The Longest Night Ever Lived

by Mitch Goth

They chased Josh’s truck at a distance all the way across town. The punctured tire on the truck made it easier to keep up, but all of them noticed Bobby’s car showing heavy resistance to movement.

  In no time they’d reached the industrial district of town once more and the truck disappeared from the main streets and down a rough and cracked side road. Bobby kept up, but he grimaced with every bump.

  “Why did we have to take my car again?” he asked angrily.

  “This is not the time for that,” Nate explained anxiously as he watched the taillights of the truck unwaveringly. “Just keep up with it.”

  “I don’t know how much longer this car is going to last, Nate!”

  “Wait, look!” Taylor pointed at the truck as it disappeared into a tiny garage space of a large and decrepit factory building. The taillights went out and the garage closed.

  “Stop here!” Nate instructed.

  Bobby shut off his car and darkened his lights. For a moment everyone was quiet.

  “So,” Mike broke the short silence, “there it is.”

  “Let’s go get them,” Nate said, opening his door.

  “How?” Taylor questioned.

  “Somehow,” Nate replied, getting out of the car, pistol in hand.

  The others got out slowly, unsure of their friend’s mentality. Bobby was hesitant to close his door and proceed, which left the car’s remaining interior light on.

  “Shut your damn door, Bobby,” Nate instructed.

  “How are we going to do this? I think we should plan a little,” Bobby replied.

  “Look, Bobby, as long as we have the element of stealth on our hands we’ll be fine. But we can’t be stealthy with that damn car light on.”

  Mike, seeing a straightforward solution to the problem at hand, reached sneakily over and slammed Bobby’s door closed. This act was immediately followed by a loud, high-pitched, echoing shriek from Bobby. The three others glared at him.

  “Hey,” Bobby defended, holding one of his fingers in pain, “he shut my hand in the door.”

  “Well so much for stealth,” Taylor sighed.

  “Let’s just go before Bobby gets hurt again,” Nate said, strolling towards the ominous abandoned structure.

  In under a minute the group was up close and personal with the garage door. Nate pulled hard up on it. It didn’t budge.

  “It’s locked,” he exclaimed in a loud whisper.

  “I saw it move a little,” Taylor said, only half sure that she’d seen it.

  “Put some elbow grease in it,” Mike suggested cockily.

  “Both of you try,” Taylor ordered.

  Ignoring the fact that Taylor was giving orders now, the two of them tried pulling the door. Sure enough, it lifted nearly a foot off the ground with the cost of all their present muster.

  “Bobby,” Mike turned to him, “be our ringer?”

  With a groan Bobby approached the door. He wrapped both hands around the rusted, sharp handle and yanked it up. Nothing. He pulled for a longer period. It moved a few inches further. Nate and Mike put their hands under the door and even Taylor took half the handle. Together, they all lifted with all their strength and the door lifted another few feet.

  Satisfied with the small opening they’d created, the group ducked under the door and entered the pitch-black room. They could see the silhouette of the truck taking up nearly all the area. For a moment all of them looked around the room, hoping to get a grip around the darkness.

  “Look,” Nate pointed to a far corner of the room. A small slit of light came into view near the floor. A door.

  The group moved towards it, being careful not to touch anything in the garage as they did. As they got close enough to make out the knob, Nate readied the gun in his hand.

  “Are you guys ready for this?” Mike asked in palpable anticipation.

  “For what?” Taylor asked in response.

  “I don’t know, but are you ready?”

  “I kinda hope so,” Bobby answered.

  “Shh,” Nate silence them before reaching for the knob.

  He wrapped his fingers around the knob and took a breath. In one lighting motion he pushed the door open. The group stumbled into a well lit but completely empty room. Floor to ceiling cement and several bright fluorescent lights. There were two darkened halls across the room but other than that, there were no other exits besides the garage.

  “What now?” Mike inquired as they reached the center of the room.

  Before anyone could answer his question, a bang shook their concentrations. The sound bounced off the thick stone walls and disoriented them further. Nate was taken aback by a different, much more engulfing sensation, an unexpected, stinging pain. A small projectile struck him directly in the chest and he tumbled to the floor, the gun falling from his hand.

  “Oh my God! Nate!” Taylor screamed.

  “Is he dead?” Mike asked frantically.

  “That really hurt!” Nate exclaimed, coming out of a short, pain-induced trance.

  “No, he’s fine,” Bobby shook his head.

  “I don’t think that’s the right word, dick,” Nate retorted spitefully.

  “What the hell was that?” Taylor wondered.

  “That would be a rubber bullet,” a voice explained from behind them.

  The standing trio spun around to face the voice, while Nate shot up from the ground, sending pain coursing through his body. There, meeting their gazes was Hosni, aiming a still smoking pistol at them, Josh was just a few feet behind him, partially hidden in the darkness of the hallway.

  “Who the hell are you?” Nate said demandingly. “Where’s Cady and Cera?”

  “If you want any answers from me, I suggest you push that gun at your feet over to me,” Hosni pointed to the pistol Nate had left on the ground.

  “Now why would we do that?” Mike questioned.

  “Because, if you don’t I’ll shoot you,” Hosni replied with a small shrug. “And, I assure you, although the first bullet was rubber, all the rest are real.”

  “And what happens if we do give it to you?” Nate asked.

  “I’ll still kill you, but you’ll get to see your friends first.”

  “I think that’s a fair trade at this point,” Bobby nodded.

  Without a word Nate apprehensively pushed the gun across the floor with his foot. Hosni was quick to snatch it up and hand it back to Josh.

  “Now then,” Hosni said, “I’m sure you want to see your friends.”

  “Well, yeah, that’s the reason we came,” Nate replied harshly.

  “Follow us then,” Hosni gestured for them to come through the dark corridor.

  They began following his order, albeit with extreme caution.

  “What if it’s a trap?” Taylor questioned as quietly as she could.

  “Who cares?” Nate retorted. “We’re gonna die anyway.”

  “It was fun while it lasted though,” Bobby added as they disappeared down the unlit hall.

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