Host of Sheets (shyan)

Chp 10. Friends <3

Ryan wasn't sure of much anymore, but he was sure of one thing.

He was not going to fight Steven.

Unfortunately he didn't have a lot of other options he could think of.

He didn't wait for Steven to show up. Instead, he darted through the doorway on his left- it was the quickest way to the stairs, and if Ryan could get to another floor, maybe he could lose him.

Starting down the hallway though, he immediately regretted his decision. The walls were just narrow enough the arms reaching out on either side of him could touch him, cold fingertips clutching at his jacket, a single bony digit scraping across his cheek as he ran. Their grip wasn't strong and he could push past them easily enough as long as he kept running, footsteps pounding on glazed cement, but their brushes were like sharp ice on his bare skin.

When he finally broke free of the hall he took a grateful gasp of air, eyes darting around the room. Stairs were to...his left, or right? This wasn't his usual floor to begin with, and nothing was recognizable anymore.

He took another breath, chose the left and started that way before he heard something, skidding to a stop and holding his breath. Footsteps. Definitely footsteps. Not that way.

He turned and ran the opposite direction, toward the conference rooms. There were emergency fire escape stairs that way he could try, and the alarm probably wasn't going to ring if nothing else was working right, right? ...But if it did happen to go off, Steven would know exactly which way he running.

"Ryan, I heard you, come back!"

That was Steven's voice ringing out behind him, cheerful and lilting. It sounded just like him. That was the worst part of all this; Steven seemed almost normal, despite what he was attempting to do.

And it was already far too late to escape. Steven already knew where he was, waving to him from across the open floor plan.

"Shane is looking for you!" Steven's eyes widened, "Don't you know that? You need to get to him immediately."

"Steven, you don't need to be doing this, man. I dunno what he's got over you, but you need to fuckin' snap out of it!" Ryan called back. He paced the rows of desks, scanning for an exit.

"I'm fine, Ryan, you don't need to worry about me. You wanna slow down? I just wanna talk."

Ryan peeked over his shoulder. Steven was close enough Ryan could see he was holding a knife- the short, dull as fuck knife from the kitchen. Ryan recognized it.

"No big deal- nbd, yanno? Shane just wants to see you. Come with me," Steven said.

Ryan ignored him, going for the hall on his right. Steven started to follow, but then Ryan lost him when he dashed left, disappearing into... where? What doorway? What was even over there? Ryan racked his brain.

Ryan glimpsed the hallway he was looking for with a sigh of relief, pounding up the stairs. They clattered loudly and he immediately realized this wasn't going to work- Steven would know exactly where he went.

Unless...

Ryan grinned and took a move from basically every movie he'd ever seen. He stomped in place on the stairs, letting his footsteps grow softer before slowly, quietly backing back up and into the shadows. It was dark enough to hide him. Steven would think he went upstairs, and he could lose him for a bit, just enough to figure out where to hide.

Not permanently- they were locked in here together, after all. But one step at a time.

He couldn't back up all the way. The walls were vined, darkness shifting over his shoulder, but he scooted as close as he could get without the walls being able to drag him in. Needle-fine tendrils strained, reaching for him and licking at his cheeks. One of them curled around his earlobe, making him shudder, and he tried not to breathe at all when Steven ran into the stairwell and headed straight towards the stairs.