Everyone in the lobby was trapped.  There was no where to go.  Elizabeth ran towards the emergency stairwell, but even those doors had been shut tight.  Joining others to bang on it with her fists, other people climbed on top of each other to reach the security cameras, begging with desperate tears in their eyes to whoever might be watching to save them.  

Spotting the reflection of someone behind from the small window in the door, she managed to turn around and duck just in time as they lunged forward to attack.  People were tearing others open, ripping apart their insides and—something Elizabeth couldn't believe she was seeing—[i]eating[/i] them.  Unable to process what was happening, she ran around the enclosed space with everyone else, twisting and dodging as they reached out trying to grab her.  Others weren't so lucky as they were caught.  

Seeking shelter behind the large desk, she hid beneath it along with a couple other people.  The woman appeared to work there given by the identification badge clipped onto her shirt.  The man was dressed in a fine dress shirt which gave Elizabeth the impression that he was one of the many lawyers going in and out of the courthouse conducting business.  They both turned to look at her when she joined them as she tried to control her breathing to where she couldn't be heard.  

“What do we do?” the man asked quietly in her direction—as if somehow she knew the answer to that.  

Exchanging looks with the other woman who'd hidden down there, Elizabeth finally gave both of them a helpless shrug of her shoulders.  “The hell should I know?” she retorted angrily, fear evident in her eyes.  The only thing she could think about was how she was about to die and that she didn't even know if her son was okay.  Was this happening where they were or was this an isolated incident?  She didn't know and there wasn't any way for her to find out.

“There's still power,” the woman whispered to them.  Her voice barely audible, Elizabeth had to strain her ears to hear her.  “The elevator in the back might still work.  If we run, we might be able to reach it.”

“Are you crazy?” the man demanded.  His eyes bulged out of his head at the proposition.  “Aren't we supposed to avoid elevators during times like these?”  He looked to Elizabeth with the hope that she would back him up; he would find no support from her and he looked frustrated at that fact.  “We should be finding a way out.  Not up,” he protested.

Remaining calm despite the situation, something that Elizabeth found herself impressed by, the woman said, “We can do that [i]after[/i] we get out of here alive.”

Hearing the bloodcurdling screams and tearful pleading of those just a few feet away from them, her mind was made up.  “Die here or die there.  At least the elevator gives us a chance,” Elizabeth stated.  However slim of a chance it might have been.  The woman gave her a grateful nod for agreeing with her and while the man might not have liked it, he seemed to reluctantly accept that he didn't really have a choice in the matter.

Inching her way to the edge of the desk, Elizabeth peeked out to see what was going on around the other side.  An involuntary gasp escaping her lips, she covered her hand over her mouth.  Eyes scanning the room until she saw the elevator, she knew now was the best time to make a run for it with everyone distracted by the chaos.  She took off towards it weaving through the crowd—which was a difficult task to do in her heels.  

The woman followed close after her, faster than she was but less graceful as she failed to dodge the panicked people around her and bumped shoulders with several of them.

Cursing as he was left last, with no other option left to him but to follow he went after them as fast as he could.  The women already in the elevator, Elizabeth's hand hovered over the buttons to operate the door.  The woman beside her ushering him on with a frantic wave of her hand, they all gasped as someone came up behind him and grabbed him.

Screaming in fear, he danced around and quickly shrugged off his jacket, his moves sparked unwanted attention in their direction.  He ran towards the elevator with the people behind him close behind.  “Shit!” Elizabeth exclaimed, slamming her hand on the close door button repeatedly though it didn't make the process any faster.

“No!” both the man and woman yelled in unison.  Making a leap for it, he barely made it inside before the doors finished closing.  He glared at Elizabeth yelling, “What the hell was that?!”  The woman knelt down beside him, checking him over and letting out a sigh of relief when she didn't see anything.

Looking at the two of them, she crossed her arms defensively across her chest.  “What did you expect me to do?  They were on your ass.”

“Lets not fight,” the other woman pleaded with an exasperated sigh as she pressed the button to a higher floor.  “Lets just try to put our heads together and figure a way out of this building.”