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Dangerously Unaware
Chapter 1
As Josh hurried down the passage away from the dentists’ rooms and towards the lifts he felt a sense of relief. Although he was now a confident young adult he still disliked going to the dentist for check-ups. He hated the feeling of vulnerability as the dentist tipped the chair back so that he was lying almost horizontal. It made Josh feel at the mercy of the dentist and his middle-aged assistant who hovered over him with their instruments of torture in their hands. He detested the sharp things that were poked around his teeth and gums and the shriek of the drill set his nerves on edge, while the sight of the dentist coming towards him with a syringe in his hand made Josh feel very apprehensive.
It wasn’t as though Josh couldn’t take pain. He was a black-belt karate enthusiast and had taken some beatings in the dojo without it worrying him too much. He was the captain of the British karate team and the European champion. Ever since he had been little he had been passionate about the sport and now he wanted to go and train in Japan where he knew he would get the best instruction of all. He was very aware that the training in Japan would be tough and probably painful, but it didn’t worry him as much as getting his teeth fixed.
Josh dreaded every visit he had to the dentist but today he had got off lightly. There was no work to be done apart from giving his teeth a polish. That was bad enough as the paste had tasted dreadful and the instrument the dentist had used had sounded like the drill, but it was over very quickly. Afterwards he had to heave himself up so that he could swill his mouth out with the foul tasting pink liquid they provided and spit it into the basin. It made him feel stupid doing that under the eyes of the dentist and his assistant. It always seemed so messy because strings of saliva hung from his mouth and refused to be spat in the basin. He had to wipe them away with the napkin they had given him and it made him feel foolish – like a child who couldn’t control his dribbling. Normally he was such a self-assured young man, he was naturally outward going and his success in karate had made him very confident in himself, so it annoyed him to find that going to the dentist affected him in such a negative manner.
However, he was out of the dentists’ rooms now and heading for the lift. He planned to go to the dojo and do a spell of training and then he would head for his home in Kidlington where he lived with his parents. When he got to the lift he pressed the button and the door opened immediately, he went in and was about to press the ground floor button when he saw a young woman hurrying up the passage towards the lift. He quickly pressed the ‘door open’ button so that she would have time to get there before it closed. He had noticed the woman in the waiting room when they had both been waiting to see one of the practice’s dentists and he had studied her covertly. She had a neat athletic looking body with lightly tanned limbs. Her dark hair flowed around her pretty face and Josh noted that she had looked completely relaxed as she read a magazine. There was no evidence of nervousness as her dark brown eyes scanned the lines. Josh noticed with interest that her straight eyebrows had arched and her full lips had twitched upward when she read something that amused her. If he had not been so apprehensive about his imminent ordeal he would have enjoyed studying her, she was a beautiful girl and there was a lot of character in her face. She had been called in to see one of the dentists before Josh was summoned. An assistant had appeared and looking around the waiting room she had asked for Miss Abrahams. Then the young woman Josh had been studying had risen gracefully and said, ‘Thank you,’ in a deep husky voice. Josh had watched her walk on shapely legs as she retreated out of the room, but he soon forgot about her when his name was called. Now she was walking towards him and he was struck again by her attractiveness. She soon reached the lift and stepped inside.
‘Thanks for waiting,’ she said in her husky voice.
‘Not a problem,’ replied Josh, hitting the ground floor button. But his reply was drowned out by a sudden roaring noise that rumbled all around. It sounded like a jet airliner flying over them at a very low altitude, but that would not be possible in such a built up area and Josh and the girl stared at each other wondering what could be causing such a loud and threating noise. As the doors of the lift clicked shut the lights inside went off and everything started to vibrate. The loud noise seemed to intensify, it now sounded like a hundred trains roaring past one after another, and then the vibrations turned to violent shaking making the lift buck and sway in a wild and uncontrollable way. Both Josh and the girl were thrown to the ground as bits and pieces of the inside of the lift came adrift and showered down on them. The dust and grit from the floor swirled around and the woman cried out in horror, her voice rising several octaves as the terrifying situation brought her to the edge of hysteria. Josh felt paralysed with fear – what the hell was happening? It felt as though the whole world was coming to an end!
At last, after what seemed to be a very long time, the bucking and jolting stopped and the noise receded. Josh and the girl stayed absolutely still for a few moments and then Josh spoke.
