The Girl in the Elevator (ONC 2022)

10. Thing of Terror

There was the sensation of something cold and slimy on Sam's face. It might have been his own vomit and snot, except for the fact that it was cold. As it was, his face was covered in vile goop which slowly slid down his skin in chunky clumps. It was gross.

But Sam failed to notice, because he was busy staring at the stump of Dr Jenny's neck. Instead of red and pink and blood, all he saw was a clear jelly oozing around sparking wires and bits of steel. There was nothing organic about that stump, and even Sam, in his state of shocked terror, could see that.

He forgot to breathe. Everything around him faded away. His mind packed up its bags and went on vacation without him. Sam remained entirely unaware of his surroundings until something grabbed him and heaved him upwards.

"Come on, man, move!"

Sam found himself dragged across pavement before getting stuffed into the backseat of a car, headfirst. The door shut, hitting his butt with enough force to shove him further in. More doors slammed, the engine revved, and the car catapulted backwards with an angry squeal of the tires.

Sam bounced off the seats, and an involuntary grunt was pushed out of his lungs. He slumped into the narrow space on the floor, his arms pinned against his sides. One of his legs hung up on the back seat. He felt like he was half pretzal, half sardine in a can. 

Like this, he couldn't see anything other than the opposite window and door. The outside world streaked past the window, all glorious cement pillars and yellow lights on concrete walls flashing by. It was disorienting.

 The car jerked to a stop, and Sam smacked his head against the door behind him. He didn't even have time to wince before the driver shifted gears and spun the car around.

Tires screeched, and the car leapt forwards. It accelerated so fast that Sam was pressed against the rear seats by sheer force alone. They hit a bump – Sam's teeth snapped together as he felt the impact right up his spine – but rather than hit the brakes, the driver pinned the gas. 

If they went any faster, they'd probably take off. Sam clutched at the seats as best as he could. He was bounced around so much that hanging onto things became near impossible. If his stomach wasn't already empty, then he would have puked again.

"Left!" A man's voice shouted from the passenger seat.

Sam squinted, for that voice sounded familiar. For a brief moment, his misery lessened. Was it-?

He almost didn't dare to hope.

The car swung left so sharply that two of its wheels briefly lifted off the ground. Something scraped the side of the car, an awful grating of metal against metal. Sam never saw what it was though, for the world outside the window abruptly darkened. Lights bursting out all along the wall. 

Sam thought he caught a glimpse of blue sparks skittering across the ceiling, but that could have just been the stars floating in his vision. He'd knocked his head about enough times. 

"Left again!"

Another sharp turn had Sam gritting his teeth. He'd had enough with this horrible position. If there was anytime to sit properly in a car and wear a seatbelt, this was it! 

As soon as the car leveled out, he struggled to free one arm. A bit more wriggling and huffing, and he managed to pull himself up into a sitting position. From this vantage point, he finally could spot the familiar bulk of a man in the passenger seat.

Sam exclaimed, "Chip!"

The Chip Commando glanced back at Sam, eyes flashing, and snapped, "Stay down!"