I move towards it and flatten my back against the wall beside the scraped wooden surface as much as I can without disturbance or noise, ready to fight should they come in here and praying they don’t. I’m prepared to take someone’s head off to get through this.

I close my eyes tight and open them fast to adjust to the dark more quickly, twice more, until I can see shapes of furniture and outlines and navigate more effectively. A trick I discovered as a child when I was trying to ...