No Grey Patches

Part 1

Chapter one

The echo of quiet footsteps bounced off of the shelves either side of the pair of armed hunters as they threaded as lightly as they could on the concrete ground in darkness. Breathing was kept to a minimum and senses were heightened as their racing hearts were the only detectable give-away. Their gloved hands were gripped around silver blades and loaded guns. At the twitch of a finger their prey would be sprawled lifeless on the ground.

At the signal, Melanie Shea stepped forward and pressed her back against a metal shelf that ended the aisle. In the darkness the silouhette of Nathanial Greyson pressed himself flat alongside the one parallel to her. His face was barely visible in the darkness as she watched and mimicked him take a deep breath and nod to her; in synchronisation they retrieved their torches from their belts and shone them on opposite sides of the aisle. Melanie gasped as the tail end of hairy legs disappeared from the beam of light and out of her crosshairs as they scattered to the next aisle, sending tins of paint flying from the neatly stacked shelves.

"Quick, this way!" Melanie moved before Nathanial could respond, dashing diagonally across the floor and after the monster.

"Mel!" He didn't wait for her to call back, instead he followed after her, using the other aisle to cover more ground.

Melanie ran with her torch in the air and her gun pointed to the ground, skidding around the corner as tumbling tins and canisters fell to the hard floor. A deep growl echoed around her and sent chills up and down her spine; she stopped where she stood. Her breath was no longer silent. In front of her Nathaniel slid around the corner, eyes wide with curiosity and excitement as he too came to a halt. His eyes lingered on something over her shoulder; something that could not be fully made out in the shadows in the wide gap between the two sets of aisles.

Another shiver-inducing growl enveloped them.

"Mel," Nathanial's brown eyes looked almost black behind his torch. His jaw tightened and then loosened as he began to smile. "Run!" Melanie didn't wait to be told again; she started into a sprint, passing by Nathanial and grabbing his arm as she did s,dragging him and forcing him to keep up with her. As they neared the wall ahead she was pushed to the ground and on to her knees, her hands not fast enough to save her face from the ground. She felt her face scrape the concrete and swore as her skin tore.

In unison, two loud howls circled them. Her heart jumped into her throat as one of the hairy beasts could be heard feet from them.

"Nate there's more than one!" She got to her feet, watching the darkness and raising her gun as droplets of red rolled down onto her neck.

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