July 31st WSEIJM

A Short Excerpt From...

Savannah WWIII

Amy coughed. Once she started, she could not stop. The pain racked at her ribs, burning inside of her like fire. She cried out unable to stand the unbearable pain that radiated through her, but stopped at her legs. She spit out a metallic tasting liquid that came up with the coughs and started coughing again. The coughing fit died down and she relaxed, letting her head fall to the side. The light that surrounded her came from a fire that sat not five feet away. She could not see the fuel or where it might have come from. Then again her head hurt so bad and her eyes where watering so much that she could barely see the red liquid that seemed to be splattered around her.  She waited, trying to will herself to sit up, but her body screamed not to yet. “Help.” Amy’s voice came out raspy and dry. It hurt to speak. “Help.” Her voice cracked and she tried again. “Help me, please. Is there anyone there?” There was no reply. Amy slowly prepared herself to sit up. One of her hands wouldn’t move. Pain shot through the other when she tried to put weight on it. Amy growled and pulled herself up using her abs. She couldn’t help the tears, it was hard to take the pain, the kind of pain she imagined someone felt when they were shot. All around her she could see nothing but dirt and gravel and chunks of cement that trapped her feet, beyond that was darkness. She looked up and could barely see a pinprick of light hanging there. Twelve. The number popped into her mind, making her head hurt worse. She wondered what twelve had to do with anything then wondered if she had fallen from the pinprick of light. No, she decided, it was too far, she would have died. How did she get there then? Where ever there was? She tried to remember what had happened before she woke up. Where was she? Her head started to work again. 

Carefully, she started to wiggle her feet out from the broken pieces of cement and rock. The boulders tore at her skin, but she kept going wanting only her legs and feet to be free. With a cry, she yanked them out the rest of the way and watched the blood start to ooze down. Luckily, the jeans had protected most of her legs, and she still had shoes. Amy tested her knees and ankles. She gritted her teeth as she moved the right one. Okay, she had her body back, now where was she? She used the rocks to lean against and scoot up to stand straight. Amy limped over towards the fire. It seemed like it was coming through the wall, through a hole, maybe a gas fire, like the ones in science labs, only bigger. She looked up and down the wall and saw a bit of a painted letter hidden underneath a layer of rock dust and soot. With her good hand, she scraped off the film. Underneath, the words SCAB Phoenix, Arizona Elevator Shaft 3 appeared, undamaged by the whole scenario. Now she knew where she was.

“Why am I here? What’s SCAB?” She whispered. She looked down at the floor and realized it was metal, and saw the huge cable in laying in the middle. It didn’t seem long enough to reach the pinprick light, so she assumed the rest was still handing up there somewhere. On the other side of the words, opposite the fire, was a ladder that must have broken off and fallen to land and stay on the other side of the shaft. That wasn’t going to be a way out, so the only way to escape would be to go down.  She scanned the floor, looking for an escape hatch into the elevator cab. She found one, already open, but half blocked off about two feet from where she woke up. Amy put her back to the rock blocking it and shoved. The rock screeched as she pushed it across the metal and out of the way. She sat on the edge of the hole, unable to see down, knowing undoubtedly there were rocks under her and that it would hurt a lot when she landed. Amy put her feet through the hole and let herself fall through. She concentrated on landing on her unwounded ankle and hit the ground with a thud. She cried out, unable to cry quietly anymore and sat on the lumpy, slightly squishy floor. The pain faded away and she realized that the drop hadn’t been as long as she expected, or as rocky. A dreadful stench filled her lungs, making her cough. She reached out, trying to figure out what she had landed on. Her fingers tangled up with something... Hair like. She followed it to where it came from and reached out to touch it. Skin. Amy screamed and jumped away, but only landed or more lumpy, squishy human things. They weren’t things, though, she realized. They were actually humans. She screamed again, trying to find the wall, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to jump back through the hole. Her back hit the a wall and a hallow echoing thud filled the room. She screamed, scared by the wall, then realized what it was, a door. She screamed again, “Let me out. Let me out. Please, let me out!” Amy clawed at the door. “Let me out, let me out!” She cried, “Please.”