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conference room or two. I was at the corner of the building, so the hallway ran in front of me, and then to my right. I peered straight first, then opened the door more to look to my right. Nothing was moving, and I heard nothing.
                  Sword first, I stepped into the hallway. I had some chalk with me, so I marked the door I just came out of with an 'X' so I knew it was clear and eased it shut. I knew from looking in the windows that the next five rooms were also clear, so I marked them as well. I then went back to the corner and headed down the hallway, looking for stairs. The exit sign was dead ahead of me, so it seemed like a good sign.
                  I put my ear to the next door and listened for movement. Hearing nothing, I eased the door open, sword at the ready. I flung it open after just a little bit and jumped back. When nothing came out, I looked inside. Another conference room, but the table had been lifted on its side and the chairs placed so it wouldn't fall over and it blocked the windows. I closed the door and placed an 'X' on it. Three more rooms between me and the stairs were also clear. Once I marked all of them, I went to the stairwell door.
                  I placed my ear to the door and didn't hear anything, so I eased the door open. I winced at the squeal of the hinges, but nothing seemed to start moving. I propped the door all the way open and headed down the stairs. I figured the top story would be all machinery and equipment rooms, so I ignored it for now. I put my ear to the door and listened for several minutes. I didn’t hear anything moving on the ground floor, so I slowly pushed the door open; ready to jump back at any minute. At least the hinges didn’t squeak on this one.
                  I stepped into a hallway and immediately saw all the discarded clothes and trash lining the floor. I headed towards the back first since the guards would be at that door, and I would like the help clearing the rest of the building. I passed into a kitchen that looked like it had been used recently. Through the kitchen it opened into what appeared to be a multipurpose room that had been cleared and the windows boarded. There were a few cots and sleeping bags strung around the inner walls, kept mostly out of the walkway. There was also a fireplace in the room, and it was warm. I went over to the fireplace and the ashes were still glowing slightly. That meant someone had been here very recently. I passed through another doorway into what was apparently a lobby area which had the back door I was aiming for. All the windows and the door itself were boarded up pretty good, with several places left to look out of.
                  I walked up to the door and peered out. The guards were there, looking around. I knocked to get their attention, then motioned I was going to open the door. I removed the boards from the frame and opened the door. Randy came in first, while John watched the outside; then he came in and we shut the door back. We moved through the first floor room by room, clearing each room as we went. Once we went through every room without a sign of life, I lead us back to a storage room off the kitchen where I had noticed something I wanted to take a closer look at.
                  We walked in, and I pointed out a somewhat hidden trapdoor in the floor. Randy and John got in front and back of the door, while I crouched down in the middle and grabbed the handle. I mouthed 'one, two, three' then threw the door up and over so it opened all the way and fell back against the wall. We all three pointed our lights down the stairs as we saw…nothing but an empty stairwell. Since Randy was at the end with the stairs, he went first, followed by me, then John who had to come around. At the bottom of the stairs, a short hallway widened out and led away with several doors on either side. I stopped us at the bottom of the stairs. I had