Carmen’s POV

I keep hitting the door even though my hands already hurt and my palms are burning and I know it’s not going to open. I know it. I knew it from the first second it didn’t move but my body refuses to accept it. My body is louder than my brain right now. My body thinks if I hit it hard enough, long enough, something will give in. Either the door or me.

The stairwell is dark. Not pitch black but dark enough that everything feels wrong. The lights are there but dim and going ...