For the second time, I pull myself off the floor and try the doors. The rope is so tight around the handles, they don’t budge. I try to push them forward, and nothing happens. I try to pull them to me, and it’s the same. Dropping my hands, I beat my head against them as the hot tears line my cheeks.
If I scream, Wade or Reggie might come. I don’t know if that finger threat was a scare tactic or if he would really cut me. I don’t want to find out.
Leaning against the doors, I feel utterly defeated and completely desperate. Staggering back to the wall, I slide down to a sitting position and wait, my hope almost gone.
My cheek is against the cold tile when I wake again. A high-pitched buzzing noise like an enormous swarm of bees fills the air. My forehead lines, and I try to get my bearings. I’m stiff all over as I move to sit up. Did I sleep all night? I reach for the light switch and turn it off. Sunlight shines through the cracks in the door, and I realize it must be Sunday.
The buzzing doesn’t stop, and with a shuddering breath, I know what it is. The race has started.
“Oh, god!” I whisper, pacing the small room. I wrap my arms around my waist and try to calm my shaking insides.
The grand prix is less than two hours total. I have even less time to find a way out of here, to find a way to the track, to find Cal, and to get Rowan out of that car. Tears are in my eyes as I realize it’s impossible.
“I’ll never make it,” I say in a broken whisper.
No! I have to try. I press my ear to the door and listen. Other than the noise of the cars, I hear nothing from the room. Grasping the door handles, I pull and push them with all my strength.
“Reggie?” I say it only a little louder than normal volume at first.
No response.
I pull the handles harder, forcing them to move as I call louder. “Reggie! I need your help! Reggie!”
It’s a lie. I don’t want Reggie to come. I hope he’s gone. I hope he and Wade are both far from here, somewhere at the track where they can grow complacent, thinking their evil plan will succeed.
I stop and wait, listening. Several more minutes of silence pass, and I’m convinced I’m the only one in this room. Bolstered by this conviction, I grasp the door handles as hard as I can and throw my weight against them. They don’t budge.
“Fuck!” I scream, jerking them to me as I throw all my weight in the opposite direction. “Open you mother fuckers!” I scream, running at them with all my might. It’s like hitting a wall.
I’m on my knees again, trembling and crying, still holding the door. I’m too weak, and I can’t get these damn doors open. I can’t help them. My fingers slip off the silver handles, and I collapse on all fours, my forehead pressed against my hands on the tile.
It’s quiet outside this little prison. The buzzing of the engines continues like the running down of a giant timer. My heart aches as I think of Rowan, as I think of Ava if Rowan is killed. She’ll be devastated. They’re going to blame Cal. A cramp hits my stomach, and I ball my fists. I can’t let this happen!
Climbing up slowly, I’m ready to start pulling and pushing again when something hits the door with a loud SMACK! I jump back with a cry, eyes wide. Are they here? I scramble to the back wall.
“Reggie?” I call, my voice shaking. Fisting my hands, I shove them again under my arms. That Wade fucker will not cut off my fingers! My eyes fly around the room looking for anything I can use to defend myself. They cleaned everything out of here before locking me inside. I don’t even have a cup.
My mind lights when I see the back of the toilet. Quietly, I lift the heavy ceramic cover from the tank and hold it like a bat over my shoulder. The doors continue to shake, moving back and forth, and I hear what sounds like sawing.
“Reggie?” I say again, a little more confidence in my tone. “Is that you?”
Moving carefully, I step to the side where I expect a head to appear. My only chance is to swing this slab of porcelain as hard as I can in the direction of his head.
A loud thud lets me know the ropes have broken. My heart seizes in my chest, and my arms quiver with fear. It’s now or never. The doors fly open, and I scream as loud as I can while swinging the toilet lid with all my might.
“Zelda!” A voice shouts, catching the side of the lid and deflecting it away.
It flies from my hands and cracks into two large pieces on the floor tiles. I’m about to make a dive for one of them when my arm is jerked back roughly, and I turn to find myself face to face with…
“Seth!” I whisper-shriek.
“God dammit, Zelda!” He barks, pulling me out of the bathroom. “What the hell are you trying to do? Kill me?”
“Yes!” I say, shaking all over. “I thought you were Reggie. Or Wade!”
“Come on—we don’t have time.” He starts out of the bedroom, but I’m hesitant to follow him.
“Why are you here?”