Going Down

Chris bolts down the hall without a second glance at Danielle. 

"Stop!" she calls after him, but he's already around the corner before he can hear the rest of her statement.

Distracted, Chris runs into a water cooler, bumping it over and sending the liquid everywhere. The two gingerbread men standing in front of it scatter in absolute panic. Barely stopping, Chris continues to flee, following the wall in hopes of finding some form of escape.

Rounding the next corner, Chris stops when he sees the elevator for the building. A group of gingerbread workers are waiting for it to arrive, but that changes when Chris is spotted. They have mixed reactions, with most of them running away, some of them continuing to stand around in seemingly no hurry, and a few approaching Chris menacingly. 

Up until now, the gingerbread people have been comprised of two distinct shapes: a male form and female form. The two that approach Chris now are wildly different shapes. The first is incredibly tall and thin, having to stoop it's head in order to not hit the ceiling and the second has a strongly V-shaped body, with massive shoulders and arms. They both possess the same frosting ties and hairdos as the other cookies.

The stick-figure gingerbread man reaches Chris first, swiping at him with its incredible reach. Chris is easily able to dodge out of the way, moving to the side as the cookie's arm passes slowly overhead like the boom of a crane. The top-heavy gingerbread man rushes Chris next, attempting to tackle the teenager to the ground. This time, Chris leaps out of the way in order to dodge the attack. Like a runaway train, the gingerbread man slams into the wall with enough force to blast through it, sending chunks of gingerbread scattering in every direction.

Chris doesn't wait to see if the top-heavy cookie is coming back through the wall, instead turning and running toward the door next to the elevator marked "STAIRS". The stick-figure makes another attempt at stopping Chris by stepping in front of him, which does work. Unfortunately, Chris simply breaks the gingerbread man's leg when he comes in contact with it, snapping it in half and sending crumbs everywhere. The gingerbread man loses his balance and topples to the floor. 

For a few seconds, Chris is horrified by what he has accidentally done. He watches the gingerbread man clutch his severed leg in wordless and expressionless agony. The other gingerbread men rally around their fallen coworker as Chris steps away from the carnage. 

In a flash of green, the plant creature flies around the same corner that Chris came from, indicating that its master is not far behind. Chris shakes his head, looks at the injured gingerbread man once more and throws open the door to the stairs. He slams it shut behind him just in time, hearing the creature thump against it before starting to scratch at the door's cookie material.

Not waiting to see if the creature can claw a hole through the door, Chris starts down the stairway, taking the steps two-at-a-time. He only makes it to the bottom of the first flight of stairs. Unfortunately, his rushed approach quickly backfires, as the steps, which are made of the same gingerbread as everything else in this place, crumble under the "extreme" force. With a cry of surprise and despair, Chris plummets through the floor, barely managing to arrest his fall by grabbing onto the landing platform, which is thankfully more sturdy than the stairs. 

Legs dangling in the air, Chris starts hauling himself onto the platform, finally pulling himself over the edge and scooting as far away from it as possible. He takes a moment to catch his breath, his mind racing as he imagines falling endlessly through the fragile stairs, as none of them would probably stop his continued descent. 

"Maybe I should've taken the elevator?" Chris chuckles. His brief moment of levity is interrupted when the door to the stairwell carefully opens above him. He doesn't wait to see who or what it is, climbing to his feet shakily and continuing down the stairs as quickly as he dares, which isn't all that fast. 

"Hey! Can you please stop running!" Danielle's voice echoes down the stairwell. Chris doesn't halt his progress, not replying as he tries to soften his steps in a vain attempt to be quiet. 

"Hey!" Danielle calls again. "I can see you! Stop running already!" She quickly discovers the missing steps where Chris almost fell to his death. "I can't believe you took the stairs. No one takes the stairs in here!" she complains. He hears her take a breath before jumping across the gap.

The slowest stairway pursuit commences, as both Chris and Danielle are aware of the fragility of the steps. Both parties walk on eggshells as they descend. The witch's plant creature is the only thing making any meaningful progress, flying down to Chris' level easily. It lands on the handrail in front of him, spreading its wings in an attempt to block his passage, but he simply pushes past the lightweight creature. It tries repeatedly to stop him, but with the same result.

"I'm not going to hurt you, so please stop running." Danielle implores kindly, her words echoing like an angel's from heaven above. Chris stops briefly for a moment, surprised by her offer, but he quickly resumes his careful retreat.

"I don't believe you! You're a monster! You're trying to kill me!" His voice cracks from the strain of yelling.

Danielle doesn't reply, surprised by the sudden and angry rebuke. Her creature stays away, too. Chris reaches the bottom of the stairwell and another door, ripping it open and slamming it shut behind him before Danielle can say anything else.

Chris finds himself in the lobby of the gingerbread high-rise, which is surprisingly empty. There are no gingerbread men, women, or mutants to be seen, only the massive support pillars and classy decorations that you would find in any other office building. As Chris runs for the turnstile entrance to the building, he notices that there is a flurry of activity outside. The closer he gets, the more he can see.

"STOP! GET AWAY FROM THERE!!!" Danielle screams from behind him, but it is already too late. As Chris turns to briefly look at her, a familiar-looking muffin rolls toward him, originating from the turnstile door. He barely has time to see that it's missing it's pin.