We rushed to the exit, ignoring everything in our path. It feels like the office has become so much larger due to the darkness enveloping us from all angles. Not even the stars illuminated the windows.

As much as I didn't want to point it out in my mind, there was sand everywhere. Every corner, every room—there was a concentration of sand. Some were only a small mound, while some covered a majority of the floor. Nevertheless, we ignored it all and hastened our dash.

We were close, very close. Once we turn the corner, the front glass door of the building will be in view, and so will the sight of the outside—the image of safety.

I continued to hold on to Nila's hand, pulling her forward whenever she started to fall behind. I do feel bad whenever I drag her over, especially with my tight grip. I know it's hurting her, but it will hurt more if she crumbles into sand, and it will hurt us more if she dies.

Laura seems to be doing fine despite what had happened to Alex. I do get that their relationship is sort of complicated. A few hours ago, she wouldn't dare to stand close to him. But after Raf's demise, it seems like they had grown closer thanks to grief. But now all that development went down the drain with Alex dead on the floor, in millions of pieces.

We turned the corner, and there I saw the door.

"No..." I muttered. "Everyone, this way!" I led them both to another hallway instead of heading straight to the front door, pulling both their hands so that they were forced to follow me.

"Wasn't the exit that way?!" Laura pointed behind her.

"Yes... yes, it was, but... there is no exit."

"What do you mean?! The door was right there! We could have gotten out by now!" she complained.

Nila didn't join in. She just kept on running, mindlessly tailing me from behind.

"We can't go out. There was nothing there."

"What?"

I took a deep breath as we kept on running, visualizing the scene I saw. "It was black... completely black. There was nothing outside. It was like there was a curtain of darkness blocking us. I know it's dark and there are barely any stars tonight but normally the convenience store in front of our building should still be visible, right? Plus, they're open 24/7 so their lights should have been on. I don't know how to explain it but I feel like trying to go outside will be impossible."

"S-So we're... trapped here?!" Nila asked, gasping for breath.

I didn't want to admit it. As the lone guy left, it was my duty to be the source of their strength, but I couldn't lie to them. I nodded slightly. "I'm afraid so."

"Then what now?!" Laura yelled.

"We keep going up! There has to be something that can stop that monster!"

"There! Hurry, quick!" I exclaimed, pointing to the foot of the stairs.

We had ran around the office in a complete circle, passing through offices and then the cafeteria again until we were near to where we had started. Somewhere along the way, the rain-like crashing of sand sounded from behind us. The creature was back, which meant that Alex was no more. No matter how fast we ran, no matter how far we got, that creature was still chasing us.

We began to climb the stairs when suddenly, Nila tripped. I was a second too late to catch her but just in time to witness her face hitting a step on the stairs. Painful as it looked, we didn't have time to console her.

"Hurry! Get up!" I yelled, pulling on Nila's arm. If this was anywhere but here, I would have been able to pull her with ease, but because of the incline of the stairs, I was having trouble.

"Nathan, just leave her! I can see it!" exclaimed Laura, tugging on my sleeve.

"Please, Nila! Stand up already!"

"P-Please... don't leave me behind," pleaded Nila, her voice shaking along with her body. "I-I can't move."

Laura went down a few steps and crouched next to Nila, trying to stand her up. Even with the two of us, pulling her up was difficult. Nila's shaking was too intense. It's as if her legs couldn't support her weight anymore.

From the distance, I could see the creature approaching as well. Its large frame further added to the darkness, while its dark eyes peered through, looking straight at us.

"Watch out!" I yelled. In a split second, I saw a blur of brown rocketing this way.

Laura jumped up and was able to dodge it.

Nila yelled.

I had covered my eyes before the impact, and when I opened them, I saw that it was sand. The creature had hurled sand at us.

Almost the entire lower portion of the stairwell had been covered, as well as Nila's lower half.

"What was that for?!" exclaimed Laura, spinning her gaze around herself to check if sand had gotten on her.

All of a sudden, the answer to her question emerged.

The stairs began to turn to sand. Little by little. Bit by bit. The steps gradually sunk, turning into a slope, while the affected railings crumbled as well, with some of the metal railing beams falling to the ground, crashing with a loud clang.

As the metal noise sounded out, my body shook from a realization.

