Seraphina walked slowly, her steps quieter than they needed to be, her fingers tightening around the thin plastic bag of dinner she had picked up on her way back from her waitress per time job which she has been using to keep herself afloat.
Every sound seemed louder tonight, the hum of the overhead lights, the distant echo of footsteps, the faint creak of doors opening and closing somewhere far off. She flinched at every sound but she told herself it was nothing.
But the feeling wouldn't leave. That crawling, suffocating awareness that something wasn't right. She reached her door and paused.
Her hand hovered over the knob. Then she pushed the door open.
Darkness greeted her. The room was silent.
Seraphina stepped in, closing the door behind her with a soft click.
Emily wasn't back yet. Good, because she needed time to think, or maybe not.
Her fingers brushed along the wall, searching for the light switch.
A hand clamped around her wrist, hard.
