11.
With a swing that made my muscles ache, I sent a severed arm flying away from me. The Creeper howled in agony but kept coming as it bared its teeth and charged at me.
Before I could move to meet it, Laurie was there, thrusting a knife into his chest and he dropped dead instantly.
I swung the machete higher, cutting through flesh and bone as blood spilled all around me and I finally finished the others.
3.
We stumbled backwards, tripping over the fallen bodies in the dark as we hurried back to the device.
2, 1.
More Creepers were running at us from the far end of the passage, too many of them. The screen flashed blank then the message I’d been waiting for appeared on it.
'Start synchronisation?'
I hit the green button, smearing the screen with blood.
'Synchronisation underway.'
I grabbed Laurie's arm, wheeling her awa
y from the monsters and we ran as fast as we fucking could in the other direction.
Job done. Now we just needed to get out of here alive.
My feet pounded against the hard floor as I raced for the end of the row and flung myself around the corner. The sounds of pursuit were close behind me but I was maintaining my lead through a pure and unfiltered desire to survive.
I ran so fast that I was afraid I’d fall but I couldn’t afford to slow for a single second. I raced past several more rows of consoles and the layout of the room changed. Instead of long rows of computers, there were round columns dotted throughout the space, the consoles still dimly illuminated by the blue LEDs.
The columns were big, each about two metres in diameter and spaced unevenly which created a maze of paths to take and a chance for me to escape.
I shot through the first gap and twisted between column after column, changing my route constantly to make it harder for the Creepers to follow my trail.
The sounds of pursuit slowed and I chanced a look over my shoulder. Relief spilled through me as I realised I'd lost them. But the thumping of my footsteps on the concrete floor was suddenly a blaring alarm announcing my position and I swung around another console before pulling up short and pressing my back to it.
I drew in a ragged breath and tried to stay calm. I forced my breathing to slow and closed my eyes, listening.
Nothing, nothing, nothing…slap. Just faintly, so faint I wasn't sure I'd heard it at all but then, slap slap.
It sounded horribly like bare feet on concrete and I bit down on my bottom lip as I tried to figure out where the sound was coming from.
I opened my eyes and glanced around the edge of the console. The noise sounded like it had come from that way so I shifted carefully away and moved to hide behind another.
My heart thudded unevenly as I crept across the floor, placing the rubber soles of my boots with care so as not to make a noise.
Slap slap slap. One of them was moving quickly between the columns, trying to find me.
I came to the wall at the back of the room. It was so dim away from the red lighting that I only knew the wall was there by running my hand along it.
I pressed myself against the cool stone and squinted back towards the consoles. Slap slap. A shadow shifted across some of the flashing LEDs and a rustling noise broke the silence. Slowly, I started moving along the wall, my fingers trembling as they traced the smooth stone behind my back.
“Find a mole without a soul!" A gravelly voice called out from the darkness. The sound was so unexpected that I flinched, banging into the wall behind me. My boot made a squealing sound as it twisted against the floor.
I didn't wait to find out if it had heard me. I moved quickly, letting my fingertips guide the way.
A chorus of laughter broke out from several locations within the consoles that stood between me and the way out. And I had the horrible feeling that I was going to die down here, ripped apart by these monsters and left down here forever more.