The Change

The Trials Part 2

B: "Shit! Grab your rope and come to my side, dangle it for me to climb up"
In less than a minute I was on the rafter with him pulling Hale up 20 feet.
B: "Lower me to Z, I'll check her out and bring her up"
H: "What if she hurts you?"
B: "oh wow does Hale care for a change?" I said as Zach lowered me to her.
H: "Shut up Blaze"
B: "Will do sexy"

This is the odd and confusing relationship I have with Hale, just friends, but plenty of sexual tension and asshole sarcasm shared between us. I guess it's just the type of people we are.

B: "she's unconscious but breathing, I'll check her for wounds and try to wake her up, you guys look for a way out of this place"
Z: "copy that"

They began to search the roof for holes, latches, any way to get out, they also collected the bags and equipment from the rooms repelling and climbing from the rafters like the monkey game we played when we first tried this. There were what we think were parents then, except we haven't seen them since we turned six.

B: "Zelda, Z get up, I know you're in there, Z come on I don't want to make you smell the stuff that wakes you up, besides we have to get out of here."

Not even a blink from her

B: I whispered "Zach is waiting to hug you in the rafters"

And just like that she was up, I was the only one who knew she liked him, as someone with social anxiety she found Zach's already loving character extremely comforting. And once she came to...

Z: "Holy **** what happened to me!? Blaze why do I look like Elsa!?"
B: "I wish I could tell you but it looks like we have the same, like, power thing at least"
Z: "but you've had it for 3 years, I don't understand it yet"
B: "you'll get used to it, I just wish I knew what it did"
Zach: "Z, Blaze, u okay?"
ZB: "yeah"
H: "alright then get your asses up here and help us"
B: "Zelda you first, we don't know how stable you are"

She started climbing, for the most part without problem, I went after, feeling my hands burn against the rope. Searching the boards, screws and other details or the roof to look for a way out.

H: "have you noticed that there are no screws around the roof, like it's just set on top of the building"
Zach: "yeah it's odd"
Z: "it would be to heavy to lift right?"
Zach: "for sure, way too heavy"
H: "besides, whoever did this wouldn't make it so easy, we should look for little details"
B: "oh dear Hale, do you by any chance mean like on of our books being flipped upside down?"
H: "yeah exactly like that, why?"
B: "because Gandalf is here, why the hell do think Hale, one of our books is upside down"
H: "you're cute when you're sarcastic"
B: "you asshat, guys come here, should I take the book off the shelf?"

Their feet take careful steps across the beams to look down at Blaze, Hale looking her tiny figure up and down and then going back to his usual self. All of them now focused on Blaze and the book questioning if it's safe to take off the shelf.

Zach: "Blaze what do you think, pull it or not, after all you'll be the one doing the honors"
Blaze: "Well we either die of starvation because we can't leave the dorm, or we pull this book and possibly die so statistically the odds of pulling the book are better"
Z: "then go ahead blaze"
B: "alright, then grab your belongings and tether yourselves together, we don't know what will happen when I pull it"

They carefully tied the knots they were taught at age 6 around each other. I stood aside by the book, not caring if I get tied in anyways.

B: "you guys set?"
Zach: "yeah"

Gently setting my hand on the book and slowly sliding it off the shelf. "Eeeeeeer" went the walls as they slid into the floors, I sat there stunned that it worked.

Z: "Guys something is wrong"