Chapter 3

"Should we help them?" Marina's question seemed to shake Peter out of the stupor he'd been in. He turned to look at her as if she'd grown three heads.  'What? Are you crazy? Whatever's happening out there, there is nothing we can do for them."  He leaned back against the elevator wall and slid down into a sitting position. With his elbows resting on his knees, he put his head in his hands. After a few tense minutes, Peter let out a sigh and lifted his head. His eyes were filled with frustration as he glowered at the three of us. "If we go out there, we'll die." Marina frowned. 'What do you mean by that?" "Now wait for a second," Daniel interjected.  "Die?" I asked, effectively cutting Daniel off.  It did sound like terrible things were happening, but that seemed extreme.  Are people really dying?  "Yes, die. Those sounds, those aren't sounds made by people watching a horror flick. Something is happening and people are dying. That sound out there is death," Peter declared, giving me a harsh look.  I was inclined to believe him at that moment. I'd never heard anything like it before and I hoped I never would again. It was too horrific. I crossed my arms around my body and held myself, trying to keep it together. That floor was congested with scary people outside. But in my floor, everything seems to be alright. Does that mean that the whole building wasn't filled with those creeps yet? I suddenly remember hearing those two girls earlier and based on what I've heard about their conversation, the other girl seems to be so scared like she just saw a ghost or some lunatic monster coming straight out of the movie. She said something about it wasn't a human or that it's immortal. So, what's it then? An alien? A zombie? Oh, God. I must be really tired. "I don't hear guns," Marina's voice cracked. Clearing her throat, she tried again. "If people are dying, wouldn't they be getting shot or something? I mean if this is some kind of mass shooting."  This seemed to stump us all. If people were dying, there had to be something killing them. We didn't hear any loud booms or pops and we couldn't smell anything besides Marina's strong perfume. I looked up at the ceiling, wondering how we were going to get out of this.  Peter's brows creased. 'A mass shooting?" 'That's possible. The election was coming. I heard Rockstone was running for presidency. Maybe it's a part of his plan to limit the human population and bring it to a halt considering that poverty and population has been increasing," Justine added. Daniel nodded. 'Well, it does make sense. Or maybe the entire government? It's just like a contingent plan to eliminate mass and workforce." 'Oh, God. I hate world!" Marina shrieked in stress. Just then, a loud thud against the top half of the elevator doors made us all jump in surprise. Well, that at least confirms the elevator can open to the offices. I'd been worried that the elevator had been stuck completely between floors and we'd have no way out, but the noise confirmed that we were close to the fourth floor. The thud came again. It sounded as if there was a struggle right up against the doors. Whatever was happening was happening right where the top half of our elevator was stuck.  Peter swore at the sound and immediately scooted back, placing himself next to Marina. We sat lining the back wall of the elevator, frozen and waiting for whatever might come next.  "Can... Uh," Daniel started. He took a moment before he tried again and whispered. "Can they get in here?"  Everyone went in complete silence. Well, obviously, none of us knew. We just sat staring at the doors, hoping there wouldn't be another thump. A part of me wondered if we were going to hell for our inaction. We were stuck, but we weren't even trying to help. I'd never thought of myself as someone who could sit by and listen to others in pain and do nothing.  Then again, I'd never imagined this situation. Can I live with myself after this?  "We should text our families," I advised quietly.  I was afraid to speak above a whisper in case whoever had been making sounds was still out there. Though I doubted anyone could hear us over the continued screams.  The others nodded in agreement and proceeded to pull out their phones, with the exception of Daniel, who blanched when he realized he wasn't on him.  "I'll let you borrow mine when I'm done," Marina whispered to him.  He gave her a small smile in thanks. True love, right there. I pulled out my phone and created a group text for my mom and sister. For the first time in a while, I was glad I only had a few people to worry about. Clementia Something's happened. I'm trapped in an elevator with my co-workers, and it sounds like something bad is going on outside. We tried calling the police and it didn't work, so hopefully, that means they know what's going on. I will call each of you as soon as I get out of this. I love you both.  Reading it over, I knew it sounded like a goodbye. As much as I didn't want to worry them, I didn't know if this was something I'd get out of.  'Now what?" Marina asked as she passed her phone to Daniel.  Peter crossed his arms and gave the three of us a stern look.  