Mary's breath got caught in her throat as she watched the door slowly creak open.
"Did you see that?" She gasped.
"Yes...let's check it out." Molly whispered, sounding shocked but trying to act calm.
They both approached the door, Mary's mouth wide open, thousands of possibilities filling her mind. This could be good, bad, or worse. She was shaking and her cheeks felt hot to the touch. Mary looked to Molly, who kept her eyes locked on the door.
A girl of about average height emerged from the door. She strutted towards them and smiled.
"Hello hello!" She waved and picked up the pace towards them both.
"Uh..hi?" Molly spoke, sounding confused at the cheerful and upbeat tone of the girl.
Mary remained glued to where she was standing, thinking about if this girl could be the person who trapped them there. Upon getting closer, she noticed this girl looked to be around Mary's age of 16 or 17. She had shoulder length, light blonde hair that was parted down the side. Her eyes were bloodshot and Mary could see some wrinkles showing in her forehead from the way she was smiling.
"How are you?" The girl came to a halt in front of them and shifted her gaze between the two.
"Good..." Mary trailed off. She looked down and realized that this girl was wearing the same attire as her and Molly.
"Never been better. Love it here." Molly said her in usual condescending tone.
"That's great. I'm so glad you're enjoying it." She smiled widely at them, showing all of the teeth in her mouth. Her smile freaked Mary out and only made her look insane.
"Who are you anyways?" Molly said after a few moments of silence.
"I'm Sylvia. What are your names?" She said innocently.
"Molly. That's what I go by," she answered, not bothering to even present a friendly tone.
"I'm Mary." Mary said, with a slight smile.
"So, Sylvia...how did you get here? Where did you come from?" Molly spoke up.
"Hmm..." Sylvia said with a smile and playfully blew a strand of hair away from her eyes. "I woke up in some grand looking white hallway. There was a white phone to match the walls right next to me. I got off the floor and it was ringing."
"Well, what did they say?" Mary finally sputtered. She let out a quiet sigh after saying it.
"What did who say?" Sylvia raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Like, what did they say on the phone?" Mary tried questioning again.
"Oh. I didn't answer it. It stopped ringing right as I woke up."
Molly signed and ran a hand through her hair. Mary tried to comprehend the fact that there was a real, working phone. They could use it to get help. They could finally get out.
"Well, show us where it is! Let's go!" Mary spoke up, excitedly, and looked back and forth between the two.
"Well it wasn't like a normal phone with buttons. It was hanging on the wall and there wasn't any sort of keypad." Sylvia explained.
"Did it ever ring again?" Molly asked, squinting at Sylvia, looking skeptical.
"No. I waited a little while and whoever it was didn't call back."
"So? They might call back! It could be ringing as we speak. Show us where it is!" Mary persuaded her.
"Fine.." Sylvia exhaled, but her cheerful demeanor didn't falter. She bounced a few steps ahead of them with confidence.
Molly nudged Mary and gave her a look of confusion. Mary returned the same look. It wasn't like she had any answers either.
"So like, how far is it?" Molly finally broke the silence.
"It's just a few rooms down, and into the left hallway. I think I remember where to go." Sylvia answered.
"Also, what was in that room you came from?" Mary asked.
"Oh, it looked like a bedroom. White walls. White beds. There was a carpet placed in the center of the floor."
Mary looked over at Molly, confused at the description Sylvia had given. There were more rooms down this way? Had they accidentally gone in a circle? They couldn't have. There must have been another bedroom.
"How'd you get your name?" Molly asked in a confused but assertive tone.
Sylvia seemed to be thinking, before she finally answered. "It was written on my wrist." She slowed her pace and turned her outstretched wrist to them.
On her wrist, identical to the bold letters Mary had seen, it read "SYLVIA." Mary reached out to touch her wrist and noticed that the letters were a little loopy. Molly examined it and ran her fingers along the text.
"Interesting," was all Mary could think of to say. She watched as Molly glanced at Sylvia and dropped her wrist.
"You don't remember anything either?" Molly looked at Sylvia again with curiosity sparking in her eyes.
"Nope." Sylvia sighed and turned around. "Anyways, I think it's down this bend in the hall."
Mary and Molly continued following her. Mary felt a sense of curiosity arise in her once again.
"How long do you think you've been here?" She quizzed.
"Probably about a week or two." Sylvia sighed. "How about you guys?"
"I think I've been here for only a day." Mary answered. She heard silence for a few moments, and then nudged Molly.
"Oh, right. I think I've been for the same time as her. Probably about a day." Molly said, snapping out of her trance.
Sylvia didn't answer, and only continued walking. She continued to maintain her cheerful strut through the halls, and every so often looked behind her.
"We're just about there!" She exclaimed.
A few feet away from them, Mary spotted the bend in the hallway. She wondered what else would appear before them once they turned, but her thought was rudely interrupted.
"Wait!" Sylvia whispered, holding a finger to her lips. They all came to a stop as she looked around at their surroundings.
"What?" Molly asked.
Sylvia didn't answer. She shifted her eyes back and forth between the floor and the ceiling. Mary followed her gaze, only to start seeing white spots from the glare of the lights above. Her heart started pounding and she felt tense at the silence that had suddenly come upon them. At any moment, she was expecting someone to jump out of no where and scream at them.
