I saw the briefest hint of astonishment flash in Aron's eyes.
Then, he raised his brows and smiled.
'You sure about this?' was all he asked.
'Mm-hmm.'
I didn't say much.
He didn't try to stop me either.
Before the teacher for the next lesson showed up, I hid by the back door of the classroom.
And once the corridor outside was finally free from the people who'd been milling about, I easily slipped out of the room unnoticed.
Keeping low, so that no one from any of the other classrooms would spot me even if they happened to be looking outside, I hurried down the length of the corridor.
It took less than a minute before I managed to make it to the back stairway.
And once I had entered it, I shut the door behind myself.
I was now well and truly alone.
I stood to full height and continued moving at a steady pace, going down two steps at a time.
So far so good.
I glanced down at my watch, adjusted my pace just a little, and continued going downstairs.
Tap-tap. Tap-tap. Tap-tap…
My footsteps sounded out a steady rhythm against the old-fashioned grey tiling.
Tap-tap. Tap-tap…
At the end of each level was a small window, which allowed in narrow rays of the afternoon sunlight.
The entire stairway was softly, yet adequately lit by the warm light.
Even so, it remained strangely cold.
Tap-tap. Tap-tap…
There was no sound other than my footsteps.
There truly was no one else here.
Tap-tap. Tap-tap…
I shivered slightly.
It had been almost a minute since I'd left the company of others.
Tap-tap. Tap-ta-tap-tap.
I maintained my pace, all my senses on edge.
I was laser-focused on the sounds.
Tap-ta-tap-tap.
Tap-ta-tap-tap.
My own shoes against the tiles…
…as well as the second set of footsteps that had appeared behind me at some point.
Tap-ta-tap-tap.
Tap-ta-tap-tap.
It sounded like someone was walking about fifteen paces away, following me.
But when there was a turn in the stairway, I saw no one in my peripheral vision.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up.
I continued walking on, never changing my rhythm.
Tap-ta-tap-tap.
The disembodied footsteps didn't speed up either.
Exactly two steps per second.
That was the pace I had set.
Whatever was after me followed at the same pace.
Tap-ta-tap-tap.
I reached the end of the final turn, and walked out of the stairway into the empty hallway at the ground level.
Still all alone.
I glanced down at my watch again, just for confirmation. Sure enough, both mine, and the disembodied footsteps, were still walking at the speed of two steps per second.
I counted slowly in my head, then altered my pace slightly.
I was now walking at three steps per second.
Tap-ta-tap-tap.
The footsteps behind me smoothly sped up in tandem with my own.
As I walked down the hallway to the exit, I counted down in my head again, then slowed down again to walk at two steps per second.
The footsteps behind me didn't slow down.
Tap-ta-tap-ta-tap.
Tap-ta-tap-ta-tap.
Oh…
It was getting closer now.
I went back to three steps per second.
The footsteps matched my own again.
However, they were now only about twelve paces behind me.
Before I stepped outside, I decided I might as well try the other thing I'd wanted to test while still within the building.
It would probably be easier to do while still walking on tiled floor.
I stopped in place.
Tap-tap.
The footsteps didn't stop. They didn't slow down.
They got closer.
Ten paces away.
All the hair on my body stood on end.
I felt an involuntary shiver run down my spine.
Tap-tap.
Eight paces away.
Every muscle in my body was screaming at me to move.
I was suddenly struck by a sense of dread as I'd never felt before.
I had to move! I had to move!
I was going to die if I didn't move!
My survival instinct was in desperate overdrive.
Tap-tap.
Six paces away.
I started walking again, careful the maintain the same pace of three steps per second.
Just as it had last night, when I'd first seen the shadow by my bed, my brain was telling me I wouldn't be able to deal with the consequences of getting caught.
I didn't dare disobey it any longer.
Tap-ta-tap-tap.
Tap-ta-tap-tap.
I walked out into the sunlight.
Even for the time of day, it was strangely deserted.
