307

The man lunges at you, but you scramble out of the way, landing hard against the stairwell wall. He leaps again, hands outstretched, but you drop down and roll under his body, the jagged edges of the stairs digging into your back as you tumble down the stairs.

You roll until you reach the next landing, and your body crashes into the cement floor. All air leaves your lungs, but you know the stranger is coming. You scramble to your knees and yank out your revolver. Only half a staircase away, the man barrels toward you.

Taking the best aim possible in the darkness of the stairway, you pull the trigger. The man's head flips backward, and his momentum sends him crashing into the wall on the side of the landing. His body twitches, and limbs convulse, as a thick liquid oozes from a hole in his skull. You keep the gun raised, ready to fire again. After a few moments, the creature's body goes limp.

You slump to the ground. Your heart is pounding and breathing is so rapid, you wonder if you're having a heart attack. Minutes pass, and you regain your strength with your pulse rate returning to normal. You step past the man's body and walk several flights down to the next landing