Read Online Secret of the Sevens by Lynn Lindquist - Free Book Online

the edge, clutching my sore arm and panting. “You were … gonna leave … without me?”
    Laney yanks me inside. “Talan, you scared me to death. Can’t you ever be on time?”
    I massage my elbow. “So … what do we do now?”
    Laney pulls her copy of the note from her pocket. “I’ve been thinking about this all day and I think I figured it out.” She moves in close to me. “See how it says: ‘Close with two. Seven times the LL. Seven times the HELP’?” Her eyes lift to mine. “I think ‘close with two’ means we push the elevator button for the second floor.”
    She leans over and presses the 2 button on the panel before glancing back at the note. “‘Seven times the LL’ must mean we hit the button marked LL seven times.” She bends over and counts out loud as she punches the button for the lower level seven times.
    She checks the paper again while I put my hands on my knees to catch my breath.
    â€œThe next instruction is ‘Seven times the help.’ That’s got to be the button with the bell. It looks like the word ‘help’ used to be on it but it’s worn off a little.”
    She’s right. When I lean close, I can make out the letters.
    Laney pushes the help button seven times. The elevator lurches hard. The light reads that we’re bound for floor 2, but the elevator’s actually dropping. It rattles and clangs before stopping abruptly. We reach out for each other to steady ourselves. A moment later, the lights dim.
    Now my heart is pounding harder than it did on the sprint over here.
    There’s a tremble in Laney’s voice that doesn’t help. “Oh no. I hope we didn’t break it.”
    â€œWe?” I smack at the open-door button, but it doesn’t move. “I knew this was a joke.” I press the help button next, but nothing happens so I pound on the door.
    All of a sudden, there’s a loud creak behind us. We spin around and watch the back panel of the elevator disappear. It slides completely off to the left, revealing a small, shadowy room behind it.
    Holy. Shit.
    We latch onto each other like magnets. I can feel her heartbeat racing mine as we stare into the darkness.
    After a minute, we unclench and awkwardly back away from each other.
    â€œStill think it’s a joke?” she mutters.
    She squeezes my wrist and creeps out the back of the elevator, slowly dragging me with her. The elevator casts enough light to show crumbling, red-brick walls around us. The dank, musty room is suffocating and I’m seriously ready to call this whole thing off. My chest lifts and falls with heavy breaths. We take a few more steps and my foot knocks something over on the concrete floor. Two high-beam flashlights roll at our feet.
    â€œWhat the hell?” I mutter.
    As we bend over to pick them up, the elevator doors whip closed and it starts to ascend. We fumble to get the flashlights turned on and the minute we do, the dark space is shattered with beams like we’re announcing the grand opening of a new morgue.
    â€œHello?” Laney calls out.
    Silence . This is creepy. Like a horror film, and I’m one of those idiots who’s gone down into the haunted basement to see what the noise is instead of running like hell. The flashlight’s decently heavy, but a little pepper spray or some brass knuckles would be nice about now. Hell, I’d take holy water in a spray bottle at this point.
    Delaney’s beam settles on the farthest wall. “There’s a tunnel there. Do you see it? Everything else is solid brick.” Her face tightens. “God Talan, what should we do?”
    Fear creeps into my voice. “What do you mean, what should we do? You’re the brainiac.” I flick my flashlight at the empty elevator shaft. “I hate to say it, but it looks like our ride left without us.”
    â€œLet me think for a minute.”