The corridor blurred as he ran.
His breath tore out of his lungs in ragged gasps, sweat stinging his eyes, boots slipping against the polished floor slick with something he refused to look down at.
Lights above flickered—on, off, on—stretching the hallway into a tunnel that felt longer with every step.
"Open it!" he screamed, slamming his fist against the nearest door.
Nothing.
He didn't slow. He couldn't. Another door. Another shout.
His voice cracked, desperation clawing its way out of his throat.
"Please—open the door!"
Silence answered him. No locks turned. No footsteps approached.
The academy corridor, once alive with noise, was a grave.
At the far end, he saw it.
The last door.
It stood alone beneath a steady white light—closed, but not sealed.
Fresh marks scored the frame. Someone had been there. Someone had just gone in.
Hope flared, sharp and painful.
He ran harder.
"Screech...."
A sound echoed behind him.
Wet. Heavy. Too close.
His body reacted before his mind dared to understand. He looked back.
Something stood where the corridor's light failed.
It didn't move like a man. Its shape bent wrong, limbs dragging shadows that pulsed red against the walls. The air around it seemed to throb, as if the corridor itself was bleeding.
No choice.
He turned and sprinted for the door, slamming into it with his shoulder.
"OPEN IT!" he screamed, pounding the metal. "OPEN IT OR I SWEAR—"
Still nothing.
His hands shook. Terror curdled into rage.
"I'LL BREAK IT DOWN!" he roared, voice hoarse.
"EVEN IF I DIE, I'LL DRAG WHOEVER'S INSIDE WITH ME!"
He kicked.
Once.
Twice.
The door groaned but held.
Behind him, the sound grew closer.
Closer.
------------------------------------------------------------
The world burned red.
From its perspective, everything was drowned in bloodlight and instinct—walls, doors, ceiling, all meaningless.
Only one thing shone clearly.
The human.
A bright, screaming shape at the end of the corridor, beating uselessly against a door, glancing back again and again with eyes wide and wet.
Prey.
It surged forward, claws scraping sparks from the floor, hunger tightening its form.
The distance vanished in a heartbeat.
Its hand stretched—
The door exploded inward.
A hand shot out, seized the human by the collar, and yanked him back just as claws tore through the air where his throat had been.
The door slammed shut with a bang.
Darkness swallowed the corridor.