22
Ever Upward
They had ascended half a dozen steps when the door behind them shut.
Julian had proceeded as quickly as he could while still being careful to verify his footing on the next step before committing to it. He kept his eyes firmly locked onto the stairs ahead of him, and Melanie's back two stairs above him. He didn't dare look aside into that horrible black void surrounding the staircase.
And besides, Melanie's backside made for a nice view.
He had just decided that maybe this ascent would be doable when the sound of cracking behind them caused him to turn around.
He very nearly lost his balance as the void seemed to grab his eyes and keep them locked in place while his body turned. But he managed to rip them away from that emptiness.
Just in time to see the last slive
