Anna crawled through the dark tunnel, her hands shaking and knees scraping against the cold metal floor. The air smelled of dust and something else, something older. She didn’t know how long the tunnel went on, but she kept moving, afraid that Daniel might still be behind her.
Finally, she saw light, faint and yellow, coming from a vent ahead.
She peered through it. Below was a basement room full of old furniture, filing cabinets, and broken equipment. Slowly, she pushed the vent cover open and dropped down. She landed with a soft thud on an old carpet.
The room was silent.
Anna looked around. In the corner was an old metal door. It was slightly open.
She stepped out and found herself in a forgotten part of the building. The walls were bare, the lights flickered, and the floor creaked. But more importantly, her phone signal had returned.
She dialed her manager immediately.
“Anna?” he answered quickly. “Where are you? Are you safe?”
“I think so. I escaped through a tunnel under the supply room. I’m somewhere in the basement now.”
Her manager’s voice was tense. “Listen to me carefully. Daniel isn’t who you think he is. He was fired two weeks ago. He refused to leave the building, so we changed all the security codes. We thought he was gone.”
“What? Then how did he get in?” Anna asked.
“We’re still investigating that. But whatever you do, don’t go back upstairs. Get out of the building if you can.”
Anna looked around. There had to be another exit. She opened a fire door nearby, it led to a dark stairwell. She began climbing cautiously, stopping at every sound.
Suddenly, a noise echoed from below. Footsteps. Heavy ones.
He was coming.
She ran up the stairs, two steps at a time, until she reached the ground floor. She burst through a fire exit and into the night air. Cold wind hit her face. Streetlights glowed ahead.
But as she ran across the car park, she saw a figure in the distance, Daniel.
He was standing still, watching her.
Then, headlights lit up behind her. A black car screeched to a stop, and two police officers jumped out.
“Miss Walker?” one shouted. “Get behind us!”
She ran to them without looking back.
Daniel tried to flee, but it was too late. The police tackled him to the ground.
Later, in the safety of a police station, Anna gave her full statement.
“We found evidence in his locker room,” one officer said. “Maps, security codes, photos of staff, including you. He’d been planning this for weeks.”
“Why me?” she asked, still shaken.
“We think he saw you as a threat. You reported a system error two months ago, right?”
“Yes…”
“He blamed you for getting him caught using the system for personal gain. He wanted revenge.”
Anna sat in silence.
“You’re lucky,” the officer added. “If you hadn’t trusted your instincts, and found that tunnel, this could’ve ended very differently.”
Anna nodded. She still felt the fear deep inside, but also something stronger.
She had escaped.
And she had survived.
Vocabulary Notes
Scraping (verb – present participle of “scrape”)
Definition: Rubbing against a surface, usually causing a rough or unpleasant sound or feeling
Example: “Her hands shaking and knees scraping against the cold metal floor.”
Explanation: Anna’s knees were rubbing against the rough tunnel floor as she crawled.
Similar words/phrases:
Rubbing
Grazing
Dragging
(Note: “Scrape” can also mean to injure skin lightly)
Faint (adjective)
Definition: Very weak, small, or difficult to see/hear
Example: “Finally, she saw light, faint and yellow, coming from a vent ahead.”
Explanation: The light was very dim and hard to see, but it was there.
Similar words/phrases:
Dim
Weak
Barely visible
Forgotten (adjective, past participle of “forget”)
Definition: No longer remembered, used, or taken care of
Example: “She found herself in a forgotten part of the building.”
Explanation: This part of the building hadn’t been used or cleaned in a long time.
Similar words/phrases:
Abandoned
Neglected
Unused
Shaken (verb – repeated from Part 1, but in a new emotional context)
Example: “She asked, still shaken.”
Explanation: Here, it shows that even after escaping, Anna still felt scared and emotionally affected.
Similar words/phrases:
Upset
Disturbed
Traumatised (stronger word)
Screeched (verb – past tense of “screech”)
Definition: Made a loud, high-pitched noise, like tyres suddenly stopping
Example: “A black car screeched to a stop…”
Explanation: The car stopped very suddenly, with a loud sound from the tyres.
Similar words/phrases:
Skidded
Braked hard
Halted sharply
Tackled (verb – past tense of “tackle”)
Definition: To grab and push someone to the ground to stop them
Example: “The police tackled him to the ground.”
Explanation: The officers stopped Daniel by physically taking him down.
Similar words/phrases:
Grabbed
Wrestled
Took down (informal)
Statement (noun)
Definition: A formal or official report of what happened, usually to the police
Example: “Anna gave her full statement.”
Explanation: Anna told the police everything she saw and experienced.
Similar words/phrases:
Report
Testimony (more formal, used in court)
Account
Revenge (noun)
Definition: The act of doing something bad to someone because they did something bad to you
Example: “He wanted revenge.”
Explanation: Daniel wanted to hurt Anna because he believed she caused his downfall.
Similar words/phrases:
Payback (informal)
Retaliation
Vengeance (more dramatic or literary)
Trusted your instincts (phrase)
Definition: Believed your feelings or natural reaction about something without needing proof
Example: “If you hadn’t trusted your instincts… this could’ve ended very differently.”
Explanation: Anna acted on her gut feeling that something was wrong, and it saved her.
Similar words/phrases:
Followed your gut
Listened to your feelings
Used your intuition
Story written by ChatGPT AI
Image created by ChatGPT AI
CC Music: Drifting at 432 Hz – Unicorn Heads
Reading Short Stories/Content for English Learners 
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