“What... the f... was... that?” grunts Gnat, struggling for air as he runs towards the end of the corridor. “Where... did... that... old... dude... come... from?”
“...luck...?...” offers Shadow, also breathing heavily.
“...that... would be... a... hell... of a... co... in... ci... dence.” Next to them, Slug strolls leisurely, easily keeping up despite barely moving, observing his surroundings with mild interest.
Although exhausted, Gnat and Shadow feel relieved. Williams's unexpected intervention has given them just enough of a head start to reach the exit without The Flintstones catching up. At full speed, Gnat rounds the last corner and... crashes hard into a wall. He rubs his aching forehead, cursing violently, but Shadow pays him no attention. She just stares at the wall in utter bewilderment. “This wall isn’t supposed to be here.”
“No fucking kidding. This building is alive, and it’s seriously screwing us over,” Gnat says, kicking the wall. “This is all such bullshit.”
“You’re right,” Shadow agrees after checking to make sure the corridor behind them is still empty. “This isn’t working. We’re running and running, and we’re not even near the exit, let alone closer to finding Max.”
They are both silent, unsure how to proceed, when Slug opens his mouth for the first time since they started running. “Maybe... we... need... to... slow... down.” His comment earns him a contemptuous, well-practiced snort that Gnat has developed especially for him, which Shadow ignores with equally practiced ease.
“Slower, Robert? What do you mean?”
“Well... the... school... seems... to... keep... up... with... us. Maybe... if... we... slow... down... it... will... too...” Shadow takes a moment to gather her thoughts before answering.
“Maybe we should.”
“What?!” Gnat exclaims. “Slower? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Maybe we should try it anyway. Running doesn’t seem to be helping us much right now, does it?” Gnat looks genuinely dumbfounded.
“Didn’t help?! We escaped those cavemen, didn’t we?! If we hadn’t made a run for it, they would have torn us to pieces.”
“But they’re gone now. Maybe the school is helping us, like Williams did.”
“What a ridiculous idea. If this school is anything, it’s evil. Damn, now I’m talking as if it’s alive, I...” He stops abruptly. Shadow has an expression on her face that he hasn’t seen before—she’s angry, and it takes him completely off guard. Shadow has never been angry with him… until now. “I mean, I think—”
“I know what you’re thinking, Charles, but this is no time for paranoia. We need to stay clear-minded and logical.”
“But that’s what I’m trying to do... it’s not logical to slow down, right? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Exactly. Nothing makes sense right now. So, if we assume for a moment that this school does indeed have a mind of its own, we might be able to influence it. If we keep running around like crazy, we’ll never find out.” The pain in Gnat’s chest intensifies. He doesn’t care what others think of him, but Shadow is the exception. Her anger has a devastating effect on him.
“You’re always assuming the worst,” she sighs, looking at him with an expression he doesn’t understand. The pain in his chest is becoming unbearable, and then, totally unexpectedly, she smiles—a smile so radiant and disarming that it unhinges him completely. “That’s also what makes you so cute, grumpy.” When he looks at her with wide-eyed bewilderment, at a loss for words, she adds with a roll of her eyes, “Boys.”
For a few more moments, she observes the struggle on his face before continuing as if nothing had happened. “So, we listen to Robert, right? If he says we have to slow down, we’ll slow down. It’s worth a try.”
“Okay,” Gnat answers timidly. “But how does that even work?” Shadow turns her head.
“Robert? What do you think...?” But Slug is nowhere to be seen.