The Elevator Encounter, Continued....

Kara let out an involuntary yelp when the elevator car went dark. "What just happened?"

"Try to stay calm. Either the generators or emergency barriers went out. I suggest just laying down and closing your eyes."

"You know how you said you were claustrophobic?"

"Yeah."

"I hate the dark. I hate it. Even now I sleep with the light on my iHome turned all the way up. I don't think I can handle this!"

"Kara, listen to me. Close your eyes. Breathe in slowly, and then exhale slowly. Do that a few times, and try to clear your mind. It will help, trust me."

Reluctantly, Kara did as instructed. To her surprise, the exercise had the desired effect. Her heart rate slowed, and her head felt clearer. "Wow."

"See?"

"Thank you," she said softly. He could hear the embarrassment in her voice.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of. It took me a while to deal with my issues."

"Hey! What makes you think I'm ashamed?"

"I can hear it in your voice. I'm not wrong."

"You really are full of yourself, aren't you?"

Drew thought for a moment before answering. "Yes. I am. And so you should be of yourself. It's not arrogance that allows me to be assertive. It's confidence."

Kara couldn't think of a witty comeback. He was right. Her thought process was interrupted though by a cold chill. Now that the emergency power was out as well, the elevator would likely grow colder rapidly. That, combined with the conversation, distracted her just enough to assuage her fear of the dark.

Kara could hear Drew shift and guessed that he had laid down. "Drew, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why did you kiss me?"

"Honestly, for the shock factor. I was on the verge of a panic attack and that was the first thing I thought to do to keep you quiet."

"Yeah, but you couldn't have done something else to shock me besides kissing me."

Drew was suddenly happy to find himself immersed in darkness. Otherwise, Kara would have been able to see the crimson hues of embarrassment wash across his cheeks. That, and his grin. "Well, I guess I just wanted to. To see what would happen. You're very attractive."

Now Kara blushed. "Thank you."

The two of them sat in silence for a while before another shiver crept its way up Kara's spine. Without speaking, she shifted across the elevator's floor until her hand came in contact with Drew's. Silently, she shifted her body next to his, and he promptly covered her with his overcoat. Nestled closely, they drifted to sleep in the darkness. When they awoke, neither had any real notion of how long they had slept until Drew looked at his phone. It had been nearly four hours, making the time nearly nine p.m.

"Drew!" Kara exclaimed as she turned and realized what had happened.  "Look!"

Drew turned to see that the elevator door had opened. The car, however, remained dark. Emergency lighting flickered in spurts down the hall that stretch out from the elevators. Suddenly, they both grew terribly uneasy.

"Do you recognize this floor?" Drew asked.

"No, do you?"

"No."

They both stood silent and still inside the elevator, apprehensively. Something wasn't right. Drew tried to shake the feeling. "Come on. At least if we're stopped on a floor, whichever it is, we can take the stairs and get out of here." Drew took Kara's hand and led her out of the elevator towards the exit sign to their right. Kara screamed when suddenly the elevator doors slid shut behind them.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked, knowing Drew would have no answer.

"Come on, let's get out of here," he instructed. Grabbing her hand and leading her towards the stairs seemed the correct course of action right up until the reach the door, only to find it locked. From inside the stairwell. Aside from being a fire code violation, the locked door confirmed that something was indeed very, very wrong. Drew swung around to scan the hallway during the short burst of illumination. There wasn't another living sole anywhere to be seen.

"Hello?" he called out. There was no response. "Is anyone there?" Nothing.

"Drew, I'm scared." Kara clung to his side and he could feel her shaking. At that moment he wished he was back in the elevator, claustrophobia and all.

"There should be another stairwell at the other end of the hall," he reasoned aloud, not knowing whether or not his assertion was true. Slowly and cautiously he stepped forward, never loosening his hold on Kara's hand. It wasn't like she would have let him go, anyway. They had made it about three-quarters of the way down the hall when they heard the familiar ding of opening elevator doors – Elevator doors that had no business opening.

No less than a half a dozen people started stumbling down the hall in their direction. Drew squinted his eyes to see if he recognized any of the approaching faces. In what glimpses he could glean in the flicker light, he determined that he knew none of them, and that there was something odd about each of them. The veins of their faces were all darkened, giving their cheeks and foreheads the appearance of roadmaps. Their eyes were all yellowed, and blood appeared to trickle from their eyes, noses, and corners of their mouths.

"This isn't happening," Drew whispered aloud.

"Drew, what is it? What's wrong with them?"

"Run. Run!" he whispered loudly. Without hesitation Kara turned and began sprinting down the hall at Drew's side. The six that had emerged from the elevator were moving more rapidly now, though still not faster than a brisk walk.

"Are those zombies? What's wrong with them?" Kara asked.

"I don't know," Drew said dismissively. Like at the other end of the hallway, the stairwell door was locked when they reached it. "Son of a bitch! Down here," he instructed, grabbing her hand once more. Several doors down the hallway was a utility closet. Thankfully the door was unlocked, and Drew thrust Kara inside and quickly followed. Just as he closed the door, he could hear guttural grunts and moans as their followers turned down the hall. Frantically, Drew searched the darkness for something with which to bar the door. Kara, whose eyes had adjusted more quickly than Drew's, simply reached forward and turned the deadbolt to lock themselves in.

Drew smirked. "Nice," he said. The short moment of levity ended abruptly when they heard first the footsteps, and then the grunting, just outside the door. Kara covered her mouth with her hands in a vain attempt to squelch the yelp that escaped from her lips when whatever was on the other side of the door began trying the handle in an effort to gain access. A rank odor drifted in from beneath the door, and Drew could tell that one of them was crouching, breathing and sniffing through the gap at their feet.

"Is this somebody's idea of a joke?" Drew yelled, his claustrophobia getting the better of him. The sound of his voice seemed to enrage those in the hall. The grunting and growling increased in both volume and intensity, as did the pounding and scratching at the door.

"Please tell me this isn't happening," Kara said through her tears.

"I wish I could," Drew replied. The steel door held firm as Drew wrapped his arms around Kara and held her close. "I wish I could."

© J.J. Goodman 2103. All rights reserved.