When night finally fell, the three of them arrived at another apartment building.
"This is the next one," Miyu announced.
As on the previous occasions, Mochi was the one who stepped forward to the entrance.
They had decided that she would always be the first to go in.
After all, she had the greatest physical endurance in the group and the best reflexes to respond to a surprise attack.
Even Kotone, though reluctantly, had eventually accepted that decision.
Mochi pushed the heavy metal door.
The rust squealed.
The building looked exactly like all the others.
Dark, silent, and abandoned.
Nothing stood out at first glance.
Kotone immediately walked past her.
"Let's hurry. There's no time to waste."
"Wait, you're not in charge."
Mochi quickened her pace to move alongside her.
Neither of them was willing to give in.
The two began walking faster and faster down the main corridor.
"Move, you're in the way!" Kotone hissed as she accelerated. Her geta sandals echoed against the concrete floor.
"In your dreams, shorty!" Mochi shot back, giving her a light shove with her shoulder to gain ground.
The two continued forward shoulder to shoulder, competing to see who would be in front.
Behind them, Miyu watched the scene for a few seconds.
Then she let out a long sigh.
"One day I'm going to start charging you two for babysitting..." she muttered as she followed them down the dark hallway.
The two girls advanced practically elbow to elbow, throwing desperate strides to see who could take the lead.
Every time one tried to overtake the other, their shoulders collided.
The narrow corridor quickly filled with the sound of their bickering.
"Stop pushing me!" Kotone exclaimed as she tried to gain a few centimeters of advantage.
"I'm not doing anything!" Mochi replied without slowing down. "It's your enormous ego that's getting in my way!"
"My ego doesn't take up that much space!"
"Yes, it does!"
"Girls, please, slow down a little," Miyu warned from behind in her usual calm tone. "You're going to trip and—"
She never finished the sentence.
RUMBLE.
A sudden tremor shook the building.
The floor vibrated beneath their feet as if the entire structure had come alive for a brief moment.
The windows rattled violently.
The metal frames screeched.
Somewhere in the distance, something could be heard falling.
The movement lasted only a second.
But it was enough.
Kotone had to grab a doorframe to keep her balance.
Mochi dug her heels into the floor and spread her arms to steady herself.
"What the hell was that?!" she exclaimed as a surge of adrenaline ran down her spine.
Instinctively, she turned around.
"Miyu! Are you okay?"
There was no response.
Mochi blinked.
"Miyu?"
Silence.
The smile vanished from her face, and she turned completely around. Behind them there was only a long, empty corridor.
The faint light coming through the windows illuminated particles of dust suspended in the air.
Nothing else. No Miyu, no footprints, no sign that she had been there just a few seconds ago.
Mochi's ears twitched frantically.
She listened, trying to detect footsteps, anything.
But all she found was silence.
"...Miyu's gone."
Her voice came out much weaker than she expected.
All the confidence she had shown during their argument vanished in an instant.
Kotone looked down the hallway as well.
Her expression remained serious.
"Yes. I can see that."
"Let's go back."
Mochi didn't wait for an answer.
She spun on her heels and started running back the way they had come.
Kotone followed immediately.
They reached the corner they had passed only moments earlier.
Mochi turned to the right.
Then she stopped.
"What...?"
The stairs were not there.
Or at least, not where they should have been.
The corridor ended abruptly. A concrete wall completely blocked the way.
Mochi stood frozen.
Her brain took several seconds to process what she was seeing.
"What the hell is going on here?"
She hurried forward.
She struck the wall. It was solid.
It wasn't an illusion.
The stairs had simply disappeared.
An unpleasant chill ran down her spine. She pulled her phone from her pocket.
"Come on, answer..."
She tried calling Miyu.
The screen immediately showed the same result.
No signal.
"No..."
She tried again.
Nothing.
Kotone remained beside the wall, examining it closely.
She ran a hand across its surface and closed her eyes for a few seconds, as if trying to sense something.
"Did you find anything?"
"Not yet."
Mochi clenched her teeth. None of this made sense. Absolutely none of it made sense.
"Come on," she finally said. "Let's look for another way out."
They retraced their steps.
When they reached the spot where they had been before, they turned the corner again.
Both of them froze.
The corridor had changed completely.
What had once been a straight hallway lined with identical apartments now stretched much farther.
New corridors branched off in different directions.
Some turned left.
Others turned right.
Some disappeared into darkness.
It was as if the entire building had rearranged its interior while they weren't looking.
"This can't be happening..."
Even Kotone seemed unsettled.
Mochi stared at the labyrinth stretching out before them.
Then she made a decision.
"I'm tired of this."
She headed toward one of the windows.
"What are you doing?"
"We're getting out through here."
"Huh?"
"Through the window."
Kotone frowned.
"That's absurd."
"And do you have a better idea?"
"No."
"Then let me try."
Mochi approached the glass and noticed that something wasn't right. She couldn't see anything on the other side.
Absolutely nothing.
No matter how dirty the window was, she should have been able to make out the lights outside.
It was as if the window wasn't connected to the outside world at all.
"I like this less and less..."
She took a step back, clenched her fist, gathered some strength, and punched.
BAM!
The impact echoed through the corridor.
The window didn't even crack.
Mochi's eyes widened.
"What?"
She punched it again.
BAM!
Nothing. A third punch, then a fourth, and then a fifth.
Each impact would have been enough to shatter a normal window.
Yet the glass remained intact.
Not a single crack. Not a single scratch.
As if her fists were striking steel.
Mochi slowly stepped back.
She looked at Kotone, and Kotone looked back at her.
Neither of them needed to say it out loud.
They had both reached the same conclusion.
They were trapped.