'Anna, I think there's another creature in the main building.'

With Matt's words, I had to slow down to a stop and lift my hand to adjust the radio in my ear once again because our frantic movements had shaken it loose. Becker must have heard my steps slowing, because a moment later he stopped too and retreated back towards me.

I could barely hear what Matt was saying and I was about to ask him to repeat it when it clicked. 'It's tracking the two boys.'

'How many creatures in the canteen?' I called back in response.

'Three,' he postulated, 'I think.'

'Con– are you and Danny gonna get to the boys?'

I heard Connor hum uncertainly but it was Danny who answered. 'Not sure we've got enough time. Right or left?'

There was a brief silence as Connor considered Danny's question. 'Um, I don't know.'

'Right or left, make a decision.'

'Right.'

'We're gonna try our best Ace,' Danny continued, and I could hear from the unevenness of his tone that they were obviously running again. 'But I don't know if we can make it.'

Just as I looked up to Becker and opened my mouth to speak he said 'I'll get to the cafeteria–'

'–I'll get the boys,' I finished with a nod. And we both turned simultaneously and took off in opposite direction.

'A, we've just seen them.'

'Think they're heading back to the gym.'

I groaned again as I stumbled to a halt and quickly course corrected. 'Jesus Christ!' it was a fucking slalom down here today. Of course they were heading back to the gym.

I skidded around the hallway corner and started back up a flight of stairs.

I couldn't find them.

I ran back through the deserted sports hall, past the creature Becker had stunned earlier and out the other side into the corridor leading off into the changing rooms.

I checked through all of them, even the boys –which smelt like B.O– and was filled with steam from the showers that made it almost impossible to see clearly.

And I knew that meant they must have been nearby at some point, but I couldn't even catch a whiff. I sighed, 'I can't find them.' I called through the earpiece.

'They're here!' Connor called back, 'I've just seen them, ground floor, east stairwell. I've got a bit of an issue, Matt, I need these doors open now.'

And somewhere in the background I could hear hands banging against the glass, and Danny's not so distant voice shouting back at them to calm down and stay quiet.

'Hang on, I'm nearly there.'

'Matt,' I continued, 'you've got to get those doors unlocked! I'm in pursuit. Don't know how far.' I turned a corner to another staircase and immediately started down it.

'Matt this would be a really good time to excel at your job.'

I could just about make out the sound of voice travelling up it from somewhere below, so I increased my sped, and kept my gaze down at my feet to make sure I didn't trip, and the further down I got the louder the voice became.

I was above them and approaching fast.

'I'm nearly there.'

I heard a sudden rumble, a hollow cracking that echoed back up to me, and peering down the centre of the staircase I glanced down just in time to see a section of wall on the flight below start to crumble away.

It started with the tiles which gave way as a creature came charging through from underneath.

'There!'

I leapt down the last flight, rounding to face the landing where the creature was coming from, half a flight below me, wrestling its way through the wall.

I heard the doors open. A stampede of footsteps echoed across the floor just as the creature sprung back and readied itself to pounce.

I reached out, took the banister in one hand to hurdled it, throwing my whole body over and down. I hit the creature just as it leapt forward, knocking it out the air and forcing it down onto the stairs. It hit the ground hard and I landed on top of it. Then out of habit, I glanced up just in time to see Danny pull the trigger on his EMD. My eyes widened, I threw my weight back and toppled back onto the landing just behind the creature as the charge hit it.

The creature let out a guttural sort of groan before it's head thunked down against the steps.

I pushed myself back onto my elbows.

'Jesus, Ace,' Danny started apologetically, 'I'm so– where the hell did you even come from?'

I sat up, a little out of breath, and pointed vaguely in the direction. 'I was–' I flapped my hand. 'No worries. Good shot.' I climbed back onto my feet and brushed down the clay and calk dust from the broken wall off the back of my jeans.

'What took you so long?' Connor questioned, from his place against the wall where he was standing protectively in front of the kids.

I shot him a look of slight annoyance and reached out to grab both sides of the railing about halfway down the stairwell, before I swung down, hopping over the creature and landing on the last few steps of the staircase.

