"𝐈𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧."

- 5 -

Wood creaked with the weight of the two as they stood together in the silent room. The space felt safe to them, a warm and comforting feeling filled the room until it could hold only so much warmth. Tension began to build soon after. It was this pressure, like it was about to boil over.

I blinked a few times before letting out a deep sigh, "C'mon rook, we got places to be right?" brushing past him I headed deeper into the room. A small contrast from the warm and wooden office space became a grey hallway that led into an elevator.

"Huh, weird." Leon stood behind me as he looked over my shoulder towards the elevator.

"Yeah well that's kind of what you get for a 'used to be museum' right?" I looked back over to Leon with a shrug. The cop smiled with a nod.

Together we talked into the small space, Leon was at the panel which only had one button. "I guess it's a one destination trip." he said as he pressed the button. The button lit up and dinged with the weight of Leon's finger.

The elevator doors were old enough to be historic practically. It really sunk in the fact that this building held and still holds so much history even if it's been reused for a different purpose. The elevator doors rattled and squeaked as they closed and once again that familiar tension was back.

I was in the corner of the elevator just across from where Leon was standing which was right next to that panel. He's got to be feeling this too I can't be the only one with this burning feeling in my body, and the boil in the pit of my stomach. I felt so light yet so tense around my shoulders as my gaze was fixated on him, just his face.

He watched the elevator doors carefully like he was examining them every small detail that the elevator held. Without realizing he turned his head towards me and caught me in the act of staring at him, and it was a pretty hard stare. God this keeps happening.

"Something's on your mind, I can tell. You can tell me!" Leon said with that dumb smile. No, I can't tell you. I thought to myself.

"Just thinking about the library..." I said with a shrug of my shoulders. It was a genuine thought actually.

"Afraid the latest series of the fiction section is burnt to ashes." I jokingly said and shook my head. Deep down...I actually was thinking it was.

"It sucks not knowing...y'know?" Leon had this genuine look on his face, like a puppy comforting their upset owner.

"When you can't tell what's happening...or how somebody feels." He crossed his arms and looked away to the elevator doors again. Leon sighed deeply, "It sucks."

My eyes softened and stared down at his chest then to his face, "Yeah, it does..."

The elevator dinged with the doors rattling open again. The new revealed space was cold and everything was dark, Leon clicked on his flashlight and looked inside. The room was an underground stairwell which stretched pretty far down.

"Creepy..." I said while looking down the stairs. The whole room was cold and dark with this unshakable feeling something was wrong.

Leon stepped forward and into the stairwell with his flashlight lighting up only portions of the room wherever he aimed the light.

"Leon I don't think this is a good idea." My hand rested on his shoulder trying to stop him from continuing further down the stairs.

His hand rested onto mine and he looked back at me "I hate it too, but this might be the only way out. We need to help Marvin." Leon moved his hand down to unholster his handgun.

Together we treaded further into the cold stairwell. It was so quiet and eerie this dreading feeling sank into my spine and I couldn't brush it off. My senses were on high alert, so much to the point of overflow as my hands began to shake.