Chapter Five
He boarded the elevator and pushed "1F". Nothing happened. He pushed "2F" and it moved. When the elevator stopped, a key fell from the ceiling. It was labeled "Counselor".
"Fine, I'll check it out!" said Indy sarcastically.
When he entered the office, blood was seeping out from underneath the principal's office door. Indy quickly retreated to the counselor's office, locking it behind him. As he searched the room, He found an Ampoule, which is a morphine-like drug used to relieve pain thus restoring stamina. It also seems to have an energy drink "kick" effect Indy read about somewhere, sometime long forgotten. He also knew that the production of Ampoules ceased in 1956, with the invention of non-addictive medicine.
A quick search of the desk revealed another Ampoule. In the bottom right drawer of the desk, amongst a barrage of paperwork was the same warning Julie had given him written in red ink on age-browned paper that had the school crest in the upper left corner:
"First floor middle and end halls:
Remodeling in progress.
Do not enter."
"I gotta see this!" Indy exclaimed, not noting the print date of August 7th 1954 as he folded the note and put it in his inner jacket pocket.
Indy exited the office and headed for the elevator. He was about five feet away from it when it started to open. He raised the Webley, and aimed, ready to shoot. A ghost, or what appeared to be a ghost, exited the elevator and walked toward a wall that should've been the stairs to first floor. Its image was Julie. This was the first time Indy realized that there was a wall there.
After the ghost disappeared, Indy boarded the elevator. He was about to push "1F" when "4F" lit up.
"Damn! No!" he yelled as he frantically pushed the cancel key. It didn't matter how many times Indy hit the cancel key or "1F" the elevator wouldn't respond.
"What the hell is going on here" he muttered in defeat.
Indy switched off his light so the "horrible creature" wouldn't see him. As the elevator opened, the white noise was faint. Indy figured the creature, what ever it was, was at the other end of the hall. It was tough to see with out the light, but there was just enough light to discern what was around him. The stairway down being grated off was a sight that Indy was not surprised to see. Mr. Flagstad's math room and Mrs. Erickson's computer lab were the closest rooms of retreat.
Indy quietly tiptoed up to Mr. Flagstad's door and turned on the light and shone it through the window. No floor and jammed. He then silently moved across the hall to Mrs. Erickson's lab. Yes there was a floor and yes it was unlocked. Pleased, Indy retreated to the room and locked the door behind him.
As he panned the room with the flashlight, he saw a fabric strap of some sort on one of the computer tables towards the back of the room. Indy was happy with what he found; it was old, but it was better than the Webley in terms of firepower. It was a World War II era MP-40 submachine gun. Though it was loaded with a full clip; 32 shots; they would go fast in a fully-automatic weapon.
"This oughta even up the odds!" he said loudly and triumphantly.
Indy toyed with the gun a moment, getting used to the aiming and familiarizing himself with the reloading and safety techniques. A search of Erickson's private office provided Indy with seven clips-worth of ammunition in an old-fashioned metal ammo box from the same era. Since there were only five empty clips available, He loaded these five and retrieved a Ziploc bag from his lunch sandwich in his satchel and put the 64 remaining shots in it and put the clips and bag into his satchel. Indy saw there was no sense in searching the computer lab next door- there was no floor to be seen. Only darkness...
Indy exited the computer lab into the hallway with the light still on. The white noise was so loud Indy swore he was deaf. He looked to his right to see a gargantuan ape-like monster standing in the hallway not facing him. It was as though the monster was guarding the elevator. Nevertheless, it was blocking his route to the elevator. Indy raised the MP-40 warily and railed off 16 shots into the monster's spine. The monster roared up in pain and turned to face him. Dumbfounded and scared, Indy finished off the clip into the monster's heart area. The monster fell to the floor, shaking it. Relieved that this killed the monster, Indy still heard faint white noise. He turned around and saw another ape at the end of the hall. He quickly reloaded the SMG and railed 10 into the spine area of the monster. At this point, the ape turned around and began charging at him. Indy tried to aim for the head as much as possible and finished the clip. The monster slammed down to the floor and skidded to a stop three feet from Indy's stance.
Satisfied that the white noise was gone and glad to be alive, he decided to check all the rooms. All but the bathrooms had no floor. First, he entered the men's room and found nothing. Then he checked the women's room and found nothing but broken glass scattered about that Indy thought to be a broken Ampoule. Seeing that all that could be done on this floor was done, He headed for the elevator.
When Indy turned the key, the door opened about half way and the light inside went out. He strafed sideways through the opening and stood for a moment, then started to stomp around to find the weak point in the floor. His plan was to break though and rappel down to second floor and summon the elevator from there, but how? His bullwhip was at home in his dresser. This did not cross Indy's mind right away. Just then, the flooring broke loose, and Indy fell through the hole. He caught the edge of the broken floor as planned, but when Indy grabbed for his whip, it simply was not there. As he grabbed frantically for the whip, the elevator door slammed shut and the electricity was on once again. An invisible hand pushed "1F" and the elevator cooperated. The floor Indy was hanging by started to crack under the weight of his body. As he heard this, he scrambled back into the elevator and away from the hole.