Cinematic/L.DH

002

The sudden drop knocked the air straight from Daeun's lungs. Her body lurched as she collided with the cold steel wall of the elevator, her body mangled into an uncomfortable position. Her heart pounding impossibly fast. She grasped onto anything she could find to steady herself, hands slipping onto a cold hard surface.

The flickering lights intensified as they plunged. Her breath, uneven and ragged, her eyes darting to the man who stood beside her, also gripping onto the elevator's handles. His expression mirroring her own— eyes wide with panic, hands clasped against the wall, lips parted in shock.

A sickening jolt shot the elevator back up, making her stomach flip.

"Is this really happening?" She whispered to herself, eyes closing shut with terror.

I guess I really am gonna die

Time blurred. She didn't know how long they had been falling, it felt like an eternity- suspended in a sickening uncertainty, falling deeper into the unknown.

The elevator jolted again, crashing against a wall, creating a deafening screech as the metal collided against an external structure. The elevator swayed, causing both her and the boy to lose balance, throwing them into the wall opposite their previous position, their head smacking into the structure behind them as they slid painfully down the cold metal.

And then, suddenly, the elevator stopped falling, swinging back and forth almost unnoticeably, creaking ever so slightly. The two had no clue how far they had fallen, or what floor they were on. Their head pulsated, aching harshly from their fall, her body reeling from the impact.

The elevator hung in a suffocating silence, the faint creeks of the cables acted as the only indicator of movement. Daeun slumped into the wall, her head still pounding, her breath shallow. She sat still, willing for the room to do the same.

Her ears rang, everything around her sounding muffled, like she was underwater. Daeun couldn't tell if her dizziness was from her fall or the panic inflicted  rushing still coursing through her.

The coldness of the elevator wall pressed against her back, keeping her awake. Eyes closed firmly she prayed that her nausea would end soon. Her body shaking with adrenaline.

The silence of the elevator stretched, thick and heavy. Daeun shifted, trying to ignore the dull ache in her stomach, and the way her stomach twisted and curled from the fall. She glanced slowly towards the guy sitting next to her, unsure whether or not to break the uncomfortable silence. He, similarly, was sat slumped against the wall with his head in his hands trying to gain his own bearings.

"Are you... okay?" She managed. Voice barely above a whisper and shakier then she intended.

He looked up, blinking rapidly as if he was still trying to clear his vision. "I think so." His voice rough and slightly jittery. "Are we.. still falling?" He spoke in a genuine tone, as though he wasn't fully sure of what had happened.

"No" she said shaking her head slightly, as not to reinstate her headache. "We've stopped, I think." Her words escaping as a question rather than a statement.

The two sat for a moment, their breaths starting to steady out. Without thinking Daeun brought her hand up extending it towards the boy, a small gesture, seeking reassurance. He hesitated for a second, then took it, his grasp surprisingly strong despite their situation. Each of them still with one hand grasping the wall behind them.

"I guess we had the same idea." He spoke, managing a slight crooked smile giving her hand a light squeeze. "Holding on for dear life, huh?" He smiled.