Nothing more than a stick of metal and plastic without bullets, I chuck my shotgun at one the creatures and unbalance it. This gives me enough time to grab my trusty crowbar and deliver a devastating blow.

The battle is thick around me, and it’s clear we aren’t winning. I barely hear the screams of Steve behind me. His gun had jammed, and in that instant he was overwhelmed. Three of them carry his bloodied body out of the manor. In a fit of courage and well-placed attacks, I manage to procure his weapon that lay jammed, but loaded, on the floor.

The sounds of gun-fire and snarling pervade my ears and I barely hear Jess yelling at me to fall back to the top floor.

Amazingly enough, we make it the few feet to the stairs unscathed and hurry up. Jess, always thinking ahead, drops the last of our c4 halfway up and we slam the door behind us. The entire structure quakes as the thunderous explosion goes off.

Stairless, we are safe. We hear them outside, climbing.

We aren’t safe, just trapped once more.