They walked from room to room without talking much. They both knew it was better for them to remain silent. They were at each other's throat whenever they discussed, so they prefered to walk fast, without talking. They both wanted to leave, quickly.

When they arrived near a stairway, Nick stopped and turned to face Lauren.

"Do we go up?"

"I don't think we have a choice. Not that I trust these stairs. They might collapse the same way the floor did earlier. But when we got out of the vent, the windows were high on the walls, almost next to the ceiling. It meant we were in the basement. And we felt down a floor or two..."

"Are you saying we're in the second or third floor in the basement?"

"Probably. It would explain why we haven't seen a window since our fall."

"I guess you're right. So... Who goes first?" Nick asked.

"Why can't we go in the staircase together?"

"Well, seeing the state of the floors, I'd stay those stairs cannot support both of us."

"I'll go first. After all, if you die, millions of girls will be crying their hearts out for, oh, at least three minutes."

He glared at her, but she couldn't see him in the dark. Slowly, she put her foot on the first stair. I didn't seem to be resistant. She held on to the banister, and put her other foot on the stair. It was strong enough to support her. She climbed up to the second stair, and the third, and so on, until she reached the top.

"Nick," She yelled. "There's another staircase up here!"

"Wait, I'm coming."

He got up, one stair after the other, until he had almost reached the top. When he put his feet on the last stair, he felt the floor collapse under him.

Go to Chapter 11
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