Freshmen Dorms

Evelyn felt the blood drain from her face. Oh God, oh God, oh God....must not panic. Must not panic. "Okay," she mumbled faintly and scooted over to where Nova was, untying him and scooping the puppy up, she dumped him down the front of her hoodie. Nova gave a panicky squeal and Evelyn stood up, grabbing her sports bag and holding onto the support bars. She felt nauseous. "What're we going to do, wait here?" She could practically feel herself hyperventilating. She needed to be back on solid ground before she had a full-blown panic attack. Evelyn's knuckles whitened on the handlebars and she suddenly found it really, really hard to breathe. "Can we please climb out? Or something?" she squeaked, not caring if she sounded like a total wuss right now. She had her fears and they were reasonable fears, damn it.

James and Jake had been straining and trying to pry the metal doors but they hardly budged. They both let go and James cursed.

Jake groaned and ran a hand through his dark hair, he wasn't sure how the weight would fair if all three of them had been up there.

Jake looked around and he pulled himself up looking up and down to see if any of the doors had been opened so that they could climb out.

Jake looked around and realized nothing was open, but if it were to open he was determining what things they had they could be left behind, he noticed James' backpack and Evelyn's gym bag, "You both have to leave your shit. If a door is open then we shouldn't test it by bringing extra weight. This is if anyone can't get to us." Jake informed them.

James had left his backpack and he really didn't care he didn't have anything in there worth saving.

"Okay so how are we gonna do this then? Climb along the walls like monkeys if these people can't get to us?" James asked Jake.

Jake contemplated this, they needed to figure this out if people couldn't get to them and a door was open.

"Okay if we have to we leave any heavy stuff we don't need here. Then James you climb out and you would climb to the open door, then Evelyn would go up after you and you help her up and I would boost her up. Then I'd climb up next. So since now we can't do anything stay as we are so we keep this damned thing balanced." Jake figured that this was a good enough plan and that they just needed to stay calm.

There was another ominous creak. But this time, they clearly heard a voice.

"Hey, kids!" some guy called from above.Evelyn's eyes widened.

"We're going to lower ropes down. It's too much strain on the lift if we come down there. You're gonna have to climb up. We got rope ladders, so don't worry," the guy continued. There were background noises like a few other people were with him and his voice echoed down the shaft.

Evelyn let out a sigh and sank slowly down to sit on the floor, head in her hands and Nova wriggling in her hoodie.

A moment later, the tip of a rope ladder appeared in the hatch but it didn't descend. "Can you guys get up on the roof?" the guy's voice echoed again.

Jake heard the voice and was relieved, "Yeah we can! Hold on we'll come up one at a time!" Jake shouted back to the worker.

Jake looked at James and Evelyn and he said, "Okay we'll do the same thing, James go first, keep the weight evenly disturbed."

James nodded but looked reluctantly at Evelyn and Jake, not sure if he wanted Jake to be the one down there with her, but he had to push that aside since this elevator could possibly fall and kill them.

So James wordlessly climbed out of the elevator, and he looked down at Jake and gave him a signal then James called up, "Okay I'm out! Send the ropes down and we'll come out one at a time."

"It's already there," the guy called down. "Just grab it and come up quick."

Evelyn got to her feet and felt her stomach lurch sickeningly. She pulled Nova out of her hoodie and into her bag, half-zipping it to ensure he couldn't fall out. Then she pulled the strap of the bag over her head so it lay across her chest securely. The elevator creaked again and dropped just slightly. Evelyn grabbed hold of the support bar again, swallowing.

James grabbed the rope in his hand and the elevator dropped slightly, and he gulped grabbing onto the ladder and he climbed up the side of the elevator shaft, going quickly so that Jake and Evelyn could come up behind him.

James finally grabbed firm solid ground and he climbed out over to the side and the workers put him away from the edge, he peered over their heads though to make sure a bronze haired girl made her way to safety.

Jake grabbed a hold of the wall, and he reached over and gave Evelyn's hand a light squeeze,"You're fine okay? They're gonna help you up but you need to go okay?" Jake told her reassuringly, so she wouldn't freeze there.

