Sitting inside the small space of the elevator, all I could hear was my own heavy breathing. The sound seemed to bounce off the fours walls of the enclosed space which only seemed to be getting smaller as time passed, growing louder with each breath I struggled to inhale and exhale.

Besides the sound of my breathing there was also the distinct sound of guttural growling and the sharp clawing of talons against the metal doors that came from outside of the elevator.

The growling and clawing that belonged to the creature that was currently trying its best to get inside to shred me into ribbons. The only thing separating us were these metal doors.

I stared at those doors for what felt like an eternity before both my brain and body seemed to come alive again.

I had to move. I had to do something. Otherwise I was just sitting prey waiting to be killed.

Letting out one last shaky exhale, I reached out with trembling fingers and pressed the button for floor two praying that the doors didn't just open back up.

There was a slight pause after I pressed the button and then... I felt the movement as the elevator began to move upward.

I couldn't stop my body from collapsing back against the wall as a wave of relief washed over me.

My feeling of relief only lasted for a second though as another thought crossed my mind as the elevator continued to slowly ascend.

I had no idea what would be waiting for me once the doors opened again. For all I knew another one of those things could be waiting right outside the doors once they opened.

The thought sent an icy shiver of fear running through me and I quickly stood up. If another of those things was waiting for me when the doors opened I was done for.

There wasn't much I could do to defend myself. I had no weapon, there was no where I could run, and even if I could, this close up they'd catch me in a heartbeat.

My eyes were glued to the doors as I heard the telltale ding that meant I had reached floor two and the doors were about to open.

I clenched my hands into fists, feeling the small bite of pain as my nails dug into my palms as I watched the doors slowly slide open and I came face to face with... nothing.

I wasn't even sure if I was still breathing as my eyes frantically shot back and forth in front of me searching for any sign of movement.

It felt like an eternity before my brain willed my legs to move and I slowly inched forward until I was standing at the threshold of the elevator.

I swallowed hard and as slowly as possible stuck my head out a little further so that I could see out onto the second floor.

After checking for the fourth time and assuring myself that there was nothing there, at least nothing that I could see anyway, I allowed my self to take the smallest step out of the elevator.

The minute both feet were out I watched as the doors slid closed again. I knew that staying inside the elevator could only keep me safe for so long and that I'd eventually have to come out at some point but there was something about those doors closing and me being out in the open that made me want to press the button again and run back inside.

You've got to find the others and get out of here.

I reminded myself over and over as I took yet another step forward.

I could do this.

I just had to make it to the escalators, go back down to the first floor, find the others, and then we could all get the hell out of here.

Easy.

I managed to make it halfway down the row of stores and was preparing to make a left that would take me out to the section of escalators when a noise had me freezing in my tracks.

At first I wasn't exactly sure what it was that I was hearing. There was a soft squelching sound followed by a distinct crunch.

I crept forward slowly and peered my head around the corner only to quickly pull it back after I saw the source of the strange sounds in front of me.

The squelching and crunching noise was coming from the jaws of one those creatures as it fed on what looked like the body of one of the men from earlier. His rib cage had been ripped open and the creature's snout and jaws were covered in blood as it continued to dig out and feast on his insides.

I put my hand over my mouth to keep any noise from escaping as the distinct sound of it swallowing whatever had just entered its mouth filled my ears.

As the sounds continued I shut my eyes and tried to will my breathing to slow. Now was not the time to lose it. I had to make it to the escalators.

The only issue was that in order to do that I'd have to pass by that thing without being seen.

Looking ahead there was large sign in the middle of the floor promoting a buy one get one 50% off sale at one of the stores. The sign was big enough for me to hide behind. If I could time it just right I could make it to the sign and then continue on towards the escalators without being seen.

If I could time it right.

I slowly peaked around the corner again and the creature was still busy feeding off the man's remains.

It was now or never.

I crouched down as low as I could and took a steadying breath. I had to be quick and quiet. Not exactly my strong suits.

Right before I decided to make a run for it, I glanced down at my shoes and the floor and quickly made the decision to take them both off before lacing them together and hanging them around my neck leaving me in a pair of bright pink and green polka dot footies.

The socks weren't exactly "stealth mode friendly" but not having my shoes on would help in the quiet department. All I needed was for my shoes to make that annoying squeak against the linoleum flooring. If that happened it was game over.

Double checking that my shoes were good and secure around my neck I checked for the third time to make sure that the creature was still occupied before looking straight ahead.

Just keep looking straight and go.

I repeated this in my head over and over before I clenched my fists and darted forward.

It was only a few seconds. From the moment my body left its hiding place behind the wall to it darting forward towards the sign, only a few seconds passed but it felt like an eternity. Like everything was in slow motion.

The moment I skidded to a halt behind the sign and pulled my legs to my chest I was breathing rapidly and doing my best to keep quiet.

