A Treat On A Friday

On a windy Friday evening, the sun just began to sink below the horizon, casting a bright orange color in the sky. I felt
relaxed and happy, as i turned to look at Sandra,standing beside me and cheering along with the crowd for the show that was about to be concluded. The evening had been a pleasant one so far. She was excited, and so was I.

We had visited an amusement park on a remote part of town, and after the rides and snacks we had, we gathered together with many people who came along to listen to the performance of a famous music band performing live.

After the event, it was time to go. I promised Kate, Sandra's roommate that I’ll make sure she was back before it got very late and so I urged Sandra to get ready for us to leave. Before we had gone very far, the organizers of the event, called everyone's attention and announced that they had a special treat for us. They told everyone who was present and had an interest, to form a queue to make the place less rowdy. Sandra pleaded with me to stay just a little longer so we wouldn't miss out on anything. I reluctantly agreed. I just couldn't say no to her.

The queue was already taking shape and there was already a long line formed ahead of us. We fixed ourselves somewhere in between. Sandra stood behind me and we held hands; some other girl in front of me also held on. we started moving.

As we moved, we joked and laughed, anticipating what they had in store for us. At some point, we noticed that people in front had reached a tall building and had begun entering. I guessed that was where we were all headed. The line got shorter toward us and we were close enough to the building to notice two elevators on the ground floor of the building and also that the people were separated evenly into the elevators - one at a time - by a man at the entrance.

Getting closer, I noticed the building looked frail and old like it hadn't been used in a while. It seemed weird that the man at the door just pointed toward the elevator to go into without saying a word; though he had a smile on his face.

Everyone, although being a little nervous, still went in.

We were no longer making jokes or laughing, we just observed as we drew closer, wondering what this was all about. As it got to our turn, i could feel Sandra's grip on my hand tighten. I knew she was very nervous, so I turned to fake a smile, just to reassure her and make her feel better. After-all, it was her idea.

I eventually got into the one on the left, and she got into the other one. I took deep breaths as the elevator moved upwards. A few seconds later, it suddenly stopped. The lights flickered and went off; it became completely dark in there. Then, as if it got broken or something, the elevator aggressively fell downwards as if the ropes were cut. In panic, I screamed uncontrollably as it fell to the ground. I couldn't see a thing. After a brief fall, it smashed heavily on the floor. I lost control and fell.

Blackout.

Later, I opened my eyes, not knowing how long i had been out. I laid on my back, struggling to keep my eyes open. The lights were back on but still flickering. I managed to slowly pick myself up from the ground. There was a sharp pain at the back of my head and I touched it to see if I was bleeding. No blood. Everywhere was blurry and the doors to the elevator were wide open, but I couldn't see clearly what lay beyond.

What happened? was that the treat? where was Sandra? These questions puzzled me as I instinctively searched my pockets for my phone - I couldn't find it. I looked around, it wasn't anywhere close. That was when it hit me, this was no "treat", this was something else. What was it? That was the second question on my mind. The first was - where was Sandra?

I stepped out.