Black Cat

Chapter 11 - "Ugh, I feel...sick!"

The woman was telling them about the Washington Monument in a bored and monotonous tone, and Felicia assumed this woman either hated her job, or was just fed up with her job. Felicia figured it was rather boring and annoying to do a job that repeated the same action several times a day, every day. But that was just her preference, she despised things that repeated itself in a cycle, round and round and round.

Felicia looked down at the medal around her neck in a way to pass the time as this lift ride was going longer than she expected. However, as she looked up she spied beams of bright light coming from Ned's bag and frowned. "What on earth is tha-?" She began to whisper to herself, but the thing emitted a bright light, and she turned her face away and closed her eyes, as the whole lift shook.

She opened her eyes slowly and looked over to Ned, only to see him drop his charred and burnt backpack onto the lift floor. Everyone breathed heavily and quickly as panic seemed to slowly set into them all. The group all looked at each other in fear and shock. "Oh my god!" Flash said slowly, and Felicia could tell he was scared just from his tone of voice. "Look at the ceiling!"

Everyone looked up to see a circle on the lift ceiling, but the line that made it look extremely hot and looked almost like molten metal. It looked like something that should've been found at a Blacksmith's, ready and waiting to be welded into it's desired shape. Felicia widened her eyes and let out a breath.

"Just stay calm everyone!" Liz said softly, and Felicia admired her calm and level headed demeanour as Felicia found herself beginning to panic. Felicia wasn't scared of lifts, she just hated them. But the situation they were currently in - it wasn't just a lift. It was most likely a broken lift as whatever the glowy thing was, it was clearly dangerous and explosive.

And Felicia knew from the film Speed with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in it, that explosive things in lifts only caused the lift in question to break and fall. That was one of her worst nightmares. Abe then decided it was the perfect time to tell them that they were all probably going to die.

Felicia pressed herself against the lift wall and looked towards Liz. "What was that about being fine and 'perfectly safe', Liz?" Felicia questioned the woman as her heart began to race within her ribcage. Felicia leant her head back and closed her eyes. "Oh, I should've stayed on the ground with MJ!"

"Are you scared of lifts?" Ned asked her in confusion, and all eyes landed on her.

"She isn't." Flash clarified for them all. "She just hates them."

"And being in this current position-"

"You'll be fine!" Liz nodded at her helpfully. "We'll all be fine." Liz moved to stand between Felicia and Mr Harrington, and began to try and comfort Felicia into calming down. Liz knew that if Felicia didn't have a deep dislike for lifts that she'd also be one of the level headed ones - and she needed Felicia to be calm so they could assure all the others that it was going to be fine. Liz was helping her with regular breathing techniques and assuring her that they'd be fine.

It was working until Charles spoke up.

"We're fricking screwed!" Charles said as he looked up at the ceiling, and Liz turned round and glared at him as Felicia faced him with wide eyes.

"Okay guys." The woman with the monotonous voice began to say in what she seemed to think was a soothing tone - but it really wasn't. "I know that was scary but our safety systems are working. We're very safe in here!" And Felicia couldn't help it, she just snapped and looked at the woman.

"The fact that you sound very bored right now does not put me, or anyone else at ease!" Felicia snapped. "Not to mention there are six deaths associated with lifts every year! What we need to do is get out of this lift, right now."Liz smiled softly, she knew that level headed Felicia was still there.