"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or gazelle - when the sun comes up, you'd better be running."

The screens were growing still now, there was little movement in any of the rooms except for the one where Eric was with the other survivors. The injured man was looking worse by the minute. The floor Jimmy and Cass were on was almost clear of other people, there were two wandering around in a room down the hall, but so far they hadn't posed a threat. Jimmy had ejected the magazine and last bullet a hundred times, making sure it was in the chamber each time he loaded it. There wasn't much he could do with one bullet, except maybe shoot himself.

Cass was watching the screens too, her head in her hands on the control panel. She looked tired, although she hadn't really done anything all day except sit there.

"How long do you think we will be here?" she asked.

"Once we find a way of meeting up with the others," Jimmy said," we should be able to work out a plan,"

"We are gonna need some food soon," she said," coffee and cookies wont last us long,"

"You still up there?" Eric's voice said over the speaker.

"Yeah," Jimmy replied," hows he holding up?"

"Not good," Eric said," We've decided it would be better to put him out of his misery, just thought I'd warn you so you don't have to watch on the monitor,"

"Ok," Jimmy said.

Jimmy looked away and waited for a few seconds, from the corner of his eye he saw a flash on the screen. By the time he looked back, Eric and Mike were covering up the guy with a sheet. There was a patch of black where his head was under the cover, they had obviously shot him there in case he got back up.

"We need to get out of this room," Eric said," the barricade is falling apart and we have no supplies, theres no answer on the radios so no chance of help coming yet,"

"There are too many of them outside that door," Jimmy said," you got enough bullets for all of them?"

"I've got twelve rounds left," Eric said," but I lost my MP5 on the front stairs, it still has some ammo left and I have another clip on me, with both guns we might be able to pull out to the control room,"

"That stairwell is thick with those mother fuckers," Jimmy said," theres no way in hell I'd make it through,"

"It's the only way," Eric said.

"Ok," Jimmy said," I'll find a way to get that gun, if you hear shooting, you better come out and help me,"

"Will do," Eric replied.

"You got a plan?" Cass asked.

"Yeah," Jimmy said," sure I do….,"

………………………………………………………………………………………..

"Ok," Jimmy said," you know what to do?"

"Yeah." Cass said

"When I've got the others I'll come back and help you at the control room if they get through," Jimmy said.
Jimmy smashed the glass on the wall with the gun where the fire axe was and took out the red bladed weapon. He looked back at Cass who was holding a knife above her arm.

"You ready for this?" he asked.

She nodded and drove the knife deep into her flesh, she grunted and blood sprawled over her arm, Jimmy released the lock on the fire door and hid behind it.

Cass turned and sprinted back up the stairs as the crazies poured through the open door, attracted to the blood spilling from her arm wound. He stood behind the door, perfectly still, watching as they ran after her up those stairs. For a moment he though that they wouldn't stop coming, at least fifty had passed through the doors to the front lobby. If one of them turned around……..

He crept from his hiding place slowly, looking around the door he couldn't see any of them in the lobby, although a few were close to the front doors outside. The doors to the other fire escape stairs were open at the other side of the hall, clutching the axe in both hands he moved through the hall watching every doorway at once.

A noise alerted him to a presence behind the desk and he swung the axe hard to his right, towards the face that emerged from behind it. The axe dug deep into it's head and it fell back, a twisted expression on it's face.

He didn't have time to draw the axe free as another one appeared from the doorway he needed to go into. He pulled out the gun and took careful aim, blood sprayed from it's eye and it fell down with a thud. A third one appeared from the same door and he put the empty gun down, tugging at the fire axe embedded in the dead women's skull, but it wouldn't budge.

The crazy guy saw him and ran across the hall, hands outstretched.

"Shit," Jimmy said, turning to face the lone guy without a weapon.

