Losing

                                    

                                          
Lucille left Archie in the dining room with strict orders to stay put after the alarms began and sent Kennith to check her office.
                          
Her reflection danced across the polished black marble floor as she ran to Frida's room. I hope she isn't afraid. 
                          
WOMP WOMP WOMP WOMP
                          
She gulped air, winded as she sprinted into Frida's room.
                          
Empty. No, not another child lost...
                          
She looked under the bed and in the closets, screaming Frida's name.
                          
On the floor was a picture Frida drew. It showed Frida standing in the center, holding Lucille's hand on the left and Zia's on the right. Zia's arm was around Violet's shoulder and Kennith stood next to Lucille. Back in the distance Archie stood smiling in a scribbled-in beard.
                          
The picture made her smile. Frida's walls were filled with similar drawings, proving she was beginning to consider Lucille family.
                          
Maybe she's in my office, waiting for me. The thought sparked hope in her as she exited the girl's room sprinting towards her office and up more stairs. Her legs burned, her throat was tight and cramping.bAs she reached the top of the stairs, the alarm ceased. 
                          


                          
She heard voices coming from the end of the hall. Do they have Frida?
                          
She slipped off her shoes and tip-toed to the archway, pressing against the wall outside her office.
                          
"Are ya gonna comply or not?" A female voice asked.
                          
"No, I wont. You can't do this to me." Kennith's voice was thin and weak.
                          
The man grumbled, "When she gets 'ere, do ya think she's goin' to be happy about us bein' 'ere?You know she'll blame ya, right? Say yer the one responsible for security."
                          
"But we know that's not right. Sometimes systems fail. Sometimes they suck from the get-go," the woman's bubbly giggle surprised Lucille.
                          
Who are these people? I need to see what's happening in there...
                          
Lucille inched her head around the corner, peering inside her office. A tall dark-skinned man with a beard stood beside and a pink-haired woman with a mechanical arm in front of Kennith.
                          
Bound to her desk chair, he couldn't move his arms or legs. This is bad, really bad. And where's Frida?
                          
She checked her surroundings for something, anything, that could be used as a weapon. Two vases filled with fresh flowers sat on a table across the hall. Should I throw one to distract them... or just crack them in the head? That's when the idea struck her, she could do both. She sneaked over and pulled each flower out silently, her hands trembling as she did so.
                          
The solid marble vase was heavy in her arms as she waited beside the door. She wondered how much damage it would inflict. She aimed her shoe at the remaining vase on the table and took a breath.
                          
This better work. She had to act now, or else she would lose her courage.
                          
She aimed her shoe at the vase still on the table, then released. The shoe flew with surprising accuracy and collided into the vase. The vase wobbled, then crashed to the ground with a satisfying clangor just loud enough to be heard over the alarms.
                          
Perfect. She waited beside the door with tensed arms waiting for someone to walk out.
                          
Suddenly, the woman came into view.
                          
Lucille sprang into action, charging at her with the second vase above her head. She waited until the woman's was past her and swept the vase down upon her back with full force. With a grunt of pain and suprise, the woman hit the ground , her real hand smacking the marble to break her fall..