Gemotions

He wished he could just disappear. Mark felt a prickly heat erupt across his skin. The emergency lights cast odd shadows, playing tricks on the eye, and the tiny enclosed space made his chest feel tight. He kept swallowing, trying to keep down the rising bile.

His co-worker, Linda, was trying to make conversation, but her voice seemed to echo and distort in his ears. He couldn't think straight. All he could focus on was the feeling of being trapped, the absence of fresh air.

He pressed the call button again and again, as if the force of his will could somehow break them free. The silence, punctuated only by his ragged breaths, was maddening. He felt a tremor in his hands, and he clenched them into fists.

He pictured the upcoming presentation, the deadlines he was missing. He just wanted to be anywhere else. The feeling grew, a cold wave washing over him, stealing all his fight.