Once the figure turned their back, Richard crawled out and tried to make a beeline for the exit. He rolled and hid from cubicle to cubicle, inching his way to the doors, safe and sound. His eyesight has been improving since he entered the place.

Fawn levitated empty boxes and hurled them over to the other side of the room. It prompted the figure to turn their flashlight and point at them.

“What the—? Did that just...?” They started, then shook their head. “No, someone must be using that as a trick. Well, I’m not falling for that!”

Before the figure turned back around, Fawn levitated another box to throw in another direction. The figure shrieked and stepped back.

“More noise? Coming from another direction? No way, this can’t be. There must be groups of people trying to ambush me and this place. Yeah, no way I’m being haunted by a ghost, right?”

Wait, that voice sounds familiar. Richard thought. He raised his head and came into contact with a drawer, holding back a scream. He rubbed his head and covered his mouth, screaming his head off.

“What?” The figure pointed the flashlight at him and walked close. They went over to turn the lights on, revealing it to be Claudia. “I swear, whoever you are…”

“Wait, Claudia, it’s me!” Richard exclaimed, getting up and raising his hands in the air. “Please calm down, it’s only me, no ghosts here.”

“Oh,” Claudia replied. “Wait, why are you here?”

“Well, it’s pretty complicated. I don’t have time to explain it all, but you probably wouldn’t believe me, anyway.” Richard scratched the back of his head, faking his laughter. He paused. “Wait, why are you here?”

“I’m supervising, making sure nobody suspicious trespasses here.” She explained.

“So, where’s everyone else? Aren’t there any other guards here?”

“No, I’m the only one here.”

“Really? Not even your boss?”

“Charlie... I mean, the boss is busy.”

“Can I ask you something?” Richard pondered.

“Why do you work for that man?”

Claudia gasped. “How dare you speak ill of him? You didn’t even answer my previous question either!”

“Oh, I—” Richard paused, as laughter rang through his ears. He looked around, then glanced at Fawn, who just shrugged. “Do you hear that?”

“No.” Claudia shook her head. “What is going on in your head?”

“Are you serious? Is it just me then?”

“Ooh, you’re trying to change the subject, huh?” Claudia grit her teeth. “When the boss finds out about this...”

“You mean if he finds out?” Fawn spoke up.

“Huh? Who said that?”

“What if he doesn’t believe you? And how will you explain the voice in your head or the boxes flying?” The ghost girl taunted.

Claudia’s arms and legs trembled as she froze, speechless.

With her distracted, Richard took this chance to hightail it out of there. He turned and sprinted down the stairs to the first floor. He pushed open the doors and rushed outside as fast as he could, with Fawn following suit soon after.

Fawn and Richard turned some corners and continued to run until they lost her. The two stopped in their tracks to rest and catch their breaths.

“Man, that was a close call.” Fawn sighed.

“Yeah, I’ll say...” Richard wheezed, bending down and hyperventilating.

“Thank goodness you were able to get out ok despite—”

“Don’t make fun of my weight.”

“I was going to say despite not being able to see in the dark.”

“Oh, sorry for the misunderstanding.”

“Well, at least we made it out of that,” Fawn mentioned.

Richard calmed down and sighed. “Yeah, well, somehow I feel like none of your plans are getting us anywhere.” He raised his head and placed his hands on his hips. “I think we should discuss this.”

Fawn shook her head. “But, I’m trying to help.”

“I know you are.” Richard held his hands in defense. “But there are limits on what I can do. We can’t take too many colossal risks.”

“Why not? Remember, you signed up for this, knowing the dangers of—”

“Whoa, hold up. If I didn’t take that risk, I wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“But you’d have been stuck in that facility with the scientists.”

“That wasn’t what I meant.” Richard corrected her. He looked away, trying to hold back the tears in his eyes. “I made a terrible decision in the past, I was reckless and stupid.”

“But that was all in the past.” Fawn reminded him.

“So? You don’t understand—”

“You can look forward, make up for what you did in the past.” Fawn went over and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You have the chance to do that.”

Richard looked up to face her. “I do?”

“Yes, it’s your chance for redemption, relief, and revenge.”

“Wait, revenge? What—?”

“Right over there is where we need to go now.” Fawn pointed at the looming tower in the distance, avoiding the topic altogether.

“But, what was the point of sneaking into the office?” Richard complained.

“To find evidence, we can’t do that with other people there.”

“Will we even find what we’re looking for in the tower? Who knows what could be inside? We might not even be allowed in there, or it might not be—”

“Well, there's only one way to find out!” Fawn interrupted. She pushed Richard toward the tower as they headed off to their next destination.