Chapter 2: Panic Attack
The only thing Ryan Wolfe could do right now was sigh in relief.
He had just got out of his appointment from the doctor concerning about his eye and was told that it was his last check-up.
He couldn't have been happier.
He quickened his pace and hurriedly went inside the elevator and closed the doors with a push of a button before anybody could board with him.
He was glad he was alone. His obsessive-compulsive impulses had been nagging at him for the last hour and a half, and although he had regained a little control, the disorder was still overwhelming. And even without the OCD, he still had other issues to deal with…like his health.
Hospitals always creeped him out, and he was more than willing to leave.
Ever since he was a boy, the damn place always scared him, all those germs, illnesses, sick people, and…germs. Just thinking of them made him shudder.
He always kept a distance between him and everything else that had entered or exited the hospital. Crime scenes—bloody, messy, out-of-this-world crime scenes—THAT he can handle. But, dealing with all those sick people and the possibility of attaining all kinds of diseases and infections—NO, THANK YOU! He'd rather help Alexx out at the autopsy room for a month! HELL! He'd even be willing to volunteer for decomp duty if it comes to that.
'But, no worries,' he said to himself, 'I'll be out of Miami-Dade Teaching Hospital in no time!'
Making himself more gleeful, he added as a joke, 'Providing this elevator doesn't break down on me.'
He giggled at his own silent joke.
Standing in the middle of the elevator for the past couple of seconds now, he began to wonder why it was taking awhile for him to get to the first floor.
He started to get impatient.
At that moment, the elevator made a violent shudder, making him lose his balance. The lights were flickering, and before he could do anything, the shuddering and flickering stopped.
Too bad it didn't ease his sense.
He heard a ding and was expecting the doors to slide open, but nothing happened. He waited, thinking it was just a mere delay.
The elevator took another jolt and started to move again, going down.
"Come on," Ryan said impatiently, looking at the numbers above him. He started to tap his fingers at his sides, frustrated. "Come on."
For the second time, the elevator—which Ryan now considers as a stupid machine—made an abrupt stop at a certain floor and made the dinging sound. And still the steel doors in front of him did not open nor did it move.
"Hello?" Ryan called out, taking two steps and tapping a finger on the cold metal. "Can anybody hear me? Hello?"
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Nobody was answering him and to his annoyance, the doors were still closed!! And his light tapping became noisy pounding when he was beginning to get all panicky.
"Hello?!" he shouted. "Anybody? I think the elevator's broken!!"
Unbeknownst to the young CSI, the doors on the OTHER SIDE of the STUPID MACHINE were wide open and several individuals were about to step in but then heard him talking to himself, pounding. They silently stared at him, watching him hammer away at the innocent opposite doors.
One of them, a young woman, was about to call Ryan's attention when her young male friend stopped her by grabbing her shoulder and placing a finger on his lips making a silent shushing noise accompanied by a shake of his head.
"HEY!!" Ryan continued, still oblivious to the exit BEHIND HIM. "The elevator's jammed! I can't get out!! HELLO?!"
The male gestured for them to leave as he heard a ding. And as they slowly backed away with the doors shutting, he raised a finger and began circling it around his ear, indicating what he thought about the person inside the elevator.
"Psycho."
"What was that?!" Ryan exclaimed, his head twisting from left to right in a swift motion. He saw nothing. "Great…now, I'm hearing voices."
He felt another tremble and, again, the stupid machine moved. He began pacing in circles, feeling a little claustrophobic.
He was being held captive by a faulty elevator!!
"HEY! Somebody!" he yelled, frantic to get out, his voice echoing and his pounding getting louder. "Help! The elevator's broken! The doors won't open! Get me outta here! HELLO?!"
A minute of complete desperation and hopelessness passed and he was getting nowhere.
For the third time, the elevator halted, announcing a ding. Already anxious to get the hell out of the stupid machine and feeling claustrophobia settle in, he clenched his fists harder, hammering and yelling for help at the same time.
"HELP! PLEASE! The doors are stuck! They won't open! I need to get out of here! Somebody!"
As Ryan went on about his desperate plea for help—and getting carried away, I might add—the open doors at the opposite side revealed a gruff looking older man with untidy brown hair and deep vexed eyes with dark circles underneath. He was wearing a wrinkly shirt, a leather jacket, a pair of jeans, an unshaved face and a tired look. He was also carrying a blue black pack and was leaning on a cane for support.
And OH MAN was he not in the mood for idiotic occurrences!
He frowned at the sight before him and couldn't believe his luck.
There was an idiot inside the elevator!!
He rolled his eyes and couldn't believe the young stranger, who kept shouting his lungs out for help, wanting to get out.
He heaved out a sigh proclaiming his utter irritation.
Still the young man didn't hear him.
Finally getting fed up with the stupidity and the fact that the guy was already panting, he called the young psycho's attention as nicely as he can.
"Oh, for the love of—HEY, GENIUS!! Behind you!"
Scared out of his wits, Ryan swiveled and, wide-eyed, saw the stranger that called his attention and who was giving him a look. His face went beet red.
The stranger using the cane limped inside and Ryan hurriedly stepped outside, fully aware that he had just made a complete fool out of himself.
How the hell can he forget that hospital elevators had two entrance and exits?!?!?!?!?
The untidy looking grump jabbed a button using his cane and before the doors closed, he shouted, "Next time you come here, I suggest the Psyche ward upstairs!"
Ryan lowered his head, trying to hide his face as he hurriedly walked out the building, his face as red as a tomato. He had just made an ass out of himself.
"Why do these things happen to me?"
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Little Horatio: Hey, everybody! As usual, I'm hoping you liked the chap! Man, Ryan's got to loosen up! And I know that all of you have figured out who the misanthropic prick that pointed out the exit was! Unfortunately, Ry didn't.
Wait for the next chap! It'll be fun! And reviews will be much appreciated!!