Her hands trembled. “Please.” Her phone suddenly picked up a signal, though there was only one bar.
Ella immediately called, and this time, she heard the line ringing. Once, twice, three times. But no one answered.
“Charles!”
Ella hit redial, and at the same moment—
Crack!
A faint sound came from outside. Ella froze and pressed her ear to the door. There were footsteps. Someone was walking away.
“Hey!” Ella pounded on the door. “Help! I’m in here!”
The footsteps stopped. Ella held her breath, and then she heard the scrape of metal.
Clang!
Someone had just fastened something outside the door. Ella’s eyes widened. “Don’t!”
Ella yanked the doorknob again and again. It didn’t just fail to open—the knob wouldn’t even move.
“Open the door!”
There was no answer. The footsteps began moving away again. Ella was starting to understand. She hadn’t been locked in by accident.
Someone had locked her in on purpose, and that person knew she was inside. Ella slowly backed away until her back touched the wall.
“Who are you?”
There was no answer. Then she heard a faint sound.
Hiss ... .
Ella turned around. Thin smoke began creeping in from beneath the door, at first like a faint mist that was barely visible. But a few seconds later, the smoke grew thicker.
Ella covered her nose and mouth with her palm. “No ... .”
Her eyes widened. The faint smell of gasoline now filled the room, and her chest began to tighten. She ran to the window and tugged at the lock again.
“Open!”
But the window still wouldn’t budge. Ella pounded on the glass. “HEEEEELP!”
There was no human sound from beyond the door, only silence, and then—
Whoosh!
Orange light suddenly flickered through the gap beneath the door.
Fire!
Ella stumbled backward with a strangled gasp. Flames began spreading outside the room, and the smoke grew thicker. Her phone began vibrating again.
An incoming call. The name on the screen immediately brought tears to Ella’s eyes.
CHARLES.
She nearly dropped her phone in her haste to answer it.
“Charles!” Ella’s voice broke. “Help me!”
Silence on the other end.
“Charles, I’m locked in a room!” Ella coughed. “Smoke is getting in ... there’s a fire!”
For several seconds, there was no answer. Then Charles’s voice came through. But his first words weren’t a question about whether Ella was all right.
“Ella?” His voice sounded hesitant, and for some reason, that hesitation turned Ella’s fear into something far more terrifying.
“Charles?”
The firelight beneath the door grew brighter. Ella pressed herself against the wall. “Come quickly.”
Charles’s voice sounded farther and farther away. “Stop looking for trouble.”
The call suddenly disconnected.
Ella stared at the screen. The call had ended. “Charles?”
There was no answer. Ella tried calling back, but the call wouldn’t go through.
Smoke now filled half the room, and she coughed violently. Tears streamed down her face, not only because of the smoke, but because Ella was truly afraid.
She wasn’t afraid that Charles didn’t love her or that her marriage would end. She was afraid she wouldn’t make it out of the building alive.
Ella crawled toward the door. Her hand touched the floor, which felt hot. It was too hot, so Ella quickly pulled her hand back.
“No ... .”
Outside, the fire grew larger. But through the smoke that was beginning to fill the room, Ella saw something through the gap beneath the door.
The shadow of a pair of shoes stopped right in front of the door. Someone was still there. Ella held her breath.
“Who is it?”
The shadow didn’t move. Ella struggled to stand. “If you can hear me ... .” Her voice trembled. “Please open the door.”
The shadow slowly moved—not away, but closer. Then someone’s voice came from beyond the door.
The voice was so soft it was almost a whisper. “Happy wedding anniversary, Ella.”
Ella’s eyes widened. She recognized that voice. But before she could say the person’s name, flames burst across the bottom of the door.
FWOOSH!
Ella screamed and stumbled backward. At the same time, the sound of the fire alarm began to howl throughout the building.
WEE-OOO—WEE-OOO—WEE-OOO!
The celebratory night that should have become a beautiful memory had turned into a race against time, while the person behind the door had made one thing certain: Ella had no way out.