Go up the stairs

You figured that the best chance you had to escape unnoticed was to go up the stairs. The two figures blocked the way outside. If you tried to go out the door, it was unlikely that they would do anything as you passed them, but you couldn’t be sure. Besides, they had the ability to follow or steer you to someplace where they could do whatever they wanted to you.

If you took the corridor next to the stairs, you would have been visible to whoever came in the moment stepped through the doors. Then all they had to do was chase you down. Considering how tired you were, that wouldn’t be hard to do.

If you took the other corridor, you wouldn’t have been visible to the people as they came into the building. However, you wouldn’t have been able to get to someplace you wouldn’t have been seen when they got to where you stood. Then the chase would have been on.

If you stepped back into the room, you were trapped. Your only hope was that they didn’t look into the room. That was unlikely. The lights were on. More than likely, they had seen Professor Wilson leave.

That left only the stairs. You took them two at a time. Halfway up, the stairs reversed themselves. As you made the turn, you looked back. You saw the door open. You ducked back out of sight before you could be seen. You heard someone say something, but couldn’t make out the words. You continued upwards. You tried to step quietly. If you heard them, they could hear you.

You reached the second floor. The landing was pretty much the same as the landing on the first floor. Obviously there weren’t any doors to the outside. There were stairs going down as well as more stairs going up. There was a lecture hall to your left with corridors to your right and behind you.

You cannot stay. The corridors led to various laboratories and studios. The stairs up led to the English and History Departments. In addition to the administrative offices for those departments, all the professors had their office cubicles up there.