The soft grey shapes sharpened into focus. I was in a long hallway, with plaster peeling from the walls and ceiling like skin from a sunburn. The doors on both sides of me were either locked solid or torn off the hinges, leading to empty rooms with the same peeling plaster. The smell was musty, wet and sour.

It was not ancient. It may have been abandoned twenty or thirty years ago. It was a sad and depressing place. As if to punctuate my opinion, a low, moaning wind blew down the hall, stirring up the plaster and bits of trash on the floor.

There was some light. A weak forty watt bulb flickered every thirty feet of the long hall. In the rooms nearby there were no bulbs, only a little bit of grey light peeking through some holes in the boarded-up windows. The windows were boarded up in such a way I could not open them without a crowbar.

I felt alone, but could not be sure. Noises came from all around the building, plaster falling, more wind blowing, noises that told me the building was open to the outside somewhere, even though the windows I saw were boarded up tight. It creaked as if the damp was starting to rot the insides of the structure. Every noise echoed down the long halls, making it seem like a very large place.

I was still unable to find Brown. After searching the rooms around me, it became obvious there was nothing in this part of the building. The only thing I found useful was that each door was marked with a room number. The ones behind me were lower, and the rooms ahead of me were higher. Though I could see no end to the hallway either direction, it made more sense to head in the opposite direction. Maybe when I got to zero there would be an intersection, or lobby of some kind.

I started walking down the long hall...

Part XIV

Thanks for reading,

AC