Alice tried to control her fall, but was too battered to know which way was up; she landed on her side beneath the open air duct. She rolled onto her back, attempted to drag air into her lungs, find some last shred of energy. The floor shook; the killer was returning, and this time he wouldn’t follow orders. Alice scrabbled backward, boots slipping across the oily floor. She looked up, hoping that Red had been smart and fled.