Folesom sat quietly in the surveillance room, peering out onto the many screens that lay before him.  He had locked the door when the others left and only a handful of people knew the code to open it.  As long as he sat neatly tucked in his room, he would be safe from any harm.  The feeling was a good one, to know when you’re safe no matter the outcome of the battle that raged outside.

He quickly glanced to the door, still hearing the fight between vampire and man that sprawled out across the restaurant.  He gave a quick smirk, “They would need a tank to get in here.”  He found slight humor in the fact of being locked up in the room, but it all soon faded as he looked back at the monitors. 

Folesom could see dead comrades all around, and burn spots on the ground from the vampires last moments.  Despite the number of corpses, the restaurant guards were giving the bloodsuckers hell.  The numbers of vampires were fading quickly, and Mr. Bartlett and his friends seemed to be safe as well. 

He looked at the monitor that surveyed the front of the restaurant.  Still no garbage truck to be seen, maybe he was just too paranoid.  He picked up his pistol that was lying beside him and checked it for ammo. It was still loaded and good to go.  But then again, you could never be too paranoid when a horde of vampires just attacked your place of work.

He continued to mess with the gun a bit then slowly set it down as his attention was caught on one of the screens.  “What’s going on here?”  The garbage truck from before was driving to the front of the restaurant.  He typed away on his keyboard, bringing up several camera angles on the truck.  His paranoia was correct, but he truly wished it could be wrong, just this once.

It slowly started to turn until the back of the truck was facing the front doors of the GriGri.  Folesom stared at the truck, trying to get a look at the driver, angling his cameras anyway possible, but had no luck.  The blackened windows made it impossible for him to see.  “What are you planning?”

Then, as the lights on the back of the truck flicked on, he had his answer.  He scrambled for his radio, fumbling with the buttons as he grabbed it.  “Tentin! Sir! We got a problem in the lobby.”

Red took his first step out of the bathroom, looking around the lobby as he did so.  Distant gunfire still filled the air, and the only other person in the lobby was the desk man, Ra’ul, who caught Red’s eyes as he looked at him. 

The desk man raised his chin and turned around, completing some other task behind his counter.  He added a, hmph, as he turned away, still taking the agents arrival with personal animosity.

Red slightly shook his head, “Some people.”  He quit fidgeting with his fingers, and put his hands into his pockets, as it seemed the only way he could stop fidgeting in these situations.  The lobby looked safe, and the desk man didn’t look the least bit worried, so he decided to ask the man what was happening.  A little information could go a long way.

As he was walking to the doors a beeping noise caught his attention, it was a little quiet at first but it was getting closer.  He stopped behind one of the lavish couches to find out what the sound was, “Couldn’t hurt being away from the gunfire for a little longer.” 

He didn’t realize he spoke out loud as Ra’ul shook his head and spoke in return, “Some people.” 

Red pushed the comment aside and spoke up, “There’s gunfire in the dining room.  Why aren’t you worried?  Do you even know what’s going on?”

The desk man turned to Red. “There isn’t much I don’t know about in this restaurant.”  He spoke with his shoulders slightly turning side to side.  Red couldn’t help but dislike this man, but then again, he didn’t like many people.  Red just didn’t seem to get along with anyone.

“And I have locked the door, which is impenetrable by anything more than human.  I also locked the front doors there.”  He pointed at the large row of glass that served as the entrance to the Fall GriGri.  “They’re also bullet proof.  So as long as I sit tight right here, I will come out of this night alive. Hmph.”  Ra’ul pursed his lips together and turned back to his desk work.

Red was about to speak up when a light outside the door caught his eye, “What is that then?”  Red pointed at the door. 

Ra’ul looked over his shoulder, he squinted his eyes as he did so. 

The lights were rapidly approaching the door way, too fast for comfort.

Reds eyes opened wide and he threw himself to the ground, covering his head.

Ra’ul looked back at Red in confusion.  He was about to speak when a deafening crash of shattering metal and glass knocked him off his feet. 

Debris blasted all around the room blowing holes in the lobby walls and furniture.  A large cloud of smoke swirled around the room as the sound died out, and left a silence more unnerving than a demon from the darkest depths of hell. 

Red coughed as he stood.  He was trying to see what had caused the wreckage, but the smoke screen still hung about the air.

As the dust finally settled, Red saw that the backend of a local garbage truck had smashed into the front doors at full force.  Red’s eyebrows pushed together with confusion, what was a garbage truck doing here.  Terrible thoughts swirled around Red’s head.  He wouldn’t stick around to see the reason why.

Red’s attention was pulled over to the front counter.  Ra’ul was stirring from the wreckage, he ran his hand under his nose collecting a small pool of blood.  Ra’ul looked up at Red.

“You all right?” Red yelled from across the room, not really caring what the answer was.  He did it out of decency more than concern.

Ra’ul nodded, “What is this maniac doing?” 

Red started to approach the front counter to help the man, but was stopped by the mechanical whizzing of the truck. 

The back latch started slowly opening up.

Red stopped dead in his tracks, and slowly lowered himself back behind the couch, peeking from over the back of it. “This isn’t going to end well.” 

The latch slowly moved upwards until it was fully opened.  The inside was pitch black, too dark for his human eyes to see, but Red didn’t need his eyes find out what was inside.  Red closed his eyes and reached out to the truck with his mind, trying to scan its contents to get an answer of what was contained inside its metal bulk.  Something seemed familiar about his readings.  He had sensed this energy before, something filled with pain, inside and out.  Rejection hung about its soul like a leech.  He could sense the feelings of outcasts.  His eyes suddenly shot open, “Mutants.” 

