"Trying" Normal [Editing In Progress]

Chapter 7: Let Me In

The door to my condo slammed shut. Without delay, I stood at the tops of the stairs I climbed earlier. With a quick glance, I saw nothing off with either wall.

"Maybe the other one?" I said to myself while crossing the small landing on the opposite staircase. I kneeled down and moved about to watch the lights reflect off the paint when I noticed a spot that was dull. My hand ran over the wall and I felt the difference in texture from the painted drywall to where the plaster had been fixed.

With a glance down at the carpeted stairs, the blue carpet gave way to a mass of yellow, beige, and brown mosaic tiles at the landing that stuck out as the remaining part of the building's original color scheme.

The stairs let out small creaks as I made my way down. In my approach, I noticed a section of grout was notably darker than the rest, as if something had spilled and only to get a quick mop over and left for time to hide the rest.

Greta fell down this staircase, poor woman. I'll give this all a  deeper look over later, but I need to get moving before she realizes something.

I made my way down the stairs, peered out the windowed door, and saw outside. The courtyard was as picturesque as the parking lot's side. A patterned sidewalk ran along the courtyard and connected the other building entrances I could see from where I stood. People had gathered at the grills formed in a circle and the picnic tables dotted along the grass. 

Looks like no one heard the screaming. That's good. Despite the nosy people, this seems like a calm community. Blending in should be easy enough, at least once I've dealt with Cassie and Harold.

In my people watching, I noticed my reflection in the glass. Despite no longer being covered in the inky ghost blood, I was a sweaty, dusty mess from moving about my condo as I chased Alexander down.

"Guess I can find my storage unit and get cleaned up in there." With my thoughts said in a whisper, I moved through the hallway until I saw a pair of doors on opposing walls, exactly like upstairs, except the unit below Greta's had a staircase leading down to the right of it.

With no other business left in this building, I made my way down the basement stairs. As I took the first, I heard a door shaking in its frame, followed by the pained gasp of a certain elderly woman.

"Oh, dear." The sound of the door rattling came from above. "Vincent? I wanted to go talk to Cassie, but I'm... stuck?" I remained silent. "Vincent?" She went quiet for a moment, waiting for an answer that would never come. "Hello? Vincent? Is this supposed to happen?" As she struggled, I made my way slowly down the stairs and kept the creaks to a minimum as to not give away my presence.

Greta, I already had you trapped in my condo when I grabbed your wrists. The hug was just a nice way to earn some bonus points with you while I lied to your face. It's not like I want her stuck in my condo. I just can't have Greta hearing my conversation. This is the only way I can protect her.

As I made my slow descent down the stairs, a stale scent filled the air. The carpeted stairs lead to a concrete floor. Across from the staircase was another door leading outside. Wood paneling surrounded the immediate area of the door, another hint at the original look of the building. The walls beyond the paneling were a dingier shade of white that the exposed bulbs in the ceiling did little to flatter.

"Building four is to the right, so building six is this way." I turned to the left and made my way through the hallway. As I ventured deeper, I passed a few doors with numbers.

Sixteen, seventeen... The key has a twenty-two on it. Seems I'm getting close.

The end of the basement hallway had a metal door with a wall made of concrete and brick. Small scatches covered the lower part of the door, likely from years of being kicked and bumped open. Faded red letters completed the image for the weathered door.