‘What the hell was all that?’ he said, his voice sounding breathless and strange in his own ears.
‘I think it was an earthquake,’ replied the girl. She also sounded breathless, but her voice had returned to its normal deep huskiness.
‘Are you okay?’ Josh asked her.
‘Yes, I think so,’ she replied. ‘Are you?’
‘Yes. Let’s get out of here,’ said Josh.
The lift seemed to be hanging at an angle, but they were both able to get to their feet and Josh felt in his pocket for his mobile phone as it was pitch black inside the lift and he needed a light. By the dim light he located the lift buttons and pressed the ‘door-open’ one. Nothing happened, so he pressed it again harder and then when there was still no result he punched it hard.
‘It won’t open because the power’s off,’ said the girl.
‘Damn it!’ exclaimed Josh. He knew the girl was right but he really needed to get out of that confined space. He felt claustrophobic and panicky and the dark dusty lift that he was enclosed in felt like a tomb. ‘I’ll have to try and wrench the door open then,’ he gasped. He wedged his fingers into the space between the doors and tried to pull them apart, but he couldn’t get a good grip and doors remained tightly closed.
‘Perhaps we could use a bit of this stuff that’s fallen down to lever the doors open,’ suggested the girl. She picked up a piece of aluminium plating that had been torn loose in the violent shaking and passed it to Josh. Josh pushed the edge in the crack where the doors met and tried to force them apart, but the aluminium wasn’t strong enough and it bent as he applied force.
The two young people tried everything they could think of. They tried to force the door open with every bit of debris that had fallen around them, they took turns trying to prise it open with their fingers and then tried with them both doing it together. They kicked, bashed and shoved against the door with their combined strength, but to no avail. At last they gave up and sank down on the sloping floor, panting from their exertions.
The alarm button in the lift wasn’t working due to the power being off and when they tried to use their mobile phones they found there was no signal – it all seemed quite hopeless.
‘It’s so quiet,’ said Josh after a bit. ‘You would’ve thought that there would be people trying to help us out of here by now.’
‘They probably all rushed out of the building when the earthquake started,’ said the girl. ‘I expect they all ran down the steps in a panic, and now they’re too scared to go back into the building in case there’s an aftershock and it falls down.’
‘Well where does that leave us?’ demanded Josh. ‘How do you know for sure it was an earthquake, anyway? It might have been something else.’
‘Like what?’
‘It might have been someone flying into the building with an aeroplane,’ suggested Josh. ‘Like they did at the twin towers; I mean there was a noise like a jet plane as it happened, wasn’t there? ’
‘No, that was just the sound an earthquake makes. No one would want to fly into this insignificant building anyway.’
‘It could have been someone who’d had a bad experience with one of the dentists,’ suggested Josh, and they both laughed. It eased the tension, but almost immediately the lift started to vibrate and then shake violently again.
‘Oh no,’ gasped Josh. ‘Not again.’
It was an aftershock and the quaking didn’t go on for so long as the first time, but it was enough to make the lift list even more badly and the two people inside felt terrified because they could imagine the whole building collapsing around and on top of them.
When everything was quiet once again, Josh could hear the young woman praying. She was doing it very quietly but he could catch bits and pieces of what she was saying and it soon started to irritate him.
‘Could you please stop doing that,’ he asked her after a while.
‘I’m praying,’ she replied.
‘I know what you’re doing, but it’s annoying me. It won’t do any good anyway.’
‘Yes it will. You should be praying as well.’
‘To whom? To what? I don’t believe that anyone hears you when you pray. It’s a complete waste of time!’ Josh stated emphatically.
The girl didn’t reply and they sat in silence for a while. Josh was wondering how long they would have to wait until they were rescued – that was assuming that they would be rescued at all. He decided there was a distinct possibility that they wouldn’t. No one would know that they were in this lift, and if the building was unsafe no one would dare to go into it to find out. It was a depressing thought. How long could they last without food and water, he wondered. He had a feeling that a person could last quite a long time without food, but water was very necessary if you wanted to survive. Then his thoughts went to the more immediate future. What would they do when either of them wanted the toilet? It was bad enough sitting in this small stuffy space as it was. If there was urine, or worse, in there as well, it would be much more unpleasant. He shuddered at the thought. It seemed to him that they were in for a long and horrible death and he didn’t feel ready to die.
