HOME | DD

Description

Trip to the Beach.

By FOXCARROTS

Part Four

“The Unfinished Floor.”

         Emily was exhausted. The events of the past few hours were something she could not even begin to compartmentalize. It had started out as a great day, a trip to the beach and time spent with family and friends. However, it seemed they were doomed at every turn.

    They misplaced their shoes and got lost on the way home. Their van got stuck in the mud and it turned out someone had rigged the pedals with unbreakable glue. Emily’s mother was stuck to the pedals with both feet, and nothing could break the glue. As far as they could figure it was some kind of industrial glue and pretty much permanent. Since they could not free her or the car, they were forced to leave her behind to find help.

    The thought of her mother in the van, hopelessly glued in place with no one to help her, filled her with dread. She had to find help, she had to go back.

    However, that was just the beginning of the nightmare of the day.

    Emily’s sisters’ friend Erika was along for this hellscape of a day and while she was walking through a clearing she fell into a sinkhole. Though she was only held to just above her knees she could not be pulled out. She was locked in like she was a tree rooted in place. Emily and her sister Jenny fought to free her, but it proved no use and like their mother they were forced to leave her behind.

    The image of Erika stuck there alone and helpless in the middle of the clearing was a dreadful image that was locked in Emily’s mind.

    Emily and Jenny had thought they had found salvation when they came across a freshly tarred road. They thought that they could find help beyond and attempted to cross it. Jenny, the always stronger sister put Emily on her back and started across. Just before the other side the tar locked Jenny’s soles to the spot and nothing either girl could do would free them. As with her mother and Erika, Emily was again forced to leave someone behind.

    Emily struggled not to think of Jenny, stuck standing there unable to move either of her feet, even an inch. The thought was too much to bear, and she didn’t have enough strength left to bear it.

    Emily could only force herself to focus on what was ahead. There was a house, and its lights were on. If she could just get there and to a phone, she could call for help. She could get paramedics and police to come and find the other three. They would know how to free them, and this would all become a bad memory.

    The house was further than it looked and by the time Emily reached it her feet were aching and her calves burned. She had never walked like she had done that day and she most certainly had not done it barefoot.

    The house was rather large, and the lights all seemed to be from the second floor. Emily climbed the front steps, her weary soles momentarily thankful to be on something smooth and solid. She knocked on the door but there was no reaction in the house. She banged on it again and again, but no one answered and there were no more lights or sounds from within.

    It seemed to be the only house for miles and Emily could not abide by failure. She had no energy to find another, and she could not leave the others to stay stuck any longer than she had to. She tried the door and of course found it locked. She thought maybe if she went around the house, she could find an open door or window and get inside. She would explain the situation to the people there and if there was no one inside she would simply search for a phone.

    The idea of warm soft floors under her feet spurred her on as she circled the house in search of any sign of salvation. The windows were all too high to reach or not the kind that could be opened from the outside. However, just as she was about to lose hope, she found something. There was a sliding glass door in the back foundation area of the house and the door was open. She headed for it in earnest, desperate for help and what could be inside.

    She pushed open the sliding door wide enough to go in and began to head inside. The light was dim, but she didn’t let that stop her. She couldn’t see any obstacles in front of her, just an empty basement room with a cement floor. She got three steps into the room before she realized that something was wrong…very wrong.

    The cement floor should have been solid, it should have been dry, but it was neither. It was soft and wet, and her feet sunk in as she went. It was only a little at first but after the fourth and fifth step the wet cement was enveloping the sides of her feet and clinging to her heels. It was thick and heavy and flowed around her slender toes and coated her feet even after she lifted them up.

    Emily for a moment considered going back but she’d just be trapped on the other side of the door and would leave her right back where she started. She could not afford to go looking for another house and since she could still move, she decided that it was worth it to go on. She had to reach the stairs she could now see ahead of her and get help. She could not allow the wet cement to stop her. She figured she had time and as long as her feet were pulled out of the movement before it hardened.

