---
The corridor exploded with the sound of feet slapping against stone. Joan and Elara ran as though fire itself chased them, their breaths tearing out of their lungs in ragged bursts. I pressed my palms hard against the locked door, heart pounding so loudly I thought it would burst through my chest. Through the crack near the bottom, I saw them dart past shadows twisted in panic, bodies jerking forward without rhythm. Elara's shoe caught on the uneven stone. It flung high into the air before tumbling behind her, abandoned like a corpse of leather and fabric. She didn't stop to grab it. She didn't even stumble. Barefoot, she kept running, her toes scraping against the cold floor.
