• Amy strode down the dark, empty hallway. Nothing but footsteps echoing off the bare walls as the blonde girl drowned in her thoughts, legs carrying her back and forth. Forth and back. There was little time to think about the numerous ideas and conflicting situations that littered Amy’s brain. She knew this place for one thing and one thing only.

    Her enemy.

    So, there she was, pacing a rut into the floor beneath her as her patience waned like the fading moon. It went over her mind like a violent, blue tidal wave, taking her under and consuming her. It was like her own little hell, only she could bare this. For how long, she knew not, but the only important thing was to keep her cool. That, and to stomp something to death.

    You could cut the tension with a butter knife. So thick, she could feel herself become weary of the one thing she was sure of. They were there. They had to be.

    Amy halted. It was an abrupt, jerky movement, but it did not go without purpose.

    She could hear it…

    It was the faint tapping that sent shivers jogging along her spine. It was the noise of a kill that was bound to happen, she and her nemesis both knew this to be true. The pitter-patter that almost matched that of light raindrops, yet it wasn’t quite similar. It wasn’t as calming.

    Death hid behind every corner.

    He hid behind every door.

    Behind her, it was there. Only the smallest shadow to acknowledge its presence, only the tiniest bit of color. It was a hair-rising moment. The need to conquer made Amy’s blood boil, and it layered her skin with a sheet of sweat.

    Was it too soon…?

    No. She had no need to be afraid. Her brain told her to move, to do something. She knew the enemy was there, and she knew how the situation had to end. Her time was out. The candle flickered and bore no more fire, but just a steady stream of smoke.

    Now or never.

    Amy whipped around, hair dancing and giving the bland building a much-needed light. Golden, like sunshine. And the need for life. But life would only be taken.

    A short scuffle could be heard, and you would’ve wondered how something so miniscule could’ve sounded so gargantuan. It was time, time was now. And nothing more could be done. Nothing more than what she had come here to do.

    A single, white boot, blinding in the dark, hit the ground. There were no screams. There was no time.

    Life was lost.

    There was a sort of gain that followed this loss. It was a small price to pay, in the eyes of many. But in the eyes of one, everything was gone. The flicker of golden life disappeared, as it had billions of times before. But there were more flickers to behold. Many more.

    Amy turned on her now dirtied heel and exited the hallway. She left with a feeling of grim accomplishment. Her toll would go unpaid; one small life.

    One teeny, tiny dash of being.

    And, besides…

    Cockroaches weren’t easily missed.