Suddenly he was brought out of his reverie by more vibrations. They grew worse and the shaking started in earnest. This time it went on for a long time and the lift groaned horribly as they were shaken about, and then it tilted even more so that they were both thrown together in one corner. At last the shaking stopped, but the two young people were unable to stand up now as the floor tilted at an impossible angle. They found that they had to sit together jammed in the corner and they could feel the lift swaying.
‘I think the lift has come off its runners or cables – or however it’s normally secured,’ said Josh. ‘I have a feeling that the whole damn thing could crash down to the bottom of the lift shaft at any moment.’
It was a horrible thought and Josh could feel the girl by his side trembling. He was sure that they were both going to die and suddenly he realised that he knew nothing about her – not even her given name. For some reason he felt it was very important, if they were to die together, to know her name.
‘My name’s Josh Solomon,’ he told her. ‘What’s your name?’
‘It’s Naomi Abrahams,’ she replied.
‘Hi.’ He felt for her hand in the darkness and shook it. ‘I just realised that we hadn’t introduced ourselves and we may have to spend some time together before this is all over.’
‘Are you Jewish?’ Naomi asked him.
‘Jewish? No, I don’t think so. I don’t really know, I’m not religious, I’m just a normal British lad.’
‘You have a Jewish name.’
‘Well, as I said, my family isn’t religious. I was named after my grand-father, but as far as I know none of us believe in anything and it doesn’t really matter to me if I’m Jewish or not – I just feel British.’
‘You look Jewish as well.’
‘I do?’
‘Yes. You have an olive skin, black curly hair, dark eyes, full lips and definitely a Jewish nose!’
‘How can you see all that in the dark?’
‘I saw you in the waiting room and I thought you looked Jewish then.’
‘Okay. So you were checking me out?’ Josh grinned in the darkness.
‘No. I just noticed you, that’s all.’
‘Well, how about you, are you Jewish?’
‘Yes I’m Jewish, but I‘ve lived in England all my life and I’m a Christian.’
Another aftershock stopped the conversation and although it wasn’t a bad one Josh was sure the lift felt even more insecure after the shaking had stopped.
‘How long do you think we are going to be stuck in this lift?’ asked Naomi after a bit.
‘Depends. It felt like a really powerful earthquake, didn’t it? But maybe that was just because we were shut up in the lift and it made it feel worse. If it wasn’t such a bad one I expect we’ll get rescued soon,’ he tried to reassure her.
‘But if it was a bad one and many of the buildings around are damaged and tumbling down, it could be ages before anyone is able to get us out,’ added Naomi dolefully.
‘Maybe we should bang on the side so that it makes people aware that there’s someone trapped in the lift,’ said Josh. He picked up the piece of aluminium with which he had tried to prise the door open and started banging it on the wall of the lift.
After a while Naomi asked him to stop. ‘I don’t think anyone’s near enough to hear that yet,’ she said. ‘And the noise is giving me a dreadful headache.’
‘I’ve got a headache as well,’ Josh told her.
‘Perhaps the oxygen in here is running out,’ said Naomi. ‘I think that would cause us to have headaches – it feels stuffy enough, doesn’t it?’
‘God damn it!’ exploded Josh suddenly. ‘Why has this happened to me? I certainly don’t deserve it! Why has there been an earthquake in England anyway? We don’t get earthquakes – not big ones that cause a lot of damage. It’s so unfair!’
‘It may seem unfair, but it’s not really surprising that there’s been an earthquake in England,’ said Naomi quietly.
‘Not surprising? Well, were you expecting an earthquake today when you woke up this morning?’ asked Josh sarcastically.
‘No I wasn’t. But a lot of the things that have been happening all over the world of late have been foretold.’
‘Foretold? Whatever do you mean?’
‘It’s been documented that at a certain time in the history of mankind, there are signs that will be given to us that should alert us to the fact that the whole world is about to change.’
‘I’m sorry, Naomi, you’ve lost me completely. How is the world going to change – who said it would – and where is all this documented?’
‘The world can’t go on indefinitely as it is. It’s become corrupt and there are so many wicked, immoral and greedy people living on it now that it’s literally groaning under the weight of corruption and evilness. So it’s got to change and the signs that signify that change is coming are documented in the Bible.’
