Rogan ran through the ice-cold rain, his breath heated the air around it into steam and became visible puffs for mere moments before fading back to the nothingness. It wasn't long before the lightning picked back up and began cracking around the runners in deafening, white flashes.

Lightning had struck around him twice in the time it took to run a distance of ten meters, blinding him momentarily and discombobulating his senses. Turning his head to avoid the flash of lightning, he seen another man trip on one of the bloated corpses before a flash struck him. In an instant his blood boiled, muscle spasmed, eyes popped and hair fried, killing the man where he lay. Black smoke wafting off his corpse as a puddle of blood mixed with water formed around him and rain drops trickled into his empty eye sockets like hungry worms. All it took was a second of stillness to welcome the victim of a stalking bolt.

Rogan looked forward and felt the hairs stick up all over his body as goosebumps covered his skin. A flash of light struck the spot he was only a millisecond before, he felt a deep feeling in his stomach like he was fighting a losing battle and running only delayed the inevitable. Peter was ahead of Rogan, leaping over gutters, puddles and water filled potholes in the road. No doubt his heart was pounding as hard as Rogans. The building they ran to was only fifty metres away now.

Rogan felt relief that it would soon be over, but the lightning wasn't giving up anytime soon. It began to improvise, striking areas around everyone to try and divert them into paths it wanted them to go, forcing them to make mistakes and trip or twist their ankles when they tried to avoid it. Two more died from falling over, but the lightning wasn't satisfied with that, it kept coming like a ferocious animal. Rogan had run another fifteen metres when he seen the lightning strike a thin tree.

Its branches let loose their leaves as it toppled over and fell in front or Rogan. A mass of branches and foliage blocked his most direct path to the building and he was forced to divert, making a quick ninety degree swivel on his feet the go around, barely missing another strike. As he ran around the tree, he seen the front of the building, now only twenty metres away. Small shrubbery ran the length of the tall white building. Large windows covered the face of it and an open brown door with Peter waving Rogan inside desperately. Rogan felt adrenaline surging through his body as the sight of his goal came closer and closer. He ran forward and as he passed by a small yellow sedan the lightning struck once more, hitting the car like an anvil. Its glass shattered and horn blared all while the crack of energy hitting metal created a white hot sound, louder than any Rogan had heard. His ears rang and he swayed as he stumbled forward, narrowly avoiding the lightning by some blind luck. Rogans vision pulsed and all he could hear was a high pitch whining with all other sounds either muffled or drowned out by it completely.

He felt something grab him and drag him from the wet cold onto a previously dry tile. His soaked clothes relinquishing their water into puddles on the cold tiles and seeping into the grout between them. Rogan held his head, a searing pain coursing through him. Peter looked down at Rogan from a kneeling position and rubbed his hands together to warm them up. He was unsure of what to do and swore loudly.

"What do I do? Shit!"

He began to panic. Rogan groaned loudly and the muffled voice of Peter panicking became more audible. Rogan forced himself up through gritted teeth and Peter stood, grabbing his arm and carefully lifting him. Peter spoke, his tone quick and breathless.

"Hey, buddy, you ok?"

Rogan forced himself to shake his head but refused to open his eyes just yet. He reached out and touched a wall to balance himself as all his senses slowly came back to him, the headache however, continued to persist. It had felt like his skull was fractured and his brain had been set on fire. He slowed his breathing and forced out a few words.

"Ice. Pack."

Peter instantly walked off in a rush to try find one, while Rogan leaned against the wooden frame of the door. He could feel the vibrations of the lightning through the wood, which shook the ground. It continued to strike for some time before stopping, almost like it had thrown a tantrum. He had witnessed three deaths out of the eight runners, yet the gluttonous lightning wanted more and was mad it didn't get it.

A few moments later, Peter returned with the ice-pack in hand. He had wrapped it in paper towel to avoid the frost melting directly onto skin, but with how damp they were, it seemed pointless. Rather it was more like an Australian tradition to do so. Rogan swallowed hard as he carefully placed the pack onto his scalp. He clenched his eyes and gritted his teeth as the burning resisted  then after a half hour break, it faded and Rogan let a sigh of relief escape his body. He opened his eyes for the first time since entering the building and seen Peter sitting on a staircase across from him. Rogan was weary and lethargic, but didn't forget his goal.

