A Beacon in the Hall

I leaned my pirate stick against the baseboard near the neighbor's rough woven mat. A tiny green light was blinking on an emergency exit panel near the floor, casting a soft glow across the carpet. I crept closer, watching the quiet pulse turn my gray fingers emerald each time it flashed. When a sudden clatter echoed up the stairwell, I tucked my knees in and held very still behind the raised fiber edge of the mat, waiting until the silence settled back into the long corridor.