Gemotions

The seconds ticked by, each one an agonizing stab. Sarah stared at the emergency phone, willing it to ring. She felt a pressure building behind her eyes, a sensation like a dam about to burst. Her hands were clammy, and a sheen of sweat coated her upper lip.

"They'll be here soon," Mark said, his voice unusually high-pitched. She barely heard him. The deadlines. The budget cuts. The team meeting she had to lead tomorrow. All the things she was supposed to be in control of suddenly felt completely out of her grasp.

She closed her eyes, trying to block out the feeling of the metal walls closing in on her. The rhythmic thumping of the elevator’s machinery seemed to echo her own frantic pulse.