    That was when she saw it, the symbol of her salvation. On the wall ahead of her was a phone, mounted to the wall, ready for her to reach out and take it. It was several feet from the stairs and Emily had to decide whether to go for it or the stairs. Movement was not easy, but the cement still felt really wet. She nodded and decided to go for the phone, she would call the police and tell them to come to the source of the call and she could wait for them out front.

    Emily felt her legs fill with the last bit of her energy, spurred on by the hope that the ordeal might soon be over. She trudged, shuffling through the cement that was now to her ankles.

    Soon she reached the phone and took a deep breath before she snatched it out of the cradle. She had at first thought that she would grab the receiver and take it to the stairs, but the cord was brutally short. She had to stand next to it if she was going to use it.

    She put it to her ear and dialed on the cradle. She called emergency but nothing happened. She clicked to hang up the phone and tried again, but there was no dial tone, nothing. The phone line was not connected, and the phone would do nothing to help her.

    “The stairs!” Emily decided as she hung up the useless phone. But when she went to turn and move there was no response. She tried again, shifting from one foot from the other but there was not one ounce of shift.

    Emily’s eyes went wide as she looked down. While she was messing with the phone the seemingly quick dry cement had set on her ankles and would not allow any more budge at all. The cement was dry, and she was hopelessly stuck.

    Emily tested the range of movement her new trap provided, or lack thereof. The cement was just above her ankles and locked her legs in the position they were in when the cement set. She could not move, and she could not even shift. She tried to crouch but discovered that her legs needed to lean back to do so and couldn’t. After a few more tries she bent at the knees and her ass hit the solid cement behind her. She could either stand straight up or sit, there was no in between.

    Despite knowing how ridged and solid cement was, she struggled against her bonds. Maybe there was still part of it that was wet, and she might break free yet. However, there was nothing, it was as solid as any cement she had ever walked across, the only difference was this time her feet were in it and not on it. Luckily the type of cement had not contracted to crush her feet. In fact, despite being encased in a seemingly unbreakable shell they were completely fine. She could not flex the muscles of her feet and each toe was locked precisely in place. She could feel every inch of her feet and ankles, but nothing could move, not even one toe could squirm.

    Emily screamed in frustration and fear, tugging at her legs with all she had. She had no way to free herself and she couldn’t even move enough to hurt herself. Her feet and ankles were all but gone, preserved in the unbreakable cement where she would never see them again.

    Emily’s despair was interrupted suddenly as the phone rang. The phone, seemingly disconnected before, was ringing loud and clear. Had she made a mistake? Had she missed something? She had to get up and pick up the receiver. The phone might only be able to accept incoming calls, either way her only chance was to get to the phone.

    Emily discovered an issue, however. Falling from a standing position to sitting whole stuck in cement had proven easy, the opposite was much more of a challenge. She had no movement to build up, her feet and ankles were locked in a ridged position and could offer no help. Her butt and the rest of her were lifted by only her calves and thighs and they were not strong enough to complete the action. She struggled again and again to stand but only succeeded on bouncing her ass up and down off the cement floor.

    The phone continued to ring as if mocking Emily. She struggled and strained, reaching up toward the phone that rested on the wall, far from her reach. She had no way of knowing when the ringing would end, when it would be too late. Maybe this was her only chance to get help, maybe it would never ring or work again. She HAD to get back on her feet and get to it.

    She put her hands on the ground, splaying her fingers out to get as much surface as they could. She focused on the muscles in her legs and body. She would have them all work together to spring up and it would be a pure work of momentum and force. She took a deep breath and sprung to life, forcing herself up with all she had. This was the last of her strength, and she knew that she could call on no more. She screamed out in frustration and slowly but surely managed to get to her feet. Though she was most decidedly still stuck, she was back on her feet.

    She took only a brief second to compose herself and snatched the receiver off of the cradle.

    “Help me I’m stuck!” Emily nearly shouted. “My feet are cemented in the basement, and I need help. My family is trapped to…we all need help.”

    “We know.” The unfamiliar voice answered over the line. Their voice was calm and emotionless. There was not one hint of empathy in the voice. "We have gone to great lengths to trap you. We are most impressed that each one of you became trapped just as intended.”