As if it was right on cue, a long spike shot out from the back of the truck, jabbing straight into Ra’ul’s heart.  Red saw the man’s eyes open with disbelief before they were consumed with the empty glaze of death.  Blood slowly started pouring out of his mouth as he slumped to the floor. 

Red kept peering from his hiding spot, his heart racing, beating like an engine out of control, when a long legged, hunched over, woman came out of the truck. 

Four long spikes stretched from her back to the ground in front of her, holding her up like strings to a marionette. She resembled a human, who was morphed into a spider by a crazed scientist.  Behind her a man jumped down from the truck, making a hideously disgusting splat as he did so.  His skin was melting from his flesh, and sizzling when it hit the ground, yet, it was being regrown at an incredible rate. 

Red ducked his head as one of the mutants looked his way.  “I gotta get out of here,” He wiped the sweat from his brow and looked to the large wooden doors leading to the restaurant. 

He should have brought a gun, but then again, his mind never let him down before.  It was risky to try and get into the dining room, especially when it was full of bloodthirsty creatures trying to kill anything that moved, but if he stayed behind the couch, the mutants would indefinitely find him, and he would be killed anyway.  The choices weren’t fair by any means, but the first would at least let him live for a few more minutes.   He took a deep breath, and decided.

He stood and sprinted to the door. 

The spider lady’s head whipped in his direction, she yelled out as he sprinted past her, “Kill him! Kill the surface dweller!”  Several spikes went flying over Red’s head.  He didn’t see where these spikes were coming from, but at this moment he didn’t care, as long as none of them impaled him.  He raised his hand and concentrated on an incoming spike, deflecting it into the floor in front of him.  He gave a quick smile, psychic wins against mutant, every time.

A large mass of goop was hurled at Red, hitting one of the couches in front of him.  He caught a glimpse of what the goop had done; it quickly melted through the couch’s fabric and wood.  He frantically glanced at the mutant who threw it.  It was the melting man, who was scooping more of his flesh and pulling his arm back for another throw. 

Red cringed with disgust.  If just one of those skin blobs hit him, he’d be retiring early.

Red finally reached the giant doors to the dining area.  He raised his hands and focused on opening the door, but it wouldn’t budge.  His mind jumped to something the recently departed Ra’ul had said.  They were locked.  Red quickly cast his mind into the locking mechanisms and shot the door open.  Using his momentum from the sprint he jumped inside the dining room, landing on his back, facing the lobby.  He saw more mutants pour into the lobby from the truck. 

He quickly raised his hands, mind focusing again on the door, and threw the doors shut.  Red sighed and tried to catch his breath.  He turned to the restaurant he had once been dining in.  There was gunfire and bodies everywhere.  The massive chandelier was smashed into pieces on the floor, while scorch marks peppered the ground all about. 

“Oh, god. What happened while I was pooping?” 

A vampire to his left had just finished sucking the blood from a man and it turned to Red, “Another snack?”  The vampire dropped the dead man and began walking towards Red. 

As Red scurried to his feet a loud gunshot rang out next to him, deafening his ear.  He immediately grabbed his ear, “Christ!”  He turned to see Agent Flaurence next to him, and a group of the restaurants guards holding down the stairs.

 “Red!  You’re alive!” 

Red could barely make out Joseph’s words, “Joseph, we have to move now! Muties are in the lobby!”

Mr. Tentin spoke form his place on the stairs, “Folesom just radioed me. Got about fifteen mutants in the lobby.”

Agent Flaurence shook his head, “We’ll deal with them later. We have to get to Sam and Starr.  They could be in trouble.” 

Red nodded and ran up the stairs, following Joseph’s every move.  They passed the men on the stairs, who were giving a cover fire to the men fighting off vampires below in the dining area. 

Mr. Tentin yelled to Joseph, “We have this covered, just get to Bartlett!” 

 A bullet whizzed past Joseph’s head as he took lead up the stairs and turned to the table his comrades had been eating at before.  He scanned the area for threats before running to the elevator.  “Where’s Andrelle?”  Joseph took a quick glance back to Red, who was fidgeting badly with his fingers. 

“Not sure. I left her to go to the restroom, and then all hell broke loose.”  As Red walked by the table a hand from below reached out and grabbed his ankle.  Red jumped into the air, yelping out in a high pitch. 

Joseph spun quickly raising his gun. 

A laugh came out from underneath the table as Andrelle’s head popped out of her hiding place, “I couldn’t resist.”  She kept laughing for several more seconds. 

Joseph lowered his gun and rubbed his head, “What are you doing under there?  There’s a war going on.”  He pointed out across the restaurant.  They all flinched, ducking down, as a bullet flew above their heads and into the wall nearby. 

Andrelle pulled herself up to Joseph’s level, “A bunch of men are killing vampires, and well, I’m a vampire. If I die, I’d rather not die by friendly fire, thank you very much.” 

Andrelle turned to Red, who was holding his chest, “You scream like a girl.” 

Red was about to interject, but was cut off by Joseph, “There’s no time for this, we have to find Sam.”  Andrelle smirked at Red one last time before following Joseph to the elevator. 

Agent Flaurence hit the button next to the door and looked up to see the elevator was already on its way down.  “Step back,” Agent Flaurence held his hand out, pushing Red and Andrelle behind him.

The elevator came to a stop.  Joseph raised his gun at the elevator. 

The elevator dinged and the doors opened up. 

Sam stepped out first holding Starr.  She looked up at Joseph aiming his gun at her.  Her eyes widened and she almost fell to the floor, “Friendly! Whoa, we’re friendly.” 

Agent Flaurence lowered his gun and let out a sigh.  “I’m glad it’s you guys.  Are you all right?”

Sam and Starr nodded in unison.