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It was really cold in the building. Too cold. We could hear no signs of an air conditioning system at all, but … there had to be one somewhere. It wasn’t that cold outside, was it? It couldn’t have dropped temperature that fast …
“This isn’t an ordinary building, Jess. Stay close.”
“Don’t have to ask me twice.”
I walked not too far behind him, and I suddenly heard a phantom knocking noise.
Blade was seeming to be a chicken now. His face lost all color. I looked at him, then at the stairs, listening to the noise.
“It’s rapping in a pattern.” I said.
“What?!”
“Listen, stupid.” I was losing my patience.
Rap. Silence. Slam. Silence. This pattern repeated itself. It seemed to be coming from a closet. I stared blankly at the door, deciding whether or not this was a good risk to take.
There was the loudest roar I have ever heard in my life.

A monstrosity launched itself down from the staircase. It landed with a bang in front of Blade. I backed off. It was an automatic reflex due to fear.
The thing’s head reared up. It voiced the most horrible roar I have ever heard, then its head made its descent and chomped him up.
I could see the horrible process, the monster seemed to be transparent, making waves as if holographic. It was almost perfect illusion, except it was devoid of illusion. This thing was real. Teeth glistening with blood and saliva chewed on his left arm, severing it completely. I heard his horrible screams and watched as a loose flap of skin fell from his arm, slapping on the floor and making a sickening sound. I was paralyzed with fear and grief.
The closet door banged open, and I felt someone pull me in. I tried to scream, but the person (or thing) that had pulled me in had one hand clamped around my mouth and the other around my stomach. I squirmed, trying to get away, but this person (thing, Jess, it’s probably a thing, my subliminal mind delighted in telling me) was especially strong.
Just then, the clouds could hold their precious water no longer. It dropped out of them with a ferocity I have never seen or heard again. The lights went out on the outside, and it was just me and the thing in the closet. Lightning flashed, giving us a few seconds of light in between the pitch darkness.
For a moment I felt nothing but genuine, pure and simple fear. There was no confusion or time to be unsure what exactly was happening. All I could feel was the fact that I was petrified.
“Okay,” a voice that was definitely male said. “I’m not here to hurt you, I’m not one of them, and you need not to scream.” The tone of his voice was soft and low.
I stayed quiet. He relaxed his grip on me. I was glad it wasn’t a thing. They weren’t capable of speech, as far as I knew, and this arms seemed to be human.
“Good,” he said. “Now, the monsters like to eat when they can single out a single person to eat. If we stay together, they won’t bother with us. There are plenty of people alone in this place, and we should be safe. My name’s David.”
“Mine’s Jessica,” I whispered. “But they call me Jess.”
David flipped on a flashlight. It illuminated the closet we were in, which seemed to end suddenly. David gave the wall a good steady push and it flipped out. I was still in shock from Blade’s colorfully awful death, so I followed him obediently. We stepped into a room that might have been very grand if not for the obviously empty look it took on.
All the furniture was dust covered, and the rugs were nowhere to be seen. A large chandelier was covered with dust and other things that I didn’t wish to think about. There were two large oak doors at the top of a large staircase, and others led the way to other rooms, their function a puzzle to me. I stared blankly at them.
“We could be safe here. As long as we stay close together,”
“Yeah, right …” I laughed uneasily. “Or are you just trying to find a way to keep close to a good looking girl?”
“Naw. Not like I’ve ever had a girlfriend in my life anyway.”
“Hmm,” I said. “You weren’t supposed to take that literally.”
“Oh,” his cheeks took on a shade of red. “Yeah, guess not … I … well, I’m kind of embarrassed now. But I wasn’t making up the part about being close.” He took off his glasses and swiped at them half-heartedly with the seam of his t-shirt.
“Alright. Guess I can trust you on that.” I said, and gave him a small wink. He stopped wiping his glasses and put them on.
“Okay. Jess, it was, right?” I nodded. “We’re going to need whatever good will we have from God, so behave yourself and don’t do anything you think a saint wouldn’t do,” His face suddenly got grim from its former thoughtful pose. “I’m sorry about your friend … that’s … well, that’s a horrible way to go.”
“I know. I hope he can at least rest … in peace … or … pieces …” I grimaced.
“Yeah, sure, guess that works.”
Something rammed into the wall, and let out a mighty roar. He pulled me close again. “It knows where we are. Stay really quiet.”
He didn't have to tell me.