She made it out of the train... into the abandoned strip mall

(Chapter originally by Misayaka on writing.com)

Not a moment too soon. Fuuka sprinted through the door, just in time for the doors to slam shut mere inches behind her rear end.

She breathed a sigh of relief as the train sped off, then looked around, trying to discern where she was.

In the middle of the night, it hadn't taken long for her to put two and two together. It was the mall.

The poorly lit, abandoned mall, a good number of blocks from home.

Sure, she was alone... but the Dark Hour couldn't be far off. What if she was caught outside by shadows, or worse... a roaming street gang?

The thought made her shiver. Still, there seemed no safer time to head straight for the dorms.

Her alternative was to hide and wait for morning, but would that be any safer?

She took a deep breath, tried to muster up all the courage she had, and then Fuuka decided to...