Cardiff Prime, 2162.

"Don't keep looking back just keep running you idiot." The clanging of feet on the gangway echoed right through the seemingly abandoned building. Parts of Cardiff Prime had long since been left to fester in the claws of those that now inhabit the area.

"If you don't keep moving they will get in front of us and we won't make it out, so move it!" The young lad chanced a look at his watch as he followed his brother around a blind bend in the gangway. "We have thirty minutes until sundown Cade, Cade... thirty minutes!"

His brother picked up his pace as he turned one way then another following the gangway they had used to enter the building. "We can make it, only a few more corn..." the youngest of the two never finished what he started. The gangway collapsed beneath him sending him tumbling to the floor below. His brother managed to stop in time to avoid falling with him.

"Cade? Can you hear me?..." his brother's body just laid there, a pool of blood had began to form near his head. "If you can hear me Cade, I'm sorry." Without a second thought the other brother jumped the gap and continued to run as the clanging behind him drew closer, much faster than he had expected, his heart raced, suddenly a shooting pain shot up his leg but he continued on, the creatures were now right behind him.

A pounding sensation raced forward as Cade struggled to open his eyes, he tried to call out to his brother but his throat was dry and raw. Trying to focus he looked about as best as he could. It was dark so he knew the sun had already set and unless Brett had fallen with him, then he would be alone. He stopped and thought of Brett for a few moments, the fall was sudden and he hoped Brett was ok. With his sight now working as well as it should, trying not to move too much he looked about. The gaping hole he had fallen through was right above him, its dark outline just visible in the darkness, he moved his eyes down the nearest support to see if his brother had met his fate but all he could see was stone work and the occasional stray shopping trolley. Turning his head he felt a sharp pain shoot across his shoulders and he winced, determined to check the other side of him he tried to fight through the pain however a flood of pain caused him to stop and once it had subsided he continued. His efforts were fruitless, he could hardly make out anything in the shadows but he had assured himself that Brett had not fallen with him, so he must have made it out. Shifting slightly to gain his balance he felt the cold sticky feeling of his own blood on the floor he shrugged it off as his headache now made sense. Lifting himself to his knees he was pleased to find pain shooting up and down his body, he could feel his toes, legs, hips, his shoulders, arms even his fingers all showed no sign of damage, just excruciating amounts of pain. Cade managed to pull himself to his feet but kept crouched as he didn't know what else would be near by. He moved slowly into the shadows keeping his eyes fixed on the gangway and the vast floor space to his right. His heart rate settled and he felt a warm trickle running down his left leg and he knew he was still bleeding from somewhere on his leg. After letting the cool air of the night wash over him for a few moments he picked himself up and began climbing back up to the gangway. The flooring had not completely detached from above so he was able to use it to help him back up to where he fell from. The gangway was quiet, no sound at all, unlike when he fell, the heavy pounding footsteps that had been chasing them still echoed in his ears. It was however far too quiet.

Slowly he managed to find his way unhindered to the door out into the shopping street. The air rushed passed him in a biting chill, forcing him to lower his head to guard his eyes from the wind. No more than a few feet from him he noticed a torn section of cloth, dark brown and vaguely familiar. Nearby was a scattered pattern of blood with a trainer laying on its side, the trainer was very familiar, it looked like Brett's. A piercing cry broke the silence and Cade froze, if those monsters had caught up with Brett then his brother was long dead. His heart sank but the fear of what was lurking nearby kept him quiet and still. After a moment he took a step back toward the door then without warning he felt something hit the back of his head and then everything went dark.

The clanging of the gangway had echoed from deep within the building which was slowly getting closer, unsure who or what was making the noise the slender form of a woman peered out of where she had spent the longest period of her life in hiding. Every now and then a hiss or an ear wrenching cry made her stand still, the building was crawling with monsters, yet someone had been stupid enough to wander in from the street. In the back of her mind she didn't really care, if they were stupid enough to come in then they deserved everything they got, that was her survival instinct talking, with them dead the monsters would simply leave her alone. However with them running around making so much noise the monsters could easily discover her.

