Pretty Boy

Chapter 8

Upon first glance, you wouldn't think anything of the secret Russian room. It looked like any old storage room: Cold cement walls, fluorescent lights, and plenty of boxes. RJ was still incredibly confused. She was also slightly concerned that someone could open the door at any minute and catch them snooping around. All she knew about the entire situation was that, supposedly, Russians used this room to store something. She also noticed that Steve didn't look too happy to have her there. She didn't blame him. After all, just that morning, he thought he would never have to talk to her again. Robin, however, seemed delighted to have another girl her age on the case. There was also the unspoken band-kid bond that they shared.Steve decided it was time to figure out what the hell was in these boxes. He pulled a pocket knife out of his pocket...RJ's pocket knife."Is that my pocket knife?" She asked.Steve didn't respond. He didn't even look at her. He opened the pocket knife and cut open one of the boxes on the table."Yeah, no, that's fine, just steal my pocket knife. That's totally fine," RJ jabbed."Can we please just talk about this later?" Steve was clearly irritated.RJ went silent. Everyone did. They could feel the tension between the two of them. It felt like a rubber band that could snap at any moment if someone pulled back a bit too far. Steve reached into the box and pulled the top off a metal container. Everyone crowded around to get a closer look at what was inside. "Well...that's definitely not Chinese food," RJ joked."You guys may wanna take a step back," Steve said.Erica and Robin promptly stepped back, and RJ followed them. Dustin stood firmly beside Steve. Steve desperately attempted to get Dustin to step back. The two bickered for a moment before Steve gave up. He reached in and pulled out a cylindrical canister filled with a green liquid."What is that?" Robin asked.RJ had found this entire situation rather ridiculous, but things had begun to feel more serious. She wondered if she would have been better off listening to Steve and not joining. Out of nowhere, The whole room shook. RJ felt her stomach drop. "Was that just me, or did the room move?" Dustin asked, concerned. "Booby traps," Erica whispered.RJ turned to Erica, "I'm sorry Booby traps?"The entire room shook again. RJ realized that this was more severe than she had believed. Robin whisked the canister out of Steve's hand."Look, you know what, let's just grab that and go," Robin said as she made her way towards the door.Dustin fumbled to open the door, "Which one do I press Erica?""Just press the damn button, nerd," She replied.Dustin and Erica continued to bicker, Robin joining in on the chaos. The three of them were yelling over each other about how to open the door. Steve looked over to RJ. He could tell that maybe she had begun to second guess following them. He closed the box and walked over to her."You ok?" He asked.RJ was surprised that he was talking to her, "Yeah...well, I mean, this is all a little-"A loud mechanical noise cut off RJ. She assumed they had found out how to open the door, but she could not have been more wrong. Dustin pressed another button that brought down a large red door that covered the previous door they had gone through. Suddenly, the entire room began barreling downwards. That was when they realized that this was no storage room. It was an elevator.Everyone was screaming various profanities as the elevator continued its plummet downwards. RJ had grabbed onto the table for stability. She felt a sense of panic. She was panicked since they were endlessly falling downward, but a familiar terror filled her lungs. She began to feel her breath quicken again and her palms sweat.Erica and Dustin were frantically trying to find the button that would stop the elevator while Steve was shouting at them to do something, anything. RJ could feel her hands begin to slip from the metal table she was holding. She attempted to collect herself, but it wasn't working. She could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears and feel it beating in her chest like it was trying to get out. She tightened her grip on the table.Finally, the elevator came to a jolting halt. RJ's hands slipped from the table as she flew into the corner, right into Steve. The box on the table in front of her flew into the corner with her, pinning her down. RJ was pinned between the heavy box on top of her and Steve behind her. She didn't notice. Her heartbeat continued to pound and she tried to gain control of her breath. Even when she felt the weight of the box lifted from her by Robin and Dustin, she stayed frozen. "Is she ok?" Erica asked Robin.RJ began to feel dizzy as she felt tears fall from her eyes, but something brought her back to reality. She felt Steve's arms around her. She wasn't thinking about what had happened with Steve that morning. She wasn't even thinking about how she was stuck in a mysterious elevator with no way out. All she could think of was his arms wrapped around her and how safe she felt."It's ok, it's ok. I've got you," Steve whispered as he lovingly rubbed his hand across the top of her head. RJ began to feel her heartbeat slow and her breathing return to a natural pattern. She sat up and turned around to look at Steve. He still had one arm wrapped around her."You ok?" He asked softly, tenderly.RJ softly nodded her head. She wiped her tears on her sweatshirt, followed by wiping off her sweaty palms. Robin, Dustin, and Erica were staring at RJ. She hated when people stared at her like that like she was some broken, fragile mess. She quickly picked herself up."So, how the hell do we get out of here?" RJ asked, attempting to shift the focus away from her.Everyone was a bit taken aback by her sudden bounce back from such a panicked state, but they all figured it was probably best to focus on finding a way out. Robin explained how the lock was electronic, and without a keycard, they were going nowhere. Erica began lecturing them on how she was supposed to be spending the night at a friend's house. RJ was relieved that the focus had shifted off of her. Well except for the fact that Steve kept glancing at her every few seconds.Dustin suggested that they could climb out after noticing a hatch up above. He and Steve decided to climb up and check it out. Erica had sat down on a box impatiently waiting for the boys to discover something up above. RJ leaned up against the wall and relished in the feeling of the cold concrete against her sweaty back. Robin leaned beside RJ."Are you sure you're ok?" Robin asked.RJ sighed, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just don't do too well under stressful situations like this, ya know?"Robin laughed, "Oh yeah when I'm nervous, I talk a lot. I just start and I can't stop and I always end up saying something stupid."RJ began to notice how hot she was in her sweatshirt but shook the thought aside. She looked at Robin."So I take it we probably won't make it to band practice tomorrow," RJ said."Yeah, it looks like it," Robin replied.The two laughed at the sheer insanity of the situation. RJ knew Robin from Band but never really talked with her much. She didn't talk much with anyone from Band; or anyone at school for that matter. RJ believed everyone who came into her life would eventually leave her, so why would she try to make friendships? Meeting Steve was an accident. RJ begged Mrs. Morgan let her do her English project alone, but she insisted that it was a partner project. RJ got paired up with Steve and the rest is history.After a bit, Steve jumped down from the hatch above followed by Dustin. RJ, Robin, and Erica stood up straight, eager to hear what they had found."So, what'd you find?" RJ asked"Yeah going up isn't really an option," Dustin replied."So...we're stuck here?" RJ said, wiping away the sweat on her forehead.