Alex couldn’t take his eyes off it. Momentary peeks ahead were all he could manage.
By the time he got to his feet, the dark mist was almost all the way out. Its smoky claws dug into the wall where his hands had just been, and wriggled the rest of the way through. A massive formless shape rolling toward him.
The woman kept screaming, begging Alex to run, but he didn’t need any encouragement.
Down a long, dark corridor he ran, his head over his shoulders, one eye trained on the creature. The blackness ahead only gave out when he was six feet away, and allowed him to see the hall in front of him. Beyond that, there could’ve been anything, but forward was the only way to go. His legs wouldn’t go fast enough. His sneakers slapped against the floor with each crazed step.
The corridor was winding too much. Every time he picked up speed, he’d have to slow down to take a turn, or risk crashing right into the wall. A blind, serpentine path. No other sound except his breathing and footfalls could be heard.
Until the voices started again.
“Watching…”
“Waiting…”
“One…two…three…”
The voices scratched at Alex’s eardrums so hard he thought they’d bleed.
“No!” he screamed.
The corridor bent and wrapped around again, a writhing snake ever moving and changing, making each turn blind until the last second.
As he sprinted, visions of Clint and Danny, their bodies burned from the inside out, flashed in his mind. My friends in ashes. My friends, dead. He’d seen what happened when this creature touched someone, and he wasn’t going to let this fucker touch him.
As his legs ached and lungs burned, he thought of Heather. Poor little sister, getting sucked into this stupid macho boy mess. I have to protect her. A sense of relief washed over him as he realized that if this thing was chasing him, she was safe for now. And Reid would take care of her if something happened to Alex.
The sound of panting brought Alex back to his dire situation. They were his own labored breaths.
Around each turn, he held onto the hope that the next might take him out of this stupid never-ending hallway.
“Watching…”
“Waiting…”
The shadowy little winged creatures swirled and danced on the walls as he sped along, always a step behind. He got the feeling that they weren’t trying to catch him, just keep up and watch the show. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something else move, bodiless. The Shadow.
“Which will it be?” the critters screeched.
“No, no, no!” Alex yelled as he fled.
The smoky creature was getting closer. No matter how hard Alex ran, it gained on him, with its long, undefined arms outstretched. The scrape of its claws along either side of the corridor sounded like nails on a chalkboard. The hallway turned sharply again and Alex lost his footing. Scrambling, he had to slow down. Had to stay upright and ahead of this thing. His sneakers squeaked as he slowed his pace enough to turn the corner without falling.
And that’s when he saw her running straight at him, but it was too late.
Alex and Heather collided and fell to the ground in a heap of clumsy tangled legs.