It happened so fast, I barely had time to blink. 

The second I felt the weightlessness of free falling as I let go of the railing, a pair of powerful jaws were snapping its teeth inches away from my face, missing me by mere inches. 

I only had time to let out a rushed scream as I fell, before I felt my body collide with the plastic balls of the ball pit below me.

The moment I made impact, I was instantly scrambling to my feet to shout up at the rest of the group.

"They're here!" My desperate scream rang through the mall like an alarm knowing that that was no need for silence now.

They had already found us and who knew how many of them were in here. 

Another scream echoed through the air as I watched in horror as the beast who had nearly taken a chunk from my face just a few seconds earlier now had its large grotesque head turned in the direction of Arden who had been next to me. 

It sniffed the air once before letting out another blood curdling growl before slowly stalking toward its next prey.

Arden.

Shit.

I had to think, and fast or Arden was done for. 

She needed to let go of the railing so that she could fall into the ball pit below but to do so she had to maneuver herself towards the left first so that her body would fall into the pit and not the floor.

There was only one problem.

If she moved her body to the left that would mean putting her directly underneath that beast.

It was the same for everyone. Everybody needed to move to the left so that their bodies were over the ball pit before dropping.

I only had a few seconds left before it'd be directly above her, and it'd have no problem reaching over and ripping her to shreds.

Seeing no other option, I did the only thing I could think of in the moment.

I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled for all I was worth. 

"Down here!"

I watched as the beast who was now mere inches from Arden froze and turned its head toward the sky, again taking a deep sniff from the air before its head snapped down towards me.

I knew now that they couldn't see but the way its cloudy eyes suddenly made contact with my own had a shiver running down my spine.

I swallowed harshly before letting out another yell.

"That's right down here! If you want something to chew on, I'm right here!"

To my relief and horror, the beast stepped away from the railing and started thundering towards the escalators that would lead it down to the first floor.

Towards me.

I glanced down to my right.

To me and Danny.

I was now running on auto pilot with only seconds to make the next decision that would either mean life or death.

"Danny listen to me, burrow yourself underneath the balls and do not move or make a single sound until your mother or one of the others comes and gets you, okay?"

Danny's frightened eyes were glued on the creature that had now just cleared the steps of the second-floor escalator.

One more set and he'd be on the first floor and running directly towards us. 

"Danny, do you understand?" I repeated more firmly.

He had to, otherwise we were both goners.

Danny seemed to snap out of it long enough to nod once before he quickly threw his body down and started to bury himself underneath the colorful plastic.

Praying that I was right, and that the creature would follow me, I quickly scrambled out of the pit, sending a few of the plastic balls rolling across the floor before I took off down the row of stores.

I glanced over my shoulder just long enough to see that it had made it to the first floor and was now headed straight towards me.

To make sure that it stayed that way and that it ran right by Danny, I took another deep breath and yelled out.

"Over here!"

As I watched the beast stand up on its hind legs and let lose another bone chilling roar, my body was doused in a sort of icy cold fear.

Well, at least I knew for sure that it would pass by Danny now.

With my heart beating a harsh rhythm in my chest that seemed to echo in my ears, I turned back to the front and ran for all I was worth.

I didn't have time to look back anymore as I could hear the thundering sounds of its paws hitting the tile as it quickly closed the distance between us. 

That was the only sound I could hear. That and my harsh breathing. 

The soles of my gym shoes skidded across the tile as I quickly turned the corner to run down another row of stores.

The moment my body made the turn I could hear the beast behind me go crashing into the gate of one of the stores that was directly in front of me a few seconds before. The momentum from the speed that it was going was too much for it to make the turn in time.

That only bought me a few seconds.

I chanced another quick glance over my shoulder to see that it had already recovered and was on its hind legs once again and was charging towards me, the look in its lifeless eyes screamed their message loud and clear.

If it caught me, I was as good as dead.

Facing the front again I saw that up ahead was another set of escalators.

Would I be able to make it up before it caught me?

There was only one way to find out.

I pushed my legs as fast as they carry me, feeling the burn in my muscles and that burning sensation in my chest as I continued to run full speed towards the escalators.

The moment my feet made contact with the first step of the escalators I knew that I wouldn't make it. 

