In the corner of the night

I was unable to see anything in the dark of the night, but I could hear gravel crunching as the security guard made his way towards me. I lay back into the bushes, struggling to keep control my heart rate and breathing. The light from his torch came around the corner, I held my breath as best I could and waited for him to pass.

Once I could no longer hear his footsteps I got to my feet, crouching to remain hidden by the bushes. I was confident I had a full half hour at least, before the guard would be anywhere near me again, but I still planned to be as discreet as possible. I had positioned myself directly in front of my access point so I took took a deep breath, pulled out my torch, stood up and tiptoed as quickly and quietly over to the building as I could.

I stopped when I got the wall and shone the torch upwards, looking for the window I had scoped out before. I saw it, a cracked white wooden frame, splattered with algae, the glass pane had been shattered long ago by vandals. I reached inside and groped around until my hand hit a cold metal handle, I grabbed it firmly and pulled. It unlocked and the window came open.

I put both hands on the edge of the window and pulled myself upwards and inwards. The sill of the window scraped my stomach painfully, but I was hallway through and pushed on the inside wall, rolling forward. I landed on my back with a soft thud.

I lay there for a moment. The world around me was completely silent, the stone floor cold against my skin. I blinked, trying to make out what sort of room I was in. I’d dropped my torch and it had rolled off into the corner, casting eerie shadows on the walls. But I realised I was in an office. A battered wooden desk was in the corner of the room, opposite a bookcase holding just a few scraps and a chair covered in shredded fabric lay on the floor. At the other end of the room was an open door, leading into a hallway.

I picked myself up and wandered into the hallway. The hideous yellow walls were peeling and dust layered the floor. A faded sign hung from the ceiling “Merry Christmas”, I tried to imagine what the building had been like before it was shut, when it was noisy and busy with people.

At the far end of the hallway was a set of stairs, I climbed up them all the way to the top here I came face to face with an ornate wooden door. It was thick and heavy and I had to push with all my strength to get it open.

The room behind the door was lit up by a the beautiful white light shining through a large window. In the centre of the room stood a large wooden desk, next to a large metal safe. On the desk was a pot of paint and a paintbrush.

I picked up the pot and brush, walked over to the corner of the room and painted the walls and floors surrounding me.