Lockdown

episode 2

Left in the red glow of the exit light, her skin grew cold. Emma turned in a slow circle, finding herself enclosed in shadows that the faint ruby light failed to disperse. Taking a few shaky steps, Emma leaned her back up against the cold metal locker that felt stiff against her trembling body. 

Emma jumped at the loud crinkling sound before a voice broke through the noise, speaking through the overhead sound system. "Staff and students, this is Principle Kent speaking. As of right now, the school is going into a code red lockdown. This is not a drill. Follow the proceeder as practiced, and stay safe. We will try to update you as soon as possible" the staticky voice announced before it cut out, leaving his eery words echoing in her ears. 

Shaking her head in disbelief, her stomach dropped. Emma turned around, running towards her classroom as her heart thumped feverishly in her chest. Skidding to a stop, Emma grabbed the metal handle of her classroom door. Twisting, it wouldn't move. 

"No, no, no, no" Emma whispered to herself as tears of fear began to sting her eyes. She shook the handle rapidly, a loud banging sound filling the silence. Slamming her fist against the wooden door, Emma prayed that someone would let her in. "Please, it's me. I was just in the bathroom. Please let me in" Emma cried, pounding her fist harder and harder. 

Her feverish efforts soon died, leaving her breathless. She slumped forward, letting her burning forehead rest against the cool wood. Each hit against the door became weaker and weaker until her fist fell to her side, a long breath escaping her as she knew that they weren't going to open the door. 

Running her tongue over her lips, Emma straightened up and looked around the empty hallway. Shelter, she knew she had to find shelter. Someone was in this building, someone dangerous. The school had never had a code red lockdown as far as she knew. Hell, nothing bad ever happened in her town. 

Emma looked from classroom to classroom, each door shut and locked. "Fuck" Emma breathed, running her shaky hands through her hair as she found her options dwindling. Her eyes landed on the bathroom door, a shaky breath of relief escaping her.  

All she had to do was run down the hall and lock herself in the bathroom. But as she stared into the darkness that lay between her and the bathroom, she felt herself grow unsure. Her knees trembled, her hands clammy as she ran them up and down her jeans. Someone was roaming the halls, someone bad. They could be lurking behind her, or ahead of her. And she had no way of knowing. 

Looking over her shoulder, Emma only found shadows. She turned forward, closing her eyes as she took a deep breath. "On three" she breathed, nodding as she tried to convince herself that this was the right decision. "One. Two." Emma began to count, bouncing on her feet as she prepared herself to run. "Three" 

Emma's combat boots gripped the ground, propelling her forward. Her muscular legs carried her down the hall, her arms pumping by her side as they helped her move faster. Blonde hair whipped in the wind behind her, brown eyes searching the path in front of her.  The sound of her boots slapping against the floor matched the loud sound of her breathing, each breaking the heavy silence that blanketed the school. 

Every student, every teacher, trapped in a classroom was scared. But they had each other, all trapped together. Emma was on her own. She didn't have a hand to hold, or a shoulder to cry on. She only had herself, and her survival. 

Reaching her destination, Emma took a sharp turn before throwing herself into the bathroom. Backing up, Emma kept her eyes locked on the door that slowly swung shut. Once it did, Emma's skin began to crawl, the majority of the light shut out. 

Grabbing her phone out of her pocket, Emma turned it on. She winced at the intensity of the screen brightness, quickly lowering it before opening the flashlight app. Slowly she raised her phone, illuminating the grimy surroundings of the bathroom. 

Her breathing hitched as she caught a glance of her reflection in the mirror, relief flooding her as she realized that it was a normal reflection. Emma continued to turn, looking at each and every stall. Walking down the row, she pushed open each flimsy door, making sure that she was, in fact, alone. 

Each door released an eery squeal, her body shuddering in response. An immense sense of relief washed over her when she reached the handicapped stall at the end of the row, knowing that there was no one else in the bathroom. She slipped inside the larger stall, locking the door shut behind her. 

Emma pressed herself in the corner, not even phased by how close she was to the toilet. She preferred to be farther away from the door where the possible intruder could appear. So she slid to the ground, curling up against herself as she hoped that this would all pass over soon. 

Running through what the school had taught her, Emma repeated the acronym, A.L.I.C.E., in her head. A, alert. L, lockdown. I, inform. C, counter. E, evacuate. Inform, that was something she could do. 

Ignoring the way her hands shook, Emma held up her phone before typing in her passcode. She opened her messages, clicking on the conversation she last had with Dakota. Typing furiously, she wrote, 'i got locked out of the classroom. trapped in girls bathroom. what's going on?'

Hitting send, Emma held her breath. She watched the blue 'sending' bar at the top of the screen grow and grow, until suddenly, it stopped. Her eyebrows pulled together in alarm, her heart skipping a beat. The phone released a buzz, a little red icon popping up next to the message that had failed to send. 

Despair hit her like a slap in the face, tears of frustration crawling up her throat. "No, no. Come on" Emma whispered, hitting the send button again. The same thing occurred, the message failing to reach her friend. "Fuck" Emma breathed, hitting her head against the wall as her shoulders slumped. Her eyes narrowed on the 'No Service' symbol that rested on the upper left hand corner of her screen, confusion filling her mind as she remembered sending countless texts from this very bathroom. 

A long breath escaped her as she clicked off her phone, slipping it back in her pocket; there was no use wasting battery. Leaning her head back against the cool tile, Emma let her eyes fall shut. She prayed that everyone would be okay, and that no one would be harmed. She prayed that this was all some misunderstanding, and she would be home by two. She prayed that her mom and dad knew that she loved them, just in case. 

As she finished her prayers, a soft sound reached her ears. It was a groan released by the bathroom door that was slowly being pushed open.

Emma's eyes went wide as she held her breath, pressing her hand over her lips which began to tremble. The sound was replaced by the slow slaps of feet against the floor, the rhythm accompanied by the muted sound of the door swinging shut. 

Her heart raced feverishly in her chest, tears of terror stinging her eyes as she realized that there was nowhere left to go. There was nowhere to run, and no one to help her. If whoever was walking outside this stall wanted her dead, she would be. 

So she prayed that they wouldn't find her. 

She bit her tongue, forcing her cries down deep. She listened to the steady thuds off the feet outside, trying to get her eyes to adjust to the darkness that surrounded her. 

Leaning forward, she was able to make out the silhouette of feet between the bottom of the thin door and the ground. Emma's eyes narrowed in confusion, looking at the enormous bare feet which had toes growing in different directions, blisters covering the skin. 

The large feet stopped moving, remaining still in front of her stall. Emma's eyes grew wide, the fear pushing the confusion to the side. Her lungs burned as she continued to hold her breath, her heart threatening to burst through her ribs. 

Seconds felt like eternities, each one crawling by. The feet remained still, the sound of loud, ragged breaths coming from whatever stood on the other side of the door. The breaths sounded obstructed and wet, each inhale seeming full of effort. 

Emma waited with fear gripping her heart, watching the dark shadow that lay under the door. Seconds continued to pass, and Emma began to wonder if they were oblivious to her existence. She began to hope that they would turn around and leave.

But as she quickly learned, hope is a dangerous thing. 

A piercing scream escaped her as, in one violent motion, the door was ripped off of its hinges and thrown to the side.