24. Zoe
ZOE
I screamed as the cable audibly snapped above us, and we plunged into darkness as the elevator moved at a frightening pace. With my stomach in my throat, I couldn’t think of a single thing except the fact that we were about to die.
It felt like we dropped forever until we came to a sudden halt and I was jerked to the ground, along with everyone else. Heart hammering, I laid there panting, terrified to move a single muscle. Would a shift in weight cause the elevator to fall once again?
A red light flickered on, illuminating the space and giving off an eerie vibe that creeped me out. I wished Red was here. He would know how to keep me calm. I had trained for this kind of stuff with Fox, but living it was an entirely different thing.
“Everyone okay?” Sarah asked, her voice shaking.
“Yeah,” Quinn responded.
I pushed up on quaking arms, my muscles tensing for the slightest shift as our unstable elevator held us precariously above God knows how many more feet of cavernous space.
“I’m good,” I answered, moving to the side of the elevator. My fingers trembled as I searched for the wall, then pressed myself against it, letting out an audible breath.
I could still feel the gentle sway of our metal trap as it dangled from what was left of the cables. Sucking in a deep breath, I tried to stop the black spots in my vision from taking over and suffocating me.
Harry’s deep chuckle broke through the silence, sending shivers down my spine. “Zoe, I knew you would be amazing to work with. This is better than any film I’ve ever made.”
“It’s not a film,” I muttered.
“Come again?”
“This isn’t part of the film, Harry!” I snapped. “We really are under attack, and this really is a life or death situation!”
He barked out a laugh, making me wince. If he was too loud, would we fall to our deaths? Maybe then he would finally believe me.
“Turn off the camera,” Sarah snapped. “I don’t want to be filmed.”
“Turn it off,” Harry mocked. “She doesn’t want to be filmed. Gah! This is so good. I bet our viewers are loving this!”
“Would someone please shut him the fuck up?” Quinn snapped. “Fuck, I need to get out of here. There are too many people.”
“Claustrophobia is a real thing,” the cameraman muttered.
“I’m not claustrophobic. I just don’t like people.”
“Do you think anyone knows the elevator fell?” Sarah asked.
Of course. The phone. We needed to contact someone. The idea of moving across the elevator right now didn’t thrill me, but if we wanted to get out of here, someone had to do it.
“I’ll call. Maybe someone in the panic room can help us.”
“Careful. Don’t shift your weight too fast,” Quinn said.
I could hear the panic in her voice and tried not to let it get to me. Inch by inch, I slid across the floor to the call box. I was almost there when the elevator gave a sudden lurch, sending us falling another few feet before coming to a jerking halt.
I held my breath, terrified to move another inch. It was strange that I hadn’t been panicked at all while I was throwing knives around upstairs, but put me in an elevator that’s plummeting to the ground and I was absolutely terrified.
“Because I can kill someone with knives,” I muttered to myself as I carefully moved another inch.
“We have to look on the bright side. If the cables snap, at least we’ll go fast,” Sarah said, her voice shaking.
“How do you figure?” Quinn asked.
“Well…the way I see it, we’re in a metal box. The impact alone would be enough to turn our brains to jelly, right? Which means it would be a quick death. There have to be worse ways to go.”
“Like death by lava,” Quinn agreed. “Burning in hot magma definitely doesn’t sound like a good way to go.”
I moved another inch closer, focusing on their conversation to keep me calm. “One of Scottie’s plane crashes,” I added.
“Yes,” Quinn laughed. “God, he’s the scariest pilot ever.”
“Or boiling in a vat of Fox’s acid,” Sarah said. “Have you ever seen him boil someone? The screams will live with you forever.”
I was almost there. I stretched out my hand and pressed the button, hoping that meant we would be rescued soon. But as I pushed it, nothing happened. Fear skittered down my spine as I pressed it again and again, only to get no response whatsoever.
“Uh…we have a slight problem.” Trying to keep the shaking out of my voice, I swallowed several times before gathering the courage to tell them the gravity of our situation. “I pressed the button.”
“And?” Quinn asked.
“Nothing. It’s not connecting.”
“Figures,” Sarah sighed. “Must have knocked out the power and the backup when the building went kablooey.”
“The light is still on. The power can’t be out!” Sarah said hysterically.
“It could be a separate system or maybe it’s battery operated,” I said.
“I don’t know!” Anxiety threatened to overcome me as the reality of our situation sank in.
I could not go out like this, not when I was finally at the height of my career with so much going for me.
