Scream

Hanzo Duvall

"Floor four, room 4512," the lobbyist tells me with a quaint grin.

"I'm sorry, what was the room number?" I inquire. This must be a mistake. Or a sick joke.

"Makai Keanu is in room 4512."

"Oh, thank you," I gratify. The door behind me opens and a woman enters – flushed and pale and clearly nerved. "Mrs Copulas, are you alright?"

She waves me off and smiles. "Yes, I'm alright, Hanzo. Thanks." To the lobbyist, she asks for Makai Keanu.

I go to the vending machine while Mrs Copulas goes for the elevator. I'd rather not be alone in a small space with a frazzled mother. I get a Snickers bar and manage a bite as the elevator closes. Right as it does so, the power goes out. The elevators stop working.

 The front door suddenly becomes populated with men in black cloaks and guns. The lobbyist shrieks and picks up the phone. Something she didn't want to happen must have because she stares at the phone like it's a ghost. She sees me looking. "It doesn't work," she whispers, eyeing the men in cloaks. 

 The announcement from an automated voice plays, and once it ends, there's silence. I can only imagine the chaos in the actual hospital rooms – the life support machines stopping, the heart monitors ceasing. The elevators. 

"Help me with the elevator doors!" I call to the woman. Stumbling and frenzied, she makes her way over. "Open the doors on three," I instruct, bracing myself against the wall to pry the doors open. "One...two...three!" The woman and I grunt as we pull the doors back. 

We discover the power has turned off right as the elevator was between floors. Mrs Copulas can't get out. "Help!" she shrieks. She bends down and her eye is visible in the small space she has to see us. "Can you guys please help?" 

 "There's no way without the power," I explain. "You'll be okay...hold on." I run to the lobby and use a waiting room chair to smash the vending machine glass. Reaching in, I grab chocolate bars and chips and sunflower seeds. Back at the elevator, I slide them in."There you go, Mrs Copulas Hang tight." 

"Hanzo?" she inquires. "Tell Reyna I'm sorry, and that I love her." Her fingers slide a sticky note through the gap and I pluck it from her. 

Hour one. Victim one. 

 "This means nothing," I justify. "If we can't get to you, neither can the killer. You'll be alright." If Reyna loses her mom, I can only imagine the toll it would take. Killing Fredrick, losing Allister, and losing her mom? How much can someone take until they snap?