'Now, all we have to do is we wait." It took twenty-eight minutes for the screams to finally stop. By the time it was silent, my brain could barely register that it was over. The sounds were still ringing in my ears. We had all just sat by and waited it out. Not one of us had heard a word from our loved ones on the outside. "Is it over?" Marina asked in a faint whisper. I stood up first, my legs stiff from being in the same position for so long. Walking to the doors, I placed my ear against them and listened. Nothing. "I don't hear anything," I answered, backing away from the doors. "We should try to get out now." "What? Are you crazy? What if it isn't over yet?" Daniel hadn't handled the last half-hour very well. Not that I could blame him. I think it changed us all, but he was shaking and looked like he wanted to be sick. 'We have to try. We can't just stay here forever, and I seriously think that if we were going to be rescued, it would have happened by now." I doubted rescue workers would have let people scream in agony for this long. We couldn't keep waiting for help that wasn't coming. Nick nodded and got up from his place on the floor. Taking a stance at the other half of the elevator door, he didn't even glance in my direction. I guessed he was also still trying to process everything. "You're right, and I can't take being in here a second longer," Marina sighed. She untangled her hands from Daniel's grasp and fumbled her way into a standing position, pulling at her skirt. "Daniel and Peter. Get up," Justine ordered. "Fine," Daniel replied as both of them, Daniel and Peter stood and begrudgingly joined me at the door. "Ready? Marina, you and I take this side and you two take the other," Justine said, pointing at Peter and me. "One. Two. Three-" We managed to slip our fingers between the doors, getting firm holds of each side. The first heave only opened the doors about four inches. It took a good five minutes and most of our strength to work the first set of doors most of the way open. "Oh, holy shit!" I cursed in frustration. The good news was that the fourth-floor entrance's bottom was actually closer to level with our elevator than we had originally thought. The bottom of the entrance doors was at the height of my hips and being five-seven in my one-inch kitten heels meant that it could have been worse. However, the bad news was that there was a gap. The space between the bottom half of our elevator and the wall was large enough for afoot to get caught. Or worse... "Don't look down. Let's just do this and watch your feet." Peter almost growled at us. We all leaned out of the elevator to reach the entrance. Keeping our feet as far from the edge as possible, we struggled to grasp our respective doors. Marina was too short and had to stand on her tiptoes to get any leverage. "One. Two. Three-" We pulled at the doors, but nothing happened. Justine swore. We couldn't even get our fingers between the doors this time. "What's sticky?" Marina asked, pulling her hands away from the part she was able to grasp. Bringing her hands back into the elevator lights we could see her fingers were red. "Oh my God. Oh my God!" Marina tried to wipe her hands off on the sides of the elevator, leaving streaks of blood on the steel. When that wasn't getting It off fast enough, she resorted to wiping it on her skirt. "Oh my God," she kept repeating, over and over again with each wipe. "Marina, stop," Justine reached for her. She took a step back from him, retreating to the back of the elevator. Still wiping her hands on her skirt, she looked up at us with a horrified expression. "Was that blood?" she asked, her voice cracking as she attempted to pull herself together. "Don't think about it," I replied. "Just don't go there right now. Let's get out of here first, okay?" Marina gave me a stiff nod and took a deep breath as she steeled herself to try the doors again. She continued wiping her hands on her skirt even as she moved back into position. "Wait," I bent down and took off one of my heels and passed it to Justine. "What are you doing?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at my shoe. "Try using the heel to wedge a gap open for our fingers to fit. You're the tallest," He took it with an approving look and began to work the thin heel between the doors until there was just enough space for us to work with. "Thanks," Justine said, passing me back my shoe. "No problem," I slipped it back on and got back into position. Don't think. "One, two, three..." This time we were able to get the door open a few inches. "One, two, three," another two inches, and my right hand shifted lower on the elevator door. I felt something wet. Don't think. Just pull. We pulled again and again until the doors were open enough for us to squeeze through. I stepped back, a bit out of breath, and wiped my hands on my pants without even looking at them. Instead, my eyes were fixed on the hallway in front of us. From where we stood, we could only see the off-white wall of the hallway a few feet in front of us. The only evidence that something horrible had happened was the pool of blood on the floor by the elevator entrance. The blood streaked across the floor to the left and out of sight. "Who wants to go first?"