With Fear or Without

7- Labyrinth

They abandoned their planning post on the corner next to the train platform and crossed the street. Cleo's eyes didn't leave the building for even a second, narrowly avoiding ramming straight into a young man in a suit who clearly saw her but kept his trajectory anyways. Following Andy's lead, they ducked into the small space between the building and the rising skyscraper next to it. It was difficult for a group of teenagers dressed in dark colors to seem inconspicuous crowding into what barely passed as an alleyway, but the afternoon rush ensured no one was really paying them any mind.

Standing between the two structures, the passageway seemed to stretch on infinitely.

"Can you see what's at the end?" Cleo whispered to Andy, who crept just in front of her.

"No, but I think it just goes to the sidewalk on the other side," Andy replied, maneuvering herself so she faced the rest of them.

Cleo sighed and leaned against one wall. She was thinking that this was probably the stupidest thing she's ever done in her life. She mirrored Rowana (last in marching order) and gazed out into the sidewalk, thinking about how all the people passing by were going to normal jobs, normal homes, not worrying about going to sleep at night and committing crimes. She doubted many people could relate to her on that note.

Behind her in the procession, Charlie was craning their neck to see up the side of the building to where a square window was set in the wall directly above them. As they spoke, they started the search through their pack of mysteries once again.

"That window's kinda far up, but if I could get a boost..."

"Nu-huh, we'd boost me," Cleo interjected.

Charlie threw her a slightly hurt look, so she added, "You're taller than me, Charlie. I'm the shortest one."

"Whatever," Charlie huffed. "If we can get up there, I have-"

"Hey Charlie?" Andy called from where she had continued to wander further down the alley. She turned back to them and pressed against one wall, pointing just past her. A window was set there, at eye level. "Why don't we just use a window that's, you know, closer to the ground?"

Charlie stopped their rummaging and sighed, half relieved and half disappointed. They returned the backpack to their shoulders. "Guess that would be easier, yes."

Cleo led Charlie and a trailing Rowana over to Andy's position, asking vaguely, "Why are there windows on this wall anyway? They're so weirdly placed, too." It was true, there were a sporadic array of windows on this wall, one eye level, the one just above them, and about four more at different heights and positions.

"Maybe someone likes the view," Charlie suggested.

They crowded just out of view from the window, none of them having any desire to volunteer to peek inside. After exchanging uneasy looks and nervous grins, Andy rolled her eyes, once again stepping to go first. Slowly, she inched forward, peering into the window bits at a time while her friends hung behind, holding their breath. When Andy was satisfied, she stepped into full view of the window and tried to open it.

Expecting it to be locked or at least difficult to open, she pulled with too much force, sending the window flying upwards and Andy forward against it. She straightened.

"Thought that was gonna be harder."

She climbed through the window first. Cleo followed, then Charlie, suppressing a laugh, and Rowana last. Once Rowana was inside she slid the window shut behind them.

It was far from the office space or even the creepy haunted house setting Cleo was expecting. Instead they were in a hallway, the window they climbed through on one end and another hallway intersecting it like a T on the other end. It was bare of any furniture or decoration, just an overhead row of fluorescent lights dusted with cobwebs. The walls were a dull cream color, some of the paint chipping away in the corners. The paneled floor was dusty, like no one had come through here in years and years. The eerie lighting barely filled the space, making each end darker than the middle, but Cleo could just spot the edges of more light sources coming from the extending hallways.