Jan burst through the door as a single gunshot rang out from behind her. She threw her hands out as she fell to the linoleum floor, unbalanced by her own momentum. Though she knew her pursuers were brutally close behind, she was strangely reluctant to rise back to her feet. Even with her body in the most desperate mode of survival, the sheer length of time she was forced to run was taking its toll. Forcing herself back to her feet, she turned to see Tom scramble inside. He slammed the door shut, locked the deadbolt and threw his shoulder against it.
"Keep going! Upstairs, now!" he yelled. Jan ran down the hall, finding a tight spiral staircase to the next floor. A heavy thud crashed against the door Tom was holding. She took the steps two at a time. Reaching the top she looked over the railing for Tom to follow. "Tom!" she screamed. "The attic!" he yelled back, his voice strained. She hurried through the upstairs, searching desperately for the entrance. She heard more crashes against the door, more distant but still frighteningly loud. What Tom's plan was in backing themselves into a corner, she still didn't know. Jan pushed the thought from her mind and rounded the corner to find a small wooden ladder going into the attic.
"Here!" Jan yelled. She clambered up into the loft, taking in the room at a glance. It was a surprisingly large space, though still requiring Jan to hunch in order to stay standing. A circular window provided a small measure of light to the room. She waited at the top, ready to pull up the ladder as soon as Tom followed.
Jan's heart jumped as another gunshot went off. She stood frozen in horror, unsure of which direction it came from. She ran to the window, half-expecting to see another survivor. She saw a figure running down the street, away from the house. She gasped, realizing it was Tom. Her stomach dropped. Was he abandoning her? Her vision turned to the movement just below the window as the horde of pursuers spilled out of the house, lingering for a moment before following Tom's path. Tom was leading them away.
She felt a flicker of hope. He was leading them away. Once he lost them he could circle back and find her. They might make it out of this in one piece. A part of her still considered that he was leaving her behind. Why didn't he tell her what the plan was? Was she that much of a burden that he would leave her for dead? She couldn't be sure, but with the zombies still in the immediate area she didn't have much choice but to wait.
Coming back from her thoughts, she looked back down at the horde. The main part of it was still moving towards Tom, with some stragglers coming out of the house, losing focus on the chase and moving into adjacent streets. She would have to be as quiet as possible till they all passed. She scanned to the left and her eyes locked onto a walker. He was looking right at the window, right at her. Jan snapped her head away from sight, catching and knocking a single cardboard box off its stack as she moved. The box hit the floor with a single thunderous crash.