"Any supplies?"

He groaned quietly. The sound of the rain outside nearly overpowered his speech, making it almost imperceptible, but Peter picked it up.

"I havent checked yet. I only found a small bar fridge with the ice pack you have"

Rogan nodded gently and cocked his head to one side, against his shoulder. No doubt Peter was either too worried about Rogan to go check or was too shook to move after what had happened. Rogan wondered if Peter seen the men die, but decided not to ask in the event of trauma forming. He slumped to the floor.

"Just give me another five minutes, then we'll search the place"

Peter blew air from his nose, like a quiet laugh.

"You can take as long as u want. Im happy just sitting here"

Rogan recognised that the man wasn't panicking anymore and was glad. The more people panicked, the more they were likely to make mistakes. Rogan was patient and sat for a while longer, allowing the panick in both of them to subside and fade. Neither of them had spoken before, but Rogan felt like Peter had to be a good guy if he was willing to help out like he did.

"Thank you"

Rogan said.

"For what, the ice pack?"

Replied Peter.

"No, for running out and saving me"

Peters smiled.

"All in a days work, right?"

Rogan chuckled, then rebbed his eyes. He stopped and stood up. They were in the lobby of their building, white tiles, walls and a few chairs seated around a coffee table. The floor beneath Rogan was drenched and ahead of him, where Peter sat was a staircase leading to a second floor. To Rogans right, was a key-card locked door to an underground parking that made up around ninety percent of the ground floor. Behind the service desk was a small bar fridge that Peter had retrieved the ice-pack from.

"Let's get to it then"

Rogan set the ice pack down and clapped his hands together. Peter nodded his head and the two made their way upstairs. On the floor above them was a door locked by another magnetic lock that needed a swipe card. Three doors were in the hall, two on their left and one hidden around a small corner. Two of them were bathrooms and one didnt have a handle. Peter assumed it was an interview room that was only able to be opened from the inside.

"Swipe-card locks and interview rooms? Where are we?"

Rogan queried. Peter looked around and came across a sign that Rogan overlooked.

"Looks like we are in the Department of Child Services building"

The upper floors were dark but the nearby windows provided some light. Rogan pushed on a bathroom door and a foul stench came from inside. Almost instantly he let the door close and he pinched his nose. Peter had noticed the stench as well and turned to see Rogan back away.

"What was that?"

Peter asked.

"I dont know, but its bad"

Rogan responded through gags. Rogan moved forward again and held his breath. He pushed the door open and inside was a pile of flesh on the tile floor, at the same height as his waist. Rogan gasped, sucking in the rancid air then flopped backwards gagging and almost vomiting. Even as a cop he had never seen something so horrifying. From his quick glance at the pile of minced meat, he noticed a skull, snapped bones and what remained of a dark blue uniform. Peter ran over.

"What is it?"

He placed his hand on the door to push it open but Rogan stopped him.

"Dont open the door!"

Peter froze, then lifted his hand away from the door. The stench was in the hallway now and Peter moved away, starting to gasp for air. Rogan stood up covering his mouth with his shirt.

"It is..."

Rogan corrected himself.

"Was a human. Well what's left of them. They had shreds of a uniform"

Peter looked to the door then back to Rogan.

"Maybe they were an employee. Did you see a swipe card on it? We could get through the door if they did"

"Honestly, I didnt want to look at it more than a second so I can't say for sure"

Rogan responded. Peter looked at him, a grim expectancy on his face. Rogan picked it up then let his arms fall limp.

"No"

He said defiantly.

"We have to"

"No"

"How else are we gonna get in? The glass is reinforced"

Rogan sighed and dropped his head. He stood for a moment, quietly psyching himself up. He scratched his face and rubbed his chin then submitted.

"Do you have a cloth? Extra shirt? Anything to cover my face?"

Peter put a finger up then went through his pocket. He submitted a handkerchief to the cause which Rogan begrudgingly snatched and covered his face with. He pushed the door open and was met with the smell again. The handkerchief doing very little to block the smell. It was like someone had poured off milk over our of date meat, a rancid blending of sweet and grotesque. It made Rogans nose runny and his eyes water. He tried desperately to block his nostrils.

