A Dark and Stormy Night

Chapter 9: "More Bizarre By the Minute"

Save the world.

How dumb do I sound?

I push away from John and pull on my backpack. He remains near the wall. There is anguish on his face, like he is fighting something I can't see.

I ignore that and wonder if there are more recordings available.

That black screen played only one video.

Was there more?

I didn't have a chance to find out because suddenly, a pungent odor crept up my nostrils, just as pawing and scratching sounded at the door.

"No way!" John yelled. I see that he has taken the shotgun.

"Let me activate that first with my voice," I rushed over to him, pressed the funny button on the side, and said my name. It then asked me if I wanted to give permission to John. I agreed.

"We're gonna need lots of bullets," he said, eyes wide with fright but more confidence now that he had that giant gun.

"I packed some already. Plus, I don't think these are normal guns. So you should be fine."

The scratching got louder.

"Can they get in here?"

"I don't think so. There was no special lock or knob we used to get in here. I found it by-"

"Accident." We say in unison.

"Oh, God. How do we get out of here?" I pull out my own weapon, the rose-gold revolver, and start pressing on the glowing blue dots along the wall.

I might have pressed something wrong because we were again thrown back into the darkness with nothing but soft blue lights.

John was already pressing on the walls for secret doors and whatnot.

Maybe, how to escape was in the emails?

"John!" I whisper loudly. "I'm going to check and see if there is a map or something in the email. So you just keep looking."

"Ok." He nods and goes back to sweeping his hands across the wall and every corner.

We can't stay here forever.

We just—can't.

"I found something," John comes over to me and takes my gun hand.

"What?"

"Food." He points down at the floor, and there is a black mini refrigerator slowly rising from the hole in the bottom. It was marked, EMPLOYEES in gray lettering.

"I don't feel comfortable eating their food."

"I don't either." He agrees.

The scratching gets louder, and we stare at each other in huge fear. "Do we have a choice, though?"

This night was getting more bizarre by the minute.

John opens the mini-fridge, and we find deli meats, juice, and a few frozen meals we could do without.

"I have snack foods on me, but you can take what you find here and take it home, John."

"We need to find an exit first. I need a sack too to carry this stuff. I'm not running around with food in my hand while those beasts chase me. I'll get eaten for sure, along with the actual food."

I shiver at the thought of him getting eaten. The chilly bumps have returned as I realize we may not make it out alive.

"Alright, keep looking."