Chapter 37

The inside is a dark, musty stairway, concrete with a wrought iron handrail edging the stairs. I can see other internal doors as though this is an apartment block of several small units, and looking up shows a couple of floors in the space where the stairs go. Alexi heads right to the foot of them, and I follow quietly. Intrigued by this run-down building and the lack of grandeur, I’m used to seeing him surrounded by. It’s borderline inhabitable and the kind of place you expect to find rats and cockroaches in every corner. A reminder of where I stayed after I left the hospital and reinvented myself as Meghan.

“Top floor, although it’s only a couple of flights.” He adds, not looking back, and I try to stay close. Uncertain about our surroundings and trying not to step on any creatures I’m convinced might lurk in each concrete step’s dust and dirt.

It’s dark, with no natural lights as there are no windows. The dim electric lighting overhead is all we have, which is dull be