We both ran out of my Chevy without locking the door. I was afraid that one of those things got her but I skid to a halt and my jaw dropped.
All the dead bodies we passed the first time around and back, were now all idly roaming around.
"Are you seeing this?" Ray asked in disbelief, looking just as wide-eyed as I was.
No words came to mind and my mouth ran dry. One of the female patients noticed our presence and turned around to face us.
Her eyes.
They were gone.
Just like the man from before.
Her mouth also looked like it was dislocated out of place, the bottom half of her jaw barely hanging on by the skull. Dark blood pooled out the side of her lip and spilled down her chin.
I pulled myself away from the sight instantly and covered my nose with my shirt as that horrid stench filled the room.
"Look out!", Ray cried.
More turned their attention towards Ray's voice and was beginning to shuffle our way. I took a few steps back to avoid being cornered by them but ended up trampling over Ray who was too paralyzed to move.
We both fell on the bloody tile floor and I quickly shoved him out the way to get back on my feet again. Once I was halfway up, I yanked him up by the sleeve of his jacket. They were getting closer to us, all of their hands reaching out to grab a hold of something.
We ran straight back outside.
"Did you see-"
"Yeah." I said quickly, out of breath.
He ruffled his hands through his hair nervously and his eyes were bloodshot red like he had been crying.
"I-I think I saw someone..." He gulped in some air, "I think he...his stomach was...his guts were just falling out of him. I thought what I saw couldn't be real but the smell...God there's just no way. What do we do now?"
I looked at him as if the answer was obvious. "We get the fuck out of here, away from this bullshit, what else?!"
His features suddenly harden. He wiped his face and shook his head. "No, we can't just do that. Lily's still in there and she needs help."
"Ray, did you not just see what was in there?" I shouted, pointing at the building, "There's more of those freaks walking around just like that guy we ran over earlier. We barely could handle him!"
"We have to at least try something Sasha. Isn't she your friend or something?"
I didn't say anything.
To me, Lily was just my band mate. Yeah we had some good times at our concerts and touring all over Tennessee and late night Denny sprees, but we never hung out outside of the band. Though as the lead singer, I imagine she was super popular who I'm sure has plenty of friends.
But admitting all of that to Rey would only cause a bigger fight between us.
"Look, how do we know if she's even-" I paused abruptly to choose my next words carefully. "What...what happens if we do manage to get in there and then we can't find her? What do you think will happen to us, Ray?"
He turned from me and started heading back towards the entrance. "If you won't go after her then I will." He said sharply, taking a few shaky steps back to the shattered door.
I walked back and waited inside the truck, hoping that he would come to his senses and come running out screaming his head off the minute he went back inside.
Any minute now.
I grew antsy watching him tremble back in carefully and from here I heard him grunt, letting me know that he probably cut himself on the glass during the process.
I banged my head against the top rim of the steering wheel a few times before sighing out loud. "This damn idiot is going to get us both killed..." I groaned and hopped out of the truck, slamming the door shut.
I ended up a good couple of steps behind him and was surprised he didn't look over his shoulder once to see if I was coming. Did he really think I was going to let him come in here alone? That brat couldn't even last a minute by himself.
I crept up to him quietly and then tapped him on the shoulder. He let out a high pitched shriek and I could tell from the look on his face that he almost pissed himself.
"Damn it! What the hell is wrong with you Sasha?!" He hissed and shoved me, his face flushing.
"Hey Einstein, did it ever occur to you that she was up on the ninth floor?" I reminded him. "And you still think you can make it all the way up there with all this chaos?"
He shrugged me off and turned his head towards the elevator. "I was actually thinking we can try and take that up there this time."
There was just no talking him out of it. I shook my head. "All right then. Just try to keep your girly screams to a minimum and don't get caught okay?"
"Shut up, I know."
We shuffled over to the double doors quietly enough. The wanders paid no mind but I was holding my breath the entire way through, counting the seconds until we made it to the elevators.
The doors parted open with an audible ding when Ray pressed the "up" button and we both scurried inside.
"Close the doors now Ray." I whispered, nudging him in the arm nervously.
If a single one cornered us in here we would be fucked with nowhere to run.
He tapped the button for the ninth floor and it lit up.
But nothing happened.
He pressed it again and again repeatedly and I even joined him to make sure he was pushing the right button. I started panicking because some of them were turning their heads towards us.
"Hurry! Hurry up Ray!" I cried, shoving his shoulder.
"I'm trying! But it's not doing anything!" He screamed back, his fingers smashing into the button and then banging his fist against it nonstop.
