The 11th Floor: Awakening Read Free Page A

want to get involved and put their own life at risk for strangers? He thought it was unfortunate the way the world was heading these days. He hoped that if he ever had the opportunity to help someone, he wouldn’t ignore them.
    As he walked down the hall, door to door, a thought crossed his mind. He stood now at the end of the hall staring right at a fire alarm. Without hesitation, he pulled down on the handle, which he knew would sound the alarm and flush out anyone who may be around. They might be hesitant to help someone, but they sure as hell would want to run and save their own lives.
    Unfortunately, the alarm did not sound with the pull of the handle. He ran back down the hallway to the opposite end and pulled the alarm on that side too. Again, the same dissatisfying outcome of no alarm sounding.
    Luke stood there, trying to think of what to do next, when he felt the ship turn slightly to the right. The realization suddenly occurred to him—someone must be steering the ship.
    “The captain!” he shouted aloud. “I need to get to the bridge.”
    He knew from his limited experience that the bridge was in the forward part of the ship. He was in the wrong section. He ran to the stairs and went back down a few floors to where he had been only a few moments earlier. Not completely sure of how to get exactly where he was heading, he hurried along nonetheless.
    As he passed one particular door, he could hear a woman screaming on the other side. He went back to the door and listened more carefully.
    “Help me! Anyone! Hello?”
    “Hello? Who is in there?” asked Luke.
    “Oh my god!   Someone, whoever you are, let me out of here!” cried the woman.
    Luke opened the door. The woman inside came running out and gave him a huge hug and a few kisses on the cheek. She stood about five foot two, blonde, mid 40s.
    “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’ve been trapped inside that room for hours,” she said. “The door was locked or jammed and I couldn’t get it open. I tried to call someone for help but the phone was dead. How did you get the door open?”
    “I just opened it. No problem.”
    “I swear , I couldn’t get it open.”
    “I believe you. My name’s Luke.”
    “Danielle.”
    “Listen, Danielle, have you seen anyone or heard from anyone else today?”
    “No, I told you, I was trapped in there. The phone was dead.”
    “Okay, well you’re out now. I have to go try to find out what’s going on.”
    “No, don’t leave me alone. I want to go with you.”
    “Sure, okay, but stay close and keep your eyes peeled for someone else.”
    “Anyone in particular?”
    “Nope. I have a feeling we’ll know when we find them.”

Chapter 6
     
    After making the decision to turn the ring over to the captain, Mary Beth and Tom left their stateroom to head down for some breakfast.
    “Do you think there is a reward?” she asked Tom as they were walking down the corridor.
    “Does it matter if there is? We don’t need the money and some poor woman is without her ring.”
    “I know, I was just thinking. Forget I said anything.”
    Tom chuckled.
    As they approached the elevator, there was an odd clicking sound coming from behind them. Mary Beth must not have heard it, as she kept walking, but Tom stopped and looked back for a second. The clicking sound stopped. Realizing that Tom had stopped, she turned and looked back at him.
    “What’s up?” she asked.
    “Hmm, I thought I heard something. Must be my imagination. Never mind.”
    He caught back up to her. A few steps down the hall, the clicking sound came again. This time, it was faster and almost sounded like a bit of tapping.
    This time, both Mary Beth and Tom stopped and looked back. The clicking continued. Around the corner appeared a black dog-like creature. It stopped and looked up from the ground at the two of them. It growled, showing its pointy, jagged teeth. They both stared at the creature. Tom quickly looked back over his shoulder and realized that