He climbs on the the lid and waves the flame under the sprinkler nozzle’s sensor. We cover our ears as an alarm rips through the hall. The sprinklers sputter on, drenching us in a cold spray. The ceiling lights die, plunging us into sudden darkness. The absence of light only makes the wail of the alarm feel louder. A generator vibrates somewhere deep within the walls, and the emergency lights flicker on. All but one.
I blink against the deluge. The elevator button isn’t lit. The floor indicator is dark.
I call Chill’s name. Rivulets of water trail down the frozen features of his face. “They’ve disabled power to the elevator,” I shout over the alarm. “How do I get it running?”
He pushes his frames higher on his nose, his focus sharpening. “Open the emergency panel. Look for the wire that connects the lock key to the floor button,” he shouts. “To jump-start it, you’ll need a charge.” He points at Julio. It takes me a second to figure out what he means. It’ll take two of us to generate enough power. All we have to do is direct a charge into the wires.
I pry my wet fingers between the elevator doors. Julio helps me wrench them apart. Cool air rushes from the open shaft. I can just make out the top of the elevator, parked at the floor below us.
“Jump!” Julio braces the doors open.
“You need to jump with me.”
He glances back at the crate.
“They’ll be okay,” I tell him.
“Are you sure about this?”
“Either we die in here or we die up there. There’s no going back now.”
I leap, my knees buckling as I drop down onto the elevator car. It’s quieter inside the shaft, the shriek of the alarm muted by the thick stone walls. The elevator shakes when Julio lands beside me, and I grab the cables to steady myself. We both look up. Three sopping wet heads peer down at us. The walls above us are smooth—too smooth to climb.
“I hope he’s right about this.” Julio opens the emergency hatch andwe lower ourselves into the elevator car. Our clothes drip, the water collecting into a puddle on the floor.
He shivers beside me as I drag a pick from the soaked back pocket of my jeans and pry open the control panel, exposing the wiring inside. Poppy’s voice rains down from above, hollering at us to hurry. But I’ve done as much as I can do alone. I wipe my palms on my jeans.
“Ready?” I hold a hand out to Julio, clutching an exposed wire with the other.
He swears under his breath. Utters something in Spanish as he summons the puddle of water at our feet into a funnel and directs it out of the open hatch. “Whatever happens next, Sommers, I’m not fucking kissing you.” He dries his hand. Slaps it into mine. A bolt of electricity charges through us, almost knocking me off my feet. The lights inside the cabin flicker. The emergency control board hums to life and the elevator begins to ascend.
Julio grits his teeth as we inch toward the floor above us. The second the elevator stops, he collapses against the wall.
I pry open the interior doors to the deafening ring of the alarm. Poppy, Woody, and Chill wait on the other side, wide-eyed and dripping, their hands pressed over their ears.
“Get in!” I maneuver the dolly through the doors, pinning the others into the corners of the elevator until we all fit. Pulling the exterior door closed behind us, I shut us in.
The air inside the car is stuffy, thick with the smells of sweat and wet Seasons. We rest against handrails, breathing hard, listening to the muffled scream of the alarm. Julio’s still hugging the wall, but my mind’s alert, my body humming with adrenaline. I’m pretty sure someof Julio’s energy looped into me. If I’m right, if we rely on each other’s strength long enough, our bodies will find a balance.
I hold out my hand. He hesitates to take it.
“It’s the only way out,” I tell him, grabbing a wire.
He clasps my hand, teeth clenched against the burst of energy that crackles through us. The panel sparks to life. The lights flicker on, the interior doors close, and we lift our eyes toward the sky as we rise to the surface.
20
A Thin Ray of Light
FLEUR
My alarm’s ringing. The sound hurts my ears. It’s cold. I’m tired, not ready to wake up yet.
Twenty more minutes, Poppy.I curl into myself tighter. Why won’t she turn it off?
The alarm fades. Voices argue in another room. My bed shakes violently, and I hit my head on something hard. Cold water spatters my cheek. I try to move, but my backside is numb, my legs folded into a tight space, tingling with sleep.
Not my bed.
