Fungal Fury

Chapter 4; Escape

Blake and Amy were still for a moment, shock keeping them frozen, before Amy was the first to break it, "Damn... there goes all my squashmates."

"Wait, squashmates? What?" Blake questioned, turning sharply to the blunette, who gave a shrug. How was she so... unfazed by her friend's death?

A thudding could be heard as the Higher re-announced its presence, trying to fumble with the door. It was a pull from the outside, so it hadn't quite opened it, more just scrabbled at the frame. It was enough to encourage Amy and Blake, however.

Blake frantically looked around, then, upon finding nothing to hide behind or in, looked up, "Well... there's always the ceiling tiles."

Amy gasped, "Oh my god, that's genius!"

She jumped onto the counter, reaching up and managing to push aside one of the foam panels, which were only slightly decayed. Foam didn't really decay, did it?

Upon further inspection, it'd be hard to fit the two of them on the thin metal pipes that ran through the ceiling, and if they put any weight on the foam panels, they'd fall immediately, revealing their hiding spot.

Blake climbed onto the counter, and, without saying a word, was the first one up. Her wings made up for her small stature, but she was still the smaller of the two, Amy beating her by at least five inches.

It was dark up in the cramped space, and since the only light was coming from the open panel, small things could be seen in the darkness; like rat droppings and dead animals.

Blake gagged, but continued up, finding a large ventilation shaft, and sitting atop it... well, not really sat on it, more like shuffled her body in between the shaft and the roof above her. She looked over at the hole, and Amy's head popped into view.

She hoisted herself up, making sure to bring the panel with her (using her shoes to clamp it and bring it up), before settling herself. She found a safe place to rest, then, as quickly as she could, slid the panel into place.

They were plunged into darkness, and the foam was surprisingly good at muffling sounds, as the banging from below lessened.

Then a crash came. The foam didn't muffle, the Higher just smashed the door down.

There was a panting sound, maybe a sniffing sound, it was hard to tell, but the Higher was definitely moving along the bathroom wall, trying to find the two. It couldn't see them, so it started using other senses; like hearing and smell.

Blake pressed both her hands over her nose and mouth, hoping to stifle her breathing, while Amy did similar, only keeping one hand on the panel. Blake glanced over at Amy, watching her in the dark, but Amy didn't look back.

The two almost flipped when there was a sound right below them, not even a foot from the ceiling tiles, and were about to smash down to run away, but they both hesitated and it saved their lives.

The Higher couldn't smell them with all the dead things and animal droppings, and they successfully muffled their breathing to hide from the infected beast.

It was another unbearable minute before the Higher was gone, which was given away by the slow thudding footsteps. The duo waited just a little longer before they started moving and making noise, and Blake spoke first, "Oh my god, it was right there..."

"I know. How do we leave? We can't go through the building." Amy whispered, looking around in the darkness, facing the general direction of Blake.

"We could remain up here? Stay in the ceiling until we find a way out. These dead animals got here somehow..." Blake responded, crouching on the pipes after sliding off the ventilation shaft. She reached a hand out and grabbed Amy's arm, "Follow me."

"Wait, how do you even know where to go?" The blunette asked, startled by the hand for just a second before relaxing, "It's solid black!"

"I can see a little. Once we find a little light, we can make our way there." Blake said quickly, resting her foot on a pipe and looking for the next one to step on.

Amy had a thought cross her mind just then; she'd barely known this girl for five minutes! And here she was, letting her lead them through solid black while a swarm of Lessers and a Higher were below them, just a foam panel away.

Blake thought something similar, though more along the lines of why the other girl was letting her help. Based on what she'd seen and how the boy from before had reacted, wings weren't common among normal people.

Good thing she isn't normal.

After helping Amy get her footing on the pipes below them, she did a quick scan around them, thinking logically. If Blake could see, that meant there was some form of light entering where they stood, so where was it?

Her wings rustled a tiny bit, but it didn't concern Blake because she'd spotted their way out; a tiny gap in an exterior ventilation shaft.

It was obviously the source of the light, as once Amy looked in that direction, she gasped a bit, "There!"

Blake nodded, shuffling forward a bit, having to squeeze under a larger pipe, and it was almost impossible. Her wings got caught on the other side and she had to bend them awkwardly to fit, grunting a bit in pain.

Amy followed her, and eventually they made it to the gap. They'd have to open it further since it was way too small for them to fit, but it was already loose, so it shouldn't be too hard. Amy twisted around, motioning for Blake to move, before lifting her leg and kicking.

The sound was enough to make the girls freeze, their breathing gone as they hoped nothing would react. They didn't hear any response, so Amy kicked again, widening it enough for them to slide through.

"You first, you're smaller and nimbler." Amy said, glancing to Blake, who nodded. She twisted onto her back, her feet going first through the gap.

A loud thudding could be heard, then a screech, as the Higher's hand shot up through the foam panelling, grabbing for whatever it could grab. It had heard the sounds.

The Higher managed to grab onto Blake's wing, and the girl cried out, feeling the nails dig into her wing. It was pulling, trying to get Blake down so it could attack her better, and she wasn't going to last long.

Her hand reached out, grabbing onto a pipe, trying to combat the strength of the Higher, but failing miserably.

Amy butted in now, Jesse's shotgun held up and pointed down, not bothering to aim. The loud boom from the shotgun sounded four times, and the foam below them was shredded. The hand on Blake's wing was slack now, and then gone. The Higher was dead, the pellets from the shotgun having pierced through the head and upper torso of the beast every single time.

Blake jolted forward, her wings quickly tucking against her back, pressing as closely as she could to her torso. Her heart was racing, her ears ringing, and her wing sore and hurting.

Amy flinched, then motioned for Blake to move, go, get out. They needed to leave, they needed to get out of here before that entire horde of Lessers came around and found them in the ceiling, trapped.

Blake went down, thudding onto a concrete slab and scrambling away from the vent, leaving space for Amy, who shuffled down shortly after, glancing down the alley to see if there were any more Infected.

Amy looked at Blake, and she looked back, both panting and shaking.

They'd escaped. They were out.