In My Skin

CH 19 || Halloween Part III

More steps sounded, followed by a dragging noise. Someone was definitely moving around.

"I'm the only one who took this wing. They should be in the other buildings."

His even voice soothed the tension in my body and I let out a breath.

I would blame this messed-up night that it took me so long to realize what I was doing: Hiding. In Killian's arms. Not anyone's, but Killian's.

What the hell was I thinking?

I drew back, trying to ignore the sense of loss shooting through me as he let me go and stepped away.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked, his voice soft.

My cheeks flamed. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole but then again, that was probably an improvement to my state of mind five minutes ago. "I-I'm good. It just surprised me, that's all."

"Good. Let's go check it out then," he said unperturbed.

"Wh-what? But you said it wasn't one of the others."

"Probably not. All the more reason to see for ourselves, right?" An edge crept into his voice. "Besides I'm here now, so nobody will chase you around."

His words made me feel strange in a way I was too mentally exhausted to explore. Thankfully, Killian didn't seem to expect a reply. He took the lead, and I stuck close to him as we sneaked up to the second floor.

"How did you know where the stairs are?" I whispered as quietly as possible.

"There's a layout plan at the entrance hall."

Ah sure. The plan. Yeah. I had studied that as well.

A sparsely lit hallway opened up in front of us. Raindrops drummed against the windows and lightning flashed, plunging the world into a brief radiance. I knew it was coming, but I still jumped when a loud rumble vibrated through the building. My fingers snatched the edge of Killian's jacket as my eyes flitted around.

His warm, slightly rough palm wrapped around mine, giving it a light squeeze.

My heart stuttered just to bounce back twice as fast. Okay. We were holding hands. No big deal.

Killian's steps were surprisingly quiet as we crept along the darkened corridor. At the end, the shadows morphed into a corner, and we halted. Another passage spread out in front of us leading to the south building. The storm outside unleashed sudden, brilliant flashes of light that illuminated an open door on the opposite end. Just as we were about to move forward, we glimpsed a shadowy figure moving inside the room beyond.

I gripped Killian's hand more tightly. Someone really was there.

He pulled me behind him. We made it about halfway when a face appeared in the small opening.

"Hey!" I cringed as Killian's shout bounced off the walls.

The figure froze, and in the next second the door slammed shut. Killian cursed and let go of me. He rushed forward and slammed into the door with his whole body. It rattled in its frame but held firm. He stepped back and I winced when he threw his shoulder into it again. It took him four more tries to bust it open.

An old shelf blocked a second door at the other end and a small staircase disappeared into the floor below. Aside from that, the large room was empty.

"Shit," Killian said. He took out his phone again and swung its flashlight down the stairs. "I bet he's long gone by now."

"Do you also think it was a guy?"

"Looked like it to me," he grumbled as he straightened up again and started to investigate the dusty rack.