"This is just great! I've always wanted to be trapped in a Russian elevator for my summer with my co-workers, my sister's ex's sister, and a couple of kids including the ice cream twerp! It's just what I wanted to do all summer!"
"Well, look on the...
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Chapter Sixteen: Rude Wakeup Call
(The Sauna Test, Pt. 2)
***
It was the walkie that woke up Cami.
Cami had felt confusion when the crackle of the walkie registered to her sleep-hazy brain, before it shifted into annoyance when she now heard the words coming over—and who was saying them. Because seriously, could the boys not leave them alone for sleeping for a few minutes? And yes, Cami was a morning person, but that didn't mean she, like any teenager, wanted to sleep in during summer and felt annoyance when that was denied.
"Do you copy? This is a Code Red. I repeat, this is a Code Red," Lucas' voice said over the walkie, not registering Cami's annoyance and telepathic demands for him to shut up. "Max. Do you copy? This is a Code Red."
Apparently, Cami wasn't alone in being rudely waken up by the walkie, as Max leaned over to grab it and said irritably, "Shut. Up," before switching it off and falling back into her pillows. Next to her and Cami, El was blinking awake, but Cami rested a hand on El's shoulder and mumbled, "Don't worry about getting up, El. It's sorted."
Her friend nodded, falling back into the pillows as Cami readjusted her cap, not caring about the rogue curls that had slipped up and were, by some miracle, dry, as she closed her eyes, prepared to catch some sleep.
Unfortunately, sleep was denied yet again when Max's phone began ringing.
"You've got to be kidding me," Max grumbled as she threw off the covers and stomped up to it, picking it up and snapping, "I'm sleeping. Go away."
"This is Mike. Do not hang up," Mike's muffled voice said, and now Cami's irritation faded as Max's did too, the curly-haired girl sharing a look with El as Mike went on, "Something happened, something bad. Our very lives could be at stake."
"What are you talking about?" Max asked.
"Just come over to my house. We'll explain everything," Mike replied.
"What?" Max questioned, still confused.
"Hurry," Mike said, and then he hung up.
Max stared at the phone before looking back to Cami and El, as El asked, "What did he say?"
"He said something happened, and we need to get over to his house, so they can explain," Max reported.
El frowned as Cami bit her lip, her feeling returning full-force. If the boys had been this desperate to get in contact with them...
Something must be wrong, then.
"What should we do, then?" Cami asked, because even if it could be right, Cami wanted to be wrong, she wanted to have hope her summer could still be fun and normal.
"Check it out, I guess," Max responded, letting Cami know she felt the exact same way. Neither girl needed to look at El to know she agreed with them.
So they got out and got ready, Cami never more glad she'd remembered to grab an extra pair of clothes, bra and underwear before heading over to El's two nights ago and grabbing them for here last night.
When they were all ready, they rushed out of the house, barely sparing time for hellos to Max's mom or grab something to eat, hopping onto the bikes and immediately racing to Mike's house on Maple Street. And as they biked, Cami tried to be positive, that maybe it was a false alarm, that everything was fine and Mike was wrong. That her feeling, her gut, was wrong.
And yet, when they arrived and headed into the basement and saw the looks on the boys' faces—saw the look on Will's—Cami knew then that it was no false alarm. That no amount off positivity and optimistic lying to herself could change the situation.
And she had been very, very right in feeling that there was something wrong.
***
A short chapter, I know. But I promise the next one will be longer!
Yup, it is officially confirmed for Cami that she had been right in feeling that something's very wrong. And she'll learn why even more later...
Next chapter is back with Scoops Troop! Are you guys ready for the chaos? >:)
