The hallway stretched endlessly before us, each step echoing off the pristine white tiles. Hannah's chatter had barely slowed since we left, her voice filling the silence that my nerves refused to touch.
"…and oh god, the cafeteria food. It's like they actively try to make it worse every week. Last time, I swear I saw something moving in the soup. I told the administration, and do you know what they said? 'Protein.' Protein! Like I signed up to eat live science experiments—"
She came to an abrupt halt as we turned the final corner, stopping just a few feet from the door.
A large, unassuming clock above them read 3:00. Three minutes left. Huh, i didnt see that one before. But maybe it was because i was so focused on the door, that my mind didnt register the huge clock hanging right on top. Okay, who was i kidding, they clearly just put that there a while ago.
I exhaled quietly, my heartbeat loud in my ears. "Well," Hannah said, stretching her arms over her head before adjusting the bag on her shoulder. "Here we are. One very ordinary, totally normal door that only appears twice a day because this place is run by absolute lunatics." She flashed a dry smile. "Guess that makes us the sane ones, huh?"
I huffed a quiet laugh, though my mind was far from her words. She took a step toward the doors, pausing when she noticed I wasn't following.
"You coming?" "No," I said quickly. Too quickly. I steadied myself and added, "I'm waiting for Ezekiel. We planned to leave together."
Hannah tilted her head, giving me a look like she was trying to decide whether or not to care. "…Right. Well, go ahead. But you do know if you don't leave in time, you'll have to wait another eight hours until it appears again."
My fingers twitched at my sides. "Yeah. I know." Her gaze lingered for another second before she shrugged, already turning away. "Suit yourself, newbie."
I watched as she pushed through the doors without hesitation, disappearing into the space beyond. The moment they shut behind her, silence flooded in, thick and suffocating.
I exhaled slowly.
Two minutes, fifty seconds.
My eyes flickered toward the empty hallway behind me. Nothing. I shifted my weight, rubbing my thumb over the rough seam of my sleeve. The asylum had a way of stretching time, warping it, making moments last just a little too long. Right now, these three minutes felt like an eternity.
Where the hell is he? Ezekiel had given me precise instructions. Meet him here. Walk through together. "This will work, Noah. I made sure of it."
Then why wasn't he here yet? Two minutes, forty-eight seconds.
A bead of sweat traced down my temple. I ran through the possibilities. Maybe he got held up. Maybe he was testing me, waiting to see if I'd leave without him.
Or maybe— No. Don't think like that. Ezekiel had been the one to orchestrate this. He wouldn't back out now.
Would he?
I clenched my fists, my pulse drumming in my ears.
Two minutes, Fourty-five.
Still nothing. The silence was unbearable now. My thoughts were circling too fast, spiraling. The weight in my chest grew heavier with every second that passed. I glanced at the doors.
I could leave now. Step through, disappear into the outside world. But I stayed.
Because if I left alone, if he was just around the corner, arriving a second too late, then what?
The air felt thick. Suffocating.
Two minutes, thirty-five .
My breath hitched as I caught movement from the corner of my eye. Footsteps. Rushed, uneven.
"You waited?"
I turned so fast my vision blurred. Ezekiel stood at the end of the hallway, breathing hard, his usual composed demeanor cracked just enough to unsettle me. His white coat was slightly disheveled, strands of black hair falling loose from where he usually had it slicked back.
He looked relieved. I narrowed my eyes. "You're late." He let out a breathy chuckle, stepping closer. "Yeah, well. Things happened."
Vague. Too vague. But I didn't have time to push. I searched his expression for something, an answer, an explanation but he only smiled, placing a hand on my shoulder. "You didn't have to wait," he murmured.
"Yes, I did."
His fingers curled slightly, tightening their grip for a fraction of a second before releasing me. He exhaled, looking at the door.
"Two minutes left," he muttered.
The tension in my chest didn't ease.
Something about him was off. My instincts screamed at me to ask to demand why he had been cutting it so close, what had happened in the last few minutes that I didn't know about. But I bit my tongue.
Later. I'd ask later. Right now, all that mattered was getting out.
One minute, fifty-five.
Ezekiel shifted, his gaze flickering past me, down the hall. Like he was checking for something. Or someone. My stomach twisted.
I followed his gaze, my breath catching.
Two guards. Coming from the far end of the hallway, moving fast. Too fast.
Ezekiel swore under his breath. I took a step back, my eyes darting between him and the doors. We could make it. We had to make it.
I grabbed his arm, ready to pull him toward the door-
Bang.
A sharp, deafening crack split the air. Ezekiel's body jerked violently.
He staggered. I barely had time to process what happened before he hit the ground, a sharp breath hissing through his teeth. Blood. There was blood. Spreading across the fabric of his pants, a deep, dark stain. His leg. They shot him in the leg.
The realization slammed into me, cold and merciless. I turned back toward the doors.
One minute and forty-five seconds.
I could leave. I could step through, disappear into the outside world.
But Ezekiel—
I looked at him. His face was twisted in pain, his hands pressing down on the wound. But his eyes, his eyes were sharp, cutting through the fog of panic.
"Noah," he gritted out. "Go."
I couldn't move. The guards were coming. Ezekiel was bleeding.
I really cant deal with this anymore.