7- only for emergencies (unconventional weapon / magic with a cost / it's us or them)

A ball rolling down the stairs put the three older men on alert and cut short the tension that had built up. Steve and Matt, weapons in hand, climbed the stairs without a sound. Danny took cover behind the shelves, where the contents had been pushed aside to clear the line of fire on potential arrivals.

"TK," he whispered. "Find something to defend yourself with, quietly, and take cover."

The young man swept his gaze around the room and spotted the accessories section. He went there and opted for a plastic scythe - everything was made of plastic anyway - which seemed sturdy enough and would mean he wouldn't have to get too close to their attackers if they ever came down.

Once armed, he went to stand beside Danny, who gave him an amused glance.

"What?" murmured the younger man.

"Nothing, your choice seems very apropos."

"I won't use it unless I have to."

"Like any weapon, conventional or not."

Shots rang out, bringing silence between them, a few cries reached them, then nothing more.

Nothing happened for several long minutes. The two men's immobility and ignorance of what was happening outside put their nerves to the test. The minutes ticked by and the tension mounted, until, almost twenty minutes after the detonations, Steve descended the stairs four by four.

Danny barely held back a shot.

"You moron, I almost killed you!" he snapped.

"I love you too. We have to go, now!"

"What's going on?"

"They ran into Will on his way back, followed him here. The safe house is compromised. The guys are hiding the bodies. We're taking all the weapons and supplies we can without getting in the way. Jim found another possible place."

Neither Danny nor TK responded. The urgency in the man's voice was crystal clear, and his tone brooked no response. The three of them prepared to leave in two minutes and climbed the stairs on their guard, Steve first. He gave orders by sign, and Danny immediately adapted his behavior. No words were spoken as they exited the attraction, but three men positioned themselves around them, weapons in hand. The one who took the lead was bald, short for a man and very thin. TK guessed it was Jim.

The group moved forward as a group, slipping quietly through the shadows. The rescuer was impressed by their ability to pass unnoticed, and wondered how any of them could have been followed. From the very first minutes of their journey, he was certain that at least four of them were military men who were used to moving forward together; they made almost all their movements together, as one man, it was almost frightening. Only Danny, who had also adopted the same style of movement, seemed to have had different training.

Suddenly, there was a thud, Jim closed his point at head height and the whole group stopped. A series of signs followed, and Danny drew TK into a recess, miming his silence. The man he guessed to be Will, a slim, muscular man of Asian descent, stood in ambush with them, ready to shoot. Steve, Matt and Jim had disappeared into the shadows.

The roar of motorcycles reached them and drew closer. The fifteen or so machines were idling, the animal-headed men looking in all directions. They were looking for something.

The younger man's blood ran cold, certain that they were the object of the search. Danny's hand came to rest on his hip and forced him against the door behind him. The older man's body recoiled until it brushed against him. TK began to breathe as softly as possible; one of the bikers was closing in on them. Will hadn't moved. He remained motionless until the biker reached him and their eyes met.