    “You did this to us?” Emily asked in shock. “Why?”

    “Each one of you has done something that has contributed to the misery of another.” The voice explained. “Though seemingly simple and innocent a choice each of you has made has led to something ruined. This is not revenge, it is not punishment, this is just the universe being balance.”

    “What did we do?” Emily pleaded. “I can’t think of anything so bad that we deserve to become hopelessly stuck and alone!”

    “The fact you cannot even think of it adds to it I suppose.” The voice continued. “But as I said this is not revenge. We just work in balance and in order to restore it the four of you must stay where you are.”

    “Will you ever let us out?” Emily asked desperately. “Is there any hope for us.”

    “Perhaps.” The voice answered simply. “We went to a lot of trouble to set your traps and get you in them. There are chemicals mixed with each of your restraints that not only will ensure you will not escape but make it nearly impossible to free you. You might be found; you might have rescuers attempt to save you. But that will be left to the universe. Enjoy your solitude.”

    The phone clicked off, there was no dial tone, no other sound, simply nothing. Emily tried the buttons to get the phone to respond but there was nothing. The only communication was the mysterious voice on the other end of the line, and they made it clear the communication was over. Emily ripped at the receiver and pulled the cord off of the cradle. The act of frustration toppled her and as she could not change her stance she fell backwards and landed on her ass once again. She knew she didn’t have it in her to get up again but there really as no reason to.

    She took the receiver and began to smash it at the cement surrounding her feet, again and again she hit it and the solid cement didn’t even receive a scratch. The plastic of the phone cracked and broke more and more as she swung. She hit the cement again and again until she was holding only a broken nub of plastic. Her only tool to escape was now useless and the cement was not even damaged.

    She had been the last hope for the others to be free and rescued but now she was probably the most stuck of any of them. She began to cry as she turned and looked out the glass door, she had come in through. Her only hope was that one of the others might get free and come for her…but there was not much hope of that at all. In fact, hope was something that seemed to be completely gone and there was no reason to hold out for it.

    Emily began to scream, knowing all too well that nobody was close enough to hear it.

-

Description

Trip to the Beach.

By FOXCARROTS

Part Four

“The Unfinished Floor.”

         Emily was exhausted. The events of the past few hours were something she could not even begin to compartmentalize. It had started out as a great day, a trip to the beach and time spent with family and friends. However, it seemed they were doomed at every turn.

    They misplaced their shoes and got lost on the way home. Their van got stuck in the mud and it turned out someone had rigged the pedals with unbreakable glue. Emily’s mother was stuck to the pedals with both feet, and nothing could break the glue. As far as they could figure it was some kind of industrial glue and pretty much permanent. Since they could not free her or the car, they were forced to leave her behind to find help.

    The thought of her mother in the van, hopelessly glued in place with no one to help her, filled her with dread. She had to find help, she had to go back.

    However, that was just the beginning of the nightmare of the day.

    Emily’s sisters’ friend Erika was along for this hellscape of a day and while she was walking through a clearing she fell into a sinkhole. Though she was only held to just above her knees she could not be pulled out. She was locked in like she was a tree rooted in place. Emily and her sister Jenny fought to free her, but it proved no use and like their mother they were forced to leave her behind.

    The image of Erika stuck there alone and helpless in the middle of the clearing was a dreadful image that was locked in Emily’s mind.

    Emily and Jenny had thought they had found salvation when they came across a freshly tarred road. They thought that they could find help beyond and attempted to cross it. Jenny, the always stronger sister put Emily on her back and started across. Just before the other side the tar locked Jenny’s soles to the spot and nothing either girl could do would free them. As with her mother and Erika, Emily was again forced to leave someone behind.

    Emily struggled not to think of Jenny, stuck standing there unable to move either of her feet, even an inch. The thought was too much to bear, and she didn’t have enough strength left to bear it.

    Emily could only force herself to focus on what was ahead. There was a house, and its lights were on. If she could just get there and to a phone, she could call for help. She could get paramedics and police to come and find the other three. They would know how to free them, and this would all become a bad memory.