From her hiding place she watched as two lads ran passed her, the gangway went straight over her head and she heard the oldest looking shouting at the one in front. In all the noise she discovered the one in front was called Cade, she followed them from below for a few moments before she watched as the floor panel swung down and the lad known as Cade fell, hitting his head on the ground. The other lad lingered for a few seconds calling down to his friend but there was no response. Fearing the worst the other lad left, swiftly behind him she watched as the monsters continued the chase toward the door. Once all the monsters had gone she crept from the shadows to the boys motionless body, she checked for a heart beat and she managed to find it, his breathing was shallow but he would be ok. Not wanting to wake him in case he got startled she settled into the shadows far enough away that he would not see her while at the same time she could watch over him safely.

To her surprise the monsters had not returned, the sun was setting so she expected them to be lingering near the door, that is if they hadn't already caught the other lad and instead would be feeding off his lifeless carcass. Cade had began to stir, she watched as he tried to call out, he spent a few minutes looking around the pain he was in visibly written all over his face. When he finally made it to his feet she watched with bated breath as he pushed through his pain to climb the gangway section that hung down where he fell. The building was eerily quiet. Once he was on the gangway again heading for the door she slowly and without a sound followed him. His movements were slow, steady but laboured, the fall had clearly hurt one or both of his legs. Once he reached the door his pace quickened slightly until he came to a dead stop beyond the door standing in the moon lit street. Slowly opening the door enough to see him, his head was down and he seemed to have noticed something on the floor. She watched as his head moved to trace a blood trail to a trainer and beyond. The boys face dropped at the sight of the trainer as though he recognised it and instantly she thought of the other lad, the eldest one, it must have been his. A haunting cry filled the otherwise silent air and the boy had frozen with fear, and with good reason the girl thought to herself. She opened the door enough to squeeze through then removed a heavy police stick from her coat and crept slowly up to the boy, Cade, his name is Cade, she said in her head as she whacked him across the back of his head.

As quietly as she could manage she dragged his body back along the gangway, the eerie silence was more terrifying than all of the creatures haunted laughing she had endured. Dropping down through the fallen section she pulled the body down after her and she managed to get him to land at least for a second or two on her shoulder before he hit the floor again. She pulled him into the dark shadows where she had hidden earlier and used a little water from her canteen to bring him round.

His eye lids fluttered a little as Cade attempted to open them, for the second time he felt a rush of pain in his head. Without being fully aware of where he was he rubbed his head and sighed.

"If I keep hitting my head it's gonna leave me like a tomato inside." He said a little louder than he probably intended.

"Sssh!" Said the girl as she shifted into his view. "You will lead them too us if you keep that up." She added handing him her canteen.

Cade looked at her puzzled, a little confused but not in the slightest bit concerned. "Thanks." He said as he took a swift drink. The water was surprisingly cool and tasted very different from the iron heavy water he was used to drinking. "Where am I?" He asked as he handed back the canteen.

"Where you fell. I had to bring you back here, those creatures that were chasing you and your friend are returning. You would have been caught if I left you out there.

Cade's heart stopped for a moment. Back where he fell, but why? And who was this girl. For the first time he stopped to consider her, dark long hair, well passed her shoulders, green eyes and her skin looked fairly soft and well kept. Her clothes however were tatty, holes and tears everywhere, the checked shirt she wore under the jacket hung off her shoulders, the leggings had seen better days. "Sorry and you are?" Cade looked at her intensely.

"My names Salt." She held out her hand to shake his, Cade shook it considering his options. "Your name is Cade. I saw you running with your friend before you fell." Her voice was low, almost a whisper.

"Cade, yes my names Cade, and my brother was Brett. What did you see?"

Her heart sank, his own brother had left him for dead, but she refused to tell him that, instead she explained that his brother had tried to get down to him but the creatures were too fast and he had to leave, saying he would bring help soon. Cade listened not challenging anything until the end.

"That sounds like Brett. But I don't think he will be back, I saw his trainer outside and blood. They probably got him as he tried to escape." He sat for a moment thinking.

The wind along Old Castle Street was vicious, its cold bite whipped at every exposed bit of flesh it could find. Every building had been abandoned, windows smashed some from the outside in, others from the inside out, trying to explain what had happened along here would have been impossible. Leaning against an old upstand lamp post Brett looked at his foot again. The rag from his shirt was soaked again in blood, the wound on his foot was deep, he had changed the rag twice since he sliced it on a shard of glass before he left the building where he had to leave his brother. His first attempt at wrapping his foot was interrupted by the creatures clawing at him from behind the door, in his rush the rag came off, he dropped his trainer and managed to drag his foot across the floor opening the wound even more. The second rag had been changed while he lay in the doorway of the old Merlin's shop off one of the side streets he had crossed over into, he thought, while it might take longer, he would weave down the main street using the side streets. If he left his blood soaked rags the monsters would think he went in a different direction than he was going. It was a risky plan but it was all he had.