"I'm fine," Evelyn insisted, more to herself than Jake. God damn it if I play damsel-in-distress now.

She looked up at the hatch, seeing James climb up the ladder. His weight gone eased the elevator slightly and it stopped groaning. Evelyn suddenly registered she was probably cracking Jake's fingers, squeezing his hand harder than she meant to in fear, and quickly let go. She looked around at him, trying to keep a pokerface on. No point making him have to babysit her AND get them out. "Can you boost me up? I don't think I can reach the hatch." She took off her bag and set it down. "And then I can take Nova from you." Nova barked inside the bag.

Jake drew his hand back and shook it out, Evelyn had really squeezed the life out of it, but he didn't blame her he knew that she had a fear of heights he remembered her telling him that.

He nodded, "Yeah sure." And he couldn't help but smile when he heard Nova barking in Evelyn's gym bag, damn pup even in most serious of situations he always managed to make him smile and then Jake realized he needed to stop gushing over Nova and help her up.

Jacob lifted Evelyn up by the waist, his hands sliding down to her legs, and one sort of resting on her butt. He knew that she would probably slap him but given the circumstances for once he wasn't copping a feel he actually wanted to make sure she got out of there okay. He boosted her upwards and called up to her, "You good?"

Evelyn felt her face burn bright red at the overly close contact - and she blushed even harder when she realized exactly where Jake's hands were. She resisted her natural instinct to knee him in the face and break his nose. Don't say anything. Don't say anything...

She reached up and caught hold of the edge of the hatch, and then said, "Can you boost me any higher?"

This reminded her horribly of the whole fire-escape-with-Frankie night. That had not gone well.

***

Luke texted James again: Whts goin on?

James had been watching and he read his text message from Luke, Everything is good, Im out now they're just trying to get Jake and Ev out. James sent to Luke anxiously watching.

***

Jake realized that this wasn't working and he wasn't sure what else to do so he dropped Evelyn for a moment, catching her in his arms. He set her back on the floor and examined the angle real quick of the elevator and determined which would be best in boosting her up.

Then Jake hoisted himself up on the support bars, sitting across them diagonally; he picked up Evelyn and hoisted her onto his lap, then he folded his hands across each other, "Okay stand up, use one hand to hold onto my shoulder for balance and I'll hold on to the other one and once you're straight you reach for the top and I'll boost you okay?"

Evelyn silently swore at James. He just had to leave her down here with Jake of all people?!

Her stomach continued to lurch sickeningly. She pushed aside the fact that Jake was breathing down her neck and said, "Okay."

The elevator creaked again and shuddered. Evelyn froze up and then shook her head, snapping out of it. She braced a hand behind her on Jake's shoulder and slowly got up, resting her feet on his lap and holding onto the wall with her other hand. She reached up with the hand holding onto Jake and grabbed the edge of the hatch again. Then she shifted one foot to his clasped hands and braced it there so he could boost her in a swift move.

A funny snap sounded above them. It was almost too quiet to hear.

"You kids okay?" the guy called down, sounding suddenly way too calm. Evelyn threw Jake a confused glance over her shoulder and called back, "Yeah!"

"All right, boost me," she said, readying herself.

Jake nodded boosting Evelyn up with his hands cupped over her feet, he lifted her as high as he could, "Okay go if you can!" Jake called to her. He was trying to ignore the goosebumps he was getting all over his skin from having touched her.

Evelyn swung an arm over the edge and braced her sneaker against a ridge in the elevator wall, swinging herself up with a sudden leap. She snagged the rope ladder and climbed out onto the roof. Then she turned and squatted down. "All right, give me Nova. In the bag! I'm no leaving my bag. Give me James' as well. Textbooks aren't cheap!"

***

Jake n Ev arnt out?! Shit. :/ Luke sent bakc, panicky. He noticed Seth standing nearby with a slightly tense expression. "James got out," he called over to him and Seth glanced up, looking relieved but still worried. "They're getting the other two out now."