"Just try hitting all of the buttons then!"
I pushed him aside and ran my entire hand up and down the row of buttons, lighting up each one and yet still, the doors refused to close.
"I don't understand, if it can open up why can't it close?!" Ray panicked and then slammed his palm on the red emergency button. The doors finally reacted and started closing at a snail's pace. A few dead ones were mere inches from the door and my legs practically gave out from under me when the elevator finally sealed shut, separating them from us.
We were safe.
For now.
I didn't realize how tight I was squeezing Ray until he painfully jabbed the pit of my stomach with his elbow. I felt the wind whoosh right out of my lungs and I dropped to my knees gasping for air while clutching my stomach.
"Fucking...prick..." I wheezed.
"I'm sorry, but you were literally strangling me to death." He panted and shoveled around his pocket for his inhaler. After a few spurts, he let out a huge breath of relief and slouched into the reflective wall behind him for support.
"We should have just taken the stairs again." I mumbled and wobbled back up and then gave the buttons another look.
All of them were lit up yet the elevator didn't acknowledge any commands and kept us stalled on the first floor.
I turned to find Ray shooting daggers at me before shaking his head. "Don't try too hard to make this sound like it's all my fault." He scoffed.
"All I'm saying..." I challenged, "is that we wouldn't be STUCK here if you didn't have the bright idea of having us come back in the first place! We should have been back home hours ago, calling the police about this freak show!" And then once all this bullshit was solved and Lily was saved, damn it did I need a good smoke and a long hot bath.
He stared at me blankly before saying with, "Jesus Sasha, one of your friends is in trouble and your response is, "Fuck them"? "Leave them to die" pretty much?"
"Listen here you little brat!" I growled. "I tried to get her to leave Ray, I did!"
I glared down at him and poked my finger into his chest every time I spoke. "But Miss stubborn prissy ass didn't want to! It's her own damn fault for getting her, and now us, in this mess!"
"Wow Sasha! I can't believe you! I knew you're a selfish pig but I at least thought you were better than this." He yelled back and slapped my hand away.
Right as I was about to blow up in his face,a loud banging hit the elevator doors and we both jumped, instantly shutting up and running cowardly to the opposite end.
"We need to find a way out of here, like right now." Ray panicked.
"No shit Sherlock." I shot back.
He gritted his teeth, his face livid.
"Can you not be a bitch for just one minute in your life?!" He snapped. "You don't have to have the last fucking word each time!" "I swear I know you don't like to hear it, but sometimes you really do act just like Dad!"
I had enough of this shit.
We were back in this nightmare because of him. I've saved his ungrateful ass every time and even humored him by coming along in this stupid adventure. And this was the thanks I got?
"Don't you dare fucking say that to me Ray." I threatened as I took a step closer to him.
"Or else what?!" He screamed back and then pushed me roughly so that I stumbled back.
That was it.
My fury blinded me and I grabbed him by the collar, lifting him up a few inches off the ground. I shoved him against the grey wall and pinned him to it.
"Or else you'll get your ass beaten to shreds by me." I snarled.
As I glared at him and watched his face start to tremble, the elevator suddenly jolted forward. I shifted my gaze briefly and then came back to my senses when I saw the reflection of me bullying my brother on the elevator wall.
What am I doing?
I promised myself I would never lay my hands on him. But I was so fucking on edge, I didn't realize what I was doing until it had already happened. I released him instantly and took a step back to give him room.
"I...just...hurry up and find a way out of here already." I whispered and turned away while staring at my hands. I told myself I would be nothing like our father but look at me. I just..we just need to get out of here as soon as possible.
"...Alright. Maybe we just need to think for a minute.." He mumbled quietly and brushed himself off.
There was an awkward silence between us that felt like hours until he finally spoke up.
"Uh...in almost all movies I've seen, where there's people stuck in an elevator, they usually end up trying to escape through a duct hatch that's somewhere on the ceiling right?"
We glanced up and sure enough there was a panel next to one of the lights that was slightly more obvious than the others.
"OK but how are we going to reach it? You're way too short and I'm not that tall."
He looked at me grimly. "Well... maybe I can boost you up on my shoulders?"
After everything that happened today, that statement actually made me laugh out loud. "You?! Lift me up with those scrawny arms?"
Despite the dire situation we were in, I couldn't help but to laugh. And I kept laughing. It felt good to finally express something other than fear or guilt. It was so funny that it even brought a delightful tear to my eye. My brother, who couldn't even lift a feather, thinks he can lift me. Once I gathered myself, I let out one last chuckle and said, "Good one Ray."