In front of him a pile of human meat sat like a small mound. Organs, sinew, muscle and hair all mixed together like they had been put through a blender. Snapped bone jutting out at intervals with intestines wrapping around it like a hell inspired Christmas tree. At the top of this meat tree was half a skull, bloodied and still connected to the jaw bone by a muscle along the side. Pieces of clothes were either small shreds around the pile, or large, almost complete articles, wedged in the pile.

Rogan wanted to cry. His hands shook violently and he wanted to run but willed himself to stay. He had closed the door behind him so that Peter wouldn't see, and he was glad that he did. He feared that if Peter did see, he may not be able to keep it together, Rogan barely did. Moving forward he reached out a gloved hand and touched the pile, Its gelatinous texture making him gag.

He slid his hand into the pile and stopped at the wrist. It was warm, fresh, but that thought was at the back of his mind. He moved around and felt something hard. He grabbed and pulled it out. Looking at his hand he found the thing to be a snapped bone, exposed marrow greeting his gaze. Tossing it aside with a shiver he forced his hand back in, again at the wrist. This time when he felt something hard he tried to bend it, assuming the card would be in a plastic case, and it bend with the elasticity of plastic. He tried grabbing but accidentally pushed it deeper. He looked at his wrist, blood sliding around the edge of the glove and sighed before forcing his exposed skin into the meat pile. The sensation of the gore on his skin was unlike the gloved hand. It was sticky and warm in all the wrong ways. He successfully grabbed the card and started pulling his arm out. Blood and flesh clung to his arm and made him gag, the handkerchief he used to block his nose fell from its place and the gore piled horrific odour came back to him. He thought to grab the rag but saw one hand covered in parts of the body it should never see, and the other coated in blood from the floor, which he had used to steady himself. He gagged, then he threw up. The sight of it only encouraging his vomit.

Outside, Peter heard nothing but ghastly sounds coming from the toilet and winced. When it finished, a tap ran for a moment, then shortly after it turned off, the door opened and a haggard Rogan stepped out and held up the key card. Peter noticed he had no gloves on.

"I got it"

He said with the least amount of enthusiasm possible. Peter stood and the two moved toward the door. Rogan began rising the key card to the sensor.

"This better work or i swear to fu-"

BEEP. The door clicked open. Rogan released a sigh of relief and the two entered into an adjacent office and hallway. Office supplies clattered underfoot and pens rolled away when kicked by walking feet. The office was completely silent and the two came to another door, also locked by key-card. Another beep and the door opened. Rogan moved through and Peter propped the door open.

Rogan moved quietly, paying extra attention to his breathing and deliberately slowing it despite his thumping heart. Peter moved up to join him. They were now on a grey carpet in an office similarly set up to their own, the cubicles segmented by small walls, desks, offices, printer rooms, interview rooms, bathrooms, lunch rooms and large meeting rooms. As they moved Rogan turned at a small intersection that faced the interview rooms hallway, while Peter continued into the offices.

Rogan looked down the interview room hallway and seen it stretch on indefinitely. He was puzzled and noticed a red glow on the walls, floor and ceiling after 2 interview room, doors. Its like the oblivion after that was added on. Rogan reached a hand out and tried to touch the red glow but it burnt him. He recoiled instinctively and sucked his finger. He heard a scratching noise from inside an interview room and looked through the slit in the glass. The room was dark and he could only just make out the shapes of a small desk, a cabinet and an opposite door.

Probably leads to the entrance.

Rogan thought. Just as he began to peel his eyes away from the glass the seen something scurry from one corner of the room to behind the cabinet. He couldn't make it out but it was big, the size of a child but more insect like. Rogan stepped back from the door breathing heavily then moved up the hallway, while keeping eye contact with the door. His movements were interrupted when he ran into Peter and was forced to stifle a scream.

"Whoa, what's wro-"

Before Peter finished the sentence, Rogan cupped his hand around the other man's mouth, then looked back. The door was still closed and no sounds were heard, but the infinity that stretched on, was now gone. Rogan was confused but still recognised the immediate problem. He removed his hand slowly and whispered.

"Theres something in that room"

He stretched out a finger and Peter looked past him at the second interview room.

"You want me to go check it out with you?"

Peter whispered.

