Page 151 of X's and O's

Except it didn’t. It didn’t budge at all. It didn’t warp or bend the way I would have expected a normal industrial unit to. This was Saint View. Nothing here was made from well-made materials, because that would make them too expensive to rent out.

But this door seemed like solid steel.

“I already tried that,” Dickson called. “Nearly fucking broke the knife trying to pry that thing open with it.”

“He’s not lying.” Toby pointed out scratch and gouge marks around the door handle.

I couldn’t help but think of Dickson in here for the last two days, the tin box heating up during the day, then freezing at night, while he tried to scratch his way out like a trapped mouse.

A chill ran down my spine.

“This is bad, Vi.” Toby’s voice hinted at panic.

I gave him a reassuring smile. “It’s going to be fine. This is all just some elaborate hoax. Ashton Kutcher will probably jump out and yell that we’ve been punked at any minute.”

“Vi, that show hasn’t been on TV since we were in high school. Nobody is punking anyone anymore!”

Dickson had his hands over his ears again, his head shaking back and forth, like our shouts were triggering him.

They were both escalating. Dickson’s grip on that knife was so tight his knuckles were white.

I was the only one who was going to get us out of this. Dickson was wrapped up in a nightmare inside his head, and Toby, while my best friend in the world, was not much good under pressure.

The door was a no-go, and by the look of it, the rest of the walls were just as solid. There was no point screaming for help. The gang outside had already tried getting in the door after us, but unlike when Toby and I had entered, the door had remained locked for them.

The only escape was the high windows.

I grabbed the edge of the table. “Help me move this.”

Toby scurried to pick up the other side and followed me as I guided it below the window.

Toby realized what I was doing. “Vi, even with that table, you aren’t going to be able to get up to that window.”

I already knew that. “I know. But if I stand on it and boost you up, you’ll be able to.”

Toby’s eyes widened, and he shook his head. The panic was flooding him, I could see it in the frantic, jerky movement, the trembling in his fingers, the rapid breathing expanding his chest.

“We can’t! Can’t you hear that recording? The doors are locked, the windows high. No way out, so don’t you try.” He gripped my arm. “Don’t you try! You want to ignore the warning?”

“Did you miss the rest of the message, Tobes? Twomust die for one to go. Who will strike the final blow? Who do you think the two to die will be when Dickson gets so thirsty he can’t stand it anymore? He’s the one with the knife! I don’t know about you, but I didn’t pack a gun in my bra this morning.”

I was just as scared as he was. My chest was so tight I was sure I was going to have a heart attack at any minute. But I knew in my heart, if we didn’t get out of here, we were going to have a whole different set of problems really soon.

Dickson had stopped his pacing and muttering but only to watch us.

If this didn’t work…

No. It was going to fucking work. I wasn’t going to just stand here and do nothing because I was scared of some ominous warning playing on repeat. There was nobody else in here, other than the three of us, and a recorded message couldn’t hurt me. No way out, my ass.

I clambered up onto the table and dredged up every memory of the year Toby had forced me to be part of the cheerleading squad. I’d of course been a base. We both had, though Toby had spent the entire year complaining about how the fliers got all the glory.

I held a hand out to him, a grim smile plastered in place to hide the sheer terror building inside me. “You always wanted to be a flier. Now’s your time to shine.”

“I can’t!” he choked out.

My heart broke. I was watching my best friend crumple beneath the pressure, and it was killing me not to put my arms around him and comfort him, but I was scared if I did, then I’d fall apart too.

“If anyone’s escaping, it’s me,” Dickson interrupted.He waved the knife at Toby. “Get up there. She’s not going to be able to boost me up alone. It’s going to take both of you.”