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I sure hoped it was the lock.
I backed away as something thudded on the other side of the door. It jolted in its frame. No way it was going to hold for long.
But for the moment, I was safe. For the moment, my plan was working.
Chitter.
I froze.
Chitter. Chitter.
I turned and looked over my shoulder, afraid to see what I knew would be there.
Another giant insect.
It coiled its legs to leap at me.
“Argh!” I screamed.
I worked on pure instinct. I bolted forward, yanked the door open, and dropped to the floor as—
The insect in the room used the back wall to leap across the space in a single bound and sail directly into the insect on the other side of the door. There was a loud thud as the creatures collided and their long bamboo-like arms and legs flailed for purchase.
I couldn’t wait uselessly on the floor. I had to get up and move. But it was hard to get my body to obey my commands. I moved through treacle as I got to my feet and ran for the door.
One of the giant insects snapped its mandibles at my heels. It seized my gown and tore the fabric.
I looked back. The creatures were already getting to their feet. Behind them, an entire army of giant ants flooded the corridor and slithered after me.
“Argh!” I screamed, sprinting for one of the distant doors. The others could too easily contain the same monsters.
What the hell are those things?
The door opened automatically and I dived inside. I slapped my hand on the green light before I even landed.
Multiple thuds slammed against the door now. The metal frame bent beneath the blows, tossing one screw loose after another.
Remembering my earlier encounter, I spun around, expecting more of those disgusting insect creatures.
There were none. It was a much larger room than the previous one but there were no other doors out of there either.
At least this one had a window.
A massive window.
When I came up with my incredibly detailed (not) plan of “Escape!” I thought I would find a door that would bring me to a nondescript location in a wood somewhere or a hidden chamber in a science lab in the heart of a city.
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
“No,” I said. “This can’t be…”
Staring back at me through that giant window was a sight few—if any—human eye had ever seen before.
An alien planet.
I was in space.
I didn’t find an exit because there was none to find.
