Escape

Chet pulled open the stairwell doors and shined a light inside. He paused.

“What’s wrong?” asked Susan, glancing at the dark corridor behind them. Smoke curled from under one door. Another had what looked like vines creeping out. Another flashed with actinic light.

“Snakes,” said Chet. He eased the door shut. “A few thousand, looked like.”

“Well, what are we going to do now?”

The elevator dinged merrily at the end of the hall. The doors rolled open, revealing warm, welcoming light. They regarded it.

“Isn’t the power cut off?” asked Susan.

“Yup,” said Chet.

“So… the fire escape, then?”