Screaming
oo3
The door swings open with a creak, the empty building ringing hollowly with the sound. A wall, painted with fading and chipped tan paint, faces the door, the afternoon sun throwing the shadow of a slim girl against its peeling face. The shadow steps to the side, closing the door behind her; the click of the latch making her jump and twist back to the door, pulling the handle and backing away, slumping against the wall with a sigh when the door doesn’t open. Taking a deep breath, she pushes away from the wall and walks into the hallway on the left, searching for a way out, black and gold bracelet on her wrist gleaming in the darkness.
***
Jenn stares at the warehouse, faded lettering above her head disjointedly spelling “H-O--LIS--R RE---RCH DIV-S--N”, electronic lock next to the door blinking erratically, warm sun making the aluminum walls glint and shine in the light. Long brown hair swinging behind her, Jenn walks to the door, pulling a piece of paper from her pocket and punching eight numbers into the electronic keypad. A slight breeze blows from behind her as the door unlocks with a low beep, sliding open an inch. Cautiously, Jenn opens the door further, calling out to the unknown in a low voice, “Hello?”
No one answers.
The soft thump of Jenn’s sneakers as she steps onto the pale concrete floor of the warehouse is answered by nothing; silence prevails in the seemingly empty building. With a casual shrug, Jenn closes the door, wincing at the snap of the lock resonating in the tense silence. Briefly glancing to the left and right to the passages beside the wall, Jenn nods decisively, walking to the right and into the shadows, hand trailing along the wall, searching for a light switch. She will find nothing but more silence between the bare walls of the empty building.
***
Rachel stands on the corner, facing the suspicious looking warehouse, wondering why people were going inside; wondering what was going to happen. She stares at the wrinkled paper in her hand, wrapped around a black and gold bracelet, numbers slightly blurred from the constant folding and unfolding. A flash of color in the corner of her eye, Rachel glances up to see a third woman entering the building, limp, greasy, black hair hanging down her back, baggy black cargo pants being pulled further down by the dull “silver” chains hanging from every loop and buckle.
The woman is staring up at the sign above her head, mouthing the words she suspects were once printed on the building. A curse drops from her lips, and she turns as if to leave, taking 5 determined steps before turning back to the warehouse with a shouted “Fuck!” and reaching into one of her many pockets for a slip of paper. She viciously punches numbers into the keypad, balling her right hand into a fist when the left fails to open the door. A double beep, loud and obnoxious, rings out from the keypad. Finally, the door opens, and with a final curse, the greasy woman steps inside the building, closing the door behind her.
Rachel stares at the thick door, knowing she has to go and enter the building herself, but her shaking limbs refuse to let her walk across the street, her numb and sweaty hands would be unable to press the right buttons. She keeps staring, as a 5th woman walks to the door, prepared to meet her fate.
***
Christina is lost, and she knows it. The twisted passages, with the doors leading to empty rooms labelled with fading signs, the dust lying over the cold cement floors, undisturbed except for the small three-toed footprints of rats. No windows exist to help pierce the dry gloom of the warehouse, and the flickering halogen lights above Christina’s head make more shadows than they dispel.
Christina tenses. A sound from behind her sets her nerves afire. Rats... is all she can think. Backing away from the sound, stumbling and tripping into the next hallway, feeling her way in the poorly lit space, she hurries, kicking up dust in thin clouds. A breath drives the dust up her nose, and she sneezes violently, loudly.
“Hello? Anyone there?” A female voice calls from the source of the sound, and Christina slumps against the wall in relief, relaxing face muscles making her sneeze again. Wiping her nose with the back of her hand, Christina calls out in reply.
“Yeah, over here,”
A young woman walks out of the shadows, short brown hair askew, dirt smudged across the bridge of her nose. She stuck out a hand dusted with grey powder, saying, “Ashley, nice to- well, I suppose it’s not really nice that anyone else is here, but then, I don’t want to be alone anymore, these hallways are driving me-” she stops with a blush. “Sorry, I tend to babble when I’m nervous. I’m Ashley, who are you?”
Christina just stands there, regarding Ashley with a slightly confused look. Remembering herself, she says “Uh- I’m Christina. Any idea what’s going on?”
“Not a clue.” Ashley replies, smiling broadly, white, evenly spaced teeth gleaming even in the low flickering light. “All I know is that some dude called me and told me to go buy some gold and onyx bracelet from this disgustingly cluttered store –the clerk was totally a creep too- anyway, I buy this thing, call him again to tell him I have it, and he sends me to this piece of crap warehouse.”
“And you just did it, no questions asked?” Christina is even more confused by this girl now, with her short, spunky hairstyle and even white teeth; not to mention her overly cheerful personality.
“Well, you know how it is, I had to do what he said, you know... Anyways! Let’s find a way out of here, hey?” Ashley claps her hands briefly, swinging her arms out behind her and brushing the wall with her fingertips.
“Yeah... sounds good to me; let’s go.” Christina pushes away from the wall she began to lean against, and continued walking in the direction she had been taking before she thought she’d heard a rat.
