The cellar hatch stands open beneath Grant and Georgia. The elderly corpse remains wedged behind fallen boards, its belt buckle scraping the floor in a steady, maddening rhythm.
Georgia Pedro
Something is answering from above. Faint impacts, near the nave.
The impacts come again through the church, soft but deliberate. Dust sifts from the cellar ceiling as the trapped corpse jerks uselessly against the boards.
Ella Bauer
Staff Sergeant, the civilians heard that. They are staying low, but they are getting restless.
Ella remains behind the overturned pews with the middle-aged woman and the other survivors, the silent radio pressed close. Minerva holds the reinforced entrance alone.
Minerva
The impacts are spreading along the nave. If that scraping continues, everything outside will know where we are.
Georgia Pedro
The hatch is open, the corpse is trapped, and the church is beginning to answer.
Secure the cellar
Prevent the approaching threat from reaching the survivors