6. Chapter Six
Chapter Six
T his had to be a nightmare.
Lily wanted to wake up and be at home in her soft, cozy bed. And yet she couldn’t escape this harsh reality. She was stuck inside this elevator. And no one knew where they were. Ugh!
Why had she followed Tony into this elevator? She knew better. She didn’t like small spaces. It might be a little more than dislike. It was more like a hate for small, closed-in places.
At that particular moment, she just wanted to scurry through the trap door of the elevator and escape. But she didn’t have the arm strength to pull herself up and out of the opening. Although from what she could see, which wasn’t much, the elevator shaft was worse than in the car.
She just needed someone to pry open the doors so she could step out into city hall. And that wasn’t going to happen unless she called for help.
Sitting on someone’s shoulders, even someone as strong as Tony, was more precarious than she imagined. It wasn’t like Tony stood still like a statue. Now and then he had to shift, leaving her to regain her balance.
Just as she reached into her back pocket for her phone, the mayor shifted. It startled her, and she lost hold of the phone, which was partway out of her pocket. As she reached out to the wall to balance herself, she felt the phone slip the rest of the way out of her pocket. Oh no!
Thump!
Tears of frustration pricked the backs of her eyes. What else could go wrong? She blinked repeatedly. Now was not the time for tears.
“Was that the phone?” Tony’s voice was raspy from the strain of holding her up.
“Yes, you moved, and I lost hold of it. Now what are we going to do?”
There was a moment of silence. “Hold still. I mean real still. Don’t even breathe.”
“Fine.” She held her position, and even though she knew he wasn’t serious about her not breathing, she still held her breath. She hoped his idea worked.
The next moment, he said, “Move very slowly and take the phone from my hand.”
Her instinct was to lunge for the phone. She restrained herself. They couldn’t afford any more mistakes.
Instead, she moved in steady, measured movements. When her fingers wrapped around the phone, she gripped it like her life deepened on it. At this rate, it just might. “I’ve got it.”
“Use the speaker phone and hold it up through the hatch as far as you can,” he said.
Her finger pressed nine and her thoughts spiraled back in time. Suddenly, she was in her parents’ living room. One moment her father was speaking to her and her mother. The next moment he was clutching his chest.
“Lily?” When she didn’t respond, he asked, “What’s wrong? The urgent tone of his voice drew her back to the present.
The painful memory slipped into the recesses of her mind. She pressed one, then one. The connection wasn’t great. The phone started to ring. There was some static, but Lily didn’t care. As long as they understood her, they’d be in good shape.
“Nine-one-one, what is the nature of your emergency?”
“We’re trapped in an elevator.”
“Hello? Nine-one-one, is anyone there?”
Lily straightened her body the best she could and stretched her arm up as high as it would go. Please, let this work. And then she yelled. “Help. We’re stuck in an elevator.”
“I can barely hear you. Can you move to another location?”
“No! We’re trapped in an elevator.”
The operator ran her through a series of questions. It felt as though the questions went on forever. And if it felt that way for her, she was certain it felt that way for the mayor. In fact, she’d noticed that he’d gone totally silent. She needed to finish this conversation and get down.
“Help is on the way,” the operator said.
Those words were music to Lily’s ears, but they were quickly followed by another creaking sound. What was that? It sure didn’t sound good.
The operator said something else that Lily wasn’t able to make out as she lowered her now-aching arm. She was not used to holding her arms directly overhead for an extended period. Maybe she needed to reconsider going to the gym.
“Okay,” Lily said. “You can put me down.”
“I’m not sure my legs will bend again.” His voice sounded strained. “Can you try swinging your legs around so that you can slide down my back?”
“I...” She glanced down. Why did the floor seem so far away? “I can try.”
What was the worst that could happen? That she’d land on her backside? It’d be worth it to get out of this elevator.
As she attempted to move, the mayor groaned and definitely not in a good way.
She stopped moving. “I don’t think this is going to work.”
“Just keep going. I need you to get down.” There was a hint of desperation in his voice.
And so, she started to move again. Her movements were slow and deliberate. By the time she got one leg around his broad shoulders, she knew when she got the other leg swung around him, she was going to fall.
Not only were the mayor’s muscles straining, but so were hers. It wasn’t until she tried to get down that she realized her legs were stiff from keeping them locked in one position for so long.
When she went to move her other leg, she lost her balance. The mayor reached out to stop her, but it was too late. Gravity yanked her downward in a split second.
Thump!
Ouch. Her head hit the wall as her legs folded beneath her. She was definitely going to feel that the next morning. She rubbed her right hip, hoping to ease the throbbing. As she did so, her fingers brushed over something smooth and hard. She glanced over to see her phone. She scooped it up.
She looked up to see the mayor now leaning against the wall of the elevator. “How are you?”
“I should be asking you that question. You’re the one who fell.”
“I’m fine.” Not exactly true. She had a bruised hip to go with her bruised pride. “How about you?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Which means you aren’t fine now.” She was concerned about him. “Can you sit down?”
She scooted over next to him. He sank down next to her.
If the frown lines now marring his handsome face were any indication, he was hurting a lot.
And she felt bad. Maybe she should give up her cookie fix that she indulged in almost every afternoon.
It was only two chocolate sandwich cookies.
She called them her afternoon pick-me-up.
“Is there anything I can do?” she asked.
“A drink of water would be nice.”
That was something she usually had on her, especially in the warmer months. “I wish I could help you out. You certainly earned it.”
Thud! The car shuddered.
“What was that?” Lily’s heart started to hammer.
Thud! The car shuddered once more.
“I don’t know.” He looked upward.
She followed his gaze, but she couldn’t see anything because the hatch had closed by then.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
And then the car dropped. A scream tore from Lily’s lungs. They were going to die. She was sure of it.
There were so many things she had yet to accomplish. After all, she was just thirty-five. She was too young for a bucket list. Then again, it appeared she wasn’t too young after all.
Thud!