The 34th Floor

The 34th Floor - Chapter 23 - Grace

“Is it just me or did the temperature drop down a couple of degrees in here?” Rachel questioned, just as my grip on the wooden door was forced to loosen and it creaked closed. I jumped a few inches backwards, gasping as a chilly breeze past my face and caused my hair to come alive.

“Uh, no I think…I think I’m feeling a bit cold too.” My voice trembled at the end as another surge of wind blew by.

“Does that mean a window is open?!” A bit of excitement leaked into Rachel’s voice as she said those words.

“A fat chance,” Cade grumbled from where they had placed him on the counter top.

“Where are we?” I asked, gingerly maneuvering my way so I was standing close to the three of them.

“I don’t know, but this is where I was hoping cell phones actually worked,” Rachel muttered.

“Why?” Noah asked, leaning against the counter opposite of the one Cade was placed on top of.

“To show my friends that I actually dared to break a nail today.” Smiling widely, she wasn’t afraid to rotate her finger in a circular motion, giving us all a view of her barely chipped finger-nail.

“You’re a dare-devil, Rachel,” I stated while having the audacity to lean against the edge of the counter next to Noah.

For the second time today, the growling in my stomach appeared, slicing the silence in the air in half.

“Looks like I’m not the only one hungry,” Cade joked, a laugh escaping his lips before he winced in pain.

“Am I the only one who thinks that that thing right there kind of resembles a stove?” I asked, pin-pointing a few feet away from Cade.

“Oh, I got it, smoked salmon and cream cheese!” Cade arbitrated.

“Uh, Cade, there isn’t any fish in the fridge let alone a fishing rod or a lake to catch one,” I said, staring queerly at the now disappointed boy, who looked ten times younger than when he was attempting to save Sarah as she inhaled the last of her breath.

“But seriously, are we in the kitchen and is that a stove?” I asked, rather bothered by knowing the unknown object.

“Want to put your hand on it and prove your point?” Rachel asked, smirking as I turned around to shoot her a murderous glare.

 “Sorry, not as dumb as you to fall for that one.” I covered my mouth to hide the smug grin as I found Rachel’s lips curling upwards into a sneer.

“Ladies, ladies, I know I’m hot and either one of you can place your hands on me, but please, let’s not fight,” Noah intertwined as Rachel and I looked away in disgust.

“Rachel, you look for anything that’s edible, Noah, you try searching for some matches, and I’m going to see if there is a candle around here.”

“You know, in a house that’s I don’t know...fifty or over a hundred years old, I doubt there is anything that you can consume that’s not poisoned or spoiled,” Rachel matter-of-factly stated.

“Maybe some canned foods or honey. My grandma has had honey since twenty years and she still serves it at the table when I got over to her house sometimes,” I stated, forbidding myself from shedding any tears.

“Uh, that’s gross,” she sickly replied.

“You really can’t determine what’s good and bad when it comes to food and you have nothing to eat besides it,” Cade said, poking at his bruise.

Ignoring Rachel’s chattering and complaining, I took it open myself to open and close wooden cabinets in hopes of finding a candle.

“I got the matches!” I heard Noah shout from where he was perched on top of an unsteady wooden chair.