Again he tore at his shirt sleeve to get a piece of cloth to tie about his foot. Slowly he peeled the other, feeling the dry blood around the wound rip away the tender flesh. He winced at the pain cursing under his breath, he had wished that Lacy or Luke had been with him, their first aid skills would be useful, although knowing Luke well he would probably suggest cutting his foot off to save the hassle, a thought Brett was starting to consider.

The last howl he had heard seemed close by, they had quickly gained on him since the sun had set. At one point two of them passed over him as he cowered beneath a trash bin. The loud clang of them landing on the bin lid made his blood run cold, he could not see what was going on but he imagined them fighting between themselves as the noise was terrible. Once they had moved on he waited a little while then crawled free and went off in the opposite direction. He hoped the cat and mouse game would soon come to an end, then as he had just tied the rag together the air screamed as several of the monsters let off their blood curdling cries. He didn't know what it meant but he didn't expect it to be good.

Mustering the strength he got to his feet and headed back toward the high street. Keeping his eyes on everything as he moved slowly from doorway to doorway, but there was no sign or sound of his pursuers, he made good progress along the street however he could feel the rag squelching underfoot, it would need to be changed again soon. Taking a moment to catch his breath he spotted a shadow move in the side street across the road from him, he could not make it out clearly. He remained still not wanting to breath he waited a moment and without warning he was pulled backward through the shop door.

Cade and Salt had managed to move from the fallen gangway to a small storeroom where the young woman had stored water and food in case she ever needed it. The room was actually off the path, so was not easy to stumble upon, Salt had explained she often used the room for days at a time with no monster coming anywhere near the door. They both sat eating a tin of slightly out of date beans and sweetcorn, it wasn't much but would do for now.

"So how did you get the name Salt?" Asked Cade as he shovelled a handful of sweetcorn into his mouth.

"I woke up one day alone in this building, I must have been about eight, I couldn't remember anything, even my name. So I decided that I would have to give myself a new name, I thought about it and finally looked up and saw a plastic bottle of table salt, so decided to call myself Salt." It was a bit of an odd story but Cade accepted it and smiled.

"Well I like it." He said as he smiled at her again. "What's the next move then Salt?" He took a spoonful of beans and washed it down with a swig of water.

"We sleep out the rest of the night and venture out after the suns up. See if we can find out what's happened to your brother if we can." There was a scuffle outside the door which caused Salt to bolt upright and head quietly toward the door. She peered through the several holes she had made, the corridor was empty, the creatures must have simply been moving passed, but it sounded like they were dragging something. Could it be Brett? She thought, she turned to look at Cade who's eyes were fixed on the door and his hand gripped around the spoon handle as though it was a mighty sword.

"Stay here, I'll check out what is going on." Cade went to argue with her but the look she gave him stopped any words wanting to leave his mouth. He noticed her grab a long black sheath from behind a coat which she strapped to her back. "I won't be long, if I'm not back by first light run." Salt opened the door slowly and stepped through into the corridor and pulled the door closed behind her.

The corridor was more shadow than light which Salt used as best as she could to follow the dragging sound. Aware that this corridor would lead to a stair well that in turn led to the abandoned staff kitchen of the hotel that occupied the upper floors of the building, she took her time peering cautiously around corners until the stair well came into view. The double doors were still moving slightly which meant that she had caught up with the monsters, she waited a few moments before moving toward the doors peering through the small windows. Within the stair well it was total darkness the faint outline of the top of the hand rail was just visible, taking a deep breath she drew her blade from its sheath and opened the doors.

Using every skill she could muster her steps were near silent, the occasional  twang muffled off into the darkness below. Remembering from previous attempts she avoided placing her hand on the hand rails, they had become loose and would clang at any given time without warning, so it was best to avoid it at all costs, more so now. The first step down creaked under her weight ever so slightly, enough to cause her to stop and wait, if this was going to happen every step down it was going to be a very slow progress, one that may prove fruitless if she makes even one wrong move. None the less she had to continue, if it was Brett down there she might be the only one who could get him out safely.