The sight of the weapon made my stomach drop.

“Stay close to me,” he said.

He cracked the door open, peering into the dark corridor.

The red emergency lights flickered, casting long, eerie shadows down the hallway.

Smoke was beginning to drift from the ventilation shafts, smelling of burnt plastic.

“Ready?” Adrian asked, looking back at me.

I nodded, holding my breath.

He pulled me out into the hall, keeping his body between me and the open doorways.

We moved quickly, my boots clicking softly on the tile floor.

A nurse was huddled under a desk near the reception area, her face pale with terror.

Adrian ignored her, guiding me toward the service stairs at the end of the hall.

He pushed the heavy fire door open, and the freezing air of the stairwell hit us.

The wind was howling outside, rattling the high windows of the concrete tower.

We began our descent, my knees shaking with every step.

“Slowly,” Adrian murmured, holding my arm tightly. “Watch your step.”

We descended three flights in near-total darkness.

At the bottom, the exit door was propped open with a wooden wedge.