Chapter 2 — Something at the Door
354 Words
Hana kept going up the stairs.
Her legs hurt a lot now. Her throat felt dry. She could still hear people screaming far below her.
Sometimes she also heard strange sounds.
Not talking.
Not crying.
Just rough breathing… and hitting.
She did not stop.
19th floor…
20th floor…
21st floor…
Finally she reached the 22nd floor.
At the top was the rooftop door.
She quickly grabbed the handle and pulled.
It did not open.
A red light blinked above it.
ROOFTOP LOCKED — WAIT FOR RESCUE
Her throat felt tight.
She was trapped.
Then she heard people talking behind her.
She slowly opened the hallway door.
About ten survivors were inside.
A man held a fire extinguisher.
A student held a baseball bat.
A mother covered her little girl with her arms.
An old woman sat on the floor breathing slowly.
When they saw Hana, they asked if she was bitten or something wrong. Hana said No.
“You’re safe now,” the man said. “We blocked the stairs.”
Hana nodded and held her phone.
Hana: I reached the 22nd floor.
No reply.
The room was quiet. Too quiet.
Then—
Knock.
Everyone froze.
Another knock came.
“Help… please open…” a weak voice said from outside the stair door.
The man stepped forward.
“We can’t leave him!”
“Stop!” another person shouted. “What if it’s one of them?”
The voice cried again, sounding closer now.
“I don’t want to die…”
Hana wanted to believe it was a person.
Then she heard it.
Breathing.
Wet. Slow. Wrong.
The student whispered,
“That is not human.”
Suddenly—
BANG!
The door shook hard.
The little girl screamed.
BANG! BANG!
The barricade moved.
At the same moment, fingers pushed through the c***k.
Gray skin.
Broken nails.
The hand grabbed the door and pulled.
An eye appeared in the gap.
It did not blink.
More growls rose from the stairwell.
Not one.
Many.
The door started to open.
The man shouted, “Hold it!”
The lights flickered.
The lock snapped.
And the door slowly opened.
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