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Part 1-11: Five
A girl sat halfway down the long corridor. She had her back to one of the doors. Her lips. Her lips weren’t moving, but the humming continued on in Fergus’ voice, coming from right where she sat. She was tiny, like Deluxe, with a short pixie cut and a summer dress. She stared straight ahead.
My friends raced over and stood behind me.
“Hey! Hey you!” shouted Fergus.
That got her attention. She looked over at us and the flashlight died. The blackness was complete, except I hadn’t fainted this time, because I could hear the others yelping and cursing as the world disappeared. I backed up into someone, and we clutched each other. The humming stopped too, the only sound our uneven, ragged breathing.
“What was that? Who was that?” said Dack. He sounded upset and it was absolutely ruining the last of my bravado. I now believed that this might have been a very bad idea indeed.
There was a pop, and one of the fluorescent lights down the hall began to flicker and stutter. It outlined the shadowy form of the girl, or whatever the hell it was. The light found strength, and shone down on her. She got up.
“Time to go, time to go, time to go,” said Fergus. I didn’t hear him move.
The girl, who looked like a normal young woman, watched, unconcerned. She walked towards us, and as she did, the lights above her buzzed and sputtered to life.
“Fergus has a point,” Deluxe said. She pinched the meat on my thigh. “Go! Go!” The sting spurned movement. I pushed backwards and made for the stairwell door. I could see it, a faint outline thanks to the dim light from the girl’s fluorescents.
“Wait!” Fergus said. I half turned, still moving, to see him run past me. Dack and Deluxe were a few steps behind. Fergus got to the door, and it actually opened. I dashed into the void within, feeling for the banister.
“Come back!” said Fergus’ voice again, but from the hallway. Deluxe and Dack arrived on the landing and pulled the door shut. The flashlight exploded back to life and we all flinched. I may have screamed a little. A second passed as we stood frozen, then we fled down. I took the stairs two at a time. When I reached the exit at the bottom, I shone the light up the stairs. Nothing chased after us, as far as I could tell.
“Everyone okay?” huffed Dack.
I nodded. Deluxe was a few steps behind, distracted by her tablet. “Look at this,” she said.
“Later! Let’s go!” I shouted, and Fergus pushed open the exit.
There was no alley. It was a hallway, and that girl leaned against the wall across from us, arms folded. Fergus shut the door and stared at it.
“Was that?” said Dack.
“Yeah-ha mate. I think it was,” breathed Fergus.
“Was what what?” Deluxe hadn’t noticed. She stood a few steps above us, looking up from her device.
“We’re trapped,” I said. It was true, even though it couldn’t be.
“Try the second floor?” said Dack. I had a feeling that wasn’t going to work.
“You open it,” said Fergus.
We climbed a flight, not knowing what else to do, and stared at the door. It should have had a two on it. But of course, it was a five.
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