Drrr! Drrr—!
The phone continued to squeal, the piercing ring ricocheting off the narrow hallway walls and spilling down the staircase below. It filled every corner of the house, growing louder with each passing second as Joanna continued to stare in the room where Ariel had just entered.
Joanna's mind spiraled with all sorts of thoughts, her heart drumming loudly within her chest as a knot formed in the pits of her stomach.
But she was also quick to react.
Instead of retreating, Joanna forced herself forward.
She broke into a run down the corridor, the ringing still shrieking from inside the room.
Reaching the door Ariel had entered, she grabbed the handle and shoved it hard, slamming it shut with a violent bang, as if cutting off the sound by force alone.
BANG!
Joanna hurriedly pressed her back against the door; her breathing came fast and uneven, chest rising sharply as she tried to steady herself.
