First step: the hallway

The first step, you reason to yourself, is the hallway. You walk to your door and unlock, and take a deep breath. Listening with your ear on the door, you can not hear anyone in the hallway, nor is anyone visible through the peephole. Pulling the door open softly, you peek around the corner of the doorframe, and see the hallway to be clear of people. You seize the opportunity, and dart out of your apartment, scampering over to the nearest staircase. You duck around the corner, to remove yourself from the sight of anyone who might come out of their apartments into the hallway. Your chest is heaving from the excitement of it all, and you have to focus to quiet your breath, to listen for people approaching. This is already the most excited you've been in weeks, and you're only twenty feet from your door.

As you stand there, trying to decide what to do next, you hear voices in the hallway you just came from. You cannot go back to your apartment, now, so you sneak down the stairway, as quickly and quietly as possible. At the bottom of the staircase are two doors: one to the outside world, and the other to the basement of the apartment complex, and the underground parking.