The door to the stairs was on the left of the elevator, so I moved sidelong in that direction, my back flat against the wall, unable to turn my back to the darkness.

I shuffled over at least 20 feet when the metal groan of the elevator made me jump. The doors closed and I heard it ascend.

Stupid piece of shit. Now you work.

Now the darkness trailed me closely.

I moved faster along the wall; the stairs had to be coming up, they just had to.

But the wall kept extending with no end.

I turned the flashlight behind me. I could feel it—something just beyond the edge of the light.

For a moment, I froze.

Fear gripped me completely, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to break free.

The clang of the elevator reaching the mezzanine jolted me into motion. My body moved before I could think. I was sprinting forward, praying to every god I’d ever read about, making promises I’d probably never keep—and knowing they knew that and wouldn’t help me.

Up ahead, I spotted two square windows with light spilling through them. My feet pounded the floor as I ran faster than I thought possible.

I threw my body against the doors. Relief exploded in my chest as they gave way and swung open. I kept running down a sterile hallway lit in dim, blue light, until I couldn’t feel it anymore.

I turned.

The doors were closing slowly on the darkness that had been waiting.

Nothing followed. But I knew it was still there.

Where am I now?I wondered, glancing down the rest of the hallway.

It was spotless—no dust, no grime, not a single scuff on the floor. Just a long, unbroken stretch of wall. I followed it. There had to be a stairwell somewhere, or at least another exit. Maybe I’d just sleep down here and wait for Valeria’s search party. There was no way I was going back toward the elevator.

The hallway split a few feet ahead.

To the left, it curved and continued, disappearing out of view.

To the right, it also curved—but several doors lined the walls.

I chose the path more traveled.

None of the doors opened.

The few with windows were too dark to see inside, and I wasn’t about to press my face to the glass and peer into whatever darkness lay within.

Farther down, the hallway ended in another pair of double doors, nearly identical to the ones I had pushed through earlier.

An orange light flickered beyond the small rectangular windows.

The doors were unlocked.