No Escape by Maren Stoffels

Author:Maren Stoffels [Stoffels, Maren]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2024-04-02T00:00:00+00:00

BEAU

Lexi is kissing me as if it’s the last thing she’ll ever do. She presses herself closer to me, her lips exploring mine.

And then, as suddenly as she began, she stops.

The walls are creaking again.

Lexi grabs my arm, but this time the walls are moving away from us, as if the tide is slowly going out.

“What was…?” I say, but Lexi shakes her head.

“Not a word about this.” With a rough swipe of her hand, she wipes her mouth. “And you can take that grin off your face.”

I hadn’t even realized I was smiling!

Lexi takes a step back, as if she’s afraid we might kiss again.

I think back to a meet-and-greet. One of the fans suddenly leaned forward and put her lips on mine. Before Benji could intervene, her tongue was already in my mouth. She tasted sickly sweet, her lips sticky with lip balm.

I was so stunned that I didn’t push her away at first. Benji literally had to pull her off me.

I glance at Lexi, who is walking backward with the wall. This kiss felt very different.

“So what now?” I hear Lexi say. The walls slide a little farther, and then there’s a final click. It’s such a wonderful sound that the last slivers of fear melt away.

The click is followed by another sound, coming from above. When I tilt my head back, I see a small hatch open in the ceiling. I hadn’t even noticed it was there.

A projector descends into the room, and then an image appears on the concrete wall. It’s a forest with tall pine trees swaying gently in the wind. For a moment, it’s like I’m really standing outside. Just for that instant, I feel free.

But then there’s a faint clattering.

What is that?

I look down and see another projection on the floor. We’re standing on what looks like a railroad track.

When I look to the right, I see the tracks continue. In the distance, headlights are approaching.

The train…

I’m about to step aside, but the tracks are as wide as the space we’re standing in. It’s impossible to escape.

The train is coming closer and closer.

Is this how Kelly…?

I turn to ask Lexi, but she’s not there. She’s sitting in a corner of the room, pressing herself against the wall. Her arms are over her head like a shield, and she’s trembling.

“Lexi?”

At that moment, the train arrives. There’s the sound of a horn and I see a flash of the driver, his face twisted in fear.

I know it’s fake, but it feels like all the air is knocked right out of my lungs. I stagger as the train passes through me.

I just stand there for a moment, even after the train is long gone.

The clattering stops, and silence descends like mist.

I head to the corner of the room and reach out my hand to Lexi but leave it hanging midway. Maybe she doesn’t want me to comfort her.

“Are you okay?” I ask quietly. There’s no reaction.

“Lexi?”

Still no answer.

What if she gives up?

I can see why she would.

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