28

~ Evan ~

“STOP RIGHT THERE!!” I screamed as I chased the mystery man down the halls and out to the stairwell. I managed to catch up until he managed to slip through the third-floor door. When I tried to open it, it was locked. Red lights flashed throughout the stairs. A lockdown has commenced. We are trapped inside until the system is fixed. The only area to get into is the lobby. Which means he can not get out. Perfect. Anyways, I shouldn’t have run off like that. The girls probably needed me to protect them, but I couldn’t miss the chance to get him.

My heart has ached since my love’s disappearance. I can’t function properly without him. I ran my hands through my hair as I sat on the steps. What should I do? I can’t get in anywhere to capture him, and I can’t get out. I’m fucked. While I was in my thoughts, footsteps crept down the stairs. Shaking in fear, I stood there waiting. “How in the hell are you going to rewire the whole system? It’s not like the building will go back to normal.” Ellie’s voice rang through the stairwell. When I spotted them, I ran to hug my sister, which scared her.

“Evan, don’t do that. Trying to give someone a heart attack?” she pouted, clenching her chest.

“Sorry. Glad that you are okay.”

But her facial expression was far from okay. This was the wrong time to hug her. “So, where are you two heading?” I asked. They were going to the basement to end the lockdown. The person smashed the system into pieces. Luckily she had a backup. I told them the situation, and Kaylee raised her eyebrow out of concern.

She chuckled; there was nothing valuable on that floor. The guy is a sitting duck there. “Everything important is in my basement, locked up tight,” she said. We continued down the stairs, hearing one boom after another. How did this happen? When did this happen?

We made it to the lobby; blue & red lights flashed through the window. People were outside gathering around while some were in. They made eye contact with us, which caused them to scream. Kaylee told them to calm themselves as everything will be alright. We were lucky to have the CEO, who can open doors with keys. People flooded out when she pushed those doors open. That’s when Kevin rushed in.

~ Ellie ~

I saw my boyfriend push his way through the crowd. Once he was in, Kaylee relocked the doors. “Kevin, what are you doing?!?! Go back and get those people away from the building.” I shouted at him.

“My men are backing everyone up. So don’t worry about that. What you should be worrying about is your safety. Why didn’t you go with the others? You must get out of here, or something will happen to you.” He said worryingly. I shook my head in disappointment. I couldn’t leave knowing he was trapped here. I want him taken down.

Kevin was hesitant about my statement but agreed to it. We all kept moving forward. I filled him in on what was going on. Kevin wasn’t too happy and was growing impatient with Brad. Once down there, Kaylee turned everything on.

I dash to the screen to see if he was there. Searching around, we couldn’t find them anywhere. “Evan, are you sure that he went to that floor?” I asked.

“Of course! I wouldn’t lie like this.”

True. We searched again. Nothing. He must be hiding out of camera view. Kaylee turned to Kevin with a favor in mind. He needed to go to the third floor and get him out. Without hesitation, he agreed.

“Hold on, what if he is armed? I can’t—” I said while I was clinging to him.

“If you want him behind bars, you must let me do my job, Ells.” He replies with a kiss. It didn’t take long for him to head out the door. What we do now is sit and wait. While doing that, Kaylee hacked away. She started to rewire the whole central system to get complete control again.

Evan and I sat here patiently as our minds wandered. Suddenly, my eyes connected with something in the back corner. I couldn’t see what it was, so I asked Kaylee and Evan. They both looked around to find nothing. It was too dark in some areas to fully see. Evan then gave me a weird look, like he was questioning my insanity. My mind was playing tricks, that’s all. Why is it doing this now? This is the wrong time. The object moved again, and that’s when I got up. “I swear! I saw something this time.” I stated in a frightening tone.

“There is no way that someone could be down here.” my brother mentioned. If someone can enter the building and floors without proper authorization, they can get down here. My foot began to tap the floor in paranoia.

I asked if we could check on Kevin to take my mind off of things. Kaylee agreed, and she switched on the third-floor cameras. Our eyes couldn’t see him anywhere on these screens until his body was found lying on the floor—bleeding. No. “HEY!!” Kaylee shouted. For some reason, my body couldn’t move even if I told it to. My mind couldn’t process what was happening. What is Brad’s plan?

Kaylee went to help Evan while I went to finish rewiring the building. I couldn’t be of any use if I just stood there. That’s when Kaylee’s name was called out. I turned my head to see her holding her side. When I searched for Evan, he also had the person pinned down with blood dripping. Fuck. The masked guy managed to break Evan’s grip and pushed him to the side. We made eye contact, and I knew I was done for—the person charged with full force toward me. Luckily, the lights came back on, which stopped him in his tracks.

With him distracted, I pressed the intercom button, hoping the police could hear me. I began to yell into the mic about his whereabouts. Furious, he rushed out of the room. With a quick thought, I tried to seize him. But I lost my grip, and a cut went through my arm. The suspect escaped, multiple people were hurt, and a few were killed. This town has gone from okay to worry to panic and lockdown in a matter of days. It became complete chaos.