Chapter 2
Olive's blood ran cold.
Seventeenth floor.
Their place.
Hazel's hand was still over her mouth, shaking. Down below, the man didn't come up further.
He seemed to be listening.
After a few seconds, another voice came up, low. "Went down?"
"Didn't see."
"No flashlights."
"Trouble if someone wakes."
Olive's heart pounded. This wasn't a power outage. There were people in the building. People who knew they lived on seventeen.
Hazel slowly pulled her hand away and pointed at the fire door on twelve.
Olive nodded. Hazel went first, opening it a crack.
The twelfth-floor hallway was black. They didn't step in. Hazel just widened it, then closed it to a slit.
Then she pulled Olive down. Olive understood.
She was faking. Making them think they'd gone into twelve.
They held their breath and ran down.
Eleventh. Tenth. Ninth.
Olive stubbed her toe on a step. Pain shot through her. Hazel didn't stop. She glanced back.
In the dark, her eyes were cold. Not a scared child. Someone who'd seen worse.
At six, they heard the fire door open above.
Then quick steps.
The two men had entered twelve.
Hazel pulled Olive into a corner on six, bent down, took off one sneaker, and set it by the sixth-floor fire door.
Then she kept going. Olive almost asked why, but swallowed it. No sound now.
At four, Olive heard a curse above.
"Nobody!"
"Shoe on SIX!"
Footsteps started again, chaotic.
They were coming down. Hazel sped up, dragging Olive, who nearly fell.
The first-floor fire door was right there. But its handle was wrapped in black tape. Hazel didn't stop.
She pulled a small pair of scissors from her bag—craft scissors—cut the tape, and shouldered the door open.
The lobby was empty.
The front desk lights were off. The glass entrance doors were locked from inside. Hazel ran to the security desk, grabbed a key ring.
Olive's back went cold.
"How do you know the keys are here?"
Hazel didn't answer.
She slid a key in. First try, no. Footsteps from the stairwell, closer.
Hazel's hand shook. Second try, it opened.
Olive pulled the glass door. Cold air rushed in. They ran out.
The whole neighborhood was dark.
Not just their building—all the streetlights were out. But the main road had car lights.
Olive felt like she was surfacing from water. She reached for her phone to call 911. Hazel stopped her.
"Go further first." "Why?" "They can see the front door."
Olive's fingers went numb. She didn't dare ask more.
They ran along the landscaping.
Hazel didn't take the main gate.
She led Olive around the dumpster to a low door for maintenance. It was unlocked. They slipped out onto the empty street.
The wind hit Olive.
She realized she was still in her pajamas, just a thin coat, one slipper, one sandal. She must have looked ridiculous. But she couldn't laugh.
Hazel hailed a cab and gave the name of a nearby hotel. The driver eyed them in the mirror.
"Power outage?"
Olive started to nod, but Hazel cut in.
"Family drama. Drunk guy causing trouble."
The driver said nothing.
When they were far enough, Olive looked back. Their apartment building stood against the night. Twenty-eight floors, not one light on.
Like a dead stone.
Hazel stared out the rear window until the building disappeared around a corner.
Then she slumped back. Olive noticed her hands were still trembling.
At the hotel, the clerk yawned as they checked in.
Olive didn't have her ID—just the household registry and digital copies.
The clerk hesitated. Then Hazel spoke. "Ma'am, we don't want a street-facing room. End of the hall, not near the elevator."
The clerk paused.
Olive froze. Hazel looked up at her, eyes too pale, too empty.
"Please."
The clerk was silent for a moment, then changed the room.
Once inside, Hazel locked the door, slid the chain, and propped a chair under the handle.
Olive watched her, voice dry.
"Hazel. Tell me what happened."
Hazel sat on the edge of the bed, hands on her knees, staring out the window. The apartment building was just a black silhouette in the distance.
She didn't say a word.
At 4:01 AM, Olive's phone buzzed.
A message in the neighborhood chat:
"Anyone else smell something BURNING?"