I crept up the abandoned apartment stairs, making sure to keep my presence hidden. I pressed against the wall, keeping every step silent. I came to the top of the stairwell, I had reaches the roof. I glanced around the corner to make sure it was safe. I let out a sigh of relief, it was empty. William and Paisley hadn’t arrived yet. That means I’d won today’s race.

I walked to the edge of the roof and sat, my legs dangling off the edge. one wrong move and I would fall 16 stories. I watch the sidewalk below, barren of people. Every building in sight was long abandoned, except for a few possible refuges hiding out, waiting for the next search party to come and save them. Many of the buildings were in shambles, walls destroyed, windows smashed. Some had entire sides fallen down. A broken streetlight flickered below, still functioning in broad daylight.

I starred off, remembering what life had been like not so long ago, bustling streets filled with bouncing people. Summer had just begun. Tourists came and went, neighbors talked, barbecues with dads in polo shirts grilling burgers for the whole family. Kids would play at parks and hang out at the mall, drinking far too much caffeine for their small bodies to handle. The unlucky kids who didn’t do well in school that year would unhappily trudge back to class, reading books like To Kill a Mockingbird even though it was almost July.

School, now that’s something I never thought I’d miss. I miss a lot of things now, home, sitting in my room watching videos for hours on end. Texting with friends and hanging out at Meg's house. My parents. Oh, how I missed my family. Sure I still had Paisley, my younger sister but I missed my Mother and Father. I missed spending time together, eat dinner at the table. I wish things could be normal.

Lost in thought, I didn’t hear William creeping up behind me.

“we made it up here alive,” William said

I jumped back, grabbing for the ground so I didn’t fall to my peril. “Dear Lord will, you scared me half to death. I thought I was going to fall off this building”

William laughed, “oh Benny, I woulda caught you” he said.

“Where’s Paisley?” I questioned, looking around the rooftop. I didn’t see her anywhere.

William paused for a second, looking at the ground“ she stopped on floor 14 because she heard some kittens down the hall, told me to head up without her cuz she didn't want to leave you up here all alone”

“William you dumb ass! we have no idea if there're any monsters creeping around here! The kittens meowing could have easily attracted a monster!" I frantically walked back to the stairwell.

“Benny! Use your brain, if the kittens were meowing, monsters would have eaten them last week. I doubt there’s a thing down there.”

Ignoring his statement I walked down the steps, quickening my pace and hoping William would have the common sense to follow me. Two flights of stair later I reached floor 14, William behind me.

“Paisley?” I whisper-shouted, I didn’t want to be loud but I still wanted her to hear me. I couldn’t believe William could be so dense, he's older than me after all. Maybe it was because of is his blond hair, after all, they say blondes are dumb.

Surprisingly, the lights were already on. Most buildings didn’t have any power, yet this one was different. then again, it was one of the only buildings that weren’t falling apart.

Usually, I would never go into the halls of the apartment complex, the darkness meant it was a perfect place for monsters to hide. I tiptoed down the hall, William shinned the flashlight all around. The apartments seemed to be rather intact, there were even some decorations left on the walls.

“This place is odd” I muttered, not loud enough for anyone to hear

“huh?” William questioned from behind me. I didn’t respond, it was unimportant anyhow.

I heard the sound of footsteps in the distance and rustling. It was coming from the end of the hall. I could see a shadow coming out of one of the apartments.

I stopped dead in my tracks. what is it was a monster? Dexter would never let me leave the facility again. Then again, if it was a monster id probably never see the facility again. tentatively, I took another step forward, reaching for the knife on my belt. I had to know what happened to Paisley, what if the monster got her?

I could feel the heart pounding, for a dim second I wondered if the monster could hear my heartbeat because it was so loud. The shadow moved, I figured stepped out from behind the door.

“Oh hey, Benny! I didn’t know you were going to come down here”

I shrieked fell backward, landing flat on my back.

“You sure aren’t graceful for a girl, I thought you didn’t want to attract monsters,” William said jokingly, reaching his hand out to help me up.

now standing up, I turned to Paisley.

“what in the world are you doing here, this whole building could be filled with monsters!” I said, letting my anger get the best of me.

“Oh there are no monsters here, this building is filled with people, hiding out from the monsters. I found that out while searching for the kittens. Apparently, they have a sound system the blocks the whole building off and have special entryway doors that are covered in saffron” Paisley replied, her voice cheery as ever.

“Right,” William said disbelievingly “Well we should get outta here. it's almost 8:30 and id rather not have Dexter scream at us” Williams' voice came from behind us.

“Fine” Paisley whined “let me just say goodbye to my friends. We should totally come back here tomorrow”

This is what I get for bringing my kid sister along. There’s no way there are actually people living here, deter would have known by now.

“Oh do tell your friends to come in here, there’s no reason to leave them in the hall” an unfamiliar voice called