We’re in such a hurry to get home that we unconsciously start to jog. I never exercise, so that tells you how much I want to get out of here. The lift looks to be about a 15 to 20-minute jog away, so we- I mean I- will be home relaxing in a soothing hot bath in the next half hour if all goes as planned.

I stop for a second to catch my breath and Daisy keeps jogging, ignoring me and continuing on towards safety. I wheeze out a half-hearted plea for her to stop, but she’s apparently so focused on escaping this place that her steps don’t even falter as I continue to call her.

I give up and start walking, hoping to not fall behind her too much. Suddenly, I hear a thud behind me and I whirl around to see a fallen man behind me. It’s like déjà vu; he’s clawing at his eyes, which are surprisingly still intact, he’s staying on the ground, he’s…oh wait, he’s getting up. Spotting me, he started walking my way. And now he’s pulled out a long, serrated knife that, now that I think about it, might have been used on those corpses in the police building. I think the feeling of déjà vu is gone now. Not wasting any time, I start sprinting towards Daisy and just as I pass her I mutter softly so he doesn’t hear, “Look behind you, then run!”

She turns around, sees the guy barreling toward us, and promptly transforms into the Road Runner, practically generating dust clouds as she passes me and heads off into the distance. Not wanting to be left alone with McStabby, I run even faster, trying to keep up. He sees me accelerate and gets a little too excited, speeding up significantly and starting to roar like I imagine a T-rex would when chasing prey, which just motivates me even more to not get caught by him. I better not trip.

After about five minutes of high-speed chase (sans tripping), I look behind me to see him falling further behind. But, because this isn’t a horror movie and I’m not that idiot who dies first, I keep running full speed, with Daisy a couple meters ahead of me. At this point I’m breathing heavily and sweating like a middle-aged office worker in the middle of summer when the AC breaks, so I doubt I can last much longer. Wow, that was oddly specific.

“I can see the lift! Tera, we’re almost there, just hang on!”

My head jerks up and I start smiling manically, relief coursing through my veins. I never thought I would be happy to hear Daisy talk, but now I could practically kiss her. Wait, what? Nope, not picturing that at all.

The guy had stopped roaring a couple minutes ago, but now starts to roar again, and when I look behind me I see he has increased his speed. Shit, can I run any faster? I look ahead and see through my sweaty lashes that Daisy has reached the lift and is frantically pressing the button to call it. It opens after a second and she gets in. The doors start to close, but we make eye contact and she pushes them apart again with her arm, here eyes practically swimming with desperation, then suddenly widening. I look behind me to see the guy almost on top of me, and I do the thing anyone would do in that situation: start shrieking.

“AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!” McStabby jerks to a stop, suddenly confused by me making any noise. He probably thought I was the easy prey, and Daisy was the one to avoid since she was loud. I reach the elevator, jump in, and slam on the door-close button, watching his face morph into rage as he realizes that his target is escaping. I see the knife gleam one last time as he throws it at the doors, but luckily it bounces off the edge of one just before they close.

I take what feels like my first breath in hours, and my legs collapse. Daisy attempts to catch me before I reach the floor but ends up also collapsing, so we’re now lying in a sweaty, trembling pile with me on top of her. The adrenaline is wearing off, and we both start to realize how ridiculous this situation is. Daisy starts giggling, and I start giggling too, and it turns into a giggle fest until the tiredness hits me like a wave. My eyes drift close as I fall asleep, and as I get drowsier I hear someone calling me.

“Murphy. Murphy, wake up. Wake up!”

I suddenly wake up in bed, the sheets soaked with sweat. I look around and see my room in shadows, then my parents by the door with Daisy standing beside them, all illuminated in light. I jump out of bed and run towards them, but Daisy steps in front at the last second, preventing me from reaching my parents. She stares down at me and I suddenly seem to shrink as she towers over me and says, “Wake up.”

I look at her, confused. I just woke up. How can I wake up again? She sighs, then pushes my shoulders, and as I fall backwards the scene suddenly changes and I’m lying on the floor of the elevator with my head in Daisy’s lap. She starts talking when she sees my eyes open.

“I’m returning the favor. You know, from that time at the MAG, when you kind of helped me survive that seizure thing. But, I really don’t want to sit here for another hour, so if you could kindly get up and not pass out again that would be great.”

Wait, why am I back here? Was that the dream, not this? Geez, way to be confusing, subconscious.

I decide that yes, it was a dream, when Daisy flicks my forehead and says, “Come on, get up, my legs are falling asleep.” Definitely the real Daisy.

“Maybe you should let them sleep, they need the rest.”

“Smart-ass, get off my lap.”

“No.” She doesn’t say anything else, so I slowly slip back into blissful sleep. Ahhh, so nice not to worry about my parents.

Wait. My parents. Shit.