Sage tensed and turned her head to look back at Jackson. 'What the hell do you not get about silence!' her eyes said clearly as she glared at him. Then she turned her attention back to the fog in front of them.<br/>Around the corner, the whispered wheeze rustled through the calm. It halted, then began again, louder. And then it was joined by a second hacking gasp, and a third, and then there were too many to count. They did not even have the time for taking a moment to peer around the side of the building to see what was making the cacophony, because it was escalating.  There was nothing they could do but run.<br/>Sage reached behind her and grabbed the front of Jacksonâ€™s coat.  The middle of the road was mostly clear, so she took it, weaving between the overturned carts and maneuvering Jackson along with her. Surprisingly faster than Jackson and shockingly, she didnâ€™t leave him behind like she said she would.<br/>Silence was no longer an option for the two of them.<br/>Letting go of Jackson, she expected him to run on without her help and not trip. Slinging the gun over her shoulder into the holster before she sped up a bit, however, she made sure to stay close to Jackson just in case. Theyâ€™re feet smacked against the cement and Sageâ€™s shotgun slapped up and down on her hip as they charged downhill, even though sheâ€™d meant for them to be going in the other direction. She couldnâ€™t run uphill; her gas mask didnâ€™t provide enough air for that kind of struggle. Her mask being older than Jacksonâ€™s, he was given more air than she was. So down it was, but hopefully not in the complete wrong direction.<br/>Sage risked a glance behind them, and then a second glance, and then she stopped trying, because sheâ€™d been terribly, terribly wrong-and they were coming in fast.<br/>Those two quick looks had told her everything she needed to know; Run, and for heaven sakeâ€™s donâ€™t stop.  They were not quite on their heels. They were rounding the corner in a loping, ludicrous hobble that was shockingly fast despite the awkward gait.  More naked than clothes, and more gray than the proper color of living flesh, the undead pressed a rollicking lurch that tumbled in a wave. They rolled forward, over everything, past everything, around everything that might have otherwise slowed them down.<br/>Without fear and without pain, they beat their ragged bodies against the litter in the street and bounced away from it, not deterred and not redirected. They smashed through water-weakened wood and stomped through animalâ€™s corpses and if any other undeads tripped or fell they crawled a vicious assault over their own kind. They had no other thoughts beyond consuming, and they wished for nothing but fresh, bloody flesh. Animals would suffice but people were preferred. And right now, they had no preference for anything besides Sage or Jackson.<br/>The first time she had taken a backward look, there had been four. The second, she had seen eight, only god knew how many were after them now. Sage stumbled over a curb and barely caught herself before she was righted and running with everything she had. Her chest aching with every breath, she took a glance back to make sure Jackson was keeping up. He hardly looked daunted though from lack of air; Sage envied his mask at the moment but there was no time to think about it. Her throat was burning from the stress of it and she was praying for a way out of this that didnâ€™t consist of running.<br/>A narrow iron pole zipped past her vision, followed closely by a second one. It was a ladder for a fire escape, or so she realized only when it was entirely to late to stop and grab Jackson to stop him from running any further.  The mist never parted but thinned and thickened in places. For one second, it revealed the side of another building that came into view and another ladder blinked into range. Reaching out with her gloved hand, she grabbed one of the lower rungs. Jerking herself to a stop against her own inertia, as she reached out and stopped Jackson as well. â€œGo! Now!â€ she snapped breathlessly and motioned for the ladder. Taking her shot gun off her back, she unloaded a round into the closest head and was hoping her was a fast climber as the bodies came loping faster towards her.