Lady Luck

1

       "Come on..." I muttered under my breath, drumming my fingers against the floor as I listened to the men speak outside. At the moment I was sitting in a small, dark closet, ignoring the fact that there were probably hundreds of spiders and cockroaches in here with me as I waited for the men to finish their conversation. One of them high-strung and nervous, stuttering a bit and sounding overall agitated, while the other was cool and calm through his voice had a hint of impatience.

Of course. Of COURSE, I'd be in the one abandoned, condemned building where a drug exchange would take place. Why was I even surprised? I mean, I should be used to this by now.

I sighed as I listened to them, growing more impatient. This wasn't the first time I'd had to hide in an old closet. It happened at the last building I'd stayed at, and at the place before that... But this one took the cake. The air was musty and stale, and I felt like I was breathing dust more than actual air. Even though I should be terrified of one of them opening the door since they were only a few feet away, I was more focused on where I should go next. After all, if this place had one drug deal happen, for all I knew it might be a secret hub for it. Best to avoid getting mixed up in that.

Finally, their conversation mercifully ended and I could hear their footsteps fade in different directions, one heading for the stairs and the other deeper into the building. Probably the druggie, I figured, going to find a secluded room to enjoy a little bit of heaven. Based on his voice and high-strung manner, I'd say he'd been addicted to whatever it was for a while and had grown dependent on it. While that might make him dangerous depending on the drug, I could at least count on him being distracted for a while.

Counting to one hundred, I flung open the door and stumbled outside, gasping in the still-musty but much more breathable air outside. "Next time I'm hiding in a bathroom stall," I grumbled to myself as I shielded my eyes from the sudden light. Walking to the nearest window, I leaned over to inhale the fresh air seeping through the gaps between the boards covering it, a small, rueful smile crossing my lips. "Oh, sweet oxygen, I missed you so."

I giggled a bit at this little remark and then fell silent. Okay, (Name), time to go over the situation. Let's see, Mr. Druggie went deeper inside the building. Knowing my luck, he'd be getting caught in an overdose soon, so I could probably ignore him. The drug dealer was the one to worry about. He'd probably be alert since being high can affect one's ability to do business, and given he now probably had a good amount of money on him from the exchange, he'd probably be more likely to attack.

Okay, so he went to the stairwell that way, so... he'll probably leave from the back entrance. He probably won't hang around long, so I can just go upstairs to the nest and pack up my stuff, and leave after an hour or two—

"YAAAARGH!"

I gave a start at the sudden scream, my head snapping down the hallway towards the stairs. What... what was that? Heart pounding in my ears, I placed a hand over my chest to try to calm it as I strained to listen for more. Thumping and footsteps thundered below me, accompanied by another desperate scream. Blood running cold, I gulped before slowly walking to the stairwell, keeping my footsteps light and completely muted as I descended the steps.

Peering into the hall, I saw drops of blood trailing down the floor, making my blood run cold. Crap. For a moment I just stared at it in total shock, my eyes wide. I already knew this place was bad news with the drug deal, but blood? This was not good.

So I started following it.

Most people would run at this point. They would get out of the building and never look back. But for some odd reason that not even I understand, I'm not like that. Given everything I've been through over the years, I guess my danger sense got pretty distorted at some point. So out I went, following the bloody brick road until reaching a corner. I stopped there and took a deep breath before cautiously peering out.

Sprawled on the ground was an unfamiliar man, a pool of crimson slowly growing around him. His head and neck were twisted at an unnatural angle, bent just the right way for his glazed-over, glassy eyes to meet mine. They were devoid of light, just dim and empty. However, as unsettling as the corpse was, what really got my attention was the person towering over him with their back to me.

Blood speckled his jeans and faded yellow hoodie, the hood pulled over his head, but even so I could tell it was a male. A rusty iron pipe hung in his black-gloved hand, the corner covered in so much red I couldn't tell what was rust and what was blood. My eyes widened at the sight and I just stared in shock, unable to move. Only when he dropped the pipe with a loud clatter did I finally regain control of my body.

Time to go.

Swallowing, I started backing away slowly, trying not to make any sound. However, of course, things weren't that easy. They never were. As I took a step back, my foot hit a small piece of drywall on the floor. I winced at the loud scratching sound it made as it was sent skidding across the room and then winced again as it bumped against the far wall.

Immediately the man spun around and looked right at me, and my heart stopped at the sight. Rather than a face making a sinister expression like I expected, beneath his hood was nothing but darkness. It was like I was staring into a black void, where light could never touch. I was so shocked that it took me a few moments to notice that there was actually a pair of large, red eyes and a frown, but the realization that it was a mask did not ease things at all.

At that moment, I felt like I was staring at the grim reaper.

Time seemed to freeze as we stared at each other. Seconds felt like hours, and the world around us was perfectly still and silent. Then, he took a step towards me and only then did the trance finally break, instinct finally kicking in.

Run!

Next thing I knew I was racing down the hall, somehow able to hear the man's footsteps echo behind me over the thunderous pounding of my own heart. Panic and fear flooded my body with each step, my survival instinct drowning out everything else and leaving me unable to think clearly. I had no idea where I was going, no plan on how to escape. All I knew was that if he caught me, I'd be dead.

However, there was a reason that the building was abandoned.

Crack.

Suddenly I heard a cracking sound behind me, followed by a thunderous crashing and a yell. Surprised, I glanced back over my shoulder only to skid to a stop and stare in disbelief. Behind me, where there had been tacky carpeted floor moments before, was now a giant hole. Bits of splintered wood and cement crumbled away at the edges, the jagged ends of beams and pipes exposed.

For a moment I just stood there gawking at it, unable to comprehend it. It had appeared out of nowhere so suddenly, I didn't know what to think. Even though it was right there in front of me, it just felt unreal. Then I heard a faint groan from below, and just like that, I was snapped back to reality. Sucking in a sharp breath, I gathered my courage and slowly and cautiously approached the hole, stopping at a safe-seeming distance to peer over the edge.

Sprawled among the debris on the floor below was the hooded man, his form coated in dust. Blood streaked and stained his clothes all over his body, bloody gashes, and cuts visible in tears in the fabric. Rubble and debris covered him, a large beam pressing down on his chest and smaller bits of debris rendering his limbs immobile. Grunting, he started violently struggling to get free, but all it did was cause more blood to flow from his cuts, though he didn't seem to notice or care.

As I silently watched his struggling, a smirk slowly made its way across my lips. "Lady Luck strikes again," I muttered to myself as I made my way to the nearest flight of stairs. There was no way that guy would get free anytime soon—and even if he did, he'd be in no condition to pursue me. This was my best chance to escape.

But when I passed the door to the next floor down, I suddenly found myself pausing. Even though the closed door, I could hear him grunting and cursing from far down the hallway. It was a pitiful sound, almost desperate. Rather than continuing on for some reason I just stood there, listening in silence.

"...I'm an idiot."

And with those words, I opened the door and entered the hall.