Chapter Eight... Deadly Screams
Sarah's POV
My biggest regret of the night was a selfish one.
I regretted coming to work.
I didn't have to work tonight at all. No checkout staff members had to work when the store was closed. But I had decided to get everything ready, knowing that the minute the doors to the store opened, we'd be slammed with waves of customers in a continuous fashion. And therefore, I wanted to be prepared. But now I regretted even being here in this building!
My life was at stake. All of our lives were.
"I wish I'd stayed home," I whispered.
"What?" Lisa asked, frowning.
"I wish I hadn't come to work tonight," I breathed. "I didn't have to. I chose to. And now I'm wishing I'd chosen not to."
"Selfish," Lisa snorted, rolling her eyes.
"Well, it would have happened if I wasn't here or not," I replied hastily. "And I'm just one more victim for him! So why would I be wishing I was here?!"
"I didn't even wanna work tonight!" Lisa hissed. "I was forced to. And I need the money, so I couldn't turn it down. My son is at home with my mom, and I feel guilty leaving him with her! If I die, she's all he'll have! So don't you tell me you wish you'd chosen against coming in here! That's on you! You chose to!"
"Stop it!" Brian whispered.
"No, B, I won't!" Lisa sneered. "We could all die. All of us! And she's sitting there saying this shit about that she shouldn't have come here tonight! So what?! We could all die, not just her!"
"Stop fighting her," Brian whispered calmly. "He's gonna find us."
"I don't give a shit!" Lisa shouted. "Why are you standing up for her? All because you're in love with her?! Jeez, Brian! This is crap!"
"What?" I gasped.
"Oh, please!" Lisa snorted. "Everybody knows! Just like everybody knows that Nathan's in love with Lily! This place blossoms with frigging romance! Guys get a crush on girls, and they obsess over them! It's like Grey's Anatomy! Everybody's screwing around with each other!"
"Just shut up, Lisa!" I screamed.
Lisa fell silent, and my eyes fell on Brian.
"Is... is she telling the truth?" I asked softly, grabbing his hand.
"Yeah," he answered simply. "I uh... I just didn't know if you felt the same."
"Well, uh... I do," I breathed.
"Oh, eww!" Lisa groaned. "Can't you kiss after we get the hell out of this death trap?!"
"No," Brian and I both said in unison, and our lips met.
Lisa looked away as Brian and I held each other closely. If we both died, or either of us died, we wouldn't get the chance to be together. After a few minutes of kissing, we parted.
"Oh, are you done?" Lisa sighed, crawling out from underneath the checkout.
"Wait, Lis!" Brian hissed. "Where are you going?"
"I am not staying in this building any longer!" she cried, running away.
"Oh, my God," I gasped. "She's gonna die, B!"
"I know," he breathed. "Come on. We can't leave her out here alone."
"Fine," I groaned, following Brian.
We ran across the front of the store, hand in hand. There was no sign of Lisa. We went out through the lunch room, and Lisa stood at the top of the stairs in there which was where the door was to get out. She hastily tried to open the door...
With no success.
"Lisa, come on!" Brian called. "He's locked us in here!"
"No, I have to get out!" she cried, pulling on the door. "I have to get home to my son! I need to get out!"
"Lisa!" I wailed. "Please!"
"NO!" Lisa screamed, tears streaming down her face. "Let me out!"
Lisa pounded on the door, and we both climbed the stairs to where she was. She crumbled to the ground in an emotional mess, looking defeated.
"I need to get home," she whispered rapidly. "I need to get home. I need to get home. I need to get home. I need to get home..."
"We all need to get home," I told her. "But we can't. He's locked us in."
"This sucks," she sniffled. "I miss my son."
"We all miss our loved ones," Brian interjected. "But we just have to keep on fighting for our own lives. It's hard... we never know who's gonna be next."
Suddenly the terrifying creak of the lunch room door filled the silent room. We all turned to see the man we'd been running from. Lisa clung tightly to the door handle, and I moved to have my back facing the door. Brian bravely stood in front of us, the man slowly cornering us further.
"Leave the girls," Brian breathed. "Take me instead."
"I'll take all of you," the man laughed.
"No, please," Lisa gasped. "Leave us alone!"
"No!" the man said sharply, and Brian lunged for him.
The man and Brian both tumbled over the railing and landed flat on the floor. I ran, and Lisa followed reluctantly. Brian managed to hold the man down, and I kept running. I turned to find that Lisa was no longer behind me.
"Lisa!" I shouted. "Lis?"
A terrifying, blood-curdling scream came from the direction of the produce section. I was in the dairy section, and I looked to see the man standing over someone, thrusting a knife into that person. The scream was that of a woman...
"NO!" I screamed, tears filling my eyes. "No!"
"Sarah?!" Brian shouted, running from the back dock doors. "Sar! Run!"
"Brian!" I cried, running to Brian.
Well, that was pretty stupid. The man ran in the direction of both of us, and we had nowhere to go. Brian defensively stood in front of me, and the man lunged the knife at Brian...
First time he missed.
Second time he missed.
But the third time Brian was stabbed with the massive knife. But Brian also managed to stab the man, too.
They both fell to the floor.
"Run, Sarah," Brian coughed through his pain. "Just keep... running..."
"Okay," I breathed.
"Now!" he hissed.
I turned and I ran, following Brian's instructions. I had never been more terrified in my life, my legs feeling like jelly.
Lisa and Brian had been stabbed. Cameron had been stabbed. James had, too. Ella... well, I hadn't seen her in a while. Or Nathan. Lily had been missing all night, and I could bet she was dead, too.
I was sick of fighting for my life already. It was hard... very hard.
But I just kept running...