EPILOGUE
My eyes widened as the fluorescent lights suddenly casted a red glare across the recently waxed corridor floor. I gasped in horror as I felt my legs carry me down the slick hall before I could even process what was happening. Nostrils flaring, I struggled to focus on my steps in an attempt to retain sanity. The floors were not red; my mind was. Red with pain, need, instincts that were deeply imbedded in me despite my lifestyle choices. This is not happening, I screamed internally. Nonetheless, I was being led... no, drawn to the door at the end of the hall.
I came to my senses with the doorknob beneath my pale hand. I found myself pressing my face against the glass in vain, swallowing against the poison that pooled in my mouth. It was then that I remembered to stop breathing. My chest expanded and stopped, relief flooding my tortured body immediately. I blinked against the glass as my vision cleared, the red seeping from my peripheral vision like water from a draining sink. The scene in front of me spun as I realized what had called me to this point.
The fair-skinned woman's exhausted yet brilliant smile faded as her eyes met mine, chocolate meeting caramel. Confusion clouded her slight features and her arms tightened around the squirming bundle of blankets against her chest. My hands braced against the sides of the entryway, fingers gripping the brick until it threatened to give beneath the pressure. A single, loud wail wrenched me from my reverie and forced the woman to avert her eyes.
As she tended to the crying infant in her arms, I turned away and sped down the hall to the elevator. I furiously stabbed at the button as I looked back to the room. Why is this happening, why is this happening? My mind reeled like a skipping vinyl record. It was only a matter of seconds before I abandoned the elevator and pushed myself into the stairwell but it felt like eternity. Moments later, as I slammed against the car in the lot and fought to erase the memory from my head, I knew what had to be done.
And so I ran.