Running down a dark hallway, Soraya didn’t know where she was headed. Adrenaline was pumping through her as that beast’s roar vibrated through her bones.
The overwhelming smell of flowers and sweet fruit flooded her nose, and she had to slap a hand over her face to try and block out the suffocating scents as she ran for her life, phone clutched in her other hand.
What the hell is that thing?! Her thoughts shouted. Stilted images of the terrifying creature sizzled through her mind—its serpent-like body held aloft with four mighty wings as it snaked its way across the sky.
It wasn’t real—it couldn’t be real.
Her booted feet slapped against the stone floor, sounding like thunder in her own ears as her new dress twisted around her legs.
The howling winds ripped through the building as it swallowed the last remnants of the terrifying roar. Was the creature—monster—coming closer? What would it do if it did? What would Soraya do if it did?
Skidding to a halt, she took a good look around her as another thought pelted through her mind.
Why am I the only one here? Running for her life, that is.
The hallway she found herself in was completely deserted. It was devoid of light or any signs of life. Did anyone else hear that earth-shattering roar—see that thing outside? Why was she alone?
Her heart continued to thunder in her chest, and her scattered thoughts jumped from one to another. It took her a moment to realize only the sound of her heavy breaths reached her ears.
The wind had stopped.
Her breathing was the only sound in the hallway. It was chilling how silent it was—alone in the dark with no one around. She considered turning on the flashlight on her phone, but a deeper instinct stayed her hand.
She could feel her skin prickle as her hair stood on end. Turning this way and that, she could hardly see into the dark space around her, let alone attempt to find someone—or an exit.
Soraya strained to hear the sound of the beat of wings. But…nothing.
All she could see in front of her and behind her were empty halls, their ceilings swallowed by darkness. On one side of her was a solid wall running the length of the corridor; on the other, she could just make out the shape of a railing through the gloom.
Stepping closer, she reached out a hand and touched what felt like cool stone. Tentatively, she leaned her head over the parapet. The pungent smell of salt blew in her face as a chilly gust of wind made her hair flutter around her. Angling her head, her ear pointed downward, she could hear something distantly. Somewhere far below, the distinct sound of pounding waves slapping against the cliff wall echoed up to her.
Pulling herself back, she realized it was an open chasm before her. Squinting into the dark, she couldn’t see anything across the gap. Was she outside? On some sort of terrace, she assumed.
This isn’t normal, she thought to herself. Where the hell am I?
The clouds that covered the moon were still thick; if anything, Soraya felt her vision get darker and darker as the moonlight slowly blotted out.
Something wet hit her hand, startling her. She jerked it away from the stone just as a soft tapping sound began. It started with a few taps close to her, then further down the hall, building until the sound surrounded her.
Soraya took a step back from the opening as a slow, steady rain began to fill the chasm. Hitting and wetting the stone as it spread along the edge of the floor. The soft plinks of water turned into a thundering downpour, filling the space with its noise. She could only hear the rainfall until a flash of light illuminated the curtain of rain before her—there and gone until the next flash of light.
The storm had arrived. Did the monster come with it?
She braced herself for the clap of thunder or another bone-shattering roar…but it never came.
Backing away, she pressed herself against the cold stone wall, waiting for the shadow of the monster to fill the opening with the next flash of lightning.
Ding.
She jumped, her eyes cutting to the right just as a slash of golden light fell across the floor beside her. Elated that she had a steady source of light—and with the hope of someone else near—she raced toward it.
The source of the light was embedded into an alcove. When she rounded the corner, it took her eyes a moment to adjust to the brightness. And when they did, she discovered that the light was coming from an elevator.
Was it the same one that she shared with Sorenth?
“Hello,” she called out.
The rain swallowed her greeting.
Just as well—there was no one else there. But—
Turning her head back toward the open hall…she felt like she was being watched. The prickling sensation crawled up her neck, and for a moment, she was certain someone—or something—was watching. But again, there was no one else there.
Her neck tingled as she faced the elevator once more. Uncaring where it would take her, Soraya quickly made her way onto the lift and, hopefully, away from danger.
