“Lizzy, we're coming!”

Dallen tried the door.  Locked.  He gave a nod to Briggs, who fired three shells through the knob, splintering the wood frame.  As they rushed in, private Cole released his grip on Elizabeth's throat and he reached for his baretta.  Dallen fired first, striking the man down with two shots to his chest.  Cole flung to the floor, losing his weapon and spitting up blood where he lay.  Dallen stood over him with his handgun aimed at his face.

"W-wait..." Cole spoke.  "I can..."

Dallen pulled the trigger, blowing the man's brains out from his skull and onto the cold flooring.  Kenjen sighed, but was already adapting to the new situation, as he knelt down and picked the man's key card from his pockets.  Leroy handed Kenjen the knife back as he took Cole's baretta.  "Yeah," the pastor said.  "Lets get the hell out of here."

Dallen took a knee next to Elizabeth and Erin.  He put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a nod.  

[color=steelblue] "I'm glad you're okay," [/color] he told her.  [color=steelblue] "Now we have to go." [/color]  There was no time for anything, as the action had already been placed.  The room boomed with noise from the generators, and it didn't seem like anyone else in the Hive had been alerted.  This was just Cole's thing, along with those that followed him.  

"Check this out!" Steven yelled.  He was at a terminal, clicking various buttons until the map of the hive popped up.  "We have to get past another hall, a few stairs, and then we can get to the tunnel through that exit." He pointed at the map, indicating exactly where he meant.  "Looks like the tunnel uses a lift to the top.  We use that douchebags keycard and they'll think we're him.  Hopefully."

"What's that?" Briggs asked, pointing to the top of the screen where many different smaller videos were playing.  

"They access everything through the terminals," Stevens said.  "Those are security cameras watching all of the rooms."  Stevens clicked on the prisoner video, which was completely blacked out.  "Cole must have blacked out our room so he could...well, you know."

[color=steelblue] "That means we don't have a lot of time," [/color] Dallen added.

"No, what's that!" Briggs said again, pointing at one of the screens.

Stevens clicked it to make it larger.  The security camera overlooked a room with many cells within it.  As more options appeared, Stevens clicked the images larger.  There were [i]things[/i] in the cells.  Some appeared to be human, at least at one point.  Others appeared more animalistic.  

"They're experimenting with the virus," Kenjen spoke.  "With, humans."

One of the creatures was as large as a horse, but it was black and brown colored, with gorilla sized palms and a wolf shaped snout.  Its teeth were as sharp as a razor, and they covered the majority of its face.  It crawled in its cell on all fours, twisting its head in all directions of the room.  It was patiently waiting to be freed.

The next screen showed the scientists.  They were working on something on their table, a few caged monkeys and rats making noise behind them.  The screen after that showed a few of the soldiers, some walking down halls, some sleeping, others at desks or at the firing range.  None of them knew they had escaped, at least for now.  Stevens cracked his neck, then went to work using the keycard to engage in the terminal interface.  Within moments, he had every screen blank and the doors they needed unlocked.

It was as simple as a swipe from the keycard, and the circular elevator came down to meet them.  All of them bordered, then the rise began toward the top.  It was quiet most of the way, with a few clanks and crinks sounding off from the old machinery.  Then the alarm sounded and a flashing red light pulsed all around them.

"Relax," Stevens told the group.  "The alarm is for the outage I just gave them.  I kept the lift running, we should reach the top before any of them figure out what's going on."

 A radio crackled on.  "-Cole, Cole where are you..??-"  

Kenjen pulled up the radio he took from the dead man.  

"What are you doing?" Leroy spoke up.

"-One of the subjects escsaped from E4!-  -Send help!-"  Kenjen did his best Cole impersonation, trying to send whoever was on the other end toward the test subjects they had seen.

"-Copy that, on our way-"  the radio voice told them.

It worked, and as the majority of the soldiers were distracted, the elevator reached the surface.  The metal door opened up and the night's sky came into view, with hundreds of stars shining brightly throughout.  The lift ended up becoming a helicopter pad, it was next to a few large warehouses and an even larger military base.  A week ago this place was beaming with military life, now it was completely barren and silent.  All those that stayed here stayed underground in the hive, for the most part. 

Briggs gravitated the group toward a few military trucks, as they all quickly checked them.  "Here!" Ethan called out, finding keys to one of them in the visor.  

"I'm driving," Briggs said, which took no quarrel from the student.  Once everyone was piled in, Briggs started the engine and they took off.

...30 minutes later...

The radio crackled back to life.  

"-Impressive, I must say that was not expected so early on...-" the general spoke into the comm.  "-And to take out four of my men in the process, very impressive.-  -But I can't let you all go, especially so early into the apocalypse.  You're all too important to the greater cause.-"

There was a silence, as no one took the radio to speak back.

"-There is no escape, all you've done is delay the plan.-"  "-If the deadites don't get you, we will.  I can promise you that.-"

Dallen grabbed the radio and turned it on.

[color=steelblue] "Looking forward to it," [/color] he replied, then threw the radio out of the window.