Slippery Slope

Felicity froze for a second still trying to contemplate her next move, but ended up coughing from the pieces of dust from the wall or whatever it was that was filling her lungs.

Bringing her arm up, her body went on autopilot, throwing the gun to the side since it was now useless with no ammunition. She covered her eyes as she ran through the dust to the other side, surprised that the man was knocked out by his own doing.

Felicity jumped over his body which was unconscious before ripping the blade out from his hand for protection. She could hear Obrien screeching for the other men to get her, but it didn't matter since she was already flying down the hallway.

The man was able to bring her just a little bit of time which was all that she needed. Only three seconds were needed to make a difference.

Sprinting with all her might, she thought her heart was going to seize up. Her palms were sweating as her nails dug into her palm drawing blood with her arms that were tensed up so tightly it was burning her shoulders.

Felicity turned the corner with Obrien hot on her heels, and she bit out a curse since every hallway was a like a maze, looking identical to the next with the dreary grey walls and flooring along with the florescent lighting that was flashing above from the never-ending quaking of whatever explosion was occurring in real-time.

The constant buzzing drilling into her head was the air conditioning unit that was blowing air through the building yet it seemed to be working harder than it needed to be due to the damage that was being done to the building judging by the quaking walls.

Her eyes were blurry from the sweat pouring off her, and she brought her hand up to wipe it away, pushing her hair out of her face. She was shocked when she only just realized that practically all of her hair was gone.

Felicity had long black hair that she meticulously kept since it was her mother's biggest pride, and it was all cut away in a second. It felt odd to feel the air from the ac unit above brush the back of her neck, the uneven bob was brushing against her shoulders every time she moved.

Obrien was gaining on her, but she didn't know why they didn't just shoot her. They likely needed her in her best shape for whatever experiment they wanted her to do.

The hallways were all the same when a flash of color caught her eye, and she slowed to stop to quickly read the cleaning sign that said that the floor was wet.

Her shoes had enough grip to not make her slide across the tiles like a maniac, but she could see the glossiness of the freshly cleaned floors which begged the questions that were rolling through her mind.

Her red flag number one: where was everyone? There were signs of life other than Obrien and his team obviously, and she didn't hear any screaming or panicking at all which was extremely unusual unless they were all used to the unsafe predicaments which Felicity highly doubted.

Her red flag number two: all the lights in the hallways were turned on. Every single one. It felt eerie and like an experiment all in itself.

Her red flag number three: there were no windows whatsoever. The small gaping in her previous room was the only time when she was able to see sunlight.

Lastly, there only seemed to be one floor. The hallways all lead to one another, but there were no stairs or doors that showed a way higher or lower in any sense.

Felicity almost toppled over when she hit an especially slippery spot, but she whipped her body toward the wall to catch try and catch herself when the wall molded into a corner.

Breathing hard, she lost her balance and crashed into another body, making the air leave her body from the harsh collision. Felicity fell on top of the other person since she was heavier.

Groaning, Felicity met the green eyes of the person under her. "Melissa?"

"Felicity!"

She was able to get to her feet and pulled Melissa up as well. Felicity grimaced when she saw that Melissa had skinned her knees. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Melissa rushed. "Your hair!"

Felicity felt the uneven chopped ends and smiled at her. "Do you like my new look?"

"It's cute, but I know that it didn't happen in happy circumstances," Melissa said remorsefully.

Felicity shrugged. "What happened to you?"

Melissa breathed out a quick breath, but her bottom lip ended up quivering when she couldn't get her words out. Felicity cast her eyes above in anger and muttered, "I swear to God, I'm going to wring Obrien's neck when I get the chance."

Melissa brought her hands together nervously. "My room blew up. I'm so lucky I didn't get crushed. No one was there, so I had to get myself out."

What had happened? Did the bomb come from the outside or inside? Felicity tugged on Melissa's hand. She wanted to ask more questions but didn't have time. "We have to go, Obrien's after me." She glanced around the surroundings, and she heard echoes run down the long hallways.

"What? Why?" Melissa asked.

They started down the hallway. Felicity was out of breath, but she shakily replied. "I didn't want to get shipped into the middle of the ocean."

Melissa laughed. "I didn't either, but what could I do? I told him I would go, and Obrien left."

Felicity shrugged. "I'm quite stubborn."

"Eh, just a little bit. But if he was trying to harm you to make you go? That is another level of messed up."

Felicity barked out a laugh. "Did you see anyone else?"

Melissa shook her head. "I know there are three in total though from what I overheard. So you, me, and another person."

Felicity sighed. "That's good. Let's get going before Obrien catches up to us."

She started down the hallway first before Melissa followed a second later back through the mindless corridors. They almost slipped when they turned the corner sharply, and Melissa screeched and covered her mouth.

Felicity motioned for Melissa to hurry, but Felicity was sliding a bit too from the wet floors, placing her hands out to steady herself. Irritation ate at her. They weren't going to get anywhere at this rate.

The janitor needed a raise if they didn't get one already. Felicity stared at the uneventful grey tiles incredulously. They mopped extremely well and didn't miss any spots which unfortunately was a pain on their part.

Another loud explosion went off in the distance, and it was enough to shake the ceiling above them. Dust and other debris fell, and Felicity covered her face to try and make it through the building without choking.