Emma struggled up the steps of the grand old building, blind to the beauty around her. People glanced at her as they stepped lightly up the smooth marble steps. A couple stopped and asked if she was okay. Emma absently waved them away. Forgetting the concerning voices as soon as she took another step.
The mental vines wrapped around her ankles and wrists pulling her backward. Wave after wave of repulsion hit her. Each one made it harder and harder to continue struggling upward. Her vision clouded the closer she got to the door. Another wave hit, she dropped to her knees and grasping the pillars which held the railing up, continued to pull herself along.
Suddenly her grasping hand only clutched thin air. The pillars had disappeared. Totally blind she flatten her body to the ground and used the last pillar to push her body forward with her feet. Single minded, she used her fingers to claw at the ground desperately trying to move just a few inches further. Her nails bent backward until only her finger pads were pulling her body along. Then suddenly, wood. She had reached the door. She grasped the edge and just as quickly as the attacks began, they ceased.
She blinked and wearily stood. Leaning against the haven she dropped her head breathing heavily for a few moments before looking around. She straighten, almost loosing contact with the door. The surroundings were completing different. Dark gray walls wavered around her, seeming intangible. Well, she thought, I've come this far. She took a deep breath and took a step forward, keeping her fingers brushing against the doors hard surface. The floor ahead of her lit up, steadying in an otherwise constantly moving room. After a brief hesitation she swiftly brought her other foot forward to stand on the single panel. The door swung shut behind her with a loud bang.
"Hello Emma," a deep brassy voice said. "Welcome to my home. I will make you a deal."
"What kind of deal?" Emma asked anger lending her much needed strength. "What kind of deal do you think I will make with a killer of children?"
"The only one you can," the voice responded calmly. "I will live, and you will die."
