Inside 863

Chapter 16 | 3/5/2021

"12 am," Matt said. It was March 5th, the absolute date. Matt, Sam, Woods, Dakota, and I sat in old office chairs in upstairs Red Base warehouse, anticipating the stalker's arrival. Everyone seemed extra tense now, as if the studio would blow up at any moment. But nothing happened. Nothing happened for an entire hour.

"Do we just wait here the whole day?" Sam asked finally.

"I guess so," said Matt. "He could be here any minute." That's what Matt had said an hour ago. I was beginning to get pretty bored. The more time that passed, the damper the tension became, until we decided to crack out a deck of cards.

"Guys?" said Matt as I shuffled the cards, fear filling his voice. "I just got an alert on my phone. In Blue Base." I stopped immediately, a couple of the cards falling loose of the deck and floating to the floor.

"It could just be a bug that triggered the motion sensor," Matt said cautiously, a feeble attempt to calm our nerves.

"Sure," Woods said sarcastically, "what a strange coincidence."

"I can go check it out," said Matt, standing up. "Just to make sure."

"Not alone," said Sam.

"I'm not alone," Matt chuckled, patting his bat.

"I'll come with you," said Sam and Woods in unison. Matt raised his eyebrows at me in question. Could Dakota and I handle whatever might show up while the others were gone? Most likely the stalker was in Blue Base, meaning that Dakota and I should be perfectly safe.

"We got this," I said confidently. "Just radio us if you need help." Woods held up a walkie-talkie.

"Well we can't let Woods hold it," Sam jabbed.

"Fine!" Woods laughed, throwing it to Sam, who caught it.

"Let's go, guys," Matt beckoned. Sam grabbed the camera and the three of them left for Blue Base, leaving me alone with Dakota. I thought back to last time it was just the two of us. His contorted face and writhing body, then his pale skin and lifeless looking form in that cold hospital room....

"You okay?" Dakota asked, concern shining in his now healthy complexion.

"Yeah," I said hesitantly. Why had almost losing Dakota stuck with me so painfully? I thought about it almost every day, every time I saw him. He hit me over the head with a shovel once and somehow I still can't bear the thought of losing him.

I shoved down my confusing emotions. There was no time for that right now. I had to be on the alert.

"Do you have your bat?" I asked Dakota.

"Yep," he said, holding it up so I could see. I gave him a nod of approval. We waited in silence together with only a dim flashlight to save us from total darkness. I flinched when the walkie-talkie buzzed. Then, Matt's voice came through over the white noise. "He stole the vials and locked us in the vault." His voice was a mix of fear and anger. "He's most likely headed your way." Dakota tensed up immediately.

"What do we do?" I said back, holding down the button.

"You won't have time to get out of there without risking running into him. The best decision I see is to hide."

"Okay," I said into the walkie, uneasy. Shouldn't we protect the Apple II? I looked at Dakota, whose shoulders were suddenly hunched and his eyes lit with fear. My doubts were quenched. I knew what I had to do.

"Let's hide back here," I said, walking farther into the corner. We settled behind a couple rows of chairs right as the stalker entered the warehouse. Unable to see him, I listened intently, breath held. The sound of heavy footsteps and breathing traveled up from the floor below. Crash! The sound of something being violently smashed. Over and over the stalker slammed something into something. I had a pretty good guess on what those two somethings were. After what felt like an eternity, the smashing sound ceased, and the heavy footfalls returned. The stalker had to be almost to the door when a very loud ding sounded, the source being my pocket. Who the heck decided to text me at 1 am?! I thought furiously. The footsteps froze, and so did my heart, it seemed.

The footsteps resumed, growing louder and louder as they drew nearer and nearer. I looked to Dakota for a plan, but all I found in his expression was the same panic in my own.

The footsteps reached the top of the staircase. We were cornered like mice. Too late for escape. I grabbed Dakota's bat and leapt to my feet, revealing myself. This was it. I'd stick to the plan I had all along. Protect Dakota.