The elevator ding echoed down the deathly silent hallway. Kaden had 'bluffed' our way through security, and we were now facing yet another corridor to search.
"We could be at this for DAYS." I moaned.
"We better not be-my brother is growing stronger every day, and it won't be long until he locates those shoes." Kaden snapped. The more he used his abilities to bypass security, the grumpier he got.
"Somebody's hungry." I mumbled. Brie snickered and Kaden glared at me. We walked down the hall, checking empty rooms.
"This floor must not be rented yet." Brie whispered to us as we reached the 20th empty office.
"Still, better safe than sorry." Kaden replied, as he opened the twenty-first door. I opened the next one.
"Uh...guys..." I called, "I don't think you're going to like the new tenants."
Standing beside the open window of the room was one of the nightmare creatures, glaring hatefully at me in the open doorway. Brie and Kaden had rushed over when they heard me speak, and as the creature lunged towards us, I heard them yelling over each other to shut the door.
I pulled the knob, trying to close it, but the creature got a hold of the edge of the door. Kaden grabbed the knob around my fingers, grinding them uncomfortably against the cold metal, while Brie started pulling Kaden around the waist. There was a desperate struggle, in which Brie placed a leg on the door frame for better leverage, the creature nearly pulled us inside, and then...the door finally pulled shut. The creature's fingers crunched sickeningly and it wailed inside the room, fingers trapped between the door and the jamb.
"Run, run, run, RUN!" Kaden was barking at us, pushing us down the hall. I looked behind him to see another creature had popped out of one of the rooms we had previously checked. Yet another creature came around the corner where the elevator was located. Kaden pushed us faster towards the fire stairs.
"How do we know there's not more of them down there?" Brie asked as we reached the door. A creature opened an office door directly behind us, snarling.
"We don't, but we DO know they're there!" I yelled, swinging the stairway door open. I was certain my heart was going to explode at this point. Brie hesitated at the open door, so I shoved her in and ducked in myself, followed swiftly by Kaden.
"Down, down, down!' I screeched, tugging Brie down the stairs. When we heard the banging against the door above us, she pulled free from me and bounded down the stairs two at a time in fear. I followed, leaping the last fours stairs onto the top landing, bouncing off the landing wall to fuel my momentum as I turned to race down the next flight of stairs. Kaden's long legs enabled him to pass us, but he chose to stay behind us as if to protect us. Brie squealed as she hit the next landing. Over her shoulder I saw a creature staring through the landing door at us. She flew down the next flight of stairs as fast as she could, nearly tripping in her haste. My lungs were burning, I was pulling myself downward with the rail and wall in attempt to go faster.
"How... many... floors?" I wheezed at Brie.
"I don't know!" She shrieked back, panting. A sudden thudding above us let us know the creatures had figured out the doors. Brie let loose another wild scream and tried to move faster, scrambling wildly down the stairs with her arms out, trying to keep her balance. I just knew one of us was bound to fall flat on our faces. I pushed my body harder, trying to keep pace with Brie. Kaden's steps thundered behind me. Brie let loos a primal yell as she burst through the next landing's door, which I briefly saw led to the outside.
"Brie! Brie stop!" I called breathlessly. I tried to add more speed to my steps, but Kaden bounded passed me instead, easily grabbing Brie's shoulder to slow her down. She let out a frightened squeak and tried to yank free, but he wrapped an arm around her and shushed her. Her eyes were wild and panicky as I caught up. I grabbed her arm and looked in her unfocused eyes.
"Brie, listen... I need you to pay attention." She focused on me slowly. "Brie, they're here, that means that they must have traced the shoes here too. Where else could they be, if they weren't in the offices?" Brie blinked at me.
"Storage-" She said weakly, then cleared her throat. "There's supposed to be storage in the next building, with a section set aside in the basement for untested artifacts that don't have a rush order. I... I have a key since I work with those types of things." Brie dug in her pocket for her keychain and held up a bundle assorted keys on several rings. "We haven't updated the security yet, so it's a little old fashioned right now." She said apologetically.
"It's fine, which key is it? I asked, reaching for the keys.
"I don't know yet..." She groaned weakly.
"It's fine, it's fine." Shushed Kaden, wrapping her in a tight bear hug, resting his chin on her head and looking at me. I could see the determination in his eyes, and he nodded at me once to indicate he was tuned in to what I was thinking.