"I dont want to go near it"

Rogan responded. Peter nodded his head and the two slinked away. The offices were almost all empty with no supplies worth taking. Peter had cleared all but the last two so they each took one. Rogan's office was uneventful, having nothing of value in it. Peter called out in a hushed tone to Rogan and he moved over toward him. In Peters office, a man sat in his chair. The top of his head blown away and a revolver resting on the floor next to him. Six bullets sit, lined up on the desk Rogan moved forward and gently picked up the gun. Another five were in it.

"Holy shit"

Peter muttered and Rogan sighed, putting the safety on and placing the six bullets in the back pocket of his pants. Rogan turned and faced Peter.

"This guy didn't make it, but at least we found something useful"

"I've never even seen a gun before- well not in real life"

Peter said. Rogan lifted it and examined it as he approached Peter.

"I used to be a cop so I know exactly how to use one"

Peter's eyes widened.

"You used to be a cop? Why did you stop?"

Rogan remembered the things he seen in his days as an officer and his face sunk. He made eye contact with Peter. Before any words left his mouth a strange scuttling noise sounded off from the opposite side of the office. Rogan and Peter ducked simultaneously and before he realised, Rogan had the gun ready in his hand, finger on the trigger and safety off.

Seems like muscle memory kicked in.

He thought. The scuttling sound was still on the other side of the office so rogan signalled for Peter to get in the office. They both got in and Rogan gently closed the door, the only sound being a slight metallic one as the latch slid into the frame. The two sat in the dark for a while, waiting for any indication that anything was still out there. Peter moved toward the man and began going through his pockets.

"What are you doing?"

Rogan whispered.

"Looking for something else useful"

Peter whispered back. Something jingled and both men gritted their teeth. Peter gently slid out a set of car keys and showed them off. One key, thicker than the others had a button used to lock and unlock the car.

"We could use a car to get back to our building"

Peter whispered.

"What if the cars are out as well? The electricity went down already and we don't know if a car will go too" 

Rogan retorted. Peter looked deep in thought for a moment before expressing panic and hiding behind the desk, only the top of his head and eyes peeking around. Rogan glued himself to the corner that the door was on and peeked around the glass. Two feet, the size of a child's took slow weary steps as if walked past the office. A small skirt covered the lower half and one shoe was missing. The blinds cut off the top half of the body but Rogan felt a cold shiver run down his spine when he seen that instead of hands, insect like limbs dragged along the floor behind the figure. The chitinous substance a mottled maroon and stained red at the tips.

The figure stopped, turned and faced the glass. Rogan had his legs tucked in and pistol aimed up toward the thing. Peter could see the shadow of the top half through the almost completely closed blinds. The top half was so much bigger than the initial thought size, like a giant tick or abdomen of an insect had latched on and stood taller than a man. The top half twitched and spasmed, causing the scuttling noise and Rogan took long breaths to avoid making any sound. It stood for a moment longer, then turned and continued to walk away.

What the fuck

Peter mouthed. Rogan had lowered the pistol and released a long, silent breath. Peter looked around and saw a broom and grabbed it. He knew it wasn't much but it was better than nothing when it came to defending himself. Rogan gently opened the door and peeked around. The creature was at the end of their section. It was horrible. He had no words for just how truly horrendous the thing was.

On top of the little girls body sat a gigantic, bulbous thing. Chitin covered its body and long, claw tipped arms sprouted from it like mantis claws, if it had multiple on one hand. The bulbous thing had remains of the persons head split around its base on the hosts neck and thick veins pulsed down its front like the bulb was controlling the body. The arms of the host body were contorted and crossed its abdomen where the skin seemed to fuse with the rest of the body. Fingers that protruded twitched periodically. On the bulb, smaller lumps covered all the spare space.

Rogan was shocked. The thing turned ninety degrees and the bulb swayed like it was trying to balance itself. It walked around the corner and Rogan lost sight of it. He waved his hand and Peter shuffled over to him.

"We need to get to the car park"

Rogan hushed. He then raised a finger and pointed it to the entrance hallway. He turned to face Peter and he nodded in agreement. The two shuffled out, silently making their way across the office. They glued themselves to a wall at the corner of the hall. Rogan peeked and as he was sure it was safe to go  the bulbous head stumbled around, cutting them off. Rogan nearly screamed but instead slapped Peter to go back. Now they were at the intersection of the entrance hallway and interview rooms. Rogan and Peter got low as the thing came stumbling in front of them. It hadn't noticed them.