I turned my gaze to Nila, and my realization was correct. She was turning to sand. Her jeans began to crumble and her shoes were already gone. Slowly, her flesh peeled off bit by bit like it was being erased or rubbed out by sandpaper.

She screamed, pulling on my hand.

"I don't want to die! Please, Nathan! Help me!"

I was speechless, I didn't know what to do. Instead of running away or helping her up, I looked down at my clothes if the sand had gotten me. After seeing that I was fine, I immediately slapped myself. It's as if my mind and body weren't in accordance. I began to curse myself in my mind. My friend, who's right in front of me, is slowly dying while I had the nerve to check if I was alright first.

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I'm... I'm so selfish. How could I protect anyone like this? It should have been Alex who survived.

"Leave her! It's too late!" yelled Laura, pulling my arm.

"No... not yet," I muttered.

With a deep breath, I gathered all my strength and pulled Nila up the stairs, dragging her step by step.

As every second passed, I could feel that she was getting lighter. It should have been easier for me to pull her up because of this, but in reality, it had become harder. The lighter she got, the cloudier my mind became, and my tears slowly flooded my eyes.

I know it's too late. I know she's dying, and there's nothing to stop it. But... I still chose to help her. It was my way of admitting defeat. To at least show that I'm trying, and I won't leave anyone behind, even with all my downfalls.

"I'm so sorry..." I mumbled.

As we reached the second floor, I turned to look back at Nila. I was ready to say "We made it," to her. I wanted to say it with a smile on my face, to comfort her one last time.

Nila was looking straight at me with her usual shy smile. But there was pain behind that smile. She didn't have a body anymore. All that was left was her head, arms, and the necessary parts that connected them. The rest of her were spread out on the stairs, forming a trail of sand.

"Thank you... for not leaving me behind," Nila said, closing her eyes and forming the happiest expression that I've ever seen from her.

Instead of me comforting her in her final moments, she comforted me instead.

Then, her face turned to sand from all sides, slowly consuming her smile. All that was left was her arm which still held my hand. Despite hearing the creature close by, its storming ambiance heading up the stairs, I chose to stay still, watching Nila's final piece crumble. Her arm, her hand, her finger, her nails... they're now gone. My tears fell and mixed with the sand in my hand.

"Moments are dwindling," the deep voice of the creature echoed from the foot of the stairs.

I closed my fist and grasped her final grains. I stood up and yelled, letting out all my frustrations, grief, and anger—shaking the entire building. Then, I collapsed to the floor and sobbed with my head curled down.

"I... I can't... take this anymore," I mumbled, my voice barely coming out. I felt as if something was suffocating me, tightening my throat. To have the urge to yell again but not have the willpower left to do so. I just want to disappear at this moment, to no longer feel all these emotions. I promised Alex that I'd protect them, but not even an hour later... I've already broken that promise.

"I promised him..." I muttered to myself, my voice trembling with the burden of guilt. "But look at what I've done... I... I couldn't save anyone."

I glanced at my closed fist, now seeping with the remnants of Nila. The once shy smile etched on her face haunted my thoughts, a painful reminder of my inability to protect her. If I just had the strength to pull her up a few inches, if I didn't waste a single millisecond in saving her, if only I shielded her at the last second—then things could have gone differently.

Why didn't I just sacrifice myself? If I knew I was this useless, then saving her would have been the most useful thing I've done. Instead, I prioritized myself and checked my own safety while she crumbled away. I'm a coward. I continued to berate myself in my mind, the weight of my shortcomings pushing me further into a pit of despair.

The stairwell shook with the creature's advancing presence, the sound of shifting sands echoing up to the top. I could see its human-like form approaching where the stairs turned around, pretty much the halfway mark. Danger was only a few steps away and yet I didn't move. I felt as if the darkness had seeped into my soul, suffocating any semblance of strength or courage that remained.

"Just end it all," I whispered, looking straight at the approaching creature, my voice barely audible amidst the rising chaos. Just a few minutes ago, I was so full of hope, but now, I long to disappear, to escape the crushing weight of responsibility that now bore down on me.

