WHO KILLED EMMALINE? by Dani Matthews

Until then, we can use flashlights,” he replies.
    “Okay. Where are they?”
    “Dane’s office. Stay right here, don’t move.”
    His hand tugs out of mine before I can process his words, and suddenly I feel alarmed that he might actually leave me alone amongst these horrible torture props. “Wait! You can’t leave me!” I reach out for him anxiously, and my hand connects with his hard chest. I grab a fistful of his shirt before he can dare walk away. I’m not letting him go anywhere without me.
    “It’ll be a waste of time trying to lead you through the aisles. I know my way around this place, so it’ll be quicker if I go on my own to grab the flashlights and then come back for you.”
    My hand tightens around the fabric I have clutched in my fist. “Don’t you dare leave me.”
    Cord’s chest rumbles beneath my clenched fist as he laughs in the darkness. “Are you afraid something is going to come to life while I’m gone?”
    I use my free hand to smack him across his shoulder. “Don’t be an ass.”
    His laughter fades, and he lets out a drawn out sigh. “Seriously, it’ll be faster if you stay put.”
    “You can’t leave me here by all this…stuff. It’s not funny, Cord.”
    “Would you rather I leave you by the giant animatronic spider you have yet to meet? Or maybe leave you with Darius?”
    “Ugh, I hate you.”
    He chuckles, and his warm hand wraps around my fist gripping his shirt. “Let me go. I’ll be back in five.” His fingers gently start prying my fingers away from the fabric. “I promise.”
    Very reluctantly, I release him and clench my fists at my hips. “Okay. But you better hurry,” I grumble.
    I can hear him move, and his footsteps fade as he leaves me where I stand. This is so not what I envisioned when I was scheduled to help transfer merchandise. I thought everything would be all boxed up already and all we would have to do is load the van. It looks to me like not only do we have to box some of the stuff up, but we’ll have to take apart some of the larger items.
    Instead of concentrating on my pounding heart and the fear that has climbed up into my throat, I think over how Dane plans on decorating Cordane’s. He mentioned last week that he’s bringing one animatronic to the store, and it’ll be a life-sized, skeletal reaper with glowing eyes. I guess he wants to install thunder and lightning effects, and even a fog machine for the hallway outside the fitting rooms. His goal is to turn the back half of the store into a cemetery, and fake trees are even on the list of props to bring back. I guess last year the back half of the store was clown-themed. I shudder at the thought of those clowns I’d seen earlier standing around at the store, their beady eyes missing nothing. I would have hated to have to work around those things. At least I’ll only have the reaper to contend with.
    How long have I been standing here?
    I cross my arms over my chest, my head turning to the left and then to the right as I try to peer through the blackness. Shouldn’t Cord be coming back by now? My ears strain to hear any sound, but there is just a low rumble of thunder in the distance.
    “Cord?” I call out, and I flinch as my voice echoes around me.
    Only silence answers me.
    I begin to fidget. What if he’s left me here as a prank? No, he wouldn’t. Would he? “Cord!” I call out sharply.
    Still no answer.
    He’d told me to stay put, but if he is pulling a prank, I’m not going to fall for it and stand here for thirty minutes while he snickers in Dane’s office. With a nervous shiver, I lift my hands and hold them straight out in front of me and visualize the way we’d come. I’ll start making my way to the side door or until I see Cord with the flashlights.
    Feeling anxious, I force myself to breathe in and out slowly. It’s a freakin’ warehouse with stupid fake props. Nothing to be scared of, right? I shuffle along slowly, my arms out and reaching so I don’t run into