The large lawns showed signs of unkemptness, and dried leaves were scattered across the pathways.
With the footsteps still after me, I went straight for the main administrative building in the distance. I wanted to check out the director's office for myself.
However, when I reached the front entrance, the door was shut tight.
It refused to budge an inch even after I pushed at it, and I didn't dare tarry or try anything else.
I had to keep walking, after all.
Tap-ta-tap-tap.
I walked around the perimeter of the building, hoping to find some other way in, but it was to no avail.
Even the view inside through the windows had been fully blocked by shutters and curtains.
I sighed, then redirected my steps to the staff dormitories instead.
Since I was already out here, I figured I might as well get something else out of it.
Tap-ta-tap-tap.
I'd already figured out the rules and limits binding the creature cursing the condition of being alone. I was confident it couldn't harm me anymore.
In all honesty, there was a part of me that was already over this instance.
I wanted to get through the testing phase as quickly as possible, so that the system that Aron had mentioned could tell me more about its powers and promises.
And if it really could it… if it really could somehow make my one wish come true…
I felt a surge of excitement, and had to almost force myself to not stray from the timed rhythm I was following.
…
…
By the time I met up with the others at the common room, I'd worked up a bit of a sweat.
'You're alive,' Mason commented simply.
'I told you already that this newbie's got a better shot than most!' Aron exclaimed. Turning to me, he added, 'Though I hadn't really expected you to be looking to tired. Was there something else to the condition that we missed?'
I exhaled and sat down on a plastic chair like the others.
Sheila offered me a handkerchief, and I took it with a nod of thanks.
Mopping at the perspiration that had been stinging my eyes, I sighed.
'No. I was right. It's easy enough to deal with. Two conditions. First, it'll follow the fastest pace you set. If you walk slowly from the get-go, it'll do the same at a set distance.'
'Those poor fools who died must've panicked and started running the moment they encountered it,' John sighed. 'Even when they hid, it came at them fast…'
'Mm. That's the second thing. It won't stop. You can't keep it out with doors or barricades, or by doubling back in the same room. The damn thing is invisible and intangible right up until it reaches you,' I said.
'You let it reach you?' Mason asked incredulously.
I shrugged, thinking back to how I'd spent the last hour-and-a-half running around the campus.
I still couldn't see the creature, but the occasional puffs of wind I'd felt aimed at the back of my neck told me quite clearly that something large kept swiping at it.
'Why were you running anyway?' Aron asked.
'Got caught snooping somewhere I shouldn't have been by an NPC,' I sighed.
That had been exceptionally stupid of me.
I'd barely managed to outrun the NPC when the creature that had been pursuing me reappeared. Of course, it had conveniently set its new pace to match my own in that exact moment.
'What if… when you encounter it again, it still retains the fastest pace it had set with you before?' Sheila asked worriedly. 'You'll have to keep running.'
'I don't think so,' I shook my head. 'It was just unfortunate timing that I ended up alone again at a moment when I also happened to be running. But if it does, I'll just have to outrun it again. I'm not worried about that.'
'Because you're… military?' Aron asked, narrowing his eyes. 'Security? …Cop?'
I rolled my eyes. 'Not even close.'
'Whatever. It's obvious you're trained.'
'And you're overstepping,' Mason huffed. 'There's no point going around getting to know each other better in this kind of place. Not when…'
He left the sentence hanging, but even I understood what he meant.
'What's the survival rate in these kinds of instances?' I asked curiously.
'I've never seen it cross fifty percent,' Mason said shortly.
'I see…'
So, it'd be a miracle if everyone currently in this room managed to survive to the end.
Aron cleared his throat. 'Well, I'm hoping everyone here has something they'd like to share with the class?' he asked, changing the topic.
'Newbie's already done his part,' he added, nodding at me.
He knew about the diary I'd found, but didn't bring it up in front of the others just yet.
I paused, then relaxed back into my chair, contented with keeping my mouth shut.