If the goal is to get my adrenaline pumping, it definitely worked.Lexie’s grasp is nothing short of a death grip as she pulls me into one of the alleyways between buildings, then around a corner and out of sight from the main plaza area.
“Okay, this is insane.”Lexie laughs.
My head bobs in acknowledgment.Yeah, insane is probably an understatement.
“Where should we check first?”she asks.
With a shrug, I motion to the nearest building.Anything to get out of here as quickly as possible.Another blaring from a foghorn echoes from the main stage, and the street is blanketed in a purplish hue.We both look down at our white, glowing outfits.“Shit,” she mumbles.
“Uh-huh,” I agree.We’re like sitting ducks out here.
“Come on.”Pushing me toward the side door, we enter the dark space, grateful for the added coverage.In the room is a desk with at least five drawers.Beside it is a filing cabinet with half a dozen more.“You take the desk, I’ll take the filing cabinet,” she orders.
I get to work, rummaging through each drawer in search of a halo when someone squeals right outside.My body jumps at the sound before something clatters behind me.Clutching at my chest, I squat behind the desk as the same door we entered through squeaks open.
“You think someone’s in here?”a low voice asks.
“Pretty sure I saw one of the dancers from The Body Shop.”
“Vixen?”the first voice questions.
“Fuck, yeah,” the second one replies.
“Oh, Vixen,” the first sing-songs as the lights go out.“Gonna show me your pretty tits again?”
“Wonder if we get bonus points for painting on skin.”
They both laugh as Lexie crawls toward me.After pressing her forefinger to her lips as if to say, “be quiet,” she points toward a second door, though I have no idea where it leads.Then again, does it even matter?We need to get out of here.Stat.Why is this so freaking terrifying?
“Oh, Vixen,” the guy repeats in the same, eerie singing tone.“Come on, sexy.”
Lexie fake gags and grabs my arm, tugging me toward the door when the lights turn on.Crap!The hinges scream in protest as she pushes it open and slams it behind us, pressing her back against the cold metal.Yeah, there’s no way they didn’t hear that.I wipe my sweaty palms against my jeans, and look around the purple-toned space in search of a place for us to hide or escape or, I don’t know!Something!A shadowed set of stairs leads to a second floor, but other than that, the space is pretty bare.It’s nothing but a stairwell.We’re locked in a freaking stairwell.“Go!”she urges.
“Not without you!”
With a frown, she searches the small stairwell before tearing off her jacket and handing one sleeve to me.“Wrap this around that pipe,” she orders before tying a knot with the opposite sleeve around the door handle.I fumble with the faux leather, attempting to wrap it around the pipe as fast as I can.A loud bam reverberates through the door, and Lexie’s body surges forward, but only stops our progress for a second.Then, we’re back to securing the door.Okay.Okay, okay, okay, we got this.It’s fine.Everything’s fine.Satisfied, we race up the stairs while the banging gets louder and louder.I bet those guys are so pissed.The lights flicker off again, and I blink away the darkness, trying to adjust to the shift when we arrive at another door.Lexie reaches for the handle, but I shake my head.
“Wait.”Quieting my breathing, I press my ear to the cool metal and listen.Are we alone?Is there another entrance to the building?Anything is definitely possible.Lexie mirrors my stance, her forehead wrinkling as she waits for a sound.When only silence greets us, I nod in agreement, and she reaches for the handle again.Squeezing my eyes shut, I wait for the inevitable screech of the rusty hinges, but they’re even louder than I expect.Yeesh.We might as well state our names and how long we’re going to be in here with how earsplitting it is.So much for keeping a low profile.The problem is, there’s nowhere else for us to go.When the lights flicker on again, Lexie’s blood-curdling scream echoes through the entire building.
“June, run!”she yells.
“I’m not leaving?—”
“Fucking go!”she screams, though I don’t miss the undertone of laughter.
“Lexie!”I yell.Black snakes around her glowing-white torso from behind.Someone’s holding her, their arms wrapped around her waist as she struggles against whoever’s captured her.
“Go!”she orders.
Darting past the black behemoth holding my friend hostage, I search for a makeshift weapon, or at the very least, a distraction of some kind.This room is littered with pillows and discarded couch cushions, and… is that a bean bag?I grab a heavy pillow and start hitting the guy with all my might, hoping it’ll at least be enough to make him let go of Lexie for two seconds so she can get away.A low grunt escapes the culprit as the lights turn back off, and Lexie reaches for my wrist again, tugging me further into the room and away from her captor.“Come on, come on!”she yells.I nearly trip on a stray pillow when she drags me toward another door.We dart through it, too amped up to really check our surroundings when the only thing that matters is getting away from the masked man on the opposite side of the door.Lexie slams it behind us, cursing under her breath.“It’s broken.It won’t lock.It won’t even shut.Shit.”
As she fumbles with the doorknob, I realize where we are.We’re standing on a small balcony with nowhere else to go.
A freaking balcony.
“We’re trapped!”I squeal.
With one hand firmly grasping the door’s broken handle, she peeks over the edge.“Not yet, we’re not.”