Peter took another step back and bumped into a bin, knocking it over. The thing snapped toward them and Rogan now seen all the pumps on its body were eyes. They all had opened and blood red they stared at the two. Rogan felt his heart kick into gear and the creature closed all its eyes simultaneously, reared its head back and brought it crashing down at them. Rogan jumped out of the way and Peter was out of its range. Rogan, drawing the revolver, fired three times into the bulb. Each impact spraying green blood and forcing the creature to groan, but didn't seem to affect it at all. The claws helped lift the head up and all the eyes opened once more seeing both Rogan and Peter. With Peter being closer, the thing swiped at him and snapped his defending broom into two sharpened sticks. Rogan wanted to fire but realised it was largely unaffected by it. The creature arched its head back again to slam down.

Rogan tackled Peter out of the way, just before the impact and he dropped one end of the pole. The creatures head came down on the pole and was impailed through one of its many eyes. It writhed and swung its arms wildly while once again moaning. This time it seemed to hurt it more. Before it had a chance to recover Rogan helped Peter up and the two attempted to run past the thing, but its flailing claws made it impossible. It grabbed the stick and pulled it out of its eye, spurting a small stream of green liquid. Rogan was grabbed by Peter and the two ran toward the interview rooms.

"You said these rooms connected to the entrance?"

Peter questioned in a panic.

"Yeah, but-"

Rogan had no time to finish as Peter pulled him toward them and into interview room two. Rogan shut the door behind him and spun around. Peter ran to the opposite side where the door was and tried to open it, but it didn't open. He looked down and seen the sensor for the swipe-card.

"We need the card!"

The moaning bulb-creature outside banged on the door and attempted to open it. Rogan brought the door back to its closed position and the bulb hated that, groaning louder. Peter heard a scuttling sound but not the one outside the door. It raced around the dark room and his eyes darted around trying to find it.

"Uh, Rogan"

"A little busy!"

Rogan grunted as he continued to keep the door shut. Peters eyes caught on something bulbous on the ceiling.

"You said there was something it this room didnt you?"

Rogan's face sunk as he remembered earlier. He turned his head just in time to hear a screech and see a bulbous thing drop from the ceiling and onto Peters chest, forcing him to the floor.

"Peter!"

Rogan called but his attention was brought back to the one already at the door, its head now smashing against it and splintering the wood. The one attacking Peter was like a tick with claws, eyes and a sharp pointed head, likely for burrowing. It clambered onto Peters shoulders, using its mantis claws to grab on and raised the pointed end to the top of his skull. Peter tried fighting it off with the broken broom stick but the more he did, the deeper it dug its claws, tearing his skin. Peter screamed. Rogan grunted as he attempted to hold the door and draw the revolver. The top of the things head broke through the door and began smashing the rest of it. The new things pointed end lifted high to split Peters skull and claim a new host.

Rogan fired. Two shots hitting the one on Peter in an eye and head. It squealed and Peter rammed the broken broom stick into the thing, causing it to spasm and fall from his shoulders. The door behind Rogan smashed open and he ran to the one Peter was at, scanned the card, swung the door open and closed it all in one swift movement, before dragging Peter down the steps. The sound of the door smashing behind them as Rogan scanned the card at the car park door and scrambled in. Peter was bleeding and looked tired. Rogan faced him.

"Where are the keys?"

Peter lifted them slowly out of his pocket as the thing bashed its head against the car park door. Rogan pressed the unlock button and a distant flash and beep confirmed the cars location. Rogan lifted Peters arm and put it behind his head, carrying him to the car. He opened the passenger side door of a silver van and stuffed Peter into its seat, then closed the door. The car park door smashed open just as Rogan made it to the drivers side. He looked to the car park entrance and seen the thing standing there with its head nearly touching the ceiling. He also seen the car park shutters were closed.

"Fuck"

Rogan looked at Peter then back at the car park entrance. He gritted his teeth and moved away from the car ducking behind the other parked cars. The creature walked down the center of the lot twitching, scuttling and moaning. It was approaching the van, only a few steps from seeing Peter.

"Over here, you ugly son of a bitch!"

