Lockdown

episode 8

Felix blinked a few times, waiting for the joking smile to crack through her stoic expression. But dark shadows remained casted on her face, her determined eyes locked on his. "You're serious?" he breathed with narrowed brows. 

Emma rolled her eyes as she softly shook her head. "Obviously. How else would you like to approach this problem? Sit around and wait to be attacked?" she snarked, watching her words wash over Felix and remind him of the fatal situation that loomed over them. 

Softly gnawing his lip, Felix shrugged his shoulders in surrender. "Yeah, I-I guess you're right. But how-where do we even begin with figuring out how to kill a ghost?" Felix questioned, hating the sound of his whiny voice compared to hers that was filled with strength. 

"I'd say the library. You know, full of books and information?" Emma joked, offering a quick upward twitch of her lips to notify Felix of the humor that could've been taken as an insult. Felix tried to smile back, but his lips wobbled before giving into the exhaustion. 

A worried sigh slipped from her lips as she closed the folder, running her hand over its smooth surface. Glancing up at him, her eyes had shed the harsh shield and a vulnerable golden color was left. "I know it's hard. But the library isn't that far. I'll-I can help. We can make it there" Emma promised, reaching out where she placed her hand on his shoulder. 

Felix stared down at the spot where warmth radiated from her hand, his muscles relaxing under the soothing touch. Gazing into her eyes, studying the slight smile on her lips, Felix was filled with her optimism. "Yeah. Okay. I suppose we just have to get to the elevator and then we're pretty much at the library" Felix vocalized, diminishing the enormous task to make it seem more approachable. 

Emma's smile grew at his words, a confident head nod being exchanged. "My thoughts exactly." she breathed before rising to her feet with a small groan. 

A thunderous boom shook the floor beneath them, the red emergency lights flickering for a moment before returning to that eery red glow that filled the school. Muscles tensed, the two remained paralyzed as they waited for more. Nothing but silence came; the kind of silence that made your skin crawl and heart thump. 

Shuddering softly, Emma let out a deep breath that she had been holding. "I guess we should get a move on" she whispered, unsure of why she suddenly felt the need to speak softly. 

Hand extended, Emma waited for Felix to grab on. After a moment, he placed his bloody hand in hers, pressing his good foot into the ground as he inhaled a deep breath. A painful moan slipped from his lips as he pulled himself up, a wince on Emma's face as she helped to raise him from the floor. 

The only thing exchanged between them was a glance. There were no adequate words to describe the feeling of terror that pumped through their veins, no sentence able to capture the feeling of worry that revolved around the other. So instead, there was a glance that told each other everything that they needed to know. 

Felix's arm was slung over her shoulders, Emma's hand gripping his wrist as she anchored him to her. Then the glance broke apart and Emma stepped forward before stepping through the door that was barely hanging onto its hinges. And the two entered the hall. 

Silence settled over the school, revealing a faint sound of dripping accompanied by soft moans released by the old infrastructure of the building. Shadows draped every doorway, every crevice that the ruby glow failed to reach. 

Goosebumps rose on Emma's skin as she surveyed the hallway, spotting abandoned notebooks and shattered display cases that held sports trophies and awards. She wondered when her school had become a battle ground, one that she was on, fighting for her life.