SOFIA
It happened too quickly to think. There wasn’t a lead-up, no warning and no space to calculate. One second, there was structure, stillness, and a contained space; the next, there was noise. It wasn't loud or explosive, just wrong.
A sharp impact came from somewhere beyond the wall, close enough to register but not close enough to locate. I turned toward the door immediately. It didn’t open. Of course it didn’t.
Another sound followed closer this time. Movement, but not the controlled kind. That was the difference. Everything here usually had a pattern, even the tension. This didn’t.
I stepped back from the door instinctively. Not far, just enough. The handle shifted once and then stopped. Someone was on the other side, not opening it, but testing it. My chest tightened—not with p