Seth nodded and hoped Jake and Evelyn would for once not bicker at the wrong time.

"I'll bring James' bag, just take yours okay?" Jake called out to her handing up the Nova bag to her and picking up James' backpack and slinging it over his shoulder.

"Okay hurry go so I can climb out!" He yelled at her, because for some reason he could feel an argument brewing and he wanted it to just be over with.

"Stop panicking," Evelyn snapped down at him, turning and slinging the bag over her shoulders so it rested diagonally across her body. She grabbed hold of the rope ladder - and the elevator dropped from under her feet.

Evelyn yelped and clung to the ladder, and then realized the elevator had dropped a few feet. She put one foot on the first rung and looked down, worry curdling in her stomach. "Jake, hurry!"

Nova's barks echoed up the shaft.

"They have a dog with them?" one of the firemen asked, bewildered.

"Shit." James cursed to himself, he forgot that they had Nova with them in the elevator and he quickly intervened, "No there's no dog, that's the other guy Jake. He still hasn't gone through puberty yet." James tutted shaking his head, "Its a shame, late bloomer he is."

Jake fell on his butt from his odd position when the elevator decided to drop again, he climbed up sticking his upper body through the hatch, and watched as Evelyn climbed up, he couldn't go at the same time as her because of the whole weight thing.

"Hurry up Red!" Jake hollered at her, climbing out on top of the elevator and waiting for her to at least get halfway before he decided to climb up.

Evelyn hadn't gone up too high before she stopped and shot Jake a "How much stupider can you get?" look. "Just climb up, screw the weight thing. It'll hold!" she snapped.

The firemen stared at James. One of them cocked an eyebrow. "Okay....man, that sucks for him."

Jake grit his teeth, and glared up at Evelyn and started climbing up the ladder behind her, "Go any slower and I will use your head as a rung to lift myself up over the damn ladder you turtle!"

James nodded in agreement, "It really does." Although his theory was being quickly disapproved as Jake's low voice bellowed throughout the empty elevator shaft.

Evelyn would have flipped Jake off but Nova was wriggling in the bag in fear. She tried to keep climbing as she snuck a peek at the puppy. "Calm, down, buddy," she cooed lovingly at the dog and then changed tones and bit out angrily, "Don't make me step on your ugly mug, Jacob!"

The firemen were now staring down the shaft as Evelyn's voice echoed up to them. "Houston, we might got a problem," one of them said.

"My ugly mug!? It was this ugly mug that had to lift your FAT ASS up onto the god damn elevator!" Jake snapped, climbing up the damned ladder.

Stupid female.

Evelyn felt her jaw drop and had to resist an urge to stomp on Jake's stupid head. She took a deep breath and continued climbing, saying irritably, "Funny, I didn't think you had a problem feeling up my so-called fat ass earlier."

"What's the problem, kids?" a fireman called.

"Nothing," Evelyn replied sweetly.

"Hey I said it was a fat ass didn't mean I didn't like it chicka! " Jake shouted grinning smugly, he then called up to the firefighter.

"Hey officer would it matter if we lost a large mass of red hair to the elevator shaft? I doubt the fur ball would be missed!" Jake yelled snidely, sending a fake sweet smile up at Evelyn as he said that.

Evelyn had turned red at Jake's comment but now was just feeling aggravated. "I should really have just knocked you out before I climbed up," she said to him. She would have banged her head on the ladder to put herself out of her misery if it had been made of metal. As it was just rope, she exhaled in frustration.

"Is there a problem?" one of the firemen asked James worriedly.

"I should have dropped you when I tried to lift you out of the elevator!" Jake retorted curtly.

James smacked his hand over his face, and he sighed, "No officers they're always this bitchy to each other."

"Asshole," Evelyn said, because she was too aggrieved to think of a better comeback. Why did he have to be such a nuisance?!

The firemen exchanged skeptical looks. "Hurry up, kids, we don't got forever!" one of them called down and then muttered, "Christ."