Nobody answered.
Thirteen: Dawn
“Listen,” Amber whispered to her right.
“All I can hear is the music,” Alan said.
The song reached a quiet interlude while the drummer tapped out a beat before the music crashed back in.
“Was that a siren?” Ricky whispered.
“I think so,” Amber said. “I think help is coming.”
“I have an idea,” Liz said. “Which one of us is facing the door?”
They all had their eyes shut. Liz had kept hers closed even when they nearly spilled off the table. She was completely disoriented.
“I think I am,” Alan said. “What’s your idea?”
“One of us covers your eyes with our hands. You open your eyes, we let you see for a moment, and then we cover them again.”
“It only took a second for him to be mesmerized last time,” Ricky said. “What if they convince him to come to them?”
“Only for a moment,” Liz said. “We can hold him back until he gets control again, right?”
“What’s the point of that?” Amber asked.
Liz grunted in frustration and then replied with an angry whisper. “The point is that I want to know what’s happening. I want to know if we have a clear path to get out of here.”
“We’re almost there,” Alan said. “Just hold on. Ricky said he hears a siren. Just hold on.”
“What was that noise?” Ricky asked.
“What noise?” Alan asked.
They all listened, but the sound of the music was drowning out any noise from outside their circle.
“Honey, turn off the music for second,” Alan said.
With her eyes shut, Liz found the volume button. The music faded out and then was gone. Something in the room was moving—sliding across the floor.
“Is anyone in here?” a voice called.
“Oh, thank god,” Liz whispered with an exhale. “Yes! We’re over here!”
“Where are you?” the voice yelled.
Amber turned her head towards the sound.
Liz pointed her flashlight upwards and clicked it on and off.
“We’re here,” she yelled.
“Wait,” Amber said.
Liz ignored her. “Alan, shine this flashlight towards the door.”
She handed it over her shoulder. When he took it, Alan pointed it at his own closed eyes, saw the red glow, then flipped it around to wave it in the direction where he thought the door was located.
In the distance, something banged and then table legs screeched as one of the tables was pushed across the floor.
“We see you,” the voice called.
“Wait,” Amber said again. “How do we know that’s not them?”
“You could be right,” Ricky said.
“Come to us,” the voice called. “Come to the door.”
“They wouldn’t ask us to do that,” Amber whispered.
“You’re right,” Ricky said. “They would tell us not to move and then they would come see if we were injured.”
“Then let Alan look,” Liz said. “He’ll open his eyes and I’ll cover them immediately so he can tell what he saw.”
“No,” Amber said. “It’s too risky. We keep our eyes shut and we wait.”
“I’m not going to wait,” Liz said. “We’re getting out of here.”
They felt her turning around and whispering instructions to her husband. “I’ll put my hands over your eyes. Open your eyes and I’ll lift my hands for a second and then put them back, okay? Then you’ll tell us what you saw.”
“I understand,” Alan said.
“No, Liz,” Ricky said, talking over her. “Amber is right. Let’s wait.”
“This could be our chance,” Liz said.
“That doesn’t even…” Amber started to say.
She was cut off by Liz counting down to Alan.
The moment she was done counting and lifted her hands, he said, “I see their lights! I see them.”
She covered his eyes once more.
“Tell us, Alan. Exactly what did you see?”
“Lights,” he repeated. “I saw the lights.”
“Flashlights?” Ricky asked.
“Flash… Yeah, flashlights,” Alan said after some hesitation.
“Not good enough,” Amber said. She yelled, “Come to us. If you’re for real, you come to us. We need help here. Watch out for all the rice on the floor.”
“You’re being crazy,” Liz said. “Tell her, Alan.”
“Just everyone keep their eyes shut until we’re all convinced, okay?” Amber whispered. “It’s not fair to gamble our safety unless we all agree. For a moment, we thought the person knocking at the door was Ricky, remember? It’s a good thing we didn’t invite him in.”
“What?” Ricky asked.
“Alan?” Liz asked. “What’s your vote?”
“I…” Alan’s voice drifted off. “Actually, I’m not sure.”
“See?” Amber said.
“I vote we wait,” Ricky said.
Liz sighed.
The voice called again. “If you folks aren’t coming, we’ll have to move on to help some others.”
“Makes no sense,” Ricky whispered.
“Wait!” Liz yelled. “Please help us. We’re injured and we’re in danger.”
“Hold tight,” the voice yelled back.
They listened to the sound of more tables screeching. There was discussion in the distance and Ricky thought he heard the chirp of an emergency radio.
When the sounds got closer, they heard a voice say, “Watch out—there’s debris all over the floor.”
Amber saw the red glow as a light flashed across her closed eyes.
“Which one of you is injured?” the voice asked.
Amber opened her eyes.
# # #
Amber was facing the windows and the first thing she saw was the purple glow coming from outside. She had to blink a few times before she understood what it meant. On the other side of the hills, the sun was starting to come up. They had almost made it.
“Are you injured, miss?” a young woman asked. Her heavy coat had reflective stripes. She touched Amber’s arm with a gloved hand.
Amber didn’t reply quick enough—the young woman was already waving someone over.
“Just stay right here and we’ll get you checked out, just in case.”
Amber nodded numbly. It was safe in the center of the table, surrounded by a floor littered with rice. There was no good reason to move yet. The sky was getting brighter and brighter outside. Soon, it would be safe.
Amber looked around to Liz, who was having a conversation with one of their rescuers. Liz was arguing that she could walk on her own and admitting that she had overstated the idea that one of them was injured. Amber almost wanted to apologize—Liz
