posted on Oct, 12 2006 @ 04:31 PM
The autumn wind picked up leaves of various colors and sizes, twirling them around
faster and faster, until finally spitting them out to fall loudly against the side of the
old brownstone medical building on Ronson Court, where they would eventually
disappear, until next year. As Jake and Sam made their way to the back of the
building, a light rain began to fall, wetting the outside of their warm jackets with a
layer of beaded water that reflected the streetlight like a prism. It was October the
28th, a saturday night, and three days before Halloween. But it was the only time
they'd be able to pull off this contest without drawing attention to themselves, as
saturday night meant that no guard would be on duty to interfere with their plans.
Jake had teased Sam ( Samantha ) for the last time. Seems it was going to come
down to this no matter what. She always had to show him that she could do anything he could do, only better. He loved her, but her feminist-tomboy-ish
side
drove him up the wall sometimes. Now of course, it had come down to the fear
factor bull# that, even if he had wanted to, he couldn't back out of because he'd
lose his friends' respect as well as hers. They had bragged out loud in front of God
and everyone that they weren't easily scared, and after a few more cold beers the
challenge had emerged from one of their friends, and thus the bets were on. Who
could last the longest without getting scared, Jake or Sam? The contest had been
put together by two former employees of Hilltop Hospital who claimed to have the
perfect location for the festivities. They were given directions to the brownstone
medical warehouse and told to be there at 11:00 P.M., October 28th.
And now they were here.
It began to rain harder as they neared the back door. Tom Sheridan and Kevin
Tooms stepped out of the shadows and greeted them with sissy-like boos and
growls, but to no avail. They were too pissed to be scared. They were pissed at each other and determined to not let anything or anyone keep them from
winning
this contest. Tom and Kevin picked up on this immediately and stopped their lame
attempt to disrupt their concentration, producing a key that opened the basement
door as quietly as could be expected. They all went into the dark hallway and the
heavy metal door was closed and locked again. Tom led Jake and Sam up three
flights of stairs and then down a long hallway to a room at the end. As they passed
other rooms they noticed that although a thick coat of dust rested on everything,
the rooms and building seemed to be completely devoid of any furniture and
equipment. That is, until they got to the room at the end of the hallway.
Entering the room, Jake and Sam saw the lungs. Two of them, one on one side, one on the other. Iron lungs! Old iron lungs. Probably from the 1950's.
Yet they
appeared clean and operational. Tom and Kevin walked over to the lungs and
released a latch that let the top of the lung open vertically. "Here we go guys, let's
get this show on the road," Kevin hollered. "Come on, get in guys, we've got to be
out of here before midnight when the contest starts officially," yelled Tom.
Without further comment Jake went to one lung and Sam to the other, and they
both climbed in. Laying on their backs, they were given a push-button device to
hold and then their hands were duct-taped together. Last minute instuctions were
explained. When the tops to the iron lungs are closed at exactly 11:55 P.M. and
Tom and Kevin leave the premises, the contest begins. The first person in an
iron lung to press the "scared" button loses, and the contest will be over. The
winner will be the one who doesn't press the "scared" button first. Tom and Kevin
will go back down to the basement and monitor the buttons. If Sam's button were
to be pressed, a red light would accompany the buzzing sound. Likewise, if it was
Jake's, a green light would accompany the buzz. The tops were lowered and
latched, effectively sealing in Jake and Sam. Each lung had its own electrical plug
that was plugged into its own electrical outlet. Tom and Kevin re-checked all the
connections and made sure that the iron lungs were in fact pumping air.
Satisfied, they knocked on the exterior of each lung and waved goodbye to the
two contestants, then left the room.
There was very little room to move around inside the lung. And with their hands
taped together, resting on their stomachs, they prepared for a long night, trying
to get as comfortable as possible. A plexiglass window three inches above their
heads let in whatever light it could find, but the darkness was almost total. They
could only hear the pumping of the air inside the lung, as no other sounds existed
anywhere near them. It had begun.
At approximately 1:30 A.M., the storm arrived outside. Rain came down sideways
as the wind blew it against the windows and doors. Thunder and lightning rattled
the neighborhood. But inside the warehouse it was quiet and still. Inside the iron
lungs it was pitch dark, except when the lightning lit up the room from time to time.
When the first lightning had come, both Jake and Sam were startled out of an
early nap, the lightning coming in right through their eyelids! After a while they got
used to it.
Laying there in the dark, Sam had her first experience with claustrophobia. She
never much liked tight, enclosed spaces anyway, but the darkness added a
sinister feeling to it all. She didn't think she was scared of it, just uncomfortable
with it. She took deep breathes, moved around as much as she could, and shut
her eyes every so often. Still, a little panic seeped into the lung with her.
Jake didn't like the dark! He had expected a little bit of light. Especially with the
plexiglass window right in front of his eyes. But he could see nothing. Absolutely
pitch-black nothing! He lifted his head too fast in the dark and it banged against
the glass, causing his eyes to water. At the same time lightning lit up the old
warehouse, catching him unprepared. A shiver went through him initiallly, and then
he began to use the lightning as a reference point and slowly calmed down.
At 2:20 P.M. , both Sam and Jake felt movement. The lungs were moving! In the
dark! Someone was pushing the iron lungs around and around on their wheels.
Someone was in the room with them! Someone knew they were latched shut inside! Jake wondered about Tom and Kevin. Hey?
[edit on 12-10-2006 by SIEGE]
[edit on 12-10-2006 by SIEGE]