Everyone left the dance floor and made their escape from the building. The Braw Agents raced towards the elevator, but when they got to it, they ran into a problem. Three people were already inside the elevator. This wouldn’t have been a big deal if it weren’t for the sign stating that only ten people can use it at a time. “Do you want to come in?” asked one of the men. “Yes, but we just realised there’s eight of us,” explained Rita. “That’s fine, I can get out,” stated the same man as he took a step toward the elevator door. “Don’t worry, I can take the stairs,” stated Bobby. The Braw Agents turned their eyes to him with uncertainty. “I don’t mind taking the stairs. I’ll see you near the bus,” he added. “Okay, bye,” replied Hannah.

After that brief exchange of words, Bobby left the other Braw Agents. He ran towards the stairs while his friends entered the elevator to be enclosed behind the silver doors. Bobby scurried down each flight of stairs, not paying attention to his surroundings. However, he kept his hand on the handrail and watched his feet as he quickly moved down the stairs. Within a matter of seconds, Bobby had reached the first floor, but he wasn’t there for long. He sprinted towards the glass doors and exited the building. Once he arrived at the car park, he quickly found the bus, even though it was dark outside. Narvy had the key, so Bobby couldn’t enter the bus upon his arrival. All he could do was wait patiently outside, which wasn’t a problem since his friends would be down shortly.

Meanwhile, the elevator lowered its passengers smoothly as it descended, but that didn’t last long. An ear-piercing sound echoed across the contraption out of nowhere. It sounded like two pieces of rusty metal sliding against each other. Suddenly it stopped. So did the motion of the elevator. The lights also left the scene. “What just happened?” asked Elsa. “I think the elevator’s stopped working,” answered Narvy. Fear crept into the minds of everyone. Nobody knew how close the fire was to the elevator and it had malfunctioned at the worst time possible. “Maybe it’s not broken, just stuck,” suggested Beth, as she walked towards the button panel. Fortunately, the numbers were etched into the buttons, so she didn’t need any light to distinguish them. She pressed the Level 1 button, gave it a moment, but nothing happened. Beth repeated this process several times, but the elevator didn’t respond to any of the buttons being pressed. “Yep, it’s broken,” confirmed Beth.

“Is there an escape hatch somewhere?” asked Edward. “Maybe, I’m not sure,” replied Oliver. “Well, I’m going to find it,” announced Edward. He started to investigate the ceiling, hoping to find some gaps or hinges that meant the existence of a door. “Let’s just wait here until someone rescues us,” suggested Rita. In a situation like this, Rita would have been okay with breaking out. But since nobody had their weapons on hand, waiting for help was all they could do.

Half an hour passed, and Bobby began to question the whereabouts of his friends. He reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone. Is everything okay? he asked Narvy via text message. Bobby didn’t expect to get a reply so soon, but he did. Thanks for the message. We really need your help. The elevator broke down and we’re trapped inside it, replied Narvy in his message. Don’t worry, I’ll come now, texted Bobby.

He left the bus and raced back to the venue. Even though the venue now contained a raging fire, Bobby was glad to return, mainly because it was getting cold outside. He ran to the entrance of the elevator and tried to get the passengers’ attention. “NARVY, HANNAH, CAN YOU HEAR ME?” he shouted. After not receiving a response, Bobby figured that the elevator had not stopped near the first floor, so he made his way up the venue floor by floor, continuing to call out for his friends. Fortunately, he found his friends on the third floor, so he didn’t have to navigate a fiery maze. “BOBBY,” shouted Narvy. His voice seemed to come from below the floor. It turned out that the elevator was awkwardly stuck between the third and second floors. “CAN YOU TELL A SECURITY GUARD THAT THE ELEVATOR BROKE DOWN?” shouted Narvy. “AND GET THEM TO CALL A TECHNICIAN.” “SURE,” Bobby shouted back.

Bobby quickly found a security guard and reported the situation to him. He immediately called a technician, much to Bobby’s relief. Within five minutes, two men wearing hi-viz came to the third floor, but it wasn’t long before they left again. Even with a fire raging, the technicians still made their way to the highest floor. Bobby ran back to the elevator to pass the good news on to his friends. “DON’T WORRY,” he shouted. “THE TECHNICIANS ARE HERE NOW,” he added. “AWESOME. WE’LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN THE ELEVATOR’S WORKING AGAIN,” replied Hannah.

Meanwhile, the technicians were figuring out how to fix the elevator. They had dealt with broken elevators before, but they didn’t know which part needed repair. Cables, ropes, and the position of the elevator were all being investigated. After an hour’s work, the elevator was up and running. The lights had come on and the buttons were functioning once more. “IT’S FIXED,” shouted Hannah. “OKAY. I’LL SEE YOU ON THE FIRST FLOOR,” replied Bobby.

Hannah pressed the Level 1 button and the Braw Agents glided down to the first floor. Bobby ran down the stairs once more and saw his friends exit the elevator. They all seemed happy to be free from the contraption. “Finally, we’re out,” stated Elsa with a great deal of relief. “Yeah, I don’t know if I could have stayed in there for much longer,” commented Narvy. “Let’s just go to the bus,” said Bobby. They left the venue and made their way to the bus. Once Narvy unlocked it, everyone went inside.

“Should we go back to Fluvaria now?” asked Bobby. “Well, it’s really late. I think we should just stay here for the night,” answered Narvy. “I created the upstairs sleeping quarters for situations like this,” he added. “Alright,” agreed Bobby, “and we can go back to Fluvaria tomorrow.” “Yep,” replied Narvy. “If it’s safe to go to the venue tomorrow, I’d like to go in and learn about the incident before we go. I’m curious how that fire started,” he added. After some brief conversation, the Braw Agents climbed the ladder upstairs and went to bed. They weren’t prepared to stay the night in Bytari, since they had been going to drive home earlier in the evening had complications not arisen. Everyone tried to relax in their beds, despite their uncomfortable clothing. Eventually, all the Braw Agents fell asleep, even Narvy, who had a lot of thoughts running through his head.