The Bible? That’s just a mystical book that’s filled with rubbish!’
‘Have you ever read it?’
‘No.’
‘Well, it may be mystical, but how can you say it’s full of rubbish if you’ve never even read it? It actually contains everything God wants to reveal to us, and the history that’s written in the Bible has been proved authentic.’
‘But what’s the Bible got to do with earthquakes?’ said Josh, rubbing his hand over his eyes.
‘Well God has foretold us that certain events are going to happen and it has all been documented in the Bible. The world as we know it is going to come to an end, but before that happens there will be some warning signs. If you had read the Bible you would know that earthquakes are one of the warning signals,’ Naomi explained.
‘But there’s been loads of earthquakes all over the world for hundreds of years and the world hasn’t ended,’ Josh pointed out.
‘That’s true, earthquakes are a part of nature and happen from time to time, but when they occur together with all the other signs we’ve been given, then we must start to realise what everything signifies.’
‘There are other signs?’ Josh’s head was aching so badly it felt like it was splitting in two, but listening to Naomi’s soft husky voice seemed to ease the pain and he didn’t want her to stop – even if she was talking rubbish.’
‘Oh yes, there are many signs and they’re all happening right now.’
‘Okay, so what are these other signs?’
‘The Bible says that there will be wars and rumours of wars. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom’ Naomi quoted. Well, there are so many wars going on right now, aren’t there? I can’t remember them all off hand, but there’s the Afghanistan war for a start – we’re very aware of that war because there were British troops involved in that one until recently. Then there’s the Syrian Civil War, the Central African Republic conflict, the war in North-West Pakistan, the Egyptian crisis, the Somali Civil War and there’s war in Sudan as well. The Bible mentions Russia and the middle-eastern countries are going to be in conflict in the end times, and what’s going on there now? Russia is making war on the Ukraine and trying to annex that country, and Israel and Palestine have been at each other’s throats. There’s an uneasy truce there for the time being, but the slightest thing will make the conflict flare up again. And then there’s the Islamic State causing trouble in Iraq and Syria, so much so that America, Britain and some of the other western countries are now getting involved. The middle-east is a tinder box and things could erupt into a world war very easily – just as it has been foretold in the Bible.
‘Another sign that we are in the end-times is that there will be famines. We’re always hearing about famines in Africa – Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan and the one in West Africa that was brought on by the Sohel Drought. Even if you don’t follow the news, you must have been made aware of the famines by all the begging letters that are circulated. They’re sent by charities who are trying to get financial support for the poor starving people.
‘Then there’s the sign of pestilences. That’s the increase of diseases that we don’t seem to be able to cure even with our wonderful modern medicines. There are so many, but to name a few, cancer, asthma, diabetes, influenza, and of course AIDS. The other disease that has been very much in the news recently is Ebola. No one thought it would spread to so many countries in Africa and kill so many people. Now there’s a race on to find a vaccine so that people can be vaccinated against it because as yet there is no medicine that will cure you if you get it and only a few have survived the virus.
‘Then we come to earthquakes! Well, we’ve just experienced a huge one and that should help to convince you, because, as you said, we don’t usually get big earthquakes in England. But apart from this one, there have been many earthquakes all over the world recently. Just in this century there have been huge ones in Japan, China, New Zealand and Chile. Oh yes, there was a big one in Italy as well.’
‘So you’re telling me that all these are signs that the world is coming to an end?’ asked Josh sceptically.
‘Yes, and they’re pretty big signs you’ve got to admit.’
‘But I’m not convinced.’ Josh tried to ease his body into a more comfortable position on the sloping floor of the lift. ‘All these things could be happening because that’s just the way things are going in the world. They don’t really prove anything.’
‘There are other signs as well,’ said Naomi, also wiggling about a bit. It was dreadfully uncomfortable sitting jammed into a corner right next to another person.
‘What are the other signs then?’ asked Josh.
‘People will change,’ Naomi answered. ‘They will become proud and boastful, they will love themselves more than anyone else and money will mean everything to them. They will have no self-control and be abusive, treacherous and rash, brutal and unforgiving. Children will be ungrateful and disobedient to their parents and many people will be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.’
‘Well, I really don’t think that there are many people like that around,’ said Josh.
