There was shouting from the group below, but the return fire drowned out whatever they were saying. Shannon tried to poke her head out, but a shot hit unbroken glass and scattered shards around her. Shannon ducked out of sight and cradled her gun.

Shots continued to rain above her, bringing an overwhelming sense of dread upon Shannon. Her pulse was quickening, her breath growing more haggard. A strange mildew smell became apparent, something Shannon hadn't noticed moments before. This office smelled rotten. It was rotten and abandoned just like everything else.

Shannon could feel the world crashing down on her. She was going to die here.

There was another shout, this one far more clear and sounding like it came from directly below the window. The man wanted to resolve this peacefully, though Shannon doubted he was being sincere. Still, what other choice did she have? She didn't have the ammo or the skill to take them all out. She was about to yell back when a [i]boom[/i] grabbed her attention. She spun her head around to find a man pointing a gun at her. Without thinking, Shannon yelped and pointed her pistol back at him. Her hands were shaking - No, her whole body was shaking - and she couldn't aim in this condition, but that thought couldn't penetrate the booming inside her head.

She sat like this for a moment, waiting for the man to shoot. She wasn't putting her gun down, after all. She closed her eyes for just a moment and opened them to see James come up the stairs behind the man. She stared dumbly at the boy, confused by what he was saying. She was hardly old enough to even [i]possibly[/i] be his mother. Still... She certainly looked haggard enough to be a bit older.

She watched the man react by by putting away his weapon. She managed to lower her own, relief washing over her. Her body still shaking, Shannon could only utter a single word: "Please."