The apartment block was like a maze. Tom was taken down dark corridor after dark corridor, turn after turn after turn.
Lost in the darkness, a mind has a tendency to wander, and Tom found his head suddenly filled with all manner of fiendish notions. He imagined someone crouched down, somewhere along the hallway, watching Tom's flashlight beam as it got closer, closer. As Tom swept the light back and forth, across the floor, it would suddenly illuminate that crouching someone, and they would leap up and grab him.
He imagined that his flashlight would go out at any second. He found himself chanting; "Stay on, stay on, stay on". It felt like if he stopped, then the light would go out and he would be lost in the darkness forever.
Tom finally came to a door that was not like the others; it was black and made of metal. The word 'basement' was painted onto it in white, precise, uppercase letters. Tom pulled it open without hesitation. Usually going down into a basement filled his with a sense of dread, but he was so anxious he find Doug – to not be alone in the dark any longer – that he went straight through and down the stairs without even pausing.
"Doug?" He called out, sweeping his flashlight across the room.
The piping that ran the length of the basement in a complex, interlacing system, emitted squeals and groans, and between it there hung heavy cobwebs. Most of the bare brickwork was exposed, and in the places that were painted, the paint had begun to bubble and peel.
"Doug!" Tom called out again, making his way through the basement.
Tom let out a shout of surprise as something fell onto the back of his neck. From the feel and the sound, he knew it was a rat. He reached up and grabbed hold of the thing by its tail, and it tried to wriggle free and scurry down the back of his sweater. Tom yanked it off of him, and with a scream it dropped to the ground and darted out of sight.
"Oow!" Tom exclaimed, wiping his hands feverishly on his jeans. "Doug, where are you?"
He had had enough. He turned back towards the basement steps and taking them two at a time, he went upstairs. He moved through the corridors, turn after turn after turn. His flashlight did not go out, he did not come across anyone crouched in the corner, and he did not see Doug.
He finally reached the apartment, wondering exactly what he was going to tell Judy. He could not tell her he had been spooked by a rat!
Tom went to open the door; it would not budge. He tried it again, and again.
"Hey," he called, hammering on the wood. "What's going on with the door?"
"It's stuck, remember?" Doug's voice called back.
"Doug, you're in there?" Tom asked. "I've been down in the basement, looking for you!"
"Why?" Doug called back.
"Did you find Judy yet?" Harry's voice came through the closed door.
Tom stumbled backwards. What was going on? This did not make sense! They had already found Judy; she was in the apartment. He had sat next to her for half an hour, spoken to her, why were they trying to tell him different? Were they trying to drive him crazy?
"You'll have to come in the window again," Tom heard Doug call.
Tom turned and ran blindly back down the stairs, around the building and to the fire-escape. He climbed up the ladder, through the darkness, and when he reached the top he push open the window and clambered inside.