A voice called out behind it. Rogan stood defiant at the entrance of the parking lot. The creatures eyes all narrowed on him and it turned moaning deeply. It began to walk toward him, then its pace picked up and before long it was sprinting. Rogan only had one shot and had to time it perfectly. The creatures head arched back, almost touching its heels as it ran and its arms stretched out. Its feet slid as it wound up its attack and brought its head crashing down toward Rogan faster than before. Rogan narrowly avoided the attack and its head smashed into the parking lot shutters, ripping them out of the walls and ceiling and falling over from the impact. The shutters ripped like paper towel and the ground cracked underneath the things mass, forcing it to become immobilised.

Rogan sprinted to the car with all his might, getting in the driver's side and ramming the key in. The car started with almost no difficulty and Rogan released an excited cheer. Without even putting his seatbelt on the put the car into first gear and slammed his foot on the accelerator. The tires screeched and skid for a moment as the car came out of its park and tilted sideways. The entrance was agape and the car sped toward it. The creature attempted to rise but Rogan screamed and rammed into it, forcing its giant head under the front tired and into the jagged metal on the ground. The creature flailed its hands violently as its head was crushed under the cars weight, popping like a humongous green pimple.

The car gained traction again and sped out the driveway onto the road. Lightning struck its roof in the few seconds it took to cross the street, but other than a deafening bang, they were safe. Rogan felt his heart calm and lifted his foot off the pedal as they approached the car park of their own building. The shutters slowly opened and they drove into the shallowly flooded car park as the thunder grumbled overhead. Once in, Rogan, with the help of a Janet pulled Peter out of the car, his shoulders a crimson hue. Everyone around them watched with dumbstruck expressions and Rogan took him inside the building and upstairs.

Peter looked sickly and the medical officer came over, tearing his shirt off and examining his wounds.

"What happened?"

Rogan looked from Peter, to Janet, the medical officer and finally Daniel.

"We were attacked by some... monster"

The medical officer looked at the wounds closer and noted that the cuts weren't deep enough to be life threatening, he was most likely in shock. Daniel stepped forward.

"You say you were attacked by a monster?"

Rogan frowned and nodded. Daniel chuckled.

"How do we know that you didn't just attack Peter and say it was a monster? I mean, from the looks of it, you didn't bring anything useful back"

Rogan growled and pulled the revolver on Daniel. Everyone in the room either shreiked or ducked out of view. Daniel froze, dumbfounded expression on his face.

"I found something useful alright and I think im going to hold onto it"

Janet's shaking hand reached out and touched Rogan, he flinched and her soft eyes convinced him to withdraw without her ever speaking a word. He sighed and lowered the gun.

"Its not even loaded anyway"

Everyone came back, understandably angry. Peopled jeered at him and boo'd him some even throwing things. Rogan stood motionless for a moment before Daniel calmed them all.

"How do we know we can even trust you, Rogan? You come back in here talking about monsters and waving a gun around, how do you think we will react?"

Rogan locked his steely eyes onto Daniel.

"Dont talk to me about trust. How do you think people would react when they find out you're the one hoarding the rest of the food and sending people out to die?"

Daniel froze. Rogan never broke his glare from him. Daniel spluttered and Rogan noticed his lackeys backing away into the shadows. Someone from the crowd spoke up, a woman with a soft voice in the silence.

"Is that true?"

Daniel seemed to go blank at being called out. His reply a stutters mess.

"O-of course n-not"

"Go check his office, him and all the senior workers were all in on it"

Rogan spoke defiantly keeping the pressure on. People moved away and an angered call from down the hall confirmed the suspicions after a short moment. Daniel locked eyes with Rogan who stepped forward and ordered him out of the room with the gun.

"That thing isn't even loaded!"

Daniel said in resistance.

"Thats what I said, but how do you know? Do you wanna find out the hard way?"

Daniel gritted his teeth and smacked Rogans hand away then ran for the hallway. He was stopped by a large group of the office workers and turned to run the other way but met the same wall. Rogan stepped out of the medical office with Janet to his left.

"If I didnt know any better, I'd say he was guilty"

Janet said, Rogan nodding in agreement. The group of workers seized Daniel, grabbing his arms and legs then throwing him into a vacant office with his co-conspiritors. The last person to close the door, spitting at him.