Factory

When Factory made it back to her abandoned apartment she couldn't help but stare at the door to the room, wondering if she was about to be found out by the Hoodz. Her incident had given her a moment of adrenaline, but it quickly wore off and Factory finally lost her battle with sleep; a battle she wasn't completely upset about losing. Huddled in a room corner again she slumbered happily through the rest of the night. The everyday creaks and bumps of the old building weren't enough to set off Factory's paranoia, but sudden talking was.

Like a cold shower injected into her veins, Factory immediately burst her eyes open from an uncertain amount of sleep but remained absolutely still and quiet. Several voices could be heard just outside her door. A small group of people were having a conversation but she couldn't quite make out any of the words. Fearing for her safety, Factory grabbed hold of her revolver and aimed it at the door, the heavy weight pulling down on her untrained muscles. As she struggled to keep steady, the voices suddenly faded and then disappeared from ear's reach.

Factory went to the window and tried to pull it up and open. It was closed when she picked the room and the neglected thing would not budge. Silently cursing herself, Factory went to the door and put her ear against it. She couldn't hear anything but her heart beating ever louder like a giant foreboding drum. With adrenaline pumping through her terrified body, she pointed the revolver before her and gently opened the door without making a sound.

The dirty, dark hallway was empty. The peeling wallpaper and scribbled graffiti were the only things offering any movement or semblance of people. It was much more difficult to make things out in the hall than her room with only a single window at either end for light.

A breeze from the open window near the staircase to her left gave her the chills as she tried to move again. Things seemed even more quiet than usual. Knowing she had to find a new building to sleep in, Factory carefully walked towards the stairs and hoped she would meet no one. She was incredibly thankful she had chosen to sleep at the end of the hall.

"Hey!" a voice yelled out.

Factory turned around to see a Hoodz gang member staring at her, his open room door flooding the hall with light. The figure was standing only a few rooms down from where she had been sleeping. The Hoodz member stood still, waiting to see how things would play out and then started to walk towards her. In a panic, Factory raised her gun and fired towards her target without any real aim. The sound of the shot ripped through the air and filled the hallway as the bullet raced towards the Hoodz member and struck the open door. The recoil of the pistol almost brought the gun into Factory's face, who hadn't taken it into account at all. Confidence suddenly lost, Factory's target dropped to the floor and laid still in surrender. Feeling victorious, Factory stared at her accomplishment but was cut short.

Coming as back up, more Hoodz members appeared from the open door holding guns of their own and ready to fight. Knowing her situation had just turned dire, Factory fired another shot to slow them down and then ran for the stairs. Enemy gunfire came her way, smashing into the walls. The stairs felt like they were miles away as she fled from the projectiles, but she made it clear of the hallway without being harmed.

Factory tried her best to race down the old creaky steps, being careful not to lose her footing and doom herself to being caught. Unfortunately, just as she feared, when the last bit of stairs was in front of her, Factory stumbled and fell into the tiled bottom floor hallway with a thud. Her head was killing her with throbbing pain, but adrenaline kept her in the right mindset. In order to buy her time for her folly, she fired shots up the stairs while getting to her feet and exiting the front door.

The fall had hindered her greatly. Her pace on the wet sidewalk was slow and she was having more trouble than usual trying to figure out what to do. The tall buildings of the street blurred together. Desperately, Factory ducked into another apartment building just a few doors down the street and had a miraculous stroke of luck. Just before the Hoodz could continue their pursuit into the new building, Factory placed a metal broom through the handles of the steel doors and halted them. The Hoodz pushed and pushed against their blocked path, filled with anger and rage from being locked out.

Factory sat down on the foot of the nearby stairs as she watched the front entrance. The Hoodz had stopped trying to force their way through, which probably meant they were going around to the back. She knew she wouldn't make it to the rear entrance before them so she was stuck inside. Gathering some more energy, Factory climbed the stairs as fast and she could and went to wet roof.

Thinking she might have to make a last stand and bottleneck them through the roof access door, she reloaded her revolver as quickly as she could, but due to her rushed clumsiness Factory dropped a bullet onto the slick roof and slipped on her back as she scrambled to grab it. When she regained her focus, she noticed the finned face of a large ventilation duct.

When the Hoodz reached the roof they marched around with guns ready for action, but they could not find any. They checked the entire roof, looked over the sides at fire escapes, and then cursed each other for letting her get away. When the Hoodz went back into the building and were out of sight, Factory let out a long and powerful sigh of relief. The inside of the ventilation duct was cramped and cold but comfortable enough. It wasn't as if she had really been sleeping in any better locations; the old apartment buildings possessed very poor insulation. Figuring it was as good a place as any and since it had saved her, she decided to just continue her sleep in the tight space and give herself plenty more time before moving.