Jimmy clenched his fist and threw all the strength he could into the blow. He struck the man on the nose and he stumbled, Jimmy took the second to duck under his arms and scramble for the other doorway. He dove through it, landing in a puddle of blood and sliding into the wall. Empty shells littered the ground and on the stairs were a few bodies that lay still, each of them riddled with bullet holes. Laying on the stairs was the MP5.

He reached for it as hands grabbed him, he elbowed backwards hard in the face and it rolled away. He wrapped his hands around the cold metal and turned around, leaning on the steps he aimed at it's head at blank range. It fell back, a trail of blood splattering the wall as another one appeared in the doorway. He pulled the trigger hard, letting loose a burst of rounds which downed it. He kicked the door shut and got up, rubbing his shoulder from the ache of firing the gun.

Jimmy climbed the stairs as fast as he could, heading back to the second floor where everyone had got separated.

"Jimmy," Cass's voice said from the wall, and he flicked the intercom.

"How are things looking up there?" he asked.

"I managed to lock the door to the ways up to this floor" she said," but those things are at every way up here, I don't know how you can get through them,"

"We'll take the elevator," Jimmy said," just stay there,"

He reached the door to the room where he had first met the others and found it ajar, bloody hand prints covering it. He aimed the MP5 through the gap and scanned the room, but it was clear. As he approached the other door leaving the room, he started to hear the sounds of thudding getting closer. He poked his head around the corner to see the back of a group of people at a corner.

Placing the gun hard in his shoulder, he aimed at the nearest one and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the wall as the gun rose from the recoil and dust fell from the bullet hole, the thing looked around at him and he fired again. The bullets struck his neck first this time and rose up, blowing a hole in the side of his head. He fell and the others turned and started running towards him. He held the trigger down, aiming at their necks and firing a hail at them, two more fell and he panicked. There were too many for him to face alone.

"Over here you fuckers!" Eric's voice shouted and three gunshots rang out.

Jimmy kept firing, backing off down the hall fast as they tripped over those that fell. Some had turned to attack Eric, but most of them were following Jimmy. He aimed at a women's head, blowing two holes just above her eye. She fell like the others, but now they were on him. In a last ditch attempt to halt them, he fired blindly, holding the trigger down in a fully automatic stream of bullets. The gun fell silent and he took it by the barrel, which was burning hot. He slammed the butt into the face of one as it went for him, it fell back and tripped over the body of another. The last two standing near him jumped at him over the body's and an elbow hit his jaw. The three of them hit the ground with a thud and Jimmy grabbed the neck of one as it found itself on top of him, the second one landed by his leg and grabbed hold of it. He kicked it in the face hard, but it recovered quickly and tore off his shoe, biting at it and trying to finding any flesh inside.

A bullet hole appeared in it's head and Jimmy knew Eric was coming, he pushed with all his strength and held the guy's head as high as he could. Eric shot him in the head and he went limp, falling to one side as Eric, Mike and the women reached Jimmy.

"You ok?" Eric asked.

"I'll live," Jimmy replied, getting up.

"Take this," Eric said, handing the Glock to Jimmy and picking up the MP5," I've only got one more clip for this baby,"

The women suddenly screamed and the three of them turned to see two people grab her, tearing away at her arm. Eric rose the gun, but as he did, five more people emerged from the doorway and more could be heard following them.

"Run!" Eric said, firing into the crowd that was emerging from the door.

"Come on," Jimmy said," to the elevator,"

Mike didn't need telling twice, he was already halfway down the hall towards it. Jimmy followed him leaving the sounds of the dying women and shooting behind them. They reached the elevator as someone appeared from down the hall, Jimmy fired a shot, hitting him in the chest. He stumbled, but started running towards him.

"Eric!" Jimmy called," come on!"

Eric turned and ran backwards, firing at their legs, there were too many to kill and he needed to slow them down. Jimmy turned and shot the man down the hall, hitting him between the eyes while Mike held open the elevator doors.

Eric leapt into the elevator and turned, firing rapid fire at the faces coming towards them. The doors closed and the three of them leant against the walls to breathe.

"Well," Mike said," that was a rush,"