Not when I had Red and my kids. There was just too much to live for.
“So…what do we do? Should we try to climb out?”
Sarah scoffed. Even in the red glow of the elevator, I could see the horror on her face. “Climb out and what? You want to scale the walls like Spider-Man? I don’t know about you, but I can’t shoot webbing from my fingertips!”
“So we just stay here and wait for the elevator to crash and turn our brains to jelly?” I asked hysterically. “I’m too young to die!”
“So am I,” Sarah snapped, “But I can guarantee I’ll die a hell of a lot faster if I climb out of this elevator!”
“You guys, this is not helping,” Quinn cut in. “We can’t turn on each other now. If anything, we should turn on them!” she jabbed a finger at Harry. “If they hadn’t shown up, maybe none of this would have happened.”
“Man, this is so good,” Harry chuckled. “It’s like a bunch of cats in an argument.”
“Pretty sure we’re really about to die,” the cameraman said.
“It wouldn’t have mattered if they had shown up or not,” I sighed. “Those men forced their way inside. They broke past the security protocols. If they can do that, it means they knew what they were doing.”
“Yeah, but who is they?” Sarah asked. “Do we even know who’s trying to kill us?”
Now that things had settled just a little, I took a moment to think it over. The guys were out of town helping Cash, which left us vulnerable. It had to be the same people.
“Shadow Government,” I whispered. “It has to be them.”
“But why are they attacking us?” Sarah asked. “We are literally doing nothing but sitting in our homes.”
“That’s why they’re attacking. To send a message.”
Except, not everyone was here. There were still some of us on the outside, and they didn’t have the luxury of the panic room to keep them safe.
“Cotton,” I whispered. “Oh my God. He’s still out there!”
“Maybe he’s safe. Maybe they haven’t found him.”
“You don’t think the Shadow Government is out there right now burning down all our houses?” I asked hysterically. “Everything we’ve fought for is being destroyed and what are we doing? Cowering in an elevator!”
“It’s not like we have equipment or the know-how to get out of here,” Sarah snapped. “What do you want us to do? Go out there and fight with our bare hands?”
“Better that than hanging around here waiting for the cable to snap and plunge us to our deaths!”
“Alright, everyone, just calm down!” Quinn shouted.
The silence was immediate. All that could be heard was the ragged breathing as we all struggled not to panic. Well, everyone except Harry, who was snickering behind his camera.
“His camera,” I murmured, an idea striking me hard and fast. “His camera! Someone’s out there watching right now!”
“Great. They can watch our untimely deaths,” Quinn muttered.
“No! Don’t you see? Someone is watching. They must know we’re really in trouble and they can come help us!” I grabbed the camera and jerked it to face me. “If you’re out there, this is real. This is not a show and we really are about to die a very unfortunate death in an elevator.”
“God,” Harry chuckled. “Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. You’re such a method actor.”
I ignored him and pressed on. “Anyone. Please, if you get this, I’m Zoe Warren and this is a desperate plea for help. We’re stuck in an elevator in an old missile silo in Kansas. If you don’t come soon, we’re going to suffocate down here or have our brains smashed up.”
“Or I might kill you if you don’t stop talking,” Quinn muttered.
Tears filled my eyes as I looked into the camera intently. “Please. Our lives depend on it.”
“Maybe you should try pleading again,” Sarah yawned. “God, I’m getting tired. Do you think that’s a lack of oxygen?”
I felt tired too, but it was more of a bone-weary tired from fighting so hard with nothing to show for it. “For what it’s worth, Quinn, I really didn’t mean to throw a knife into your leg.”
“It’s okay. The pain reminds me I’m still alive.”
I snorted in amusement as I stared up at the dark ceiling. We were all using each other as pillows. Well, everyone but Harry and the cameraman. They were relegated to the corner of the elevator after Harry laughed one too many times about our situation.
Hours had passed and no one had come for us. Did they really think it was a movie? That we weren’t really in desperate need of help?
“Ladies, not that this isn’t really building the intensity of the situation, but perhaps we could move the storyline ahead?” Harry prodded.
“How about you shut your hole, Harry?” Sarah sighed.
The red from the light was starting to flicker, making me feel like I was in the red light district.
“Do you think I would have made a good stripper?”
Quinn rolled her head to look at me. “What made you think of that?”
I nodded at the red light. “I don’t think I’ve got the legs for it.”
“Red would say you have the tits and ass for it. That’s really all you need.”
“He has to like my tits and ass. I’m his wife.”