Spring Break

episode 18

Your Decision: Emma should pretend to be unconscious, hoping to avoid more of his torture.

Emma let her tired muscles go slack, allowing the brace to be the only thing keeping her on her feet. The corpses around her hung lifelessly, Emma's head falling to the side in the exact manner. Letting her eyes flutter shut, Emma slowed her breathing until it was nearly impossible to spot the subtle tremor of her chest that came with each terrified breath.

Tentative footsteps echoed through the silent room, Emma's hearing building the scene that her eyes failed to see. Eyebrows twitching in thought, there was a subtle shift in the sound. Emma held her breath completely until she could figure out the discrepancy in the one steady pattern.

There was a second set of footsteps. Two people were walking through the room, and with each passing moment they were getting closer. Curiosity itched at Emma's mind, begging her to look. It was like a bug bite a mother would tell you not to scratch. And one would try to obey, but after a while, the itch becomes too much to resist.

"Oh my God Cecile, these are dead bodies! They're dead bodies!" a female voice floated delicately in the stale air to where it penetrated the glass case that contained Emma. "We have to get out of here!" she whined, tears bubbling in her voice.

"You think I don't know that?" the second responded with a trembling fear. "He killed our friends! He's probably going to dress them up like this and shove them in here!"

"Oh God! Don't say that. Please don't say that" the first voice cried frantically, hiccuping as it seemed that the tears were finally setting in.

"It's true Ida." Cecile said darkly, accepting the fact that she would probably never see the light of day. "We don't know the layout of this building. We don't know this man. And we don't know a way out. Basically we're fucked." A sob escaped Ida.

The wheels in Emma's mind began turning, a jittery spasm racing through her muscles. She knew the layout of this place, rather, as well as anyone could. She knew who the man was, and what she could expect. And she knew a way out. She had seen it.

"Oh my God! This girl's still bleeding! He probably just killed her" Ida wailed hopelessly, her voice only floating in the darkness of Emma's sealed eyes. Until they opened.

Ida's piercing scream ripped through the empty room, echoing off of the towering walls. The two girls stumbled backwards from the case, watching with horrified eyes as the corpse came to life. "Help me" Emma panted, wincing at the intensity of the light glaring in her eyes.

Squinting, she made out the one who seemed to be Ida. Her long arms were raised, boney fingers covering her eyes. Straight black hair fell down to her mid back, certain strands stuck to her tear stained face. Emma's attention shifted to Cecile who's darker skin glimmered under the light. Curly brown tendrils framed her heart shaped face, her plump lips pressed together with horror.

"I'm very much alive. Please, just push the glass out of the way. I-I can help you get out of here. I've seen the door" Emma assured, nodding weakly as she waited for the girls to calm down from the initial scare.

Ida's shaking hands slowly lowered back to her sides, running up and down her high-waisted jeans. Her brown eyes were glimmering with tears, her lower lip wobbling. But she took a hesitant step forward, hands outstretched.

"Stop" Cecile ordered in a hushed whisper, pulling her grey sweater tighter around her. "How do you know if we can trust her? I just-I don't want anyone else to die" she breathed, gnawing softly on her lower lip.

"I came here with my friends. One of them's in the case next to me" Emma said darkly, her voice breaking as tears stung her tired eyes. Both of the girl's paled as their eyes darted to the adjacent case where Jeremy smiled, lifelessly. "You can trust me. And you can trust that more people will die if you don't let me help you."