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Having his hand in mine made me feel braver, as if I could face this without fear. The other guys moved in closer, Riven standing on my other side, not touching me, but I could still feel his presence all the same. Micah and Lake stood behind us.
The weak beams of our phone flashlights didn’t give much coverage, but I spotted a janitor’s closet.
“Do you think they’ll have real flashlights or supplies in there?” I asked as I started to walk.
“Probably not, but I bet the security office would,” Riven said as he turned and walked the other way. The others didn’t separate from me as we rifled through the old chemicals and cleaning supplies. A bright beam of light had us shielding our eyes and turning around.
“I feel like I should be offended that none of you trusted me. I’m always right,” Riven said as he held out a flashlight to me, keeping the other one securely in his hand.
“Thanks,” I said.
As my fingers brushed his, a spark of electricity danced across my skin. His breath caught, but he didn’t say anything, and neither did I. It was nice to know he was just as affected as I was.
“It would be something to do with that day,” Lake said, still stuck on the puzzle of it all. “But I don’t remember coming inside. He said it was in here.”
“No, we did come inside,” I corrected. “We only had dollar bills on us, and we had to get change. I tried to let go of Drew as I ran ahead, but he didn’t let me, his hand clinging to mine and following me up the stairs to the second level.
It was a lounge area overlooking the lobby, a row of windows on one side gave enough muddy light to make it seem a little less intimidating.
The old vending machines were still here but they were dark and damaged, cracks lining the front.
“How did I forget this?” Lake said, laughing. “We had to get sodas so we had enough change to put on the tracks. I remember me and Everett arguing about whether a train could smash a can. I said it would just launch it, he said it would flatten it.”
“What did it do?” Drew asked, looking at both of us.
Lake and I shared a look before we both burst out into laughter.
“I have no fucking clue. I can’t remember,” I answered.
Lake shrugged, still chuckling to himself. “Agreed. I have no idea.”
“Too late to figure it out now,” Riven said. “What if he put it in the soda machine?”
Micah shook his head. “That doesn’t feel like a smart idea. What if they got rid of these?”
“He might have put it there,” I said, pointing at the chair rail that ran along the length of the wall, stopping just before the alcove. You could see the gap where the end cap had come off.
I moved closer and used the beam of light to try to see behind it. There was something there, the green catching in the light, but it was too far in for me to see exactly what it was.
“Care for a little more vandalism?” I asked Riven. He looked as unamused as ever, but he did walk forward.
Riven put his fingers inside the gap and pulled. His muscles strained as he put his strength into it. The rail groaned and protested before snapping off completely, sending him tumbling on his ass.
If it was anyone else I might have laughed. I rushed forward and held out a hand, as if my small frame could help him to his feet. He waved off my assistance and stood on his own.
“Got it,” Lake said. Apparently, he wasn’t focused on Riven but on the note.
He waved the small green envelope for us to see.
“The front says ‘Do not open until you’re playing the game.’ We’ll have to save it for later.”
Even though we’d found it, I turned my eyes back to Riven, worried that he might have hurt himself. A drop of red hit the ground and I noticed he was standing strange, his balance off as he tried not to cradle it.
I rushed forward, yanking his hand from his side to inspect the damage. There was a long jagged cut running down the side of his middle finger. I cursed and dug into my bag, looking for anything that might help.
The only thing I had was a pack of tissues. I tore it open and wrapped a chunk of them around his finger and held on tightly, hoping the pressure would stop the bleeding. We’d have to clean it when we got home, who knew what that old, rusty metal could do.
Riven’s eyes were locked onto me as I worked and I glanced up, meeting his stare.