‘Don’t you? Haven’t you read the paper later or watched the television news? There are so many scams that are thought up by greedy immoral people, there are women being killed or maimed by their partners. Children are being abused, both physically and sexually – often by their parents. Men are grooming girls for sex. There are senseless murders because people can’t control themselves; children are even killing their parents and their teachers!
The whole world has gone mad around us – surely you couldn’t fail to notice that?’
‘Well, when you come to mention it…’
‘It’s a wake-up call, Josh. I know people like to say that everything will go on as it has since the beginning of time and nothing is going to happen, but that’s another sign that something is going to happen. Although the evidence is all around, people just don’t see it – they don’t want to!’
‘But maybe it’s just the way the world is evolving,’ insisted Josh. ‘There’s really no proof at all in what you’ve just told me.’
‘Let me explain something to you,’ said Naomi. ‘The Bible is divided into two parts, there’s the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament was written hundreds of years before the New Testament and in it there are written many prophecies. A good number of these prophecies came about during the time of the New Testament, we know this because it’s all been documented by the people who wrote the books of the New Testament. From this we know the prophets of old were inspired by God and really did know what was going to happen in the future. If those prophecies came true, is that not proof enough that all the other prophecies will also come to pass – including the ones foretold in the New Testament?’
‘What was prophesied in the Old Testament that came true, then?’ asked Josh.
‘The birth of Christ was one,’ said Naomi. ‘In Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6 it says: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting father, Prince of Peace.” That prophecy came true in the New Testament when Jesus was born.’
‘Yes, I think I’ve heard that spouted at Christmas time,’ said Josh. ‘But it didn’t really mean anything to me.’
‘It wasn’t the only thing that was prophesied about Jesus Christ, there were other things, like he would be a descendant of King David and he would be born in Bethlehem – and it all happened just as it was written,’ Naomi told Josh. ‘Also, Jesus’ death was prophesied in the Old Testament, even though crucifixion had not even been invented as a way to kill someone in those days. It was described in detail in Psalm 22, how Jesus would feel when he was being crucified.’
‘Really? What did it say?’
‘It said that all his bones would be pulled agonizingly out of joint and his heart would feel like it had melted inside him. He would be so thirsty that his tongue would stick to the roof of his mouth and all his strength would be dried up so that he felt like it had all been poured out like water. His enemies would surround him and they would pierce his hands and feet. They would throw a dice for his clothing and he would be in so much pain that he would be able to feel each and every bone in his body screaming in pain.’
‘That’s pretty heavy,’ said Josh. ‘Did it all happen like that then?’
‘It occurred exactly as prophesied,’ Naomi told him. ‘There were other things as well. It was written that he would be rejected by his own people and one of his friends would betray him for 30 pieces of silver. It all happened exactly as it was prophesied, Josh. But the best prophecy that came true was that God would resurrect Jesus from the grave – and he did!’
‘Well I have to say it’s quite intriguing, but rather weird as well,’ said Josh. He had never heard anything like this before and Naomi’s soft husky voice was so sincere and compelling. Perhaps it was the dire situation that they were in that made Josh more responsive to what was being said, but he felt the desire to learn more and it seemed that Naomi had all the answers.
‘If the things you mentioned before are really signs of the world coming to an end, can you tell me how, exactly, the world will end?’
‘There will be a dreadful war in the middle east,’ said Naomi. ‘Many nations will be gathered to attack Israel and there will be suffering and distress that has been unequalled from the beginning of time. Many will run to the hills for safety and it will be a terrible period for pregnant woman and woman with babies. It will be absolutely frightful for the people in that area, but the whole world will also be involved and things will happen that will terrify every person on earth. Cosmic powers will tremble and stars will fall out of the sky. The sun and moon will be darkened and will seem to glow like blood – possibly because the world will be covered in nuclear dust. Hail and burning sulphur will fall from the sky and huge waves will form in the sea and roar onto the land. No one will know what to do, they will all be running about like headless chickens, and eventually the sky will collapse with a thunderous bang, and everything will disintegrate in a huge conflagration so earth and all its works are exposed to the scrutiny of judgement.’
‘And that will be the end of the earth and mankind?’ asked Josh.