I could almost feel the heated breath of the creature behind me and now, running purely on instinct and adrenaline, I had just enough time to make a split decision.

My feet had just cleared the fifth step before I reached to my left and used both of my hands as a brace on the railing before catapulting myself to the other side of the escalators that were meant to travel in the opposite direction.

Just as I landed on the metal steps on my hands and knees ignoring the stabbing pain as my limbs made contact,  I heard, rather than saw, the beast as it pounced on the spot where I had just been.

I felt the air behind me shift as its body landed.

Scrambling to my feet I started clambering up the rest of the steps.

Clearly not liking the fact that it had missed its prey by just a few measly inches, the creature let out another vicious growl that only served in making me move faster.

I was certain that I wouldn't be able to make it to the top before it caught me but that didn't stop me from trying.

Just a few more steps.

I kept repeating those few words in my head over and over hoping that they'd somehow get me to the top.

Just a few more steps

Just a few more steps

Just a few-

My feet made contact with the landing for the second floor. 

I had made it.

There was no way I should have but I did.

I'm not sure what possessed me to chance yet another look over my shoulder but I did, to see exactly how I had managed to make it up in one piece.

The creature was still at the bottom of the escalator steps where it had been when it had tried to throw its large body at me but it looked like in its attempt to reach its taloned paw like hands out, probably to rip me to shreds, the moment I had jumped to the other side its claws had sunk straight into the metal of the steps instead.

Its hand was stuck.

Sending up a quick silent prayer of thanks I turned on my heels knowing that it wouldn't be stuck for long and quickly took off.

I had to find somewhere to hide and fast.

My eyes darted past the various stores, all with their metal gates firmly closed and securely locked.

I was in such a panicked rush to find somewhere that I could hide that I didn't realize that I was running straight for a dead end until it was too late.

The moment I ran into the wall full of elevators I skidded to a halt.

Shit.

I turned, intending to back track and try going the other way but halted when I heard the loud roar echo and bounce off the walls.

It was free.

Shit, shit, shit.

If I ran back the way I came now I knew for a fact that I would run right into it.

I was trapped. 

A sense of dread and panic filled me as my eyes darted around frantically for an escape route that I knew didn't exist.

The sounds of its claws hitting the tile grew closer and closer as I spun in a circle hoping that a miracle would somehow fall out of the sky and save my-

My eyes landed on the elevators.

Please, please please.

I prayed silently as I rushed forward and quickly jabbed the up arrow.

A wave of relief washed over me as I watched the button light up.

The relief only lasted for a second though as I waited for the doors to open. 

It was now a race against time.

Would the doors open in time?

I heard the tell-tale ding and almost cried out when the doors in front of me slowly slid open.

I rushed inside and just as I turned and began mashing the closed button, I saw it.

It had just reached the end of the row of stores where it branched off to the right and left and I watched in horror as it sniffed the air and turned its head to the right.

Towards me.

Hands shaking, I repeatedly mashed the closed button as I helplessly watched the creature take off full speed, this time on all fours, towards the elevators.

Towards me.

The doors began to close but I continued to mash the button, ridiculously thinking in my fear that it would somehow make the doors close faster.

There were only a few seconds left before it would reach me.

Three.

The doors still had a few more inches to close.

All it would take was its arm or taloned hand, or clawed foot to wedge itself between the doors and they would simply slide right back open, offering me up to the beast that I knew now wanted more than anything to sink its teeth into my flesh.

Two.

It was almost there. Its eyes locked on mine as if it could actually see its prey sitting right in front of it, trapped with nowhere to go.

The sounds of its heaving breathing and low rumbling growls let me know just how bad the blood lust was coursing through its veins.

One!

The elevator doors slide shut at the exact moment that its body made contact with them.

There was a loud thud as its body made contact with the doors, the impact so strong that I could see the dent the doors made as it gave slightly underneath the pressure of the creature on the other side.

My body jolted back, my back making contact with the wall and my heart nearly breaking through my chest as I stared wide eyed at the doors in front of me.

The only thing separating me from the monster on the other side.

No longer able to hold my weight, my legs gave out and I collapsed to the floor of the elevator, my body trembling.

I wasn't until I saw the small drop of water hit the floor that I realized I was crying.

***