Left

With Sid in tow, Leanne turned left out of the office and down the corridor. There was nothing special about this direction, it just looked a little lighter that way. Which was impossible. The corridors were all so gloomy and everything about them was identical down to the damp, mouldy stench.

As she stepped silently through the corridor she felt Sid's giant hand reach for hers. Surprisingly it was shaking. She realised it was probably the first time he'd seen something other than his cage for a very long time, if not the first time ever. She had no idea how long he'd been trapped down in that basement. "Don't worry, Sid." she said soothingly, trying to reassure herself as much as the towering man. "There's nothing to be afraid of up here."

They reached the corner with no sign of life in sight. Cautiously peering round Leanne saw they were still alone in the gloomy hallway. In front of them was the same identical strip of corridor, lined with doors leading to the various residents' rooms.

"I guess we keep going." she said, before taking a slow, deep breath and moving warily along the new strip of hallway. At the end there was still no sign of the way out or even another person. Just another corner to examine and yet more identical corridor beyond. But there was also no reason to turn back either. It was better to keep going the way they were until they saw either the exit or signs of trouble than waste time going back to where they started. The peculiar coupling of a schoolgirl and a barefooted monster were halfway along the next section when Leanne suddenly stopped. "It can't be... That's impossible!"

She was staring at the door on the left of the hallway. Whilst everything about these corridors, including the doors, looked the same, this door looked familiar. Too familiar. It looked exactly like the door to the office they'd just left.

"But... How can that be...?" she shook her head, trying to remove the improbably thought from her mind. They'd only turned two corners so far, they couldn't possibly be back where they started yet. And if she had misjudged it, did she miss the way out? Was there even a way out? The longer she thought about it the worse it all became.

She moved to the door in front of her and, with her hand shaking uncontrollably, turned the door handle. Her eyes were closed. She could barely bring herself to find out the truth but slowly opened them to see the exact same office they'd been in only moments ago.

"Don't panic. Keep calm." she mumbled to herself as she stepped nervously inside, looking around for proof that it wasn't what she thought. "I'm sure they have lots of offices like this one. The corridors all look the same so why wouldn't the..."

Her words trailed off and her whole body was trembling. Lying on the floor, just in front of a doorway to a side room, were a discarded pile of clothes. Her clothes. The same denim hot pants and vest top she'd just been wearing.

Gripped by fear, Leanne sprinted from the room. Bursting past the confused gigantic man and back into the corridor. She looked both ways. Everything still looked identical. She ran to the left, Sid ambling along behind faithfully. She turned the corner, not bothering to check if it was safe this time and stopped halfway along. Once again there was the same door. She flung it open, seeing the same office and the same discarded pile of clothes.

"No, no, no, no, no!" she cried desperately. She continued onwards but it was the same around the next corner, and the one after that. The corridors weren't identical. They were the same one. She was stuck in a never ending loop with seemingly no escape.

Leanne collapsed to her knees tearfully. She was so close to the exit but now found herself more trapped than ever. Sid stood over her watching closely, unsure what to do. After a few minutes Leanne's breathing steadied and she lifted her head. For the first time she noticed the door opposite the office and the sign in front of it. At first she didn't take it in. Her head in a mess from her predicament. She read the words but they meant nothing to her.

"Sitting area." she said aloud. She read them again for the next minute or so, struggling to find meaning. Then it dawned on her. "...Sitting area... Sitting area?" Suddenly she leapt to her feet. "Sid! This is it!" she screamed. "This is our way out!"

Leanne rushed for the door without thinking and quickly opened it. Turning back to check on Sid she saw the monstrous man stood frozen in the middle of the corridor shaking his head frantically. She didn't understand what was wrong or why he wasn't following her.

"Come on, Sid! This is the way out." She held her hands out towards him but he remained where he was. Unwilling to take a step closer and a look of fear in his eyes. "Sid. What's wrong?" Leanne knew they might not have long to escape but there was no moving him. She wondered it she could try to tempt him towards her using her talents. She could just continue and hope he followed. After coming this far she really didn't want to let this chance disappear. On the other hand, if Sid was this scared then there had to be a reason. Should she go to help him? Even if it meant losing an opportunity to get out of there.