The stomping died away, replaced by a whistle as the cold breeze nipped at her face. Caleb glanced back with a look of disbelief. She followed his gaze, seeing the perfectly intact doors behind them.

“Did we... escape?” she murmured warily.

“...Yeah. I think?” He didn’t look sure of himself. She wasn’t either. It was... too easy.

Her thoughts raced, paranoia creeping its way into her mind. It couldn’t have been that easy. Maybe this was a trap. Maybe those chains around the door were meant to keep them safe, or-

She stopped herself. ‘Safe’ was far from how she’d describe the building they’d just escaped from. Looking around at the empty streets brought her reassurance. At least out here there weren’t any monsters... that she could see.

...Would they follow them out?

No... The tailed man was worried about them leaving because he thought they wouldn’t come back. If he could follow them... he would have. He wanted to escape, too, didn’t he?

Had he put the crowbar there? Why wouldn’t he use it? Unless he couldn’t...

They trudged across the sidewalk in silence, scarcely looking back for fear of seeing someone stalking after them. Whenever they caved and stole a glance behind them, there was nobody there. The anxiety dissipated for a while before regathering in a cloud around them until one of them gave in again.

Eventually, they both looked up to see that they’d somehow wandered into a neighbourhood littered with teenagers in costumes. Based on the lack of children, it was probably late into the night, maybe even shifting to the morning hours...

Christa put her hands in her pockets, startling as she felt something rectangular in either one. She pulled out her cellphone and a walkie-talkie, confusion transforming into jubilation the longer she gazed down at the objects.

“I didn’t have these in the hospital,” she announced and looked at Caleb.

He put his hands into his own hoodie pockets- Oh. A black hoodie over a grey shark onesie. No hospital gown in site. Lovely- and produced the matching walkie-talkie. “Neither did I. So that means...”

“We’re definitely out.” A weight lifted from her chest, but it was soon replaced by an even heavier one as she turned on her phone. 1:27 AM. They were supposed to be back home by eleven. Her lock screen was piled with missed calls and unread messages.

Without even thinking about what she would say, she dialed the home phone. It answered immediately.

“CHRISTA?! IS THAT YOU?!”

“M-Mom! Yeah- I- I’m so sorry, I...” I was just at the hospital getting chased around by monsters trying to kill me. You should be there right now waiting for Caleb to wake up. He got stabbed, you know. “My phone was on silent, and- and Caleb was having so much fun... and we lost track of the time-“ Her voice caught in her throat, wracked with guilt.

“...Are you safe?” It was a shaky, gentle voice. She sounded defeated.

A sniffle. “Y... Yeah.”

“Where are you? Your father’s driving around like a lunatic.”

One frantic call and a lot of profuse apologizing later, Mr. Carter drove around the corner in the familiar red minivan. The ride home was quiet, but she could see her father’s hands shaking like he was ready to break down at any moment. He kept the frayed pieces together long enough to reach the house, then a little longer to park and lead his children inside.

Caleb was sent straight to bed after their mother finished hugging him in a death grip.

Once his door shut, the tension in the room reached its peak. Mrs. Carter called the police station to tell them the kids were found while her husband tried to hold it together just a little longer.

“...Thank you. Yes. Goodnight.”

The phone hit the counter. Christa braced herself.