... on the 32nd floor.

No... -exhales Kaleb, as the giant doors open again. His eyes close.

After opening the doors, a huge pool of colored plastic balls is revealed.

-Really? -says the boy, in a mocking tone-. What's this? Does Black Hat have his parties here? Pfff!

It seemed as if someone, with a lot of time and a lot of leisure, had filled an Olympic pool with balls, since it was extremely large. But there, on the other side, is what appears to be a door. Kaleb squinted to get a better look and caught a glimpse of a sign that said "Emergency Exit.".

-It's a way out! -said the boy, excited, and dived into the pool. He waded through the balls with that peculiar sound they make when they collide with each other in large numbers. Step by step the path was made, but boy was that pool long.

Once out of the elevator he was able to see better the banks that border the ball pit. The boy looked for some other door, but there were only brightly colored walls decorated like a children's party room, you know, with messages like "fun" and stuff.

Suddenly, he stopped short and his eyes were fixed on the figure of a motionless being, who was looking back at the boy from one of those banks. Despite the distance, Kaleb could see that the strange being looked like a very well-made Mascot. It had green fur that covered most of it's body, except for the stomach, face, and inside of the ears, which were huge. It's eyes were small and with large, black pupils. It's nose was very large and brown. On it's cheeks there were two small blue circles that framed the giant mouth that smiled at him from afar. On it's head it had a sort of bump of an unidentifiable shape at this distance, and on it's stomach it had a kind of pouch, similar to the one that kangaroos have.

The being spoke in a shrill voice that echoed:

-Hello, little friend! Do you want a hug? -then it let out a strange giggle, which pretended to be tender.

Kaleb only backed away slightly, but the creature spoke again.

-I love hugs! -after saying this, the creature clumsily jumped into the pool and completely immersed itself in the balls. Kaleb was on his guard, searching uneasily to see where the thing was. The room was silent, only the gentle movement of the balls and his agitated breathing could be heard. Kaleb felt a bit of relief to hear the balls begin to move somewhere far away, but that relief was only followed by an alarming sense of alertness as he noticed the balls moving on the surface, like a bulge caused by something moving beneath them. And it was moving in his direction. Kaleb let out a small whimper of fear and uncertainty, then quickly turned and started running for the exit door.

Kaleb heard the sound of the plastic crashing in the distance, interrupted with brief pauses as the creature stopped it's chase to emerge from the balls and giggle or exclaimed something like, "Hug, hug!", then disappear again, diving back into the balls and reappearing elsewhere, following the boy as if they were playing.

Kaleb ran through the sea of plastic spheres, and could feel less and less of them colliding against his legs and torso. Each step was accompanied only by that sound of dozens of plastic balls colliding, sliding past each other as his thighs brushed them aside. At each step his hand brushed over some of the balls, feeling the plastic on his skin. But suddenly, he felt something that wasn't plastic. It was soft, like a stuffed animal or rug.