"Mom, I need help! Chad's going to get me killed!" I said.

"Jason, how dramatic do you want to be? You're just taking care of your brother," she snapped. "And don't feed me that. Chad's the sweetest boy in the world. You're the one who's always been a troublemaker. Don't you feel even a little embarrassed accusing him of the kind of things you'd do?"

She sounded more irritated than concerned.

"Don't ever call me in the middle of the night again."

The line went dead. I tried to call her back, but she had already turned off her phone.

Desolation settled over me. My parents had always been like this. Chad would run his mouth, spin some lie, and suddenly nothing I said could possibly be true. It hurt to realize that nothing had changed.

I was on the eighth floor. The stairwell was long and steep, not meant for running, but I could not stop. I kept going until a metallic taste filled my throat.

I nearly slipped several times. The sound of footsteps behind me never faded, so I forced myself to keep moving.

When I reached the ground floor, I glanced at the comments.

[No! Don't go down the stairs, man!]

[Teddy locked the outside door when he first entered the apartment, J! You can't get out that way!]

I froze, and my knees weakened. Still, the pounding steps behind me sent a fresh surge of adrenaline through my body.

If the exit ahead was a dead end, then this was where I would die.

The killer's footsteps drew closer. In my mind, I could already see the silvery flash of Teddy's blade.

I ground my teeth, bolted out of the emergency stairwell, and sprinted toward the elevator.

I jumped inside and jabbed every button on the panel. "Please work. Please work."

If the comments were right, the main door was no longer an escape.

I was certain Teddy would reach the elevator before the doors closed. After that, nothing would stand between me and his knife.

At the last second, I darted out of the elevator and dove into the large dumpster in the lobby.

The comment section held its breath with me.

A minute later, Teddy emerged from the stairwell. Through a narrow crack beneath the lid, I watched him stop in front of the closed elevator. He looked up at the display above the door, calculating which floor I might be heading to.

My heart pounded. Thank God I had not stayed inside the elevator. Teddy seemed convinced I had escaped that way.

If he would just leave, I could make my move. I could take the elevator down to the basement parking level and get out from there.

Teddy turned toward the stairs.

As he was about to leave, my phone rang.

My heart stopped, and sweat soaked my clothes.

Who would call me at this hour?

Teddy halted midstep. He turned slowly, scanning the lobby until his gaze fixed on the dumpster.

Sharp, acidic fear surged through me. I nearly gagged, but I clamped a hand over my mouth.

His footsteps shifted direction.

He started walking toward me.

Teddy stopped about six feet away, picked up the phone I had dropped when I ran out of the elevator, and switched it to speaker.

Chad's grating voice cracked through the line. "Why the hell did you call Mom and Dad, J? What the hell? Can't you help me out for once? God, you're already in your 20s. Stop acting like some snitching kid."

If he had been standing in front of me, I would have ripped those words straight out of his mouth. How could he say any of that after siccing me on a murderer who was coming for him?

The comments began to roll in.

[He's doing this on purpose!]

[He called J so the killer would find J and go after him instead!]

[What the hell is wrong with this psycho?!]

I forced myself to calm down. I clamped a hand over my mouth to keep even the smallest sound from escaping.

Teddy toyed with his knife in silence while Chad continued, "By the way, remember the basement parking lot? You can escape from there. I bet Teddy doesn't even know that."

The comment section exploded.

[What the hell is wrong with this punk-ass bitch?!]

[I can't believe this idiot just tipped off the killer!]

[I remember the last time J died. This same jackass got away with it and was never punished!]

Teddy burst out laughing. "Oh dear. Do you think Teddy might still be in the dark about that?"

Silence followed. Then Chad screamed, "Go take your rage out on Jason! Don't take it out on me! I know I wronged you, but I don't deserve to die for it!"

The call was cut off.

Teddy slipped the phone into his pocket, walked to the master circuit board, and opened the panel.

Every electrical appliance in the building fell silent. Darkness swallowed the world around me. Only the sickly green EXIT sign continued to glow.

I shuddered. The elevator was dead. I had no way out.

Black spots crowded my vision, but I dug my nails into my arm to keep from fainting. If I made even the slightest sound…

Moonlight filtered through the glass panel of the apartment's front door. It outlined the killer's towering, hulking figure as he stepped closer.

"Hello, hello." His voice rasped low and dangerous. "I bet you're right… here."