They filed out of the emergency exit of the factory after Sebastian gave the all clear. Brooklyn had kept a nervous silence through the ordeal. Though to be fair the only member of the group who didn't seem to be at all effected by Shalizar's death was Gabe. She didn't know what Annabelle had planned to do but she knew what had to happen. She had seen Sebastian take aim long before the Templar saw the lizardling's death coming. Now she couldn't bear to look at the angry woman. Part of her felt pity for her noble but vain efforts and part of her felt shame for not bothering to do anything about the situation. In the end she was relieved that Sebastian had been the one to step up and pull the trigger first. Shalizar was dead as soon as he had been bitten, she knew that, and to her discomfort she realized that she would have taken up the role of executioner had it come down to that, but it would not have been easy.

Brooklyn kept both eyes on their surroundings, still jumpy from the incident, and found herself looking over her shoulder more than she should. She stopped only inches from Sebastian's back, nearly slamming into him.

"What?" she asked quickly, "Why are we stopped?" Her head swiveled around surveying for the hundredth time but then she followed his eyes. Up on the roof of the factory they had only just left another hulking creature, larger than the last, crept over the edge. Another came behind it. Their forms shuddered and twitched before a pair of the same aching screams they had heard earlier shattered over the landscape. A hand darted for her ear as she winced in pain. She could barely hear Sebastian over the comm.

"Run!" he ordered them. She obeyed immediately, as did the others and bolted after him.

As they ran another ghoul leaped up over a row of scrap that lined the path. With that bone chilling war cry it made a b-line for Gabe. A mistake. The man stopped in his tracks, twisted away from the ghoul, drew the laser sword from his hip, fired it up, leaned into a side step and slashed the monster in half with one fluid motion. He severed its head from its shoulders on the back swing. The ghoul hit the ground in no less than three pieces. Gabe turned and continued sprinting. 

Up ahead loomed what looked to be some kind of apartment building. On a small plaque above the double doors read, "Employee Housing." Most likely for the factory but the group could care less about that right now. Sebastian wasted no time kicking the door open and the other three slid in after him. As soon as they were clear three well placed rifle bursts rendered a tailing ghoul into a dismembered mess. Brooklyn aimed her gun out the door as well. There was nothing out there now.

"Where's the other one?" she gasped. The others were silent as they looked.

"What other o--" Gabe started but was interrupted by a glass pane bursting behind him.

Already looking down the scope, Brooklyn wheeled toward the window and followed the ghoul's form as it hit the ground. There was no thought. She didn't have time to think. The very instant the scope lined up with the ghoul she pulled the trigger. A deep [i]POP[/i] split the air as a bullet screamed past Gabe's head and blew bits of flesh all over the front desk.

Stillness rang in her ears, her body pumping more and more adrenaline into her blood, as the body of the ghoul convulsed in death illuminated by one of the shafts of dusty light coming from the entryway windows. It's head barely stayed attached to it's neck thanks to what little was left of it's jaw. It quickly stilled. She took a step back. She killed it... 

Gabe slapped a hand on her shoulder as he passed, "Nice shot. Warn me next time." He was rolling his jaw and trying to stop the ringing in one ear as he headed for the back of the building. 

Brooklyn still backed away from the corpse into the center of the dark lobby, the ancient beams of the floor groaning under her weight with each step.

"Come on!" Sebastian hissed at her, "Or do you want to wait for more to show up?" The three of them were making their way down the wide hallway to the other side of the complex. 

"Right," Brooklyn snapped out of it and shook her head before taking a wide stride toward them. She wanted nothing more than to keep moving. Another deep groan followed her boot hitting the floor and a shrill, hollow whine called from the floor as her weight shifted forward. She looked at the floor and slowed trying to spread her weight more evenly in order to make less noise. [i]Damn noise![/i] She mentally berated herself. [i]Kree-CRACK![/i] A scream caught silently in her throat as her foot dropped and her stomach lurched upward. Another splintering crack as the opposite knee collided with the wood and went through it. Her elbows and hands hit the floor but did nothing to stop her. The rotting timbers could barely support themselves. Then she found herself weightless as a spot of light above sped away. Her back slammed into something solid, knocking the wind from her lungs, but that too gave way almost immediately. She hit the next floor like a sandbag. 

Electrifying pain reverberated back and forth in waves through her entire body. Darkness consumed her. Her head felt like it would rupture. Air finally entered her lungs with a quiet, high pitched whistle. It could only be described as if she was drowning and being forced to breathe through a straw, but at least she was breathing. Brooklyn's squeaky breaths finally turned into shallow gasps and finally a groan as she struggled to get up off her back. Little bits of panic began to slip into her mind. She worried she may have broken something, but as she moved around she could feel no serious pain. In her ringing ears she was beginning to hear voices over her comm. Mostly Sebastian's. She tried to speak as she felt over herself for any wounds but her words came out only as strained inaudible noises and lead to a coughing fit as her lungs took on more oxygen. Mostly she was feeling minor scrapes and bumps but upon inspecting a long burning sensation up the backside of her hip and ribs her fingers came up wet. She could barely see in what little light reached down here and could only hope the injury wasn't serious. Brooklyn groaned again. Her head was spinning violently. The voices still rang in her ears.

"I think I'm okay," she was able to rasp quietly. With some difficulty she pushed herself up on her feet. A sharp pain in her ankle left her staggering around on the debris covered concrete but she remained standing. She looked up from where she had fallen and could see the holes through the two floors she had fallen through along with movement around the first. How was she going to get out of here? "Damn," the girl swore softly. The others couldn't risk sticking around here much longer. This place would quickly become a deathtrap. After finding her gun, doing some fiddling, and some thinking she located a light on her wristband. It wasn't much but it would do. She would at least be able to see the ground in front of her. Her heart was beating fast. She didn't know exactly what she was going to do, or what might be down here with her, but staying wasn't an option. Shining the light around revealed an old sign that had long since fallen to the floor. The word "EXIT" along with a diagram of stairs and an arrow pointing to her right could only just be made out.

"You guys keep going," Brooklyn said with a shaking voice. She swallowed hard, "I-- I'm going to try and find my way out and if-- if I do then... I'll catch up with you at the compound." Brooklyn held her pistol upward along with the soft blue light and started looking for the exit.