‘No. Right when it seems that things just couldn’t get worse, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, will return to earth and gather up all his people. The others, the ones that are not his people – well, it’ll be too late for them to be saved. But for Lord Jesus and his people there will be a new earth formed for them to live on.’
‘Well it sounds a bit unfair to me; why should some people be saved and others not?’
‘Because they’ve gone their own merry way in the years before it happens, they don’t notice the signs because they’ve never taken any interest in their God and his creation. They have no faith, or they have faith in the wrong thing. Everyone is given the right to choose, and they’ve chosen the wrong thing.’
‘Well, I guess that would be me. But to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever been given a choice – I just went along with what everyone around me seemed to think.’
‘Are you telling me that you’ve never wondered if death is the end of everything?’ asked Naomi. ‘You’ve never questioned why you’re on earth? And no one has ever said anything that has ignited your curiosity?’
Josh thought for a few moments and then he said, ‘I used to be very friendly with a lad at junior school who was the son of a pastor. His name was Nathan Goodrick and his father was a really nice man. Sometimes Pastor Goodrick said things that made me wonder. He was always asking me to join their church and I did consider it. But I’m passionate about karate and although the practice sessions are during the weekday evenings, the matches are almost always scheduled on a Saturday or Sunday morning. There is absolutely no way that I’d ever let anything get in the way of my karate – especially not the matches, so I never ever went to Pastor Goodrick’s church. Anyway, I thought it would probably be a bit of a waste of time just sitting listening to someone preaching at you for an hour or more. Nathan and I went to different senior schools when we had finished junior school, so we lost contact with each other, then, funnily enough, I bumped into Pastor Goodrick just a few days ago and he asked me again if I wouldn’t like to come to one of their services.’
‘What did you say?’
‘I thanked him, but told him I wasn’t interested.’
‘So you did have a choice!’
Before Josh could answer another aftershock hit them. While Josh had been sitting in the dark listening to Naomi’s melodious voice, the terror of the earth quake had receded, but now panic took hold of him again as the lift bucked about and everything rattled and shook. Josh was convinced that the whole building was about to collapse. It was a strong aftershock and when it at last subsided Josh was trembling and he felt breathless. He could feel that Naomi was also trembling and neither of them said anything for a while. Then Naomi spoke,
‘It’s not too late you know, if you want to be one of the chosen ones.’
‘How do you mean?’ asked Josh.
‘God wants people to be saved and he made a way for that to happen. He sent his son, Jesus down to earth to teach his people and then to die as a sacrifice for their sins. If you can just believe that Jesus is God’s son and he came to redeem you from your sins, you will be saved. It’s the difference between life and death, Josh, but it’s up to you to decide, you are free to choose – life or death – it’s your choice.’
Josh could tell by the intensity of Naomi’s tone of voice that she felt that what she was telling him was of the utmost importance, but no matter how sincere she was, he couldn’t bring himself to believe what she was saying.
‘I can’t imagine that any God would be interested in saving me,’ he said lightly. ‘Why would he? I’m just an ordinary guy who doesn’t even believe in anything! Anyway, he must have millions of people who do believe in him, so why bother with someone who doesn’t really understand or care?’
‘You’re quite wrong. God wants everybody to be saved – even you!’ said Naomi emphatically. ‘Listen, Jesus said this once. “Suppose someone has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together so that they can all rejoice over the one lost sheep that has now been found.” You see, it’s like that in heaven, there’s more rejoicing over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need to repent.’
‘I hear what you’re saying, Naomi, and I do understand,’ said Josh. ‘But to be honest it would take a lot more to convince me that this chap, Jesus, was God’s son. I’m kind of sceptical about things like that, so I’d probably have to meet Jesus and get to know him before I could even start to get my head around the fact that just by believing in him I could be saved from…’
Before Josh had finished what he was going to say there was an almighty twang that reverberated all around the lift and then the lift started to fall. Josh and Naomi clutched at one another as it began to descend, slowly at first but with gathering momentum. As the lift plunged down the lift shaft it caught on the warped walls of the shaft, slowing the lift a little but jarring the two young people inside so that they were thrown about like rag dolls. Sparks flew past them, lighting up their terror stricken faces and as they plunged ever downwards, and the scream of metal on metal was joined by the screams of the two people in the lift. Suddenly there was an almighty crash and then nothing…nothing…nothing.
