Mira didn’t move. The ding echoed down the empty hall like a pin dropped in a cathedral.
Her phone buzzed again. No notification sound. Just a vibration against her palm. The screen now read: "Walk to the elevator, Mira. We don’t have much time."
From the open elevator, cold air spilled into the hallway. No one stepped out. But the floor buttons inside were lit. All of them. 1 through 20, glowing red.
She edged to her door and checked the peephole. The hallway fish-eye showed only the open elevator, waiting. Then a shadow passed across the lens from inside her apartment.
Someone was behind her.
Mira spun around. Her bedroom was dark, curtains still. Her heart slammed against her ribs. She looked back at her phone.
New text: "Don’t turn around again. You already saw me. Now walk."
A soft scrape came from her closet. The door was cracked open two inches. Inside, something exhaled.
The elevator down the hall dinged a second time. The display above the doors flickered from 14 to a symbol she didn’t recognize.
*End of Chapter 2*
Ready for Chapter 3?
