Chapter 3:

Despite the ground threatening to disappear from beneath them the three friends didn't move for nearly two minutes. Luke ended up taking the first step to the stairwell.

"I can't believe what I'm doing but now that we're out here we need to leave as soon as possible."

"Yeah. Let's go," Emily agreed.

Daniel didn't move in the slightest so his sister grabbed his hand and pulled him after her. The two of them followed Luke to where the stairs started and they all began their eeiry decent.

The screams didn't stop. They weren't even muffled. They rebounded from floor to floor and amplified in the ears of Luke and his friends. His palms had begun to sweat and by the time they had reached the second last floor he found it hard to breathe.

Emily was in front of him, with Daniel still in tow, so when she froze Luke knew instantly that something was wrong.

"What's wrong?," he whispered.

He didn't know why he did it but it seemed very appropriate in these circumstances.

"I- there's someone standing at the door."

"Let me see," Luke's voice said.

His stomach had it's own thoughts on the matter. He suddenly felt the irrational need to go to the bathroom.

He forced his numb legs to move down the steps and past Daniel. His friend looked like he didn't have a clue what to do with himself. He seemed...careless. Like his mind couldn't process the spontaneousness of what had happened. Just like Emily the second it did happen.

Luke shook his head. His thoughts weren't making sense. All he hoped was that he wasn't next in the mental-anurism line.

He continued to walk until he stood a little bellow Emily. He could feel her shallow, panicked breathing on the back of his neck.

"He looks like some of the guys I saw outside the window."

Luke nudged his body against the wall and peeked around the corner, where he got his first good look at what would be in his nightmares for a long time.

The man was...just standing there. His head was raised to the ceiling and if Luke focused on his body hard enough, he noticed a slight sway to it. The man was rocking on the balls of his feet. Looking more closely Luke also noticed that the man had a faint web of veins on his neck and face, and his face was slightly red.

Luke heard Emily gasp and he stiffened, but it was only Daniel. He felt his friend brush past him and come to a stop.

"Looks like someone having trouble in the bathroom if you know what I mean," he whispered.

He snickered softly and Luke had to fight the insane urge to burst out laughing.

"What are we going to do?," he heard Emily ask softly.

"Is there a second exit?"

"Yes, but it's in the opposite direction."

Luke bit his lip as he tried to think the problem through. His car was almost right next to the exit with the weird man blocking the way, and only Emily had an idea on how bad things were on the outside, so he didn't want to risk leading his friends into the unknown.

Daniel leaned more forward. Luke looked at him, seeing the frown that creased his forehead.

"Can't we just, ya know, chuck a rock...glass...fire-hydrant or something into the connecting hallway to distract the guy or something?"

Luke paused to think about it. If they messed up then they could be hurt, or die.