    The house was further than it looked and by the time Emily reached it her feet were aching and her calves burned. She had never walked like she had done that day and she most certainly had not done it barefoot.

    The house was rather large, and the lights all seemed to be from the second floor. Emily climbed the front steps, her weary soles momentarily thankful to be on something smooth and solid. She knocked on the door but there was no reaction in the house. She banged on it again and again, but no one answered and there were no more lights or sounds from within.

    It seemed to be the only house for miles and Emily could not abide by failure. She had no energy to find another, and she could not leave the others to stay stuck any longer than she had to. She tried the door and of course found it locked. She thought maybe if she went around the house, she could find an open door or window and get inside. She would explain the situation to the people there and if there was no one inside she would simply search for a phone.

    The idea of warm soft floors under her feet spurred her on as she circled the house in search of any sign of salvation. The windows were all too high to reach or not the kind that could be opened from the outside. However, just as she was about to lose hope, she found something. There was a sliding glass door in the back foundation area of the house and the door was open. She headed for it in earnest, desperate for help and what could be inside.

    She pushed open the sliding door wide enough to go in and began to head inside. The light was dim, but she didn’t let that stop her. She couldn’t see any obstacles in front of her, just an empty basement room with a cement floor. She got three steps into the room before she realized that something was wrong…very wrong.

    The cement floor should have been solid, it should have been dry, but it was neither. It was soft and wet, and her feet sunk in as she went. It was only a little at first but after the fourth and fifth step the wet cement was enveloping the sides of her feet and clinging to her heels. It was thick and heavy and flowed around her slender toes and coated her feet even after she lifted them up.

    Emily for a moment considered going back but she’d just be trapped on the other side of the door and would leave her right back where she started. She could not afford to go looking for another house and since she could still move, she decided that it was worth it to go on. She had to reach the stairs she could now see ahead of her and get help. She could not allow the wet cement to stop her. She figured she had time and as long as her feet were pulled out of the movement before it hardened.

    That was when she saw it, the symbol of her salvation. On the wall ahead of her was a phone, mounted to the wall, ready for her to reach out and take it. It was several feet from the stairs and Emily had to decide whether to go for it or the stairs. Movement was not easy, but the cement still felt really wet. She nodded and decided to go for the phone, she would call the police and tell them to come to the source of the call and she could wait for them out front.

    Emily felt her legs fill with the last bit of her energy, spurred on by the hope that the ordeal might soon be over. She trudged, shuffling through the cement that was now to her ankles.

    Soon she reached the phone and took a deep breath before she snatched it out of the cradle. She had at first thought that she would grab the receiver and take it to the stairs, but the cord was brutally short. She had to stand next to it if she was going to use it.

    She put it to her ear and dialed on the cradle. She called emergency but nothing happened. She clicked to hang up the phone and tried again, but there was no dial tone, nothing. The phone line was not connected, and the phone would do nothing to help her.

    “The stairs!” Emily decided as she hung up the useless phone. But when she went to turn and move there was no response. She tried again, shifting from one foot from the other but there was not one ounce of shift.

    Emily’s eyes went wide as she looked down. While she was messing with the phone the seemingly quick dry cement had set on her ankles and would not allow any more budge at all. The cement was dry, and she was hopelessly stuck.

    Emily tested the range of movement her new trap provided, or lack thereof. The cement was just above her ankles and locked her legs in the position they were in when the cement set. She could not move, and she could not even shift. She tried to crouch but discovered that her legs needed to lean back to do so and couldn’t. After a few more tries she bent at the knees and her ass hit the solid cement behind her. She could either stand straight up or sit, there was no in between.

    Despite knowing how ridged and solid cement was, she struggled against her bonds. Maybe there was still part of it that was wet, and she might break free yet. However, there was nothing, it was as solid as any cement she had ever walked across, the only difference was this time her feet were in it and not on it. Luckily the type of cement had not contracted to crush her feet. In fact, despite being encased in a seemingly unbreakable shell they were completely fine. She could not flex the muscles of her feet and each toe was locked precisely in place. She could feel every inch of her feet and ankles, but nothing could move, not even one toe could squirm.

