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“I’m—I have this… thing with the… I’m afraid… I’m afraid of the…” My voice cracks, and I claw at my throat, feeling my pulse racing under my ice-cold hand.
“Hey, it’s okay.” The guy to my right places an arm around my trembling shoulders, his voice oddly jarring as it settles around me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to panic you.”
“We need to alert them,” I rush out.
“They’ll be coming to find us. The other guy is right,” he soothes me. “And if it’s a fire, then the emergency services will already be on their way.”
Why does he keep saying that?
Can he smell smoke?
My belly churns, and I settle for my own darkness as I close my eyes.
“I can feel you shaking. Try and calm down.”
I can’t calm down.
“My name’s Ben. Now tell me something about you. What do you do for a living?”
“Nothing,” I say in haste. “I don’t do anything.”
“You’re not in college? University?”
I frown and try to concentrate on his question. “Sorry?”
“Are you not at uni?”
“Not anymore. I left.”
“What were you studying?” He turns me in his arms and tries to hug me to his chest.
“Doctor. I wanted to be a doctor.”
“Wow. That’s impressive.”
“Yeah?”
“My brother was a doctor.”
“Hewas?” I ask.
I feel him tense, and my body burns. “He passed away three years back. It was an accident at his work.”
My heart starts to beat uncontrollably as my distressed gasp kills the silence.
“I’m sorry,” I manage. “We need to get out of here.” My voice shakes, making me sound like a child. I cover my mouth with my fingers to hold in the cry that threatens.
I shake out of Ben’s hold and bang on the doors. “Help!”
“Calm down,” he tells me again, stepping up beside me.
My breathing is uncontrolled, and it’s all I can hear.
I’m certain it’s all they can hear too.
“You need to calm down—your breathing is—”
I stumble back, but he quickly grasps my hand in his, linking his fingers with mine in a strong grip. “Hey! It’s okay,” Ben soothes.