He rolled his eyes. "Then maybe I can try hopping on your shoulders and climb up there myself to find a way and call for help."
"That could work, but..."I lingered. I could tell he was getting annoyed by me finding all the flaws in his plans but he was forgetting one thing.
"But?" He asked annoyedly with closed eyes and rubbing his brows.
"Let's say you do get up there and go find help on your own, what would happen if you came across one of those things? You would be defenseless and I won't be able to save your ass this time and then I would be stuck in here and die of starvation or boredom, whichever came first."
"Then I don't know!" He screamed in my face. He stormed off to the corner of the elevator, crouched down on the floor, folded his arms and hid his head between his knees.
I scoffed and slouched against the middle wall trying to look at anything but him. But when I heard him sniffling in our stubborn silence, I softened and dare I say it, felt like a total asshole.
Maybe I was being a hard ass on him when he didn't need it. Not here.
I went and sat down next to him, hesitating before rubbing his back to comfort him. "Hey, everything is going to be alright dude."
"How is it going to be alright?" He choked and refused to bring his head up. "We're screwed! There's no way we can get out of here, Lily might be dead and...and...I'm scared Sasha."
I stayed silent and let him continue.
"Those things want to kill us! What if no one comes to save us in time? What if they get us and.."
I didn't let him finish and tugged him into a comforting side hug. "C'mon man, you can't think like that. Just...trust me when I say that we will find a way out of here."
He started crying harder and I let out a breath while rubbing my dork's head. " Don't worry, I won't let any of them get their hands on you Ray, I promise."
We were quiet for a while and waited for his sniffles to stop. When they eventually did, he wiped his nose, took a small hit from his inhaler, and then let out a huge sigh.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Go for it."
"How are you not afraid of all of this?" He asked.
I thought about it for a moment.
"To be honest, I really don't know. To me, I see them as everyday assholes. Just now they reek of shit and act like they don't have any kind motor skills. Oh wait, that still describes the everyday asshole." I joked.
He let out a half laugh, half cough, and I couldn't help but smile.
"I mean...I guess I'll be honest too, Ray. I am a little afraid. I mean, there's no reason for them to be acting this way and I don't want to die here. But there's one thing that scares me way more than them."
He turned and looked at me with a look of surprise. "Really? What?"
I hesitated before answering because I knew he wouldn't let me live it down once I say it, and if we were in any other place, I would rather drink acid than say it. But if anything were to happen to us, I knew I would regret it for the rest of my life.
"Well...losing you Ray. Even though you're such a butthead sometimes...you've been through a lot with me. We've escaped home together and been through hell these past few years. You're the only family we have now and I wouldn't know what to do if I lost you."
He was quiet for a moment before he said, "Yeah, we have been through a lot huh?"
I nodded. "We have and I'm not ready for it to end here."
He wiped the tears from his face on his jacket sleeve and gave me a weak smile. "Me either. So what should we do to get out of here then?"
An option was playing in my head and looked over at the sealed doors. I could still hear weird low growling from the other side and light clawing of nails against the steel. I swallowed the lump of dread that was forming in my throat.
"...I think we should see if the doors will open back up and let us back out."
His eyes went as wide as dinner plates and his jaw dropped in startled confusion. "Why in the hell would we do that?! They will tear us to pieces the minute it opens!"
"Not if we manage to slip right through them when it does. If we push past them together, we can knock a few of them down and hopefully find a way out of here. But Ray..." He turned his head to me when I paused.
"Yeah?"
"If we make it out of here, we can't save Lily this time." I said sternly.
His face fell slightly and I quickly added, "Not now at least. We need to call the cops, the army, fuck it, the whole damn world needs to know about this crazy shit. Then we can all come back and try to find her, okay?"
He was in deep thought for a moment before he solemnly nodded his head in agreement.
Both of our eyes locked onto the button with the picture of the two white arrows pointing in opposite directions.
I started to reach out towards it but stopped and looked at him worriedly. "Just drop, crawl, dodge and weave as much as possible. Weasel your way on the floor as much as possible until you see an opening."
I patted his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze for support but I was secretly dreading this moment. He had such a toothpick body, asthma, and needed glasses to see above all other things. I silently prayed for my brother to survive.
"Ready?" I asked, my heart suddenly speeding up.
He was shaking but gave me a courageous nod while staring at the doors and preparing himself.
Please, let us make it out of here alive.
I took a quick deep breath before lowering my hand and carefully pushed the button.
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