As I continue being led down the hall, I turn my head over to see the mysterious person from again, only to find them gone. Now all I can see are the children running by, in and out of the rooms. There seems to be no schedule or instruction, just pure chaos. I’m so caught up in this free for all that I don’t even know how much time has gone by. Minutes? Hours? Days? I couldn’t even take a guess. It feels so conflicting, so fast yet so slow.

If there’s anything I’ve learned about this place, it’s that nothing here has a purpose. I can’t connect the dots. I’m just going in a zig zag, literally.

“Umm…” I try to find the words to say, “Are you still there? Hello?”

There is no response. I was spending so much time absorbed into my own thoughts, I lost track of where I was going. The person that I was following is no longer in sight.

I continue making my way down the hall. As I look into the distance, it appears to never end. I get the feeling that I’m lost for going on for so long. I wouldn’t be surprised if I found out that this place goes on for miles.

I turn to one of the classroom doors and look at the sign on the side. Earlier, when I took my first glance at them, I thought they had a room number and some sort of title and description. But looking at it now, it’s not even a real language. All I see are scribbled on lines that form different patterns and it’s nothing like I’ve seen before. This has to be something that was made up specifically for this place. There isn’t any other explanation that I can think of for it.

The door beside me starts to open, and I back away from it. A group of children of various ages come out and they’re all talking loud at the same time. The hall fills up with blabber on top of blabber. It begins to sound like gibberish and makes me wonder, are they speaking the language that I was reading before?

“Come on! Come on!” A boy who seems to be around age eight yells “We have to make this for Mr. Smith’s Birthday!’

Everyone ignores him, and then he looks at me. “What to help us?”

“I guess I could? What are you all doing?”

“We’re making a special surprise for Mr. Smith’s birthday!”

Real descriptive kid, very descriptive.

“Who’s Mr. Smith?”

“The coordinator.”

“The coordinator for what?’

“Art class?”

“Wait. There’s an art class here?”

“Yes! Now come on, we have to hurry before he gets here!”

He grabs my hand and drags me into a classroom across the hall. What is with these kids trying to get me to follow them everywhere? This can’t possibly be a set-up, they’re here for the same reason that I am. But on second thought, it is odd that after parting ways with Alexis, I haven’t seen anyone else around my age.

We walk in and he lets go of my arm. More children enter the room, and they all seem to be the same age as him. Before I can even take a breath, they are all around each other in a circle instantly. In the center of this group, a girl is holding a styrofoam plate that is covered with a mix of colorful candies. All of the other kids seem to be staring at It, as if they are thinking of what to do with it. This must be the surprise that they’re making, or whatever this is.

After a second I realize that I am staring at them, just as they are staring at me. The girl holding the plate looks over at me.

“Maybe you can help us!”.

That statement was followed by a synchronized “Yeah!” and within an instant the whole group is dragging me down the halls.

“This has to be perfect!” One girl cries.

“We cannot mess another thing up.” Comes from the little boy.

“Mr. Smith needs to love it!” A voice from somewhere in the crowd says.

I listen to all the shouting as I’m guided into a classroom with my arm being used as a leash. They take me over to the front of the classroom, where the teacher’s desk is located. All their little hands let go, setting me free. Well, somewhat free. They still have expectations of me.

“What should we do?” I hear someone say “You need to figure this out.”

“I’m really not sure.” I reply. I have no idea what to say. I almost forgot that I’m in an old and probably dysfunctional building.

“I was really hoping someone could help us. This always happens. Someone always lets us down.”

I look around the room and no one speaks up. Everyone just stands still, puzzled.

“I know.” A different little girl speaks up “We can spell out happy birthday with the candies!”

Everyone looks around at each other and then proceed to scramble all over the classroom. I turn my head to the left and see someone dive underneath a desk and grab another plate. Suddenly, everyone is in a circle around the teacher’s desk and rearranging the letters to form happy birthday. It looks silly, and definitely didn’t need all that thought. Of course, they’re only young kids, this is all that they can really do. They make Mr. Smith seem like he is the hardest person in the world to please. I seriously doubt that considering he chose to work with kids. This all should be easier than it seems. I’ve even got caught with coming up with a perfect idea, even though that’s not necessary.

The scrambling children are interrupted by a knock against the classroom door.

“Everyone hide!” a little voice cries.

I run over to the light switch and flick it off. That’s what you’re supposed to do for surprises, right? I know nothing about these kids or their teacher, but I feel excited with them. There’s something so suspenseful about springing the unexpected upon someone.

Faintly, I hear the squeaky handle turn. My stomach drops as I sense the surprise about to be revealed. I hear a footstep enter the room and I quickly snap on the light.

“Surprise!” The kids all say in unison, with me included.

I barely get a glimpse of what this man looks like. He is surrounded, while one girl stands by the teacher’s desk. Mr. Smith walks over with them to the girl with the candy plate but says nothing. I see him looking down at the plate and smile, then a look of concern appears. From across the room, he makes direct eye contact with me over the sea of children. I feel a chill go down my spine as the room reaches dead silence.

“You’ve completed this level” Mr. Smith says “You have now been assigned to the 8th floor.”

Suddenly, I hear footsteps coming from the hallway. All of the children move away, leaving an opening that leads to the classroom door. They now stand frozen in their new spots, completely unsure and scared. I look all around the room, shaking, as the sound of people walking nearby gets louder. My eyes meet another door on the other side, and I launch myself towards it.

I hear the sound of the other door handle opening as I turn this handle. I slowly shut the door behind me and get left in the dark. I spread my arms out so I can get an idea of the shape and size of the room I’m stuck in. As I turn while moving sideways across the room, I find myself running into absolutely nothing. Did I just enter the secret infinity room that no one told me about? I never heard any stories about that.

I continue to take steps forward, and my feet finally reach an ending. I reach out in front of myself hesitantly to find out what it is. My hand comes into contact with a door handle. However, is this really a different door? I could’ve easily just went in circles and back to the beginning. The only difference this time is that I don’t hear anyone. Maybe this is the time to take a risk.

I open the door to what looks like yet another room in the shape of a square, just big enough for me to fit inside. In the front, there is a small space where light is coming through. As I get closer to it, it looks like the hallway where I first entered the 7th floor. Waiting here probably won’t do any good, so I squeeze myself in and crawl out of the tiny closet.

I’ve made it out, but there’s just one problem. I can’t get back up.

I can’t find the energy to push myself off the ground, and even weirder, the world looks like it is snowing. I don’t even know where to go from everything turning white. What is going on in this place?

Now it’s becoming hot, like the room is on fire. It can’t be snowing and feel hot. It’s not the building doing this, it’s me. And when I come to think of it, I can’t remember the last time I had water. After all, I don’t even know how long I’ve been at this place for.

I finally force myself back onto my feet, but very weakly. I hear something from around the corner, so I lean against the wall while slowly walking in what I believe is the opposite direction. I can barely keep up, everything is turning white and this time it’s happening very quick. I see blobs coming from the other side of the hall, and I can’t elaborate that any further.