A clattering noise made Jim jump an inch or two off the ground and a vaguely simian-looking shadow scurried through the darkness somewhere behind the maze of pipes. Jim held tightly onto the doorknob. "Hello?"
Only the thrumming, humming sound of machinery and water running through pipes.
He stumbled blindly forward another half-step. "Is -- is somebody there?"
Silence.
"I -- I think I'm lost," Jim ventured. "I was looking for a bathroom in the mall and I -- I think I took a wrong turn... Is -- is there a bathroom in here?" Jim's voice wasn't working very well any more. He tried to clear his throat.
Another burst of movement emanated from behind the maze of pipes, making Jim's heartbeat accelerate again. Was there a person down here? Or was it.. something else? If it was an animal -- no, it couldn't possibly be an animal, it was too large an animal to be living in a boiler room. Jim accidentally released the doorknob and the door slammed shut behind him with a metallic clang that made dust fall from the pipes overhead, sifting down to the floor with a soft patter. Now the only light sources in the room were the green blinking of a few LED lights on the machinery. Jim couldn't even see his own hands anymore.
Scarcely able to breathe, Jim turned and tried to find the door again. His hand brushed the doorknob, and he realized with a sick feeling in his stomach that the door would not open. It was locked from the outside.
Jim heard someone -- or something -- breathing gently somewhere very close to his left ear. His heart was racing faster than it had ever raced. He closed his eyes as if to shut out the world.
And then, through his terror, he remembered that in his right pocket, on his keychain, was a little light. A little blue light he kept there for emergencies. This was an emergency. Summoning all his willpower, he shoved his hand into his pocket, withdrew his keys, and fumbled to turn on his little light...
And then the light went on.
Sun Sep 15 01:34:32 2002