64 Hours

45 h0urs 1/2

I hauled my entire body onto the metallic edge, quivering with effort. I swept a hand over my sweaty forehead and sighed in relief. One up, one to go. 

I was crouched on top of the horizontal elevator, where the doors barely met. Bella was still inside, and I feared that the elevator would give up its position and lead us both to our deaths. 

"Adam!" Bella wailed anxiously, outstretching her hands towards me like she could fly out of the elevator. I noticed that her desperate movements were jiggling the elevator. 

"Stop moving," I hissed and sat still while Bella gulped below. I pondered hard. How was I supposed to get her up here? There was no way she could make that jump. 

I gazed upwards, where the ground floor elevator opening was waiting for us. It was so close that I could just shift my elbows onto it and free myself. But I couldn't leave Bella for a minute, even to get help. 

"Help!" I screamed, hoping the receptionists would hear me. Where the hell was the secretary? No one replied to my eerie cry. We were damned, unless I could think of a heroic plan that would get Bella out of there. We had to try something.

I tore my eyes away from the holy exit and met Bella's petrified pupils instead. I could tell that she was willing to have pins and needles protruding from her skin just to get out of there. 

"Okay." I exhaled. "Okay. I'm going to extend my hands to you from up here, as far as I can, and I want you to try your best to jump and hold on to the. Can you manage that?" 

Bella didn't speak, but nodded to confirm the plan. I leaned down face-to-face with the elevated doors and let my hands dangle below into the exterior. Goodbye hands. 

I was about to count down before Bella wasted no time leaped into the air and attempting to grab my extended hands, swiping the air only inches away from me. She collapsed back on the floor, and moaned in defeat. 

"That was unaccounted for, I wasn't even ready. Try again," I urged, flapping my hands wildly. Bella scrabbled back onto her feet, and wiped her hands on her grubby jeans. I watched as she looked up at me with renewed confidence. It was my turn to nod. 

"Now!"

Bella pounced into the air with surprising energy and latched a hand onto my wrist. I felt like the skin on my hands were being torn off. Still in a scintillating position mid-air, legs dangling below her, she grabbed my other hand with hers. 

I was struggling to maintain my place, feeling all the blood rush from my head to my arms. I was already slipping - so were Bella's hands. My watch was shedding the skin on my wrist under Bella's excruciating grasp. 

"Pull!" she yelped, and I swallowed a load of air. Using every scrap of strength I had left, I gritted my teeth and began to pull her astonishing weight up. 

Right when I was about to give up and respond to my weakness, Bella caught hold of the elevator door and helped me get her up. I cupped her waist and pushed it to my side, and she finally fell on top of me, squashing me flat. 

"Wow," she muttered breathlessly and locked her sight on the glowing exit. She ignored me as I groaned beneath her and jumped onto the ledge of the ground floor. My niece disappeared through the light, but then seemed to remember me and came back. "Come on." 

I told her to wait, and she did. Somehow I managed to rise to my feet - and as soon as I did, I regretted it. 

The elevator scraped down by a couple of centimeters, leaving the exit further away. If I didn't leave now, all hell would break loose.