That moment never came. Sylvia stopped her gaze and slowly started walking towards Mary and Molly, almost backing them against the wall. Mary looked at Molly and then back to Sylvia a few times, in confusion. Molly gave her the same quizzical look.
"What-what's going on?" Mary turned to look at Sylvia.
Sylvia didn't answer for a moment. She finally spoke up, "We can't let them catch us."
"Can't let who catch us?" Mary raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms in annoyance, knowing that their journey was being delayed.
"You heard her. Don't let the art professors catch us skipping class." Molly bumped her elbow with Mary's, and smiled.
Mary rolled her eyes. Molly never failed to amaze her at cracking jokes in serious situations.
Mary turned back to face Sylvia, who was suddenly holding a knife. It was shiny, and the bright lights reflected off of it. The tip was sharp and it made Mary gasp.
"Where did you get that?!" Molly questioned, in shock.
"Found it in the room I was in earlier. It was in a cabinet." She explained, twisting it around in her fingers.
"Why didn't you tell us? If we had found something...unwelcome...
we could have used it as defense." Mary explained.
"The thing is, you guys are unwelcome. I know you've both trapped me in here. Cut the act, now!" Sylvia yelled, suddenly losing her friendliness from earlier.
Her shouting made Mary's skin crawl, and she held out her hands defensively as she backed closer to the wall. She glanced at Molly, who didn't move, but looked equally as stunned.
"How-how...we never..." Molly was flabbergasted.
"You can stop with the shenanigans. You think I haven't figured it out? You guys kept me trapped in here, and now you think you're all funny trying to blend in! I know you guys are behind this!" Sylvia exclaimed, almost out of breath, waving the knife in front of them.
"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but we are not the ones who have you trapped here. You've got the wrong people." Molly rolled her eyes, suddenly getting her confidence back.
Sylvia inched closer to them and Mary noticed her cracked lips. The lighting from above shone down and casted a shadow around her face, only making her look more intimidating. Her amber eyes shot daggers through Mary.
"We aren't behind this. I promise! We're just as confused as you." Mary tried to explain, stumbling on her words.
"Sure. Act innocent all you want, but it's not going to save you from me taking this entire operation down." Sylvia frowned and glared at them, still pointing the knife between the two.
"This is madness! We didn't even know you were here until today." Molly said in a calm but assertive tone.
Sylvia ignored her. Instead she suddenly attempted drive the knife into Molly's arm, but missed. Molly tackled her and they fell to the floor with a thud. Sylvia managed to get on top of her, and she slapped her across the face. Molly grunted and tried to disarm her by slapping her hand, which to her avail didn't work.
The scene was unfolding right before Mary's eyes, and she ran over to them. She took hold of Sylvia's arm and tried to pull her away. Sylvia continued slapping Molly with her other hand. Mary worked to open her hand so she could retrieve the knife, but Sylvia's grip remained tight.
"Stop!" Sylvia shrieked, turning to Mary and trying to stab her. Mary took a step back while holding her wrist to keep the knife from making contact with her. She attempted to yank the knife from her hand while Molly tried to push Sylvia away.
Molly slapped Sylvia's wrist with a powerful amount of force, and the knife dropped. It hit the floor with a thud. Mary was frozen in her place, but Sylvia reacted quickly and got off of Molly, trying to get the knife. Molly got up and raced her to it.
"Hold her back!" She yelled to Mary, nearly out of breath.
Mary tried to react quickly, stumbling over to Sylvia and pushing her away. Sylvia grabbed her hands and tried to keep her back, but Mary used this to her advantage and instead pushed her against the wall.
Molly picked the knife up and approached them. She wiped the sweat off her forehead. Sylvia panted and raised an eyebrow. Mary continued holding her against the wall, but loosened her grip a little as she turned her attention to Molly.
"One wrong move, and you're done for. I'd prefer that no one gets hurt, but that's up to you. Now show us where the dang phone is." Molly said, pointing the knife at Sylvia.
Sylvia rolled her eyes and pushed Mary off of her. She started walking down the hall again.
"Where are you going?" Molly yelled. Her and Mary jogged after her.
"Showing you where it is." Sylvia said dully.
Molly caught up to her and put a hand on her shoulder, knife still in hand. Mary stayed a few steps behind them. Her heart was pounding and she was still in shock from the interaction with Sylvia. She pushed her hair behind her ears and turned her attention back to Molly and Sylvia ahead of her.
"It's up here." Sylvia informed them in a monotone voice. The way her attitude had quickly transformed from happy and welcoming to mad and threatening surprised Mary.
Molly didn't speak as she continued to guide Sylvia down the hall. Words weren't needed to tell that Molly was furious. Mary tried to be quiet as she observed them.
"Stop. I feel sick." Sylvia stopped in her tracks and put a hand over her mouth. She bent down and started to cough, sending spit flying on to the floor. She laid on the floor and started flailing her legs as the coughing got louder.
Molly looked backed to Mary with her eyes widened. Mary shrugged and stared at Sylvia, frozen. She didn't know what to think of it. Was she about to watch someone die, or was this another trick?
The coughing got more severe and Molly stood over her. She seemed unsure of what to do. Suddenly Sylvia jumped up and tackled Molly to the ground. She got hold of the knife again and stood to her feet. Not missing a beat, she ran to Mary and chased her. Mary felt adrenaline rushing through her and she raced down the way they had came from. The hall was completely silent in that moment, besides the footsteps of Mary and Sylvia's pursuit.