"Erica, do you copy?"
"Mmhmm. I copy. Are you nerds in position or what?"
"Yeah, we're in position. It's all quiet here, so you've got the green light."
"Green light, Roger that. Commence Operation Child Endangerment."
"Can we maybe not call it that?" Angie sighs, "It makes our sound like you're doing this against your own will."
She rolls her eyes but tries to focus on the free ice cream she was promised, "See you on the other side. Nerds."
They wait impatiently for Erica to show any sign that she's made it into the secret room safely.
"Alright, nerds, I'm there."
"Do you– Do you see anything?"
"Yeah, I see those boring boxes you're so excited about."
"Any guards?"
"Negative."
"Booby traps?" She asks sarcastically.
"If I could see them, they'd be pretty shit traps, wouldn't they?"
"Thank you for that."
They hear shuffling on the other end of the line before Erica announces that she's in the secret room.
Steve sighs loudly and runs his hands through his hair. Angie does the same as she paces behind the group. This "operation" is visibly causing them stress, but they choose to ignore it.
Erica steps into the alley, stands triumphantly, and repeats her side of the bargain, "Free ice cream for life."
The group of teenagers meet her in the storage room to check the boxes.
They break open a box from the Chinese restaurant. It's vacuum sealed and visibly not Chinese food.
Steve insists that he be the one to open it.
"Are you sure? One of us could open it." Angie suggests, "I could open it."
"No, you're definitely not opening it." He points at her firmly, "This thing could explode for all we know. You guys should step back."
Dustin stands firmly and refuses to move, "No."
"Just step back, okay?"
"No!"
"Seriously."
"No!" He yells, staring into Steve's eyes, "If you die, I die."
Angie steps closer to Steve's side, "I agree. We do this together."
He looks between the two of them and struggles for a moment, "Okay."
Inside is a vile of green liquid.
"What the hell?"
"What is that?" Robin turns her head to get a better look.
Suddenly, the room shakes mechanically.
"Was that just me, or did the room move?"
Erica whispers fearfully, "Booby traps."
Angie looks around the room in panic, "Guys, we should probably get out of here."
"She's right, " Robin takes the compartment from Steve, "Let's just grab that and go."
Dustin turns to the door's buttons, "Which one do I press, Erica?"
"Just press the damn button, nerd."
"Erica," Angie scolds as she helps Robin repack the box.
"Which one? I'm pressing the button, okay?"
"Press 'open door.'"
"I'm pressing 'open door.'"
Steve breaks into the argument as more stress overcomes him, "Just open the– Press the other button."
"Get out of the way, so she can push the button–" Robin tries to instruct them, but they continue to argue.
"Would you stop?"
"I'm trying."
"Would you let me just do it? Would you stop?"
"Just open the door!" Angie yells impatiently. She didn't really want to dig into this "Secret Russians" thing, but she went along with it because she didn't want something to happen to them if she didn't listen.
On an opposite wall, a red door reinforces the room.
It clings loudly, and Steve grabs Angie's waist to keep her close.
They scream as the room drops at high speeds. She hides in his side, and he observes the lights on the way down, "Oh, shit."
"Why don't these buttons work?!"
"Press the button!"
"What do you think I'm doing?!"
The screaming becomes too much, and Angie whimpers into Steve's side, covering her ears. Maybe if she can't hear it, it'll go away.
"Please don't let us die. Please don't let us die in a stupid elevator." She mutters repeatedly to herself.
No one can hear her over the intense screaming. She isn't sure if she's grateful or in need of comfort. All she knew was that she didn't want to die, especially not in a falling Russian contraption.
"Push it!"
Suddenly, the falling stops. Each one of them falls into the shelves. Boxes of heavy mystery items fall onto Steve and Angie. They both groan in pain.
"My groin." He whines, "It fell on my groin. Dustin! Get this off of me!"
"Just be glad it didn't fall on your head." She rubs her temple as Robin pulls her out of the pile of fallen boxes.
"Is everyone okay?" Robin quietly asks.
Steve breaks loose, "Yeah, I'm great, now that I know that Russians can't design elevators!" He shoves past the kids to the panel again.
"I think we've clearly established that those buttons don't work."
"They're buttons. They have to do something!"
"Yeah, if we had a keycard." Angie mumbles, overcome with a headache.
"A what?"
"It's an electronic lock." Robin adds, "Same as the loading dock door. If we don't have a keycard, it won't operate, meaning–"
"We're stuck in here."
"Yeah," He shuts the panel and stressingly brushes his hair back.
"Just so you nerds are aware, I'm supposed to be spending the night at Tina's, and Tina always covers for me." Erica points at each of them warningly, "But if I'm not home for Uncle Jack's party tomorrow and my mom finds out you four are responsible, she's gonna hunt you down, one by one, and slit your throats."
"I don't care about Tina! Or Uncle Jack's party!" Steve yells, growing more frustrated, "Your mom's not gonna be able to find us if we're dead in a Russian elevator!"
"That's if the Russians don't find us first." Angie mumbles, holding her head, "I think I'd prefer to die in here than out there."
Steve counters immediately, "I'm not gonna let you die on me, alright?" He turns towards the rest of the group, "I'm not letting anyone die in here."
"Hey," Dustin points to the vent above them, "What if we climbed out?"
The two boys file to the top of the elevator to check it out.
As they gaze above them, it's clear that climbing is definitely not an option.
आप पढ़ रहे हैं
Angelica "Freak Two" Munson
फैनफिक्शन"Hey, Harrington!" she reverses against her heel, flipping him the bird, "The names Freak Two, actually. If you're gonna insult me, you might as well do it right." ---------- Angelica Beatrice Munson, aka "Freak Two" is Eddie Munson's younger sister...
