Perfect (Rewrite)

Chapter Sixty

    "Are we all clear on what's going down?" David asked, clicking his flashlight on. Apparently there were five of them in his bedroom closet; Chloe wanted to check the others' for more supplies, but everyone else voted against it for the time being. Escaping was too important to waste their precious time on pointless tasks.

    Each of them clicked their own flashlights on and nodded; then Chloe bent down and unlocked the floorboard door. "Ready?" She asked, the ticking sound filled the room. She swung her foot over the ledge and climbed down the later. Chloe shined her flashlight around, searching for the string to turn the light on. Once she did, the room illuminated and the ticking clock's sound grew with intensity. It towered over her by at least a foot, an old grandfather clock; the kind that was used in scary movies. She looked up to the others and said, "All clear."

    Margaret joined her first in the small basement like room; they waited for David and Jacob at the bottom of the ladder. David wasted no time and approached the door. He looked into the hallway and then jiggled the knob. "What can we use to break it down?"

    "A chair?" Jacob suggested, but David shook his head.

    "There's no way that will work."

    Chloe looked around the room, a shelf lined one of the walls. She picked up the notebooks sitting on top of them, one for each of them, their names printed across the cover. The book opened flawlessly, page after page was turned, revealing things about Chloe's past that she couldn't even remember on her own. Her childhood dog, the name of her best friend, Lainey, and the first boy she ever fell in love with, Derek Sheffield. It was fascinating yet disturbing at the same time.

    She picked up Jacob's book and stared at the top of it, his last name was different than she imagined. Renton. Jacob Renton, it sounded too fake to be true. Chloe slipped it into her shirt and tucked the front into her pants, luckily it stuck to her skin so it wasn't as obvious as she feared it to be. Jacob glanced to her with a funny look but didn't question her surreal stance.

    Margaret walked over and checked out the notebooks herself. "Why isn't there one for Jacob?" She asked, glancing in his direction. He shrugged his shoulders and joined them to search for his. Chloe bit her tongue and waited anxiously, it was clear that no one had seen what she had done, but what she had done wasn't smart. Margaret kept her eyes on Jacob, even after he went back to help David solve the locked door problem. She didn't trust him anymore, then again neither did Chloe.

    David groaned and punched the wall, his knuckles bruised. The clock kept ticking, on and on. Chloe stuck her hands on her hips, and then he whispered to her. "You have thirty seconds to leave this room."

    "We need to leave," Chloe said frantically, pawing at the ladder. She climbed up it rapidly and then reached her hand down to help Margaret up. Jacob looked at her as if she were crazy.

    "Twenty," He whispered into her ear. "Nineteen. Eighteen."

    "Hurry!" Chloe shouted after Margaret was standing beside her. David sprung forward and hurried up the ladder.

    "Ten. Nine. Eight."

    "Jacob!" Chloe screamed. "Hurry up." He looked back and forth between Chloe and then door; he turned his back to her. "What are you-"

    "Three. Two. One." The trap door swung down shut hard; David pulled chloe away from it.

    "What happened?" He asked, shaking the answer from Chloe.

    "What in the world," Chloe answered, unsure of what had even happened. "He just stood there. He didn't even try to come up."

    "Well," David answered. "I guess he'll have to face the consequences of his actions."

    "How can you say that?" Chloe asked, shaking her head at him, disapproving his words. He was being cruel considering the circumstances. Who knew if they would ever even see him again? For all they knew, Jacob was already dead.