Aftermath (Call of Duty 4)

"Something has happened...What appears to be an explosion of epic proportions...all remaining personnel...damage totaling...to set off what appears to have been a nuclear explosion in his own country...stretching across a barren wasteland..."

"Aftermath" is the eleventh level of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

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 the members of his squad, excluding Lt. Vasquez, are lying around the area. After moving away from the helicopter, he falls down and dies, 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.

Walkthrough
All that can be done in this level is walking around and looking at the surroundings (aftermath of a nuclear blast). The player will spawn in the helicopter, and can crawl, crouch or stand, although in the last two stances the players will limp. After getting out of the helicopter, the player will fall but can get up again. Jumping will injure the player character. After 120 seconds, the player will fall if not crawling, and a building will be seen collapsing. The screen will then fade white, and the mission will end.

Tips

 * About midway in crawling out the player can go crouched instead of prone, which gives the player about 5 more seconds to look at the city or reach interesting places.
 * It is possible to stand up after exiting the helicopter.

Transcript
See Aftermath/Transcript.

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.
 * The buildings in the background will crumble after a short period of time.
 * When Paul Jackson dies, he looks up to the sky and white light floods his eyes. A similar effect can also be seen in "Game Over" when John MacTavish is being lifted onto the helicopter, although Soap's flash out is more clear and plain as opposed to Jackson whom has a grainy and attached effect, and in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 where Joseph Allen, aka Alexei Borodin (a name used in undercover for Makarov) is shot by Makarov and dies, the same thing happens.
 * 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 in the school yard, the clamor of playing children can be heard. Some claim to also have heard the voice of a small girl saying "I love you Daddy, get up!", implying that Jackson may have been a father. However the claimed little girl's voice is close to inaudible (if at all) as it is mixed in with the voices of other children, and given that the same audio track is played in All Ghillied Up, there is some doubt as to whether there has been a little girl's voice at all.
 * Rumors on several forums appear claiming to have seen "ghosts" of children and moving figures in or around the playground area. These have been proven false
 * 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. Interestingly, Lt. Vasquez' remains are not actually present anywhere in the map, despite frequent claims of sightings.
 * The burning playground may be a reference to the beginning of Terminator 2: Judgment Day which also takes place after a nuclear blast.
 * 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. Many people say this is barbed wire, but if the player looks closely, it is not silver, it is black, and goes high and low, not straight across, and if the player looks closer, the player will find that this is the Infinity Ward insignia.
 * Dying in the mission by falling (via console) will restart the level even though there is not an objective.
 * The location the level takes place in is clearly different from "Shock and Awe", because in "Shock and Awe", the tall building and the playground are not present. However, this would make sense as Vasquez's squad flew at least 2–3 miles away from where they saved the downed Cobra pilot at the end of "Shock and Awe". Even if they did not make it that far, the resulting shockwave from the detonation would have surely pushed them far away.
 * The static from the helicopter's radio can be heard in Call of Duty: World at War's zombie level Shi No Numa. It is played on the radio when from the beginning room's spawn.
 * 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.
 * This level is the shortest level in the game and possibly the entire series.
 * Originally there were two objectives: "Locate commanding officer" and "Find secure overhead cover". Supposedly, you would have to find Lt. Vasquez's body and find some shelter.