Greyhound

6.

There are 9 of us.
There's the girls: Greyhound, Zandra, Kira the Witch, TANA the cyborg.
There's the boys: Otto the Freak, Ryan, Alfie, Isaac the Beast, and Jason the Smoke Mimic.
There are 9 of us.
Nine of us who must save the world.
Only 8 will live.
---
It'd been hours since Alfie's wings had been exposed. Hours since Gray had said the truth to Zandra and everyone.
Harriet had left the group to themselves; after endless meetings, testings, and training sessions, Dylan had managed to convince her to let them do what they want. It was all just waiting game now. Boggs' location was unknown, and without knowing where Boggs was they couldn't do anything - send a cure out, try to slow down the process of a world epidemic. They were more or less useless; stuck.
Otto Winters, Harriet's son, spoke first in the ongoing silence that surrounded them. He was tall, with dark skin and, just like his mother, had brown puppy-like eyes.
"So, Ryan, what do you do?" Otto asked Ryan, who was trying not stare at Kira.
Ryan was a tall, muscular, and had a black quiff that stuck up smoothly. He had grey eyes, and the way he cocked his jaw made him seem cocky; arrogant.
His eyes turned away from the witch and back to Otto. "Mostly gun work. I'm not one for any cardiac vascular exercises, so I usually get around on a motorbike." He said, running his hand through his hair.

