Eh, actually a shower is needed

The hallway's fluorescent hum greets me like a low dirge, the door to Laura's apartment clicking shut behind me with finality. I pause there, my back brushing the cool wall, and inhale sharply. The air clings to me. Her vanilla-sweet scent mixed with the musky tang of our release, undercut by the faint echo of Sarah's citrus shampoo from earlier. It's all over my skin, my shirt, the denim now pulled back into place but heavy with the afternoon's claims. Potent, yes, but not subtle. Not for slinking through the complex unnoticed, not if I want the next pull to start clean.

A quick glance down the corridor. Empty, the distant clatter of a door suggesting someone in the stairwell. But I pivot toward my own place instead, the addictive thrum in my veins demanding efficiency over haste. Shower first. Reset. The power won't fade. It'll sharpen in the steam, let me strategize the third without distraction. My cramped apartment swallows me as I slip inside, the key turning with a familiar rasp. The door seals, and I strip off my shirt right there in the dim entry, fabric dropping to the tile in a crumpled heap.

Steam rises quick under the spray, hot water sluicing over my shoulders and down my chest, washing away the evidence in rivulets that snake toward the drain. I close my eyes, letting the heat seep into muscle and bone, the app's faint pulse a companion in the dim stutter of bathroom light. Sarah and Laura bound across the hall, their dreams tightening even now, obedient in repose. The multiplier hangs like a promise. 1.5x and climbing if I chain another. The third target calls from the edges of the scan, a vague silhouette of potential in the app's overlay. A woman by the pool, towel slung over one arm, or the delivery van idling in the lot below. Clean and deliberate, I'll weave her in.

I shut off the water after a deliberate linger, toweling dry with brisk strokes, the mirror fogged but reflecting a sharper edge to my gaze. Power hums steadier, the veins electric but contained. Dressed fresh in a crisp shirt, jeans that hang just right, I pocket my phone, the camera app whirring softly in readiness. The outside world pulls again, waiting to see where I go next.