Dylan drove.
The nine of them had managed to squeeze into one of the biggest cars they could find, with Gray in the passenger seat at the front, Zandra, Otto, Harriet, Jason, Tana, Alfie and Isaac in the back, and then Kira and Ryan in the boot.
Gray stared out the window in fascination; even though the world was in peril, with people sat in the streets and police offers shutting off roads. They saw Dylan's black jeep and moved aside to let them through, Gray staring at them in wonder. It's been the first time in a few years since she had been in a car; when she was in France she used to either walk or ride around in a helicopter, and when she was brought to ECLIPSE she thought she'd been brought via plane, although she couldn't remember. The city to her was beautiful; tall, dazzling buildings that reflected in the ongoing sunlight. The streets were empty, yet they were fascinating, with blooming streets plants that dotted every corner.
Dylan reached out with his free hand and rubbed her shoulder gently. For once, she didn't flinch or even look at him, she just remained looking out the windows, the sound of the tires against the smooth road soothing her.
"When this all ends, I'll take you shopping properly." Dylan whispered to her when she eventually turned round. She blushed, a feeling of embarrassment flowing through her. She turned briefly to see if anyone had heard, but the rest of them had their heads rested either on shoulders or windows, and in the boot she could see Kira's head on Ryan's the hands entwined.
Oh, how nice it would be to fall in love, Gray thought.
---
The group eventually pulled up to a small house in the middle of nowhere, the cottage surrounded by thick pine trees. The house was made of cobblestone, and it's roof was made from thick wood. It had many windows, which made it seem bigger than it actually was. A tall, iron gate at the side of the house indicated that there was more round the back, but when Alfie asked what was there Dylan shrugged and continued walking to the door.
"Is this your house?" Gray asked Dylan as he unlocked the front door.
"Kind of." He replied. "I live at Headquarters. I rent this place."
The others followed him inside, taking turns to enter through the small door that led inside.
Inside the house seemed luxurious; a kitchen sat on the left of the house, whilst on the right was a large living with plush sofas and chairs. A glass coffee table say in the middle, and the sofas circled around a small, flat TV. At the far corner was a stair case that not only led up but down, which led to the basement and spare rooms, Dylan said.
"Why are we here?" Asked Zandra. Dylan went into the kitchen and turned the kettle on, grabbing cups out of the cupboard and filling them with tea.
"We'll discuss it later. Everyone go upstairs and get a shower. Except Tana."
---
Gray pulled the band from her hair, and almost fell into the shower.
Warm showers were her favourite thing in the world. When she had first arrived at ECLIPSE they had not let her use any warm water, so she had to use cold showers. Dylan had managed to rig the pipes so that she could have them warm, and since then she fell in love.
When everyone had showered and changed, the group met downstairs in the living room, piling on top of plush sofas and chairs. They gathered round the TV watching the news, their eyes strained on looking at the horrific images on the screen.
"The epidemic has now taken over all of Europe. Flights have been cancelled and no one is allowed to leave the country. Scientists say that if they don't find a cure soon, the disease will take over the entire planet." The news reporter said gravely. After a few minutes of the TV flashing images of the infected, Dylan turned the television off, silence filling the room. The others stretched, completely shocked by the news. Not many of them had families; the location of Kira's family was unknown, Ryan's, Zandra's, Alfie's, and Jason's were all dead.
"Haven't we got a cure?" Zandra asked eventually.
Harriet frowned. "Yes. However we can't get it out until Boggs is taken down."
"But we don't know where Boggs is." Alfie said. Harriet nodded, turning to look out of the window.
"We've discovered that Boggs' experiments have not only created a disease, but have invaded Boggs' blood stream. This causes him to become agitated, which then leads to him turning into some kind of rage monster. When he's in this mode we found that there's some kind of telepathic connection between him and the ones who have officially turned." Harriet explained. "We need Boggs dead so we can get the cure out. If he's still in power then the cure we have will have no use."
"And you know this how?" Zandra asked once more.
"Testing. We managed to use a hair strand and test it." Harriet said. "So now we know this, we need to make a plan.
"I've decided that, for the safety of you all, Zandra and Otto will be in charge. You stick with one of them at all times, understood?" Harriet instructed, glancing over at Otto and Zandra who sat in the corner, Zandra flicking a small pocket knife around.
"Okay, so now what?" Alfie asked. "We've got our leaders or whatever, so what do we do now?"
"With ECLIPSE down there's not a lot we can actually do. Because the building is filled with toxic gas Boggs let loose into some of the air vents, it filled some of the main rooms quite quickly. Our priority was to get you guys out first so that you were all safe. The security guys are going to call us when everything's safe." Dylan explained, standing in the kitchen with his cup of tea. "So, for the mean time, rest, eat, whatever. Just be alert."
---
Tana never slept, so she stayed in the basements trying to re programme the computers. Upstairs, in the bedrooms, were the others. Each room had bunk bed and a single bed, meaning that there were 3 or 2 to a room. The girls, Zandra, Gray and Kira, stayed in one, Zandra taking the top bunk, Kira getting the bottom and Gray getting the single. After their meeting she had gone straight to bed, practically diving into the bed that had extra pillows and blankets. Even though it was the most comfortable thing in the world, Gray still couldn't sleep. She lie awake for hours, pretending to sleep when Zandra and Kira finally came up an hour after her. She heard the others go into their rooms, quietly shuffling around before the house filled with silence.
She eventually got up and headed downstairs, expecting to be alone. She was, but as she sat listening to the quietness surround her, a figure appeared in the kitchen. Gray froze, but when she saw Jason's shaggy haircut she relaxed.
"How come you're up?"