As I stood still, engulfed in the darkness that surrounded me, a sudden sharp sting across my face shattered my frozen state. The sound of the impact echoed through the hallway, and I turned slowly, stunned, to see Laura standing beside me, her hand still posed mid-air. She had slapped me back to my senses. I thought at this point, she had already run away without me.

"Get a hold of yourself, Nathan!" she yelled, her eyes ablaze with a mix of concern and grief. "We don't have time for this. Move on already, it's almost here!"

The sting on my cheek brought upon the wake-up call I desperately needed. I blinked away my tears. Laura's words echoed in my ears as I shook off the paralysis.

The creature's sounds grew louder, a reminder that time was running out. Its black eyes now faced me from the stairs and its brown grainy hue was now visible. I wiped away the tears with the back of my hand and then clenched my fist.

"I'm fine now," I said, my voice still wavering but with a newfound determination shining through. "Let's go."

I turned my back away from the remnants of Nila but I took a second to give one final glance at her. Laura touched my shoulder and gave a silent nod. Her expression was flat, yet I could feel the emotions coursing in her.

We continued our dash, the hallway seemingly never-ending, each step accompanied by the haunting sounds of the creature following from behind.

We sat on the floor, huddled in our office. Our backs leaned against the barricade of desks and shelves that we blocked the door with.

With nothing to do except to cower, I began to think. How could we possibly beat that creature? It clearly has some intelligence and I doubt it'll just wander off on its own. It can also turn anything that touches it to sand. Is there even a way to stop that? I peered deeper into my memories, from when Nila first pointed to it in the shadows, then to Alex bravely tackling it, to it now cornering us in our office. All of a sudden, I realized something crucial.

"Listen, Laura," I said, the urgency evident in my voice. "I think I've figured something out.

Gears turned in my mind. So far, that creature has spoken twice: the sands are shifting and moments are dwindling. There seems to be a theme going on.

"I'm not sure, but I think time has something to do with it."

Laura raised an eyebrow, skepticism etched on her face. "Time? What are you talking about?"

I took a deep breath, trying to articulate my thoughts. With everything going on, I can only think of one thing that has something to do with time. I looked Laura straight in the eyes. "Remember the deadline for the project? I think there's a connection."

Laura's eyes narrowed, and she shook her head. "Nathan, we don't have time to be working right now. How is our project deadline connected to any of this?!"

"That's exactly it—time! What if... the monster is pointing out the time we have left to finish the project?"

I glanced over at the wall clock above us. The shorthand was already pointing straight up, while the long hand was directly opposite it. "Thirty minutes..." I muttered.

Laura didn't say a word, but I could see the confusion etched on her face.

Frustration gnawed at me as I struggled to make her understand. "Please trust me on this, Laura. I don't know of any other connection."

Laura's disbelief persisted, and she sighed. "Nathan, just please stop. We're trapped, and you're talking about working? We should be focusing on surviving, not on theorizing about a hunch."

I get where Laura is coming from. If I was in her position, I'd definitely put survival first—the realistic kind of survival. But what I needed to get through to Laura was that there isn't anything realistic about a creature that can turn people to sand. Unrealistic dangers should be handled in unrealistic ways. I needed Laura to trust me, to see the potential link between the creature and our unfinished project. But time was running out, just like the sand in an hourglass, and arguing with her wouldn't help.

As a last resort, I reached into my shirt pocket, retrieving the chocolate Alex had given me. I held it towards her in my open palm, giving it to her.

Suddenly, Laura slapped it away, her confusion still visible. "Just a second ago, you were a wreck. How could you be so calm now?!" she yelled, not even paying attention to the chocolate.

Undeterred, I picked up the chocolate. "Please trust me. We'll live through this, for them," I said, grabbing hold of Laura's hand and placing the chocolate on her palm, then closing it tight.

We both exchanged glances for what had seemed to be a minute.

Reluctantly, Laura sighed, calming down and accepting Alex's gift. I grabbed the other one Alex had given me, and we both ripped the wrapper, eating it at the same time. We both stood up, flames of determination blazing in our eyes. Finally, we have a way to survive. If I'm right about this, we can beat that creature and avenge everyone. Without a second to waste, we sat on our stations, and in the eerie glow of our computer screens, we plunged back into work, the haunting presence of the creature lingering just beyond the barricade. I can hear it.

Twenty-seven minutes left. It is now a race against time.