Gemotions

The overhead light hummed a monotonous tune, amplifying the oppressive quiet. It was the longest silence she could remember. She stared at the floor, watching the dust motes dance in the faint light. Across from her, Kevin was pacing, his movements jerky and erratic.

“Anything?” he asked, his voice a tight whisper. She shook her head. They were trapped. She couldn’t seem to process the reality of their situation.

She closed her eyes, trying to conjure a sense of calm, but her thoughts raced, colliding with each other in a jumbled mess. She saw herself, a tiny speck in an uncaring universe. She imagined all of her unfinished tasks, the calls she meant to return, the emails she had yet to read.

The feeling was difficult to describe. It wasn't quite fear, nor panic, but something akin to both. Her sense of the world, of her place within it, felt fundamentally challenged.