"What about you?"
"Radioactivity. I can, um...control radioactive energy, and also things like heat and stuff. It's pretty cool." Otto explained. Ryan nodded in approval, before quickly glancing at Alfie.
"Well we all know Alfie can fly." He said with a chuckle. "What about Isaac?". The people in the room turned to Isaac, who sat without his carer for once. At the mention of his name he glanced up, not looking with his eyes but with his ears instead. "What can you do Isaac?"
Isaac blushed, ruffling his curly hair. He'd not spoken a word to hardly anyone since he got here, so it was strange to hear him speak so confidently. "Shape shifter. I can, turn into this monster thing. It's weird." He mumbled.
"Can you show us?" Zandra asked. Isaac, cocked his head in her direction and laughed slightly.
"Don't think there's much room." He admitted, a small chuckle escaping his lips. "Don't sound like there is anyway."
And then, silence. The people in the room seemed to either lose interest in what people had to say, or they felt something, deep within ECLIPSE. A loud bang echoed along the pipes, and outside the room people seemed to run up and down the hall.
But Gray heard it before anyone else.
"Boggs." She muttered, jolting up from her slouched position. The others looked at the mad girl as she put her ear to the door, listening, waiting.
"Gray, what's happening?" Zandra asked getting to her feet. Gray didn't move; her body remained still as she pressed her ear against the door. Before Zandra could ask again, Gray moved from the door, and began to look around the room. The people surrounding her looked at each other in confusion, watching her wild movements.
"Is there any other way out of here?!" Gray asked, desperate. Otto got to his feet and began looking around; eyeing the floor, walls and ceiling.
"There's the ventilation system underneath one of the tiles," Zandra added. Gray began tapping her feet against the tiles, hearing the sounds of footsteps slowly getting closer to their door. Finally, one of the tiles echoed, and after her and Otto removed it from the the floor, it revealed a long tunnel that dropped down before turning off into the shafts. Gray signalled everyone to be quiet, before jumping down, her small frame only making a silent thud. She continued down the tunnel, gesturing for the others to follow.
Now, as they stared down into the dark tunnel of the shafts, the others could hear loud footsteps approaching, the booming of thick boots getting louder with each step.
"Go, now!" Otto shouted, grabbing Ryan and pushing him down the shaft. Kira followed and so did Alfie. Tana, who had been so quiet no one had noticed her, guided Isaac down the shaft, before going down herself. Jason, who too had remained silent the whole time, jumped down quietly. Otto and Zandra, the remaining two, froze as they heard the footsteps outside the door, a distant bang going off somewhere in the building. Zandra jumped, grabbing Otto by the jacket she dragged him down the shaft, Otto having just enough time to see the door slowly open and then drop the tile back into place, sealing the nine off from the world, into a shaft-like tomb.
---
Dylan ran through the underground halls of ECLIPSE, the distant sounds of screams and bangs echoing along the halls. He had no idea what was going on; Gray had admitted herself that she felt okay to stay with the group, and of course being the idiot he was left her with no security, not that she trusted anyone else, anyway. He'd been sat in his office reading an endless of paper work when suddenly, the whole building shook, and a red alarm began to light up the room. He had just enough time to grab his bag when Harriet sent a message:
BOGGS. WARN OTHERS.
Immediately, he made a be-line for the stairs, running up the twisted steps whilst everyone run down, obviously heading for the main entrance. Dylan, no matter what, didn't stop. At one point he grabbed his gun from his belt and aimed it at the small group of people he saw running along a corridor, but never pulled the trigger. Loud noises can attract them, and like  zombies, they too are cannibals.
When he was sure there was no one else around, he made a run for the meeting room where Gray and the others were. Upon arrival, he froze, before hiding behind the wall. Exiting the room was Boggs, Eliza, and a large black figure who Dylan assumed was Soulhunter. He pressed his back against the wall, wanting to be able to camouflage himself so he wouldn't be seen. He could hear them; Boggs's loud footsteps on the tiles, the slithering of Soulhunter's skin, the sound of Eliza humming. Dylan grabbed the gun from his belt and held it ready. He'd never actually shot someone before, and deep down, he didn't think he had the guts to do it.
Until he saw him.
A boy, or a man, at the end of the hall, thin and frail yet full of energy, the vein in his vein pulsating rapidly, saw Dylan and starting running on all fours, a loud screech echoing from his rabid mouth. Dylan pointed the gun at him, his heart pounding as he felt his finger pressing the trigger down slowly. He couldn't do it...he wouldn't do it...
It wasn't until the man was 5 feet away from him did Dylan actually pull the trigger.
It seemed to go slow; the mans body stopped, and was forced backwards, blood squirting all across Dylan's shirt and face. He gasped, shakily wiping the blood from his face, slowly trying to control his now rapid breathing. He gripped the gun tightly, not wanting to drop it in case he saw another infected person.
When he managed to contain himself, he slid the gun back into his belt, and looked back at the door. Instead of the seeing the room, Dylan was confronted with a man with short hair, black eyes, a narrow nose and a prominent jaw. He wore boots, thick trackie bottoms and a long sleeved shirt. He smiled at Dylan; the person seemingly more friendly than Dylan had anticipated.
"Boggs," Dylan whispered. Boggs chuckled, stepping aside from Eliza and standing in front of Dylan.
"You must be Dylan," he spoke, looking at him curiously. "The smart one."
"Well, technically, everyone is smart just in their own..."
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you."
Dylan froze, staring at Boggs as he pulled out a pistol from his belt pointed it at Dylan's head. He shakily stared down the barrel, watching as Eliza and Soulhunter behind him looked at Boggs, a hint of wonder on Eliza's face.
But Dylan didn't have a reason. He'd never met Boggs up until now, so why would Boggs have any reason to kill him?
Dylan was just about to say, 'because you don't know me.' When he realised: Gray.
Dylan had been the one to see her when he first brought her in from Boggs' place. He'd been the one to send ECLIPSE's security team after Boggs and kill him. He didn't have a reason; it was his fault that Boggs had created the virus. Maybe if he'd just had left it; got the girl and then left him, but no. He let his emotions and feelings run wild and he had to let his anger get the better of him. If he'd had just got the girl, and left it, maybe he wouldn't have pissed off an enraged Boggs.
"You don't." Dylan found himself saying. Boggs didn't flinch, keeping the barrel pointing at Dylan's forehead, but his facial expression did change from anger to curiosity. "You don't know me and I don't know you. But we've both caused each other a lot of misery. You tortured and almost killed the one who means most to me, and I nearly killed you. It was me who caused you to be like this. And I'm sorry. But no, I don't have a reason. So go ahead," Dylan stood up straight and pressed his forehead against the barrel, closing his eyes. "You'll never find her."
Boggs hesitated. Eliza and Soulhunter's eyes were on him, as if forcing him to pull the trigger. But he never budged. Instead, he pulled the gun away from the mans head, and without waiting for the others, he took off down the hall, ignoring Eliza's quiet protests.
Dylan opened his eyes and took a deep breath, looking out for anymore infected, before taking off, trying not to think of what had just happened.
When he arrived at the room where the others were meant to be, it was empty; the room still in tact, but there was no sign of life anywhere.
Until he heard the tapping of fingers against one of the tiles.
He stood frozen, listening for the tapping. When he eventually heard it again, it seemed to do it in a pattern, as if drumming to a song that had no words. He knew immediately; Gray.
He moved towards the tile slowly, gently leaning his head against the tile, listening.
The tapping continued, and he listened carefully, making sure that this person, deep beneath the tiled floor, was Gray.
"Gray?" Dylan whispered. Nothing the tapping stopped, as if whoever was inside was listening also. "Gray? Are you down there?"
Moments after Dylan spoke, the tile was pushed upwards and aside, revealing Gray and the others, trapped in the ventilation system.
Dylan, who stared down in shock, slowly grabbed Gray's hand, helping her up. He helped the others; Otto and Zandra being the last ones in there.
"What were you guys doing down there?" Dylan asked quietly, still in shock.
"Boggs came looking for us. Fortunately Greyhound over here heard it from a mile away and managed to get us out." Zandra commented, nodding towards Gray. The group looked at her in wonder, whilst she stared out the door, her eyes captivated on a lifeless body outside the room.
"We have to move." She whispered. "Now."
---
The group moved silently through ECLIPSE; Gray holding onto Dylan as he lead the group, whilst Otto and Zandra took up the rear. They moved silently, the distant echoes of mad laughter and screaming making them jump with every step. Dylan would freeze whenever they approached a corner, turning on the spot to get a view of every angle, checking for signs of any life forms.
"Where are we going?" Zandra whispered as they ran down a hall.
"The main exit. Everyone has had to evacuate." Dylan whispered back as they stopped once more.
To say that ECLIPSE was quite small on the outside, the inside was massive, with endless hallways and staircases, and then the underground levels in which they were currently in.
As they approached another hallway, the group froze at the sound of moans and screams coming from the open hall. Peeking round, Dylan had to force himself not to scream when he saw a group of at least 50 infected people, some running round and others sat, heads in hands rocking slightly. Dylan turned back to the others, to scared to even speak.
"What do we do?" Ryan asked. Dylan thought for a moment, before gesturing the group to stay where they were. He silently walked past the hall, reaching the other side without being noticed. He gestured for Gray to follow. She quietly tip-toed along the rules floor, gently placing her feet in unusual places. The others, from seeing how graceful and quiet she acted, could now see why they called her Greyhound.
After Gray, the others followed in pursuit. Alfie, Kira, Tana and Ryan soon followed.

Jason was the last, besides Zandra and Otto, to make it across. He was clumsy, and tripped over his own feet constantly. Zandra cringed every time he tripped and landed with a thud. Even though the hallway was relatively thin, it looks