    Emily screamed in frustration and fear, tugging at her legs with all she had. She had no way to free herself and she couldn’t even move enough to hurt herself. Her feet and ankles were all but gone, preserved in the unbreakable cement where she would never see them again.

    Emily’s despair was interrupted suddenly as the phone rang. The phone, seemingly disconnected before, was ringing loud and clear. Had she made a mistake? Had she missed something? She had to get up and pick up the receiver. The phone might only be able to accept incoming calls, either way her only chance was to get to the phone.

    Emily discovered an issue, however. Falling from a standing position to sitting whole stuck in cement had proven easy, the opposite was much more of a challenge. She had no movement to build up, her feet and ankles were locked in a ridged position and could offer no help. Her butt and the rest of her were lifted by only her calves and thighs and they were not strong enough to complete the action. She struggled again and again to stand but only succeeded on bouncing her ass up and down off the cement floor.

    The phone continued to ring as if mocking Emily. She struggled and strained, reaching up toward the phone that rested on the wall, far from her reach. She had no way of knowing when the ringing would end, when it would be too late. Maybe this was her only chance to get help, maybe it would never ring or work again. She HAD to get back on her feet and get to it.

    She put her hands on the ground, splaying her fingers out to get as much surface as they could. She focused on the muscles in her legs and body. She would have them all work together to spring up and it would be a pure work of momentum and force. She took a deep breath and sprung to life, forcing herself up with all she had. This was the last of her strength, and she knew that she could call on no more. She screamed out in frustration and slowly but surely managed to get to her feet. Though she was most decidedly still stuck, she was back on her feet.

    She took only a brief second to compose herself and snatched the receiver off of the cradle.

    “Help me I’m stuck!” Emily nearly shouted. “My feet are cemented in the basement, and I need help. My family is trapped to…we all need help.”

    “We know.” The unfamiliar voice answered over the line. Their voice was calm and emotionless. There was not one hint of empathy in the voice. "We have gone to great lengths to trap you. We are most impressed that each one of you became trapped just as intended.”

    “You did this to us?” Emily asked in shock. “Why?”

    “Each one of you has done something that has contributed to the misery of another.” The voice explained. “Though seemingly simple and innocent a choice each of you has made has led to something ruined. This is not revenge, it is not punishment, this is just the universe being balance.”

    “What did we do?” Emily pleaded. “I can’t think of anything so bad that we deserve to become hopelessly stuck and alone!”

    “The fact you cannot even think of it adds to it I suppose.” The voice continued. “But as I said this is not revenge. We just work in balance and in order to restore it the four of you must stay where you are.”

    “Will you ever let us out?” Emily asked desperately. “Is there any hope for us.”

    “Perhaps.” The voice answered simply. “We went to a lot of trouble to set your traps and get you in them. There are chemicals mixed with each of your restraints that not only will ensure you will not escape but make it nearly impossible to free you. You might be found; you might have rescuers attempt to save you. But that will be left to the universe. Enjoy your solitude.”

    The phone clicked off, there was no dial tone, no other sound, simply nothing. Emily tried the buttons to get the phone to respond but there was nothing. The only communication was the mysterious voice on the other end of the line, and they made it clear the communication was over. Emily ripped at the receiver and pulled the cord off of the cradle. The act of frustration toppled her and as she could not change her stance she fell backwards and landed on her ass once again. She knew she didn’t have it in her to get up again but there really as no reason to.

    She took the receiver and began to smash it at the cement surrounding her feet, again and again she hit it and the solid cement didn’t even receive a scratch. The plastic of the phone cracked and broke more and more as she swung. She hit the cement again and again until she was holding only a broken nub of plastic. Her only tool to escape was now useless and the cement was not even damaged.

    She had been the last hope for the others to be free and rescued but now she was probably the most stuck of any of them. She began to cry as she turned and looked out the glass door, she had come in through. Her only hope was that one of the others might get free and come for her…but there was not much hope of that at all. In fact, hope was something that seemed to be completely gone and there was no reason to hold out for it.

    Emily began to scream, knowing all too well that nobody was close enough to hear it.

-