Chapter 1 Elevator Ride

Skye's POV

"Oh, my god!" 

I only have ten minutes left before my first job interview today! 

I did not want to risk being late, so I pressed all the buttons going up of the elevators I found in the lobby of the building. And jump into the first one to open. And pressed the close button in a flash. 

"Uggggghhhh…." 

I heard the sound of someone groaning. It made me turn around. 

"Hey! Are you alright?" I asked with fright. "What happened?!" I exclaimed. 

As I tried to check on the man sitting on the corner of the elevator floor, I moved closer and tried to ask him. But I did not get any response, although he remained in his position. In my understanding, he was not well. He might have even fainted. 

"Hey, Mister. Are you okay?" I asked, shaking his right arm gently. But the moment his hand moved to sit up straight as if he was awakened, a spurt of something sprayed my face. I wiped it away without a thought. But when I realized what it was, I yelped.

"You're bleeding!"

A hemaphobic me murmured. My voice was shaking. My body froze. I couldn't make another move! I felt like I was suddenly tossed into a cold cave. But I knew I have to hold a grip of my sanity. If I faint, this bleeding man might lose the chance to survive. I could feel cold sweats almost all over my body. 

"What do I do?!" I exclaimed in distress. 

"Shhhhh…." the man hushed me. "My car… I…" the next I heard him say was so gibberish I couldn't form any word out of it. 

"You need to see a doctor," I reminded him. Then I was about to dial the emergency hotline, but the man held my hand tightly. 

"No. Please…" he paused, groaning. "Don't… Call… anyone," his words were almost dragged out. "Just get me out of here," he sounded pleading.

The next moment I felt the lift stop. The doors slid open. I checked on the floor indicator and saw it said we were in the basement. I hurriedly pressed the B4 and then the close button. 

"Hold on. You're going to be just fine. My car is parked on another basement floor. I will get you out of here. Just don't die on me, do you understand?" I said in the calmest tone I could ever manage to speak with. 

The interview I was so worried I would miss earlier, vanished entirely from my mind. I could not ignore this man despite being a stranger. It's actually a miracle that I haven't fainted yet. My father can't even take me to the hospital even when we need to because I have significant trauma seeing bleeding injured people. So, the thought of a hospital is freaking the hell out of me already. My thoughts earlier were to call for medics and send this man to the hospital, but I will remain behind. However, he doesn't seem to agree with the idea, and I gathered we might have the same fear, so I am thinking about taking him to my father, who might know what to do with his wound. 

"I can't carry you, Mister. You have to stand up and walk with me to my car. It's not far from here. We just have to pass three parking slots, and the fourth is already my ride," I stated as I helped the man get up from the floor and wound his left hand wound around my shoulders. We sauntered on our way to my vehicle. 

“You better take the backseat,” I told the man as I assist him. And then I realized something. I had to know his name the least, I thought. “My name is Skye. What do I call you?” 

I asked to ease my anxious mind. When we were in the elevator, the metal box we were in wasn’t as bright as the welcoming morning sun when we arrived at my car, which was parked next to the glass window on the wall. The building has basement floors but they weren’t really underground. The elevators were located on the opposite wings of the building because the parking space allotted for the employees and guests in this building was on the first five floors on both sides.

“You have to say something. At least tell me your name. Because I am afraid I might faint if I don't keep my fear of blood off of my head right now,” I urged the man as I buckled the seatbelt on him.

I couldn't explain why I was feeling like all my senses were at full alert. Whenever I would see such scenarios before, I would drop lifelessly before my brain could ever process the whole scene, unlike right now. I am not sure to say this, but I feel like I am having an adrenaline rush! The energy and strength were there, but the knowledge on how to respond or what to do was weighing so low. 

“Mar….co,” he said softly followed by a deep groan.

“Marco, okay, that's a nice name, I guess. Or maybe not, seeing you are in this shape,” I said as soon as I sat in the driver's seat and took a deep breath to calm my senses down.

The man growled in pain but was accompanied by a short and arduous chuckle.

“Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?” I turned my upper body around to face him, making sure I do not miss seeing his response if he did not make it spoken. I was assuming he would nod or shake his head, instead. If not, I was hoping to see his expressions and take it from there before I start driving. 

“No….” he winced as he paused on his words. “Hos-…” the man was turning paler by the seconds as he tried to speak. I was about to hold him back from saying anything more when he beat me to it. “Not… the hospital….” 

“Wait! Wait,” I yelped when I noticed he was drifting on and off of his consciousness. 

“Hush!” he frowned as he answered with audible agony. “Start driving but not above normal speed. And don’t stop or talk to anyone….” 

“Alright! Alright. I got you. Just lay back there,” I hurriedly pulled the shirt I had changed with earlier and reached for the man’s hand holding his wound. “Use this as cloth to press on your wound. You’re bleeding so badly,” I told him. 

“Lock the doors,” he seemed to speak with difficulty. 

I pressed the automatic lock button from the driver’s side door and all doors of my second-hand silver sedan made a “click” sound. Not too long after doing so and got the engine started, a few men passed by. They seemed to be in a hurry looking around. Then I heard an exchange of yells from one group at the end to the other from the opposite direction. 

“None!”

“Negative!”

“To the next floor! Find him!”

I started driving when I saw the group of men leave the area, and through the rearview mirror, I asked the man in my backseat.