“I was just over there by the way, nothing but more empty rooms. Let’s try that room up ahead?” Ashley points vaguely towards a door to their left, faded lettering on the window illegible.
“Sure...” Christina replies, unenthused at the prospect of exploring more cold, empty rooms.
***
***
Jenn stares at the warehouse, faded lettering above her head disjointedly spelling “H-O--LIS--R RE---RCH DIV-S--N”, electronic lock next to the door blinking erratically, warm sun making the aluminum walls glint and shine in the light. Long brown hair swinging behind her, Jenn walks to the door, pulling a piece of paper from her pocket and punching eight numbers into the electronic keypad. A slight breeze blows from behind her as the door unlocks with a low beep, sliding open an inch. Cautiously, Jenn opens the door further, calling out to the unknown in a low voice, “Hello?”
No one answers.
The soft thump of Jenn’s sneakers as she steps onto the pale concrete floor of the warehouse is answered by nothing; silence prevails in the seemingly empty building. With a casual shrug, Jenn closes the door, wincing at the snap of the lock resonating in the tense silence. Briefly glancing to the left and right to the passages beside the wall, Jenn nods decisively, walking to the right and into the shadows, hand trailing along the wall, searching for a light switch. She will find nothing but more silence between the bare walls of the empty building.
***
Rachel stands on the corner, facing the suspicious looking warehouse, wondering why people were going inside; wondering what was going to happen. She stares at the wrinkled paper in her hand, wrapped around a black and gold bracelet, numbers slightly blurred from the constant folding and unfolding. A flash of color in the corner of her eye, Rachel glances up to see a third woman entering the building, limp, greasy, black hair hanging down her back, baggy black cargo pants being pulled further down by the dull “silver” chains hanging from every loop and buckle.
The woman is staring up at the sign above her head, mouthing the words she suspects were once printed on the building. A curse drops from her lips, and she turns as if to leave, taking 5 determined steps before turning back to the warehouse with a shouted “Fuck!” and reaching into one of her many pockets for a slip of paper. She viciously punches numbers into the keypad, balling her right hand into a fist when the left fails to open the door. A double beep, loud and obnoxious, rings out from the keypad. Finally, the door opens, and with a final curse, the greasy woman steps inside the building, closing the door behind her.
Rachel stares at the thick door, knowing she has to go and enter the building herself, but her shaking limbs refuse to let her walk across the street, her numb and sweaty hands would be unable to press the right buttons. She keeps staring, as a 5th woman walks to the door, prepared to meet her fate.
***
Christina is lost, and she knows it. The twisted passages, with the doors leading to empty rooms labelled with fading signs, the dust lying over the cold cement floors, undisturbed except for the small three-toed footprints of rats. No windows exist to help pierce the dry gloom of the warehouse, and the flickering halogen lights above Christina’s head make more shadows than they dispel.
Christina tenses. A sound from behind her sets her nerves afire. Rats... is all she can think. Backing away from the sound, stumbling and tripping into the next hallway, feeling her way in the poorly lit space, she hurries, kicking up dust in thin clouds. A breath drives the dust up her nose, and she sneezes violently, loudly.
“Hello? Anyone there?” A female voice calls from the source of the sound, and Christina slumps against the wall in relief, relaxing face muscles making her sneeze again. Wiping her nose with the back of her hand, Christina calls out in reply.
“Yeah, over here,”
A young woman walks out of the shadows, short brown hair askew, dirt smudged across the bridge of her nose. She stuck out a hand dusted with grey powder, saying, “Ashley, nice to- well, I suppose it’s not really nice that anyone else is here, but then, I don’t want to be alone anymore, these hallways are driving me-” she stops with a blush. “Sorry, I tend to babble when I’m nervous. I’m Ashley, who are you?”
Christina just stands there, regarding Ashley with a slightly confused look. Remembering herself, she says “Uh- I’m Christina. Any idea what’s going on?”
“Not a clue.” Ashley replies, smiling broadly, white, evenly spaced teeth gleaming even in the low flickering light. “All I know is that some dude called me and told me to go buy some gold and onyx bracelet from this disgustingly cluttered store –the clerk was totally a creep too- anyway, I buy this thing, call him again to tell him I have it, and he sends me to this piece of crap warehouse.”
“And you just did it, no questions asked?” Christina is even more confused by this girl now, with her short, spunky hairstyle and even white teeth; not to mention her overly cheerful personality.
“Well, you know how it is, I had to do what he said, you know... Anyways! Let’s find a way out of here, hey?” Ashley claps her hands briefly, swinging her arms out behind her and brushing the wall with her fingertips.
“Yeah... sounds good to me; let’s go.” Christina pushes away from the wall she began to lean against, and continued walking in the direction she had been taking before she thought she’d heard a rat.
“I was just over there by the way, nothing but more empty rooms. Let’s try that room up ahead?” Ashley points vaguely towards a door to their left, faded lettering on the window illegible.
“Sure...” Christina replies, unenthused at the prospect of exploring more cold, empty rooms.
***
♠ ♠ ♠
The story! SHE LIVES.(My apologies for not updating)