I waited with my heartbeat thundering in my ears for any kind of noise that would tell me that I'd been seen.

A few seconds passed, and then a few more, and some more even after that until I was sure I had been sitting behind the sign for a few minutes as still as a block of ice.

I could still hear the creature feasting which meant it hadn't seen me.

Now all I had to do was cover the distance between the sign and the other side of the corridor once more and I'd be fine.

I looked up preparing myself to make one more dash when my breath caught in my throat as my eyes made contact with another pair.

Crouching behind the the wall in front of me was another one the men from earlier. He looked a lot worse than when I had first seen him. His clothes were torn in various places as if they'd fallen prey to the claws of one of these creatures. There was a large gash on his forehead that caused a steady stream of blood to roll down the side of his face and there was a wound on his torso where the blood was soaking through his shirt.

He'd obviously ran into one of the creatures earlier but had somehow managed to escape. Barely.

I glanced behind me and then back at the man wondering if he was trying to make his way across.

If he was I should tell him that going that way wasn't a good idea. There was just the wall of elevators back the way I had came and if he took it down to the first floor where the first creature could still be waiting then he was a goner.

And then another thought hit me.

I didn't owe him anything. Him and his friends had just tried to kill us only a few moments earlier.

I continued to stare at him in silence wondering exactly what it was he was going to do before I saw his eyes shift to the right towards the creature that was still gorging itself on the remains of one of his friends.

As he his eyes shifted back to me I watched as a wicked glint seemed to enter them before he slowly lifted his right hand up to his lips.

What was he doing?

I got my answer a few seconds later as I watched in horror as he put two fingers in his mouth and proceeded to blow, creating a high pitched whistle.

The sounds that the creature had been making as it ate stopped instantly and I knew without even looking from behind the sign that it was now looking over in our direction.

The man before me gave me a sick smile before waving and then darting back the way he had came leaving me stuck behind the sign.

A new sense of panic rushed over me as I heard the sounds of its feet against the floor as it started to move forward.

It felt like a rock had been lodged in my throat and I could no longer breathe as I pressed myself as far as I could against the sign.

I couldn't run. No matter which way I went, with the beast on alert now, it was sure to see me.

That didn't leave me very many options of escape.

With the panic starting to set in and the sounds of its footsteps growing closer and closer I was resigned to the fact that I was probably about to die.

I could hear the sound of it breathing as it neared the left side of the sign and I shuffled as quietly as I could to the far right corner.

I watched as the beginning of its snout appeared from the corner of my vision. It took a deep sniff of the air and my blood turned to ice in my veins as I watched it jaws pull back exposing two rows of razor sharp teeth, salvia and blood from the man it had been feasting on earlier dripping from them.

A growl rumbled from its throat as it slowly moved forward exposing more and more of its head until its entire head could be seen. The moment its head came into view it turned its head to the right looking directly at me.

It happened in a split second.

My fight or flight instinct seemed to kick in and without really thinking I was on my feet. I pushed the heavy sign forward and watched as it tumbled over and landed directly on the creature's head.

I knew it wasn't enough to kill it. It probably hadn't even hurt it but it did what I needed it to in that moment and that was to cause a distraction.

Just enough time for me to escape.

The moment the sign landed on its head I was rushing forward as fast as my feet would carry me.

I heard the angry growl and sound of the sign clattering to the ground as it shook the sign off its body but I didn't dare look back.

I had only a few seconds head start to try and outrun this thing.

As I continued to run I noticed the escalators up ahead to my right but those were out of the question now.

If I ran down the escalators and everybody was still on the first floor then I'd be leading this thing right to them.

So instead I took a sharp left and glanced up in a split second to see the sign that signaled that the bathrooms were just ahead.

My brain was running on autopilot and adrenaline as I made another sharp left and darted into the short hallway that led to the bathrooms before pushing open the first door I saw and quickly closing it behind me.

Given that the bathroom was meant for multiple people to use at once there was no lock on the main door from the inside so I had no choice but to dart into a stall and quickly closed the door behind me before securing the latch.

I backed away from the door and sat down on the toilet pulling both feet up so that they wouldn't be seen and waited on pins and needles to see whether I had actually managed to escape.

It felt like a replay of the elevator all over again.

I counted in my head. Exactly thirty seconds had passed without a single noise being heard and then my body was on high alert as I heard the bathroom door slowly swing open.

The sounds of shoes softly scraping against the tile let me know that it wasn't one of those things that had just entered the bathroom but another person.

With the encounters I'd had with several of the people I'd met over the last few days I couldn't say that a person being in here with me right now made me feel any safer.

I listened in silence as the feet continued to shuffle forward and then watched as two booted feet stopped right in front of the stall I was in.

A slight tremble started to work its way through my body as an uneasy feeling started to settle over me and then without warning a face appeared between the small gap of the bottom of the door and the floor.

The same wicked eyes and sick smile from before greeted me.

"Well hello there."