Page 22 of Marked By Shadows

I call the elevator again, mashing the button with my finger. Nothing happens. “Get a grip,” I tell myself, my voice sounding foreign to my own ears.

I’m still in the lobby. I consider going upstairs to my room, but I don’t know how that’s going to help. That’s when I hear it. The faint sound of rattling in the distance.

But the weird thing is that it’s coming from inside the walls.

What the fuck?

“Hello?” I ask. It feels pointless. I don’t think anyone’s going to hear me. I lean closer to the doors of the elevator and my heart jumps in my chest when I hear banging.

It’s loud.

“Hello?” I ask again, though I’m not quite sure of who or what I’m asking. The sound seems to be coming from below.

I get down on my knees and try to pry the doors open. It’s not possible to do that from where I am, but my breath catches in my throat when the sound gets louder.

It’s her.

She’s screaming for help.

“Alana?” I ask into the doors.

I hear someone walk past me. I hear them stopping. Normally, I would wonder if they’re uploading pictures of me onto the internet, but right now, all I’m concerned about is Alana.

She’s trapped.

I need to help her.

“Alana?” I ask.

There’s a second when there’s only silence and then I hear screaming. It’s definitely her. “Hello? Javi? Is that you?”

“Hi,” I say. “Just hang tight. I’ll come get you, I…”

“I can barely hear you,” Alana screams. “What?”

I inch my face as close as I can to the doors. It’s the first time I notice a sliver of light, but I can’t see more than that. I wonder if I should stick my fingers in there, but it doesn’t seem like a particularly good idea. “I’m calling for help!” I shout into the elevator.

I grab my phone and call emergency services. The phone call is relatively short, it sounds like they’ve already received a few calls and they have someone in the way. I try to call the front desk after that, feeling like an idiot since that never even occurred to me, and a concierge with a practiced voice answers almost immediately.

“Guest services, how can I help you?” they say.

“Someone’s stuck in the elevator,” I reply. “Someone…they need help.”

“I’ll call maintenance right away,” he says. “Do you know where they are?”

“No, I’m not exactly sure,” I say. “I’m in the lobby, and they seem to be…I don’t know, somewhere below me.”

“Okay. Stay where you are, sir. Please don’t do anything. I’ll have someone sent right away.”

I hang up. I’m not going to let this person stop me from helping her.

“Can you try and pry the doors apart a little further?” I ask. “Are you in there alone?”

“Dom’s here, too,” she shouts back. “I can try, but…”

I hear a loud banging sound that sends a shiver down my spine before her voice trails off. I don’t know what’s happening inside the elevator, but I can hear the panic in her voice. That’s all I can hear, since there is a door and a wall in the way, and it’s hard to make out the nuances of her tone. I try to pry the doors open a little further, but they won’t budge. Not from out here.

“Just hang tight, you two. Help is on the way.”

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