There weren’t any safety guidelines to suggest you couldn’t take the elevators in a situation like hers. Though, even if the building was on fire at that point, Soraya wouldn’t care either way.
Inside the compartment, mirrors covered the walls, ending at waist height before giving way to smooth yellow stone. A stone elevator? Soraya barely spared it a glance as she located the panel. She saw there was only one button to press.
Furrowing her eyebrows, she pressed it and watched as the yellow doors slid shut.
The sound of the rain ceased.
The doors looked eerily like the yellow stone, with a swirling pattern etched into the face of them. Looking above the door, she saw a single light illuminating the space.
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Standing with her phone clutched in her trembling hands, she sent up a silent prayer that the elevator would lead to a place with people and safety. Turning, she watched her reflection in the mirror while she waited for the elevator to descend—ascend?
Her long black hair was ragged and riddled with knots. Her makeup had been completely washed off, so she was staring at her pale, frightened face. What was she going to do with herself?
Letting out a shaky breath, she realized the elevator wasn’t moving. She tapped the button again, and the reality of the lone button sank in. There was no open button. Or close. Or a security call. It was just the one button.
She thought of Jesmine and what she would have to say about this situation. What would she do?
What would Dottie do?
Before she had the chance to worry any further, the elevator started to move. Letting out the briefest sigh of relief that one thing was going right, Soraya folded her arms across her chest as she tried to think through her options. Nothing bad had happened yet. No monster came barreling through the building, and the roof wasn’t falling down on top of her—she had to look on the brighter side of things.
A shadow fell across the elevator.
Tensing, Soraya looked up at the lone lightbulb.
It flickered again, sending the elevator into pitch blackness before resuming its steady light.
Pressure began to build in her ears. It felt like the air was getting trapped in her head, and a headache was beginning to form behind her eyes. The lightbulb blinked off and on, a low humming sound filling the space.
Soraya tried to crack her jaw to relieve the pressure, but it was to no avail. The frequency of the humming was growing, and the headache spreading throughout her head.
The lightbulb flickered again and continued to flicker as the humming intensified. Pressure enveloped the elevator, making it feel as though she were surrounded by an invisible force that was squeezing her. The headache pulsed through her skull, escalating to a level of pain that she could no longer endure.
She clasped her head between her hands and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the erratic battle of light and darkness from worsening the pain coursing through her mind. Her knees stung when she dropped them to the stone floor, no longer able to stand from the weight of pressure that was wrapping around her. The humming was deafening in her ears.
It felt like her head was going to explode before her body succumbed to the mounting pressure. Her skin and bones felt like they were being torn apart; she couldn’t move, this was it.
She opened her mouth and screamed.
The lightbulb stopped its jittery dance, the humming ceased, and the pressure that had wrapped its way around her body disappeared all in a blink.
Breathing as if she had just run a marathon, she let go of her head.
Ding.
The yellow elevator doors slid open. Exhausted, she cracked her eyes open and watched as a red sedan drove by, tires crunching on the asphalt. The sounds of city nightlife filtered into the space.
On trembling legs, Soraya placed a shaking hand on the mirror and used it to help her stand. Breathing hard, she took a moment to gather herself. Smoothing back her tangled hair from her face, she looked down at the floor and realized she had dropped her phone.
Picking it up, she swallowed the excess saliva that had pooled in her mouth and straightened out. Looking in the mirror, she noticed the dress she was wearing was a beautiful yellow-gold coloring. It looked shiny, like cellophane, but not as transparent. It was loose and tight in all the right places on her body.
When she looked down at her booted feet, she grimaced at how it clashed with the elegant look of the cocktail dress—but what else could she do?
Sighing, she stepped out of the elevator onto a deserted sidewalk. A foul smell hung in the air, and she slapped a hand over her nose to keep the burning acrid scent from frying her senses.
Did someone set a car battery on fire?
Looking up and down the uneven sidewalk, she saw parked cars and random trash that littered the quiet street.
