Downloaded

Chapter Four

I screamed and cried as I struggled to get the handcuffs off. It was pitch black inside the small elevator. And by small, I mean that I had to be kneeling for my head to not bump the ceiling. The handcuffs did not give. In the slow ascent of the elevator, I regretted not listening to Angelica. She was right, I shouldn't have gone on that trip. I knew something smelled fishy as soon as I walked in this building. 

In fact, something smelled fishy since that day at lunch. That day I got the first mysterious text from Juliana. 

The elevator was moving quite slow, but at this point I would expect it to be at like, the top of the building. But it was still moving. This tower must be taller than I thought. Or maybe my perception of movement and time is a little wack. Being trapped in a small elevator in complete darkness can do that to you. 

Suddenly, it clanked to a stop. I saw a tiny sliver of light in the corner of the box as the door slowly slid away. It was blinding. The door kept opening. 

I could see outside of my little box, now. A cage. A prison cell. About the same size as the box. 

I figured if I stayed in the elevator, I could maybe escape. But then I felt something pushing against my back. The wall was pushing me into the cell. I guess I didn't have a choice. I let the wall slide me onto the other piece of cold, gray metal. 

As the elevator door closed behind me, I looked around. There was absolutely nothing in the cage, save for a timer in the corner, reading 3:10:18:25, and counting down in seconds. I wondered what that meant. 

But outside, I could see rows and rows of other cages with other people, also handcuffed just like me. There must have been hundreds of people here, anyone from teenagers to middle-aged people. The cages lined the walls, stretching all the way around the large room and down to the ground, probably about 20 stories out of the 60 total. They were all stacked on top of each other. I figured I was about 12 stories up at this point. I could see, all the way down, the contraptions at the bottom. And there were walkways at intervals of five rows of cells, with officers patrolling on each. 

I was horrified. 

How could these people think to do this? To lock people up in cages for no reason? And how had they gotten away with it for so long? 

Also, why? Why would anyone want this? Probably to rob us, I realized. The people behind this were probably power-hungry beyond basic ethics. 

Angelica and Juliana were probably trapped in here! Maybe that's where they really are! Although that still didn't answer the question of who I was talking to...

I shifted to the front of my cage and scanned across at the rows and rows of trapped people. As far as I could see, they weren't here. Though they could be below me. Or I missed them. I guess I'd have plenty of time to study every cell. 

Then I realized that they wouldn't have been able to text me if they were here. They specifically took my phone. But then, how? 

This wasn't making much sense. I started to feel a little lightheaded from staring out over the long drop down. The officer had also been a little rough with me. I was starting to get a headache. 

I shimmied around until I had curled up into a ball,, facing the blank wall at the back. It wasn't comfortable, but it was the best I could do. I closed my eyes. Maybe things would be more clear when I woke up. Or maybe it would just be a horrible nightmare. 

Or maybe I was lying to myself.