Escape

The rest of the group, a few dark corridors away, heard the two gunshots and then the silence. DL was screaming.

"No! We have to go back! She could still be alive!"

"DL, if she is she'll catch up! Now come on we've got to get moving!"

"NO!" DL yelled and knocked their arms off and ran back along the corridor. Mel and Spam followed. "No! DL! Come back!"

She ran down the corridor and the first thing she was confronted with was a body on the floor. Blood was splattered over one wall, and as DL came closer she gasped at what she saw lying in a bloody mess, was the decaying form of Higgy. Then she looked to the side and there was BJ, a huge chunk taken out of her neck. There was a gun still in her hand. DL looked at that and then at her. She'd killed herself.

"No! BJ!" she cried before she wavered and Spam and Mel caught her as she fell backwards and passed out.

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When DL awoke, she was leaning against a wall, someone was holding her up. When her vision cleared she saw it was Spam. Red and Higgy were kneeling on either side of her, worried expressions on their faces.

"Wha...what happened?"

"You...you passed out." Spam answered.

"I...what?"

"Yeah, after you saw BJ and...and Higgy."

"But?" DL pointed to Higgy, looking confused.

Spam frowned and looked to the empty space beside her where DL was pointing.

"Higgy, what's going on?" DL spoke to the space beside Spam. She looked to Spam's other side. "Red?"

Spam looked to empty spaces on either side of her. Then Mel entered the room.

Spam got up and ran over to meet Mel. "Anything?"

"Yeah, I found us a way out, it's kinda out of the air ducts but it gets us out on to the platform and will hopefully avoid any major confrontations."

"Good."

"You think DL will make it?" Mel asked quietly, looking over at her friend.

"You want me to tell you the truth?" Mel nodded. "I honestly don't know...she's been acting really weird, she just thought she was talking to Red and Higgy."

"What!"

"Yeah, I know."

Mel glanced at DL and she was looking at the empty space beside her, her mouth moving as if she was talking to someone, but Mel was too far away to hear what she was saying. "Hmm...well I think we better get her out of here sooner rather than later then."

"I agree."

They approached DL, who looked up at them as they came. They both bent down and slowly pulled DL to her feet, putting her arms over their shoulders as she couldn't walk on her bite at all now, the swelling was too much, but at least she wouldn't try to kill them. "Come on DL, we're getting you out of here."

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They quickly walked out of the room, checking all around and then Mel pointed to an air vent in the wall. Spam checked that Mel could support DL and then crouched down to unscrew the sides. She motioned for Mel to get in first and she did so, DL afterwards followed by Spam and 'Red and Higgy' because DL insisted they couldn't be left behind. Spam sealed the vent shut behind them and started to crawl along they managed to reach a lift shaft and Mel swung her legs over, so they were dangling down the shaft and then prepared her hook and line. She swung it up and it caught on the next level up. DL crawled up beside her and quite shakily managed to help her tie it to a section of the lift shaft wall. Then DL clipped a small mechanism on to it and then very carefully after Mel checked how stable the cable was, nodded and let DL jumped off, she ended up dangling and let herself begin to move along the cable, slowly.

It took around half an hour to an hour in all to get them all across the gap, Spam was about a metre from the end. Mel looked up and saw the lift, perched on what seemed to be the top floor, probably the mansion, but there was no way they could get to it, so they would just have to use the train. "How far Mel?" DL asked.

"About ¼ of a mile this way and then up load of steps to get to the platform." 'That's mostly likely where we'll have to deal with confrontation.' She added silently. "Okay, let's go."

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"Come on DL...we gotta hurry..." Spam pulled her out of the vent and they quickly began to walk, DL still being supported by Spam. Mel had run ahead to check for any 'friends'. She came running back. "We gotta hurry, had to take out a couple and the gunshots may have alerted more. Is there any way you can move faster DL?"

DL nodded; even though it was gonna hurt like hell. She began to run with them, hissing in pain, the tears coming to her eyes. "I'm fine Higgy." She said and Mel looked back, glancing at Spam and raising an eyebrow. Spam shook her head and they continued to run.

They were about to get to the platform when they ran round the corner and saw the door had closed and there were zombies clawing at it. "Shit." DL whispered. "Okay, guys, go, get them, take them out, I can shoot some down from here." They nodded and appeared round the corner, immediately getting the zombies attention by taking a couple down. The zombies turned, smelling fresh blood and meat. DL put her head round the corner and shut down a couple that were heading for Spam. She nodded in thanks.

They took down about 6 between them and then DL was about to shoot down one which had tackled Mel to the ground. Then saw Higgy, about to be mauled, immediately she fired and Spam yelled at her. "DL! What are you doing!" She quickly shot down the one above Mel and Mel rolled and took the one out behind DL. DL continued to shoot in thin air. Then she stopped and looked back, "Sorry, but I can't loose Higgy." Mel frowned and nodded slightly and then DL walked over to them, gasping in pain at the weight on her ankle.

Spam approached the door and tried to open it, "It's jammed."

"Yes, I'm sorry. I had to, to stop the creatures escaping, that is my programming."

"Red Queen..." Spam wasn't surprised as she said, it was what she was created for.

"Well they're all dead now, so open it for a second and let us through." Mel argued.

"I cannot do that."

"Why not? Just lock it afterwards, just please...don't let us rot down here."

"I'm sorry."

"Look." DL came in now. "You wanted to keep me here before and I know it's your programming but surely you can't just let people die, who aren't even infected." There was silence. "Please, just let us out. Then we not gonna be in your way any longer." They listened, there was no reply just a whirring noise and a clicking as all the locks came undone and the doors slowly rose. "In 10 minutes, I shall open the door into the mansion, this door will be shut as soon as you go through."

"Thank you." DL whispered and ushered Higgy and Red through first, followed by herself, Spam and Mel. They heard the doors begin to shut and they heard a groan, Mel turned sharply and shot the zombie as it reached through. It was thrown back by the impact, allowing the door to shut fully.

"Goodbye." Spam whispered, looking back, thinking of all the friends they had lost. Mel called her and she quickly ran to the train as it began to pull off.

God, I didn't realise it had taken so long for me to update. Well here it is eventually. Hope you like. The next is already written and will be up very soon.

Please R & R. Slayya