Ding.
Looking behind her, she watched as the yellow elevator doors slid shut. The light above the entrance winking out.
Pursing her lips, she could confidently say the elevator was the only one she knew of that opened directly onto the sidewalk.
Weird.
Shrugging her shoulders, she touched her phone screen, waking it up, and realized her battery life was dangerously low. With speed, she ordered a car to come pick her up before her phone died on her.
With that done, she leaned against the cement wall and waited.
After a while, the hum of electricity caught her attention. Looking to her right, she saw a white neon sign above a closed shop. It was a seven-pointed star jutting out from the wall, encased in an iron frame. Below it, the word "Blessed" was written on the metal.
The sound of a car honking pulled her attention away from the sign. Her ride was here. Without a backward glance, she hopped into the car, the song “All Star” by Smash Mouth blasted through the crummy speakers as they headed for the campus, where Jesmine waited for her. Soraya hoped she was alright.
~
Thanking the driver, Soraya shut the door and headed through the campus gates. The fountain, their designated meeting spot since their first year of grad school, was located near the entrance, nestled among the cluster of buildings to her left.
The path she took was deserted of any students as she headed up a couple of steps, only to make a sharp left, heading in between two red-bricked buildings. It led her to an open courtyard that had trees hugging close to the buildings, and in its center were planters filled with summer flowers pushed against a black railing framing a square pit.
It wasn’t until one walked closer that one saw a set of stairs leading down into the pit and realized a fountain was in the center of it. Easy to miss.
Heading down the stairs with the moonlight as her guide, Soraya spotted Jesmine lying on the flat ledge of the square fountain. With her hands behind her head, Jesmine gazed up at the overcast night sky. She had swapped her nun costume for an oversized black shirt that definitely belonged to a man, paired with white shorts peeking out beneath. Despite the casual attire, she still wore her stripper heels, which made Soraya smile to herself—they were a matching pair.
Without saying a word, Soraya made her way to the adjacent container wall, dress flowing around her ankles.
When she neared, Jesmine greeted her, “Hey.”
“Hey,” Soraya replied, stretching her body out on the red-bricked ledge, her head angled toward the corner, close to Jesmine’s.
They lay in silence, watching the mist drift above. The bubbling fountain, which was only a couple of pipes that barely breached the surface, soothed the quiet between them.
After another moment, Soraya asked, “You okay?” The image of Jesmine’s text with the word “please” flashed through her mind.
“I’m alright. You?”
Jesmine was saying very little, which could either mean she was not alright or she was extremely tired. Either way, Soraya knew not to push it. Jesmine needed her to show up, and that was what she did. Jesmine had done the same for her in the past.
“I’m alright. Met a man tonight,” Soraya said, knowing it would take Jesmine’s mind off things.
“No shit.” Soraya could hear the smile in her voice. “Did you play hanky-panky with this man?”
Soraya chuckled. “You could say that.”
“You know you have to give me all the details.”
Soraya’s smile faded. “Of course.” At that moment, she could feel the ghost of Sorenth’s fingers grazing her skin, his lips between her thighs. She shuddered in the warm night air and wondered if he was going to text or give her a call tomorrow.
Another thought made its way to the forefront of her mind. “Hey, Jesmine?”
“Hmm?”
“Do you remember the name of the club you brought me to the other night?” Soraya’s heart started to pound in her chest. She didn’t know why.
“Umm, yeah, it was—Midnight…Midnight Jungle, or something like that.”
Jungle, Soraya thought.
They lapsed into silence once more, the fountain burbling away. Soraya watched as the rolling mist above them churned. It triggered a memory that tried to surface, but it never made it as it slipped back into the far corners of her consciousness.
“Do you remember which street Midnight Jungle was on?” Soraya asked after giving up on chasing memories.
Jesmine took longer to respond. “You know what...I can’t remember.”
Soraya hummed her understanding. She figured as much.
They stayed by the fountain for a couple more minutes before deciding to go back to their apartment. It had been a long night for the both of them, and a good night’s rest sounded heavenly.