I ran to an intersection in the hallway, standing against a corner of the wall, peering around it to look down the intersecting hall, but no one was around. I sighed out

as I lowered my gun, making my way down the empty corridor. I'm not surprised, of course everyone left. Not that I mind; It's better this way. No one will get caught

between me and Eve. I know that there's a chance she already left Carnegie Hall, but something was telling me that she was still here. I can't really explain it, but it's

almost like I felt it. I passed a few rooms devoid of any life, only containing stage props and costumes. As I slowly made my way down the hall, I hissed in pain,

placing a hand on the wall for support, looking down at my aching feet. This'll teach me to run in heels… I slowly sat myself down on the floor, my back against the

wall as I removed my shoes, a wave of relief reverberating through my body. I can breathe again! My feet were rubbed red from running in those heels, so I grabbed

one with each hand and slowly massaged the aching parts, flexing my toes to get rid of this cramped feeling. I definitely prefer my sneakers over heels any day.

"Okay. I wasted enough time. I have to find Eve before she kills any more innocent people." I told myself. I grabbed hold of my shoes, preferring to go barefoot for

now, when a loud squeak erupted next to me. I quickly grabbed my gun with my right hand, which was resting on the floor before me, and pointed it to my right

where I heard it from, but I didn't see anyone or anything around. That was, until I looked down and saw a rat scurrying away from me. I breathed out a sigh of relief,

hoisting myself up from the floor, the cold floor sending shivers up my legs.

I continued on my search for Eve, taking a few moments to stop by one of the empty rooms I searched. I remember seeing a length of rope, so I intended to use it to

help me carry my shoes; they're way too expensive to leave, even if I don't like them. I found the rope, threaded it through the open-toed ends, and fashioned a sort

of belt out of it. I tied the rope around my waist, my shoes dangling behind me. Once my hands were shoe-free, I walked down toward the unexplored portion of the

hall, both of my hands firmly grasping my gun as I cautiously made my way forward. I don't think there's much more to search around here so I should be getting

close to her. I still don't know how, but I'm sure that Eve is still in this building somewhere, and I will find her…

I made my way toward another intersection, hugging a corner as I peered down the intersecting hall, but still no luck. I was starting to get irritated, but I had to keep

my cool no matter what. I made my way down this new hall, but I quickly stopped short when I heard a light noise behind me. I quickly spun around, my gun

extended, but there was no one again. Instead, it was another rat scurrying around. I growled to myself, feeling more irritated, but I ignored it, continuing on my way.

However, I suddenly felt a jolt rush down my spine, like something didn't feel right. I quickly looked back over at the rat and realized that it didn't scamper off. It

simply sat on the same spot… looking at me? Why is that rat looking at me? Something was seriously wrong here, and a few seconds later, I was proven right as the

rat started to cringe, as if it were in some kind of pain. And then, it started to… swell? No… it's growing! I gasped out in shock as the rat started to grow in size! I

quickly backed away from it, my gun raised up toward it as I watched in horror. Its skin started to break apart and peel back since its body was starting to grow,

revealing exposed muscles and tendons. The rat's eyes became diluted and enlarged, its snout growing longer and its fangs bigger and sharper. Its tail then suddenly

split apart into three ends, its little paws enlarging and growing longer claws. I had no idea what I was watching, but I started to shake in apprehension as the normal

sized mouse grew to the size of a large dog. "What the hell…?" I muttered as I back away from the monster, my gun shaking slightly. The rat then looked over at me

and hissed, slowly making its way closer. "Stay back!" I screamed out, tightening my grip on my gun, but my shouting didn't help. It still made its way closer. And

then, it suddenly lunged right at me, its fangs bare! Screaming out loudly, I squeezed the trigger, firing a few rounds into the large rat. It staggered slightly from the

bullets, blood seeping onto the floor, before it raised its tail over its head. I was ready to pull the trigger again when a red and orange light burst into life from the end

of the rat's three tail tips; fire! Not wanting to wait for what it intended to do, I fired my gun a few more times into the rat, its tail losing its fiery glow as it fell on the

floor, finally dead.

I stayed standing there for a few moments, the now empty gun in my hands as I stared at the rat's body, trying to absorb what just happened. There are monsters

now? What the hell is going on? My deep panting was all I could hear as I tried to make sense of anything, before I heard what was undeniably a scream coming from

further down the hallway. A person's scream! They're still people here? Nodding my head, I reloaded another magazine into my gun's chamber. I cocked the gun,

gave one last look at the rat, and ran down the hall toward the scream.

I ran to the door I heard the scream from, grasping the handle. Taking a deep breath, I turned the handle and rushed into the room, my gun raised. I instantly saw

several burned bodies on the floor as I entered, gasping at the sight. The room I entered appeared to be a kind of lobby, with sofas, bookcases, desks with mirrors,

and vending machines. Except this room was charred severely from flame and many of the furniture was overturned. I took a quick look around, than rushed over to

the victims when I confirmed that the place was monster free. I kneeled next to the closest one and placed two fingers on his neck, checking for a pulse, cursing to

myself when I felt none. This one is already dead. I proceeded to check the rest of them, but they were all gone too. I closed my eyes and bit my lower lip as anger

welled up inside me again. Damn you, Eve! Taking a deep breath, I started to make my way over to the door when I suddenly heard what sounded like a cough! I

gasped and quickly turned back to the bodies; could I have been mistaken? Is one of them alive? I took a step forward to check them again when I heard what

sounded like a muffled moan, along with another cough coming from behind me. I looked around and noticed that an overturned bookcase was moving slightly! I

quickly made my way over to it and lifted up the elevated end as quickly as I can, revealing the burned, but alive, body of a woman. With as much strength as I could

muster, I pushed the bookcase away, a loud thud sounding through the room as it slammed against the floor. "Hang on!" I exclaimed as I knelt next to her. Her entire

body is severely burned. She's laying on her back, most of her flesh black and distorted. Most of her hair was burned off and her face was unrecognizable. Her eyes

were welded shut, her lips were gone, and her nose was broken. In truth, I only knew that she's a woman because of her voice. The woman gave out a gut wrenching

cough as blood dripped from her mouth, her breathing very labored. I bit my lower lip as I watched her struggle. "Don't try to talk! I'll get some paramedics!" I

shouted at her, but she spoke anyway. "M… Melissa… she's a… monster…" she whispered out. My brow furrowed at the woman's statement. "Melissa?" I repeated,

trying to understand what she meant. The woman coughed again, but she nodded her head slightly. "She probably got to Suzanne… too. You'll have to… stop… her…"

she whispered, before she gave out one big sigh, becoming motionless. I gasped, getting closer to her. "No! Please! Wake up! Hang in there…!" I shouted, but to no

avail. She had already passed on. I closed my eyes, shaking my head slightly as I stood up, contemplating what her words meant. "Melissa…" I repeated, my eyes

wandering upward, landing on a flyer pinned to the wall. I recognized it as the ad I saw for the opera, and my eyes opened wider. I rushed over to it and read the

name of the main actress on the top: Melissa Pearce. A photo of the actress wearing the red dress was depicted. What does this mean? Is she the same actress shown

here? Why would she call herself Eve, and how can she do all these things? Now I had more questions without answers and it looks like there's only one way to answer

them: I have to find Eve. Nodding my head to myself, I checked the ammunition in my gun, and then made my way out of the room, closing the door behind me.