“Shit, man!” The civilian glared at me wide-eyed, then shoved past, lurching up the steps. “Move, a-holes! Fucking SWAT team is everywhere.” He scrambled past Riley, who gave him a disgusted look, then continued up the stairs, his footsteps fading into the darkness.

Ember took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “They’re in the building,” she breathed as we started down the steps again. “How close do you think they are, Garret?”

Two floors beneath us, a door opened.

I jerked to a stop and whirled around as flashlight beams pierced the darkness below. “Go back!” I ordered, hearing booted feet ascending the steps behind me. “Everyone, get back! They’re here.”

Shots rang out, sparking off the walls and railing, and Faith screamed. We fled back up the steps, hearing the soldiers give chase, spatters of gunfire echoing up the stairwell.

“This way!” Ahead of us, Riley paused at the entrance to the twelfth floor and wrenched the door back. “We’re sitting ducks in here. Everyone get out. Go, go!” Ava and Faith quickly ducked through the open door, and the rest of us followed, emerging into a narrow, unfinished corridor with empty rooms lining the walls. A maze of hallways, dark and empty, stretched out to either side.

The soldiers were still coming. Without hesitation, we ran, rounding a corner just as the door behind us opened and our pursuers followed us into the labyrinth. I heard a soldier calling for backup, informing the rest of the squads where we were, and knew the entire strike force would be swarming the floor in a matter of minutes. The rest of them would be sent to guard doors, exits, stairwells; anywhere we might try to escape, they would be waiting for us. A cold lump settled in my stomach. Getting out of here was going to be difficult, if not impossible.

After a minute or two of running, when it appeared the soldiers weren’t right on our tail, Riley ducked into an open room, and the rest of us followed. “Okay,” he panted, leaning against a wall, “this whole thing has gone completely FUBAR. We need a new strategy, quick.” He looked at me. “Suggestions, St. George? What are they doing out there?”

“Right now, all squads will be converging on this floor,” I answered, peering into the hall to make sure the soldiers were not close by. My mind raced, trying to think of a plan, to counter whatever they were going to do. “They’re going to try to cover all the exits,” I went on, ducking back inside, “but if we find another stairwell before they have a chance to get here, we could possibly slip past them and get to another floor. It’ll buy us some time while they’re searching for us up here. The challenge will be finding an exit that isn’t guarded.”