Lauren woke up when she sneezed because of the dust in the room. It took her a while to remember where she was. She looked around. There was only a bit of light coming through the dirty windows, probably from street lamps and the neon signs of the stores, so she was able to see around. She saw the elevator shaft the had climbed in and the two doors that Nick and her hadn't even opened. They had given up looking for an exit and sat down next to a window, leaning against the wall. It was cold for a summer night and she remembered cuddling up close to Nick for warmth. She felt Nick move next to her. She had probably woken him up by sneezing.

"Nick?"

She was answered by a sneeze. Nick opened his eyes and looked around, trying to figure out where he was, just like Lauren had done ten seconds before him. He looked at his watch.

"What time is it?" Lauren asked, too numb to move.

"3 AM. You OK there?"

"Yes, I'm just a little numb. I didn't sleep in a very comfortable position."

"Me neither. I was laying against you." Nick joked.

"You're not funny. Gosh, it's cold in here."

"Tell me about it. It's not that bad for you, you live here. You're used to that kind of climate."

"Poor little Florida boy. I pity you." She said with sacarsm.

"It is always that cold here?"

"No, it's usually warmer but we get cold nights every once in a while. And it had to be tonight, of course."

"Isn't heat supposed to go up? We're on the last floor, shouldn't it be hot in here?"

"I guess it's warmer that the basement. Thank God we climbed up by the elevator shaft. We'd would be frozen if we'd stayed in the basement."

Worry showed in Nick's eyes. "Lauren, what if the guys is still stuck down there?"

"I hope they're not."

"You think we got people looking for us even if they didn't get out either?"

"It's 3 AM, Nick. I haven't come home yet. My parents must be worried sick."

"So they must have sent people to look for us. It's just a matter of time before they find us. And the others too, if they're still in the basement. Which I doubt."

"Nick?" She asked, looking at him straight in the eyes.

"Yes?"

"I don't want to wait. We have to get out. Now."

He stared back at her for a while, then he slowly got up. "Let's try to."

Go to Chapter 18
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