I am being chased.
It’s in a large multi-use complex; a tall building in the middle of a large urban area. From the outside, it’s one of those typical tall, glass windows sort of buildings you see in overhead views on TV shows. There is a shopping mall, hotel, condos, office space and a multi-level parking garage.
The building will not let me leave, so I search for a way out. Maybe there is a secret passage, or a hidden doorway I’m unaware of. I don't know what follows me, or why. From the occasional guttural sounds I hear, I am getting the impression that it might be a something instead.
I don’t remember entering the building. I can't remember when I arrived or how long I've been there. It seems like hours, but in truth it’s only been a few minutes. I don’t have a phone or a watch to check the time. I’ve been looking for a place to rest, but nothing is open. Or it changes as I arrive.
Every floor is different. Different layouts, different offices, living quarters, or shops. As I walk around, the floor changes. Sometimes I think I can sit on a bench to figure out where I am, and I hear a noise. Whoever, or whatever, is after me is getting closer. I must move on. I backtrack to where I think I can hide long enough to get my bearings. I try looking for a map; it says, “You are Here” with a red dot. I thought I saw one in a retail area, but as I approached it; it faded away.
The noise is in the distance, shouting and moaning. I’ve heard it a few times. It’s getting closer, and that is my cue to keep moving.
The few people I see know I’m ‘wanted’ but they don’t threaten to ‘rat me out’. It feels more like they are trying to warn me. Some of them tell me I’m close to being caught. Some give me hints on how to exit the building, but the hints are wrong or the place where the hints lead to has changed.
At one point, I grab a doorknob, but the knob crumbles in my hand.
I keep moving. I have tricked a few people whom I suspect are helping the person or thing chasing me. I lost a man by pushing him down an old elevator shaft. I made sure he had something to grab onto. He was friendly right until I pushed him. I left him screaming as he held on to a red ribbon that was tied to a hook in the shaft doorway.
Offices, condos and shops vary across floors, even as I walk. Décor transforms, scenes shift, people vanish, and unknown faces appear right in front of me. It all melds together, sometimes fast, sometimes slow.
I feel I’m almost caught, that whatever or whoever is looking for me is just around the next corner. That’s when I run. Running down a hallway that changes as I run or walking down a flight of stairs, the stairway changes right in front of me.
I go down to the garage on the floors underground, but it is dark. Lights flicker, but not enough to make me feel safe to search for a way out. I’ve been taking the stairs up and down because I don’t trust the elevators. What if I get to the top floor and the elevator jerks to a stop and plunges down without warning?
There is a large area with sunlight coming in through windows in the ceiling. Am I on the top floor of the building? I can’t tell. There are shops I dart in and out of, but as I walk and explore the shops, it all changes again.
Customers in these shops either cannot see me at all or give me stern looks. Two people gave me the signal to be quiet. I am making too much noise as I move through the shopping area.
All I want to do is leave. I must keep moving to keep from being caught. I lean against a wall to catch my breath. I hear a noise, a dull sort of moaning, and a movement behind me. I feel a hand on my back.