I sat in the Egyptian exhibit, scuffing my feet across the floor and feeling reprehensible. In the moments of havoc after the sun set, I hadn't managed to tell anyone that I didn't know what we were doing before they'd all dispersed to "get into position." So here I was, in the safest room in the museum, guarded by Fluffy and Sparkle, and contributing absolutely nothing to the efforts that should have been my job, as head night guard, and not the responsibility of the exhibits I was supposed to be protecting.
Why did I have to be such an idiot? I glared at my feet, face getting hot with self-reproach... and worry. What if I was supposed to be out there doing something crucial? What if I was messing everything up just by sitting here and doing nothing? What if the whole museum was doomed because of my own dumb complacency?
But I couldn't just leave. I rocked back and forth on my seat, the energy in my body curling up like a tight, nervous spring. I didn't know what I was doing! I'd just make everything worse. Honestly, even if I did know what I was doing, I'd probably make everything worse anyway. I was a mess.
And here I was, wallowing in my own self-pity and stupidity. How dumb was that? Why couldn't I just suck it up and get out of this endless circle of misery? Because I was the worst. Because I couldn't. Because I... wouldn't.
A sharp crack sounded from the hall outside — it sounded like a gun.
And then a terrible screaming began.
The sound yanked me out of my mental spiral; a tie to the physical world, a noose that dragged me up from drowning only to tighten around my neck, constructing my lungs with panic and worry. I shot from my seat, tearing out of the room without a second glance at the statues guarding the door.
And ran straight into a stiff, uniformed man with a swastika on his sleeve.
***
Hey guys! So this is a pretty short chapter, but still decently eventful, I think. Sorry it's been so long. I promise I'm going to finish this, and I want to get it done soon, because my writing has evolved and this is no longer really one of my priorities, but I think I have the duty to finish it for the people who started reading and hung on with me through all these years. If y'all like to read and/or write, and enjoy romance and cuteness and sweet little stories, I'm starting an author account on Insta in the next little bit, so stay tuned for later info on that. =)