Phase5

[Phase 1: Chapter 5]

[Gwen]

[Location: Albrecht University Credit Union Main Office]

The tapping of heels against the stairs echoed off the walls of the concrete stairwells as a panicked Gwen ascended step by step. Her shoe struck the edge of the step as she ran. She tumbled forward with a yelp, lengthening her hands straight ahead as she caught herself, not even bothering to push herself to her feet; instead, she opted to climb on all four limbs as if she was desperately crawling up the stairs before she spilled over the landing connecting to the third floor.

She gasped for air, her heart pounding in her chest harder than she had ever experienced. It was as if something was banging on her ribcage, begging to be released and trying with all its might to break free of the bars that held it prisoner.

She wasted no time climbing to her feet, ignoring the freshly bleeding scrape against her shin that dripped blood down her smooth pale leg. To her, it didn't matter. She wouldn't have noticed it if she didn't look down.

She stumbled towards the door, regaining her balance as she leaned against the knob, twisting it and bursting through, spilling out into the wide open hallway as the door flung open. The frantic clicking of her heels against the white-tiled floor bounced off the hallway walls as she passed door by door as her gaze locked onto the end of the hallway that turned into a right angle. She didn't care where it led as long as it was as far away from everything.

She raced to the end, instinctively skidding to a stop as someone emerged around the corner. Her heart nearly skipped a beat, along with a pit forming in her stomach instantly, as if she was falling from a height, and her stomach felt that dropping sensation. It was almost like someone had completely knocked the wind out of her as she came face to face with a stranger.

"N-No..." Gwen whispered, her voice coming out between gaspy panicked breaths as she kept her eyes on the boy in the hall. She stepped back slowly, feeling her legs tremble with every step.

His entire outfit was gray, from the baggy pants and jacket that hung off his shoulders. Whether he was armed or not was impossible to tell, as his lengthened sleeves with white stripes running down the side hid the entirety of his hands. On his t-shirt was an image of a pale white ribcage, while his face was concealed beneath a plastic mask of a skull. The only visible color on him was the firey-orange slicked-back hair. 

TO THE RIGHT!

A voice from deep within her brain screamed at her as if a guardian angel from high above had manifested itself in her consciousness, telling her where to go. She wasted no time looking directly to the right, lunging toward the door. Her fingers gripped the round knob, feeling the sensation of the cool metal as she twisted it, swinging the door open with as much force as she could muster. She didn't waste a second, throwing herself through the door into the darkness of the unknown and swiftly slamming the door behind her with a solid thud.

Her shaking fingers fiddled with the small knob beneath the door, twisting it with a soft click. Relief weighing more than the world fell off her shoulders as she spun around, sliding her back against the locked door as she slowly slid down to the floor. Her eyelids fell shut as every shaky breath grew longer and longer, even as her heartbeat remained rapid. Her blank mind, although as much as she yearned to forget it, focused on one thing.

She was going to die. 

Her eyes opened once more. Even though she sat in the barely visible room, she could feel the wetness forming in her eyes, leaving tears trailing down her pale face each time she rapidly blinked away the moisture.