The elevator slowly creeps up. On the ninth floor, my fellow traveler leaves.

I lean back against the wall.

Ten. Eleven. Twelve. How slowly he crawls! Now Felix will guess that I dived into the entrance and will go upstairs on foot. And I have almost no strength to call for help. Throat dry. The side of the impact with a steel bumper aches a lot. Also, I think I hurt my feet when I ran barefoot, because it hurts to walk.

Thirteen. Fourteen fifteen.

Click - and the steel doors swing open. I cautiously look out at the site. Silence. You can't hear footsteps in the stairwell. I tiptoe...