'This place is a fucking maze,' I replied, 'I've been up and down a hundred times now and I still don't know which fucking way it is.' My attention shifted briefly off of Connor and Danny back to the boys who were standing– wide eyed and terrified– against the wall like they were desperately trying to blend into the posters behind them. I looked back to Connor again. 'Right, get these guys out of here, I'm gonna–' I gestured back over my shoulder '–help Becker.' I looked through the double doors Connor had opened, trying to determine where exactly I was in the building, but I had no clue.

My phone starting ringing again. I quickly pulled it out and glanced at the caller I.D again. It was the same number as earlier. I sighed as I declined it and put it away.

Then I turned back to the kids, offered a quick smile, before I pointed as if by way of explanation. 'What's the quickest way back to the canteen?' I asked. 'And please tell me I don't have to go up anymore stairs.'

'Matt, we need back–up. This place is crawling with them.'

'Becker, I'm on my way back now,' I responded to his statement through the comms, as I jumped through another set of double doors within the maze of hallways leading back to the cafeteria.

'Okay, watch out on your way through they're under the tables–'

It was hardly noticeably that it wasn't a completed statement so much so I wasn't immediately concerned by the subsequent silence that followed until I rounded the corner of the cafeteria hallway and glanced through the doors to search for him inside the canteen. 'Becker?' I pushed the door open and stepped inside, immediately running to one of the tables and jumping up onto it. I couldn't see any creatures– at least none that we still moving– there were a couple of unconscious therocephalians laid out like a bread crumb trail leading back through the canteens towards the serving stations. He wasn't here.

'Becker…' I called out through the comm for him again, louder, a little firmer, like maybe he hadn't heard before because he was too busy. But again there was no response. 'Becker!' I jumped across to the next row of tables to follow the trail of creature. When I got no response yet again and uncomfortable sort of tightness swelled in my chest. A flare of panic hit me. 'Matt? I can't reach him where is he?'

'Comm says he's right there.'

'Well he isn't,' I returned shortly. I jumped the last gap between the tables and hopped over the dividing wall into the serving station. 'Connor– I've lost Becker, I need to you to do something now! Right now!'

'A, I'll see what we can do,' Connor replied.

'We're on it,' Danny added in promise.

I ran along the top of the dividing wall and jumped out onto one of the serving carts. From there I could see all the creatures in the kitchen– the overflowing incursion Becker had talked about– because there were so many of them they were piled up on top of one another– and whilst most of them looked either unconscious or asleep there were the odd few who were sniffing around.

I called out again for Becker again, stepping up off the cart to climb through into the kitchen with the sinks and the ovens and the pots and pans. 'Becker!'

'Here!'

The relief that flooded through me was so debilitating I almost slipped as I climbed down from the worktop. His hand came up, just visible over the counter tops. I weaved through the kitchen towards him. And when I skidded down in beside him I could tell immediately that he was hurt. 'What happened?'

'One of them bit me.'

I dropped my head, mouth twitching to a distressed sort of grimace as I started to scan his body for some sort of injury. 'Where?'

He lifted a hand to point to his thigh and pulled his leg in towards his chest by way of explanation. 'I'm okay.'

'You're not okay,' I replied, 'you've been bit.' But as if on cue there was a rattle from somewhere behind me and I saw Becker snatch his gun up and fire before I could even turn around. The E.M.D went off. Before I finally glanced back the creature was lying a few feet away from us, unconscious. I caught his eye knowingly. 'Thanks.'

He nodded, 'anytime...'

'I need to look at it right now but not here. Get up, come on.'

I reached out, hooking an arm around his back, I encourage him to shift his weight forward onto his legs and his arm wrapped in turn around my shoulder.

It took most of my strength to just help him back onto his feet, and when he wobbled I thought for a moment that we were both going to go down but he caught himself just in time.

'There.'

I followed his line of vision towards the walk–in fridge beside us. I swallowed. No. I couldn't possibly go in there. Way too small.

And my rigidity must have caught his attention because I'd anchored myself so firmly out of sheer fright that I couldn't even lean any closer to it.

'Anna.'

There wasn't anywhere else, he knew, and I knew it, and I knew he knew that I knew it but that didn't mean I liked it. Except– if I didn't get his wound looked at and sterilised, and neutralise the venom in his system, I also knew he wouldn't long be dead. And I wasn't going to lose anyone else.

I toppled forward, crossing the gap from our position to the fridge on the wall. I opened the door and dragged us both inside.