with every step likely from a leg injury. Jumping will cause the player to fall.
 * It is possible to view this level in color as opposed to a red tint by enabling Super Contrast in the cheats menu.
 * If the player survives long enough and goes in the school yard, the clamor of playing children can be heard.
 * This is a likely reference to the Pink Floyd song "Two Suns in the Sunset," which describes a nuclear blast, and during which the screams of children can also be heard, one of whom shouts "Daddy! Daddy!" If this similarity is intentional, this may support the popular speculation that the screaming children are Jackson's kids. The faint sound of a radio can also be heard at the end of the song, just like the radio in Aftermath.
 * Members of Jackson's team are scattered dead throughout the mission. Captain Pelayo is dead on the ground next to the place where the player jumps out and Lt. Vasquez is still in the helicopter sitting behind the cockpit.
 * During the level, a radio can be heard from the cockpit of the crashed helicopter saying things about treatment facilities and massive casualties.
 * If the player exits the helicopter and looks behind, the player will see what appears to be a signature. It is the Infinity Ward insignia.
 * In the opening cutscene, if the player looks at the map, they will see that the nuke was detonated in Iraq - close to the border of Iraq and Iran.
 * There is a teddy bear lying on the ground next to the car.
 * The nuke is not part of the backdrop. Using noclip, the player can go inside it. It is just made up of many two-dimensional clouds.
 * Originally there were two objectives: "Locate commanding officer" and "Find secure overhead cover."
 * In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Shepherd says that he lost "30,000 men in a blink of an eye", which is a reference to this mission.
 * In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, it is revealed that Yuri and Makarov watch the explosion from a distance.
 * In this mission, Jackson makes a unique gasp two times, which is not heard anywhere else in the game.


 * It is possible to make it into the door of the building in the school yard.