Read First Date- a Novella for Free Online

ass, but they are set in wood. It wouldn’t take but a few of them to push the windows out of the frames.”
    Gary, along with others, looked at the windows in fear. Several others ran over to help lower the blinds. Malik ran to the door, grabbing chairs and shoving one under the handle. “This won’t hold long,” he said.
    Ginger ran up and grabbed the wedge door stop off the floor and shoved it in the space between the frame and the door. Using the heel of her hand, she tried driving it in. “Let me,” a man wearing a tool belt said, moving over as he pulled out a hammer.
    “Thanks, Andy,” she said, stepping back as he drove the wedge in.
    “Aw, now that’s great,” Gary said, pushing through people toward the door. “Now we can’t get out.”
    “I’ll let you out, but when I seal that door, you aren’t coming back in,” Ginger said, looking up at Gary. He was over a foot taller and had an easy hundred pounds on her, but she gave no indication she was even slightly concerned.
    Like a true bully, Gary didn’t like that she was standing up to him. “Whatever,” he mumbled, turning around and shoving a woman in a chair before he walked to the back and sat down.
    Looking around, Ginger saw Daniel sitting at their table, and she walked over and joined him. “We have a date, so what’s the plan?”
    He looked over, grinning. “Yes we do,” he said. “I can get us out of here, but I think we should wait for the police.”
    “Why do you want to wait?”
    “Because the emergency fire door is on the other side of the building in the north stairwell, and on any given day, there are over a thousand people on this floor. We don’t know what we would have to fight through,” he said as Teresa came over and sat down.
    “Guys, Glenda isn’t doing so good,” she said in a low voice. “She’s sweating like it’s over a hundred, but her body his cold and clammy.”
    Pushing back from the table, Daniel looked over at Glenda, who was just staring off into space. “Oh, fuck a duck,” he mumbled and looked around the room. He noticed a few others that didn’t look well. Andy started coughing violently as he sat down in a chair.
    “What the fuck is going on?” Ginger asked, seeing the other sick people.
    Shaking his head, Daniel motioned Malik over. “I have no idea,” he said, looking around. “Where’s the fucking TV?”
    “It broke, Daniel,” Teresa said. “They took it out yesterday and were bringing a new one today. That’s why Andy is in here.”
    Malik sat down, looking at Daniel. “What’s the plan?”
    “Wait for the cavalry,” Daniel said sitting up taking off his suit jacket. “We can’t move to the exits with terrorist lock-down. Even stairwells are sealed now.”
    “There is the fire door in the north stairwell,” Malik said, looking over his shoulder at the employees.
    “You want to wade through the floor to get there?” Daniel asked.
    Leaning over on the table, Malik stared at Daniel, whispering. “You and I both know they are going to get in the break room sooner or later. This isn’t a secure room.”
    “Susan,” someone called out, and everyone turned to see several people shaking Susan as she lay on tables they had pushed together. “She’s not waking up.”
    Don screamed and jumped back, knocking over chairs, and everyone turned. Dozens of gasps were heard as Vince sat up. “He was dead,” Ginger mumbled. Her eyes grew wider as Vince tried to stand and reached out for Don.
    “Get away from him,” Daniel said, standing, but he didn’t need to say from who because most were scrambling away. Walking around the table, Daniel noticed several people staring off with blank faces.
    “Vince, I’m sorry I broke your X-box remote,” Don yelled, backing away and shoving tables and chairs aside as Vince stood up sluggishly.
    As Daniel came up behind Vince, he saw Vince pass right by Glenda, who was just staring at nothing and showing zilch emotion to the scene mere feet