Chapter 30 The Theme Of The Competition
The tension in the elevator thickened as each minute dragged on. Christina’s eyes never left her phone, hoping for a flicker of signal to break the suffocating silence. Her mind raced with potential solutions, but they all seemed futile in the face of their current predicament.
The injured woman, now clutching the tissue that Christina had given her, seemed to be in worse condition by the minute. Blood still seeped from her forehead, and the thin tissue had quickly soaked through. Her breaths were shallow, and she looked pale, the pain evident on her face.
Tina, on the other hand, was still cursing under her breath, though she had quieted down since Christina’s warning. Her once confident, mocking demeanor had melted away, replaced by a frightened look that she couldn’t hide.
Christina pressed the phone against her ear again, dialing the emergency number once more, but there was still no signal. The elevator’s slow, almost deliberate descent only added to the unnerving stillness, as if it were mocking their helplessness.
“Come on…” Christina muttered to herself, her hand tightening around the phone. Her thoughts kept drifting to the competition and what was happening back on the second floor. How much time had passed since they got stuck? An hour? More? She had no idea, and that uncertainty gnawed at her.
“We need to stay calm,” she said, her voice steady despite the rising panic inside her. “Panicking won’t help us. We need to think of a way to get out of here. Someone will notice soon.” She hoped her own words would provide some comfort, but it was clear that they weren’t having much effect. Tina still trembled, and the other designer was holding her head in her hands, clearly on the verge of a breakdown.
The lack of air felt heavier with each passing second, and the confined space seemed to shrink around them, suffocating the three women. Time felt like it was stretching, and the walls seemed to press in closer, each breath a little more labored than the last.
“Why won’t anyone come?” The injured woman’s voice was shaky, but her fear was palpable. “This isn’t happening…”
Christina moved closer to the woman, instinctively offering some comfort despite their rivalry. “It’ll be okay,” she whispered, though she didn’t quite believe her own words. “We just need to hold on.”
Tina shot Christina a glare, but it was tinged with fear. “This is all your fault! If you weren’t here, we wouldn’t be stuck in this hellhole!”
Christina’s patience was wearing thin, but she fought to keep her cool. “Arguing will only waste more time. If you really care about your life, you’ll stop blaming me and focus on getting out.”
Tina fell silent, though she didn’t look any less furious. The silence in the elevator was deafening once again, broken only by the sound of heavy breathing and the occasional scrape of movement as the others shifted uncomfortably.
As the minutes passed, Christina’s mind remained sharp, searching for any sign of hope. She kept her focus on her phone, her eyes flicking to the screen every few seconds, silently praying for a connection. But just as the situation seemed to reach a breaking point, a faint flicker of hope appeared: the signal bars on her phone began to slowly increase.
“Yes!” Christina muttered under her breath, her heart leaping with the slightest bit of hope. She quickly dialed the emergency number once more, desperately willing the call to connect.
Seconds stretched out like hours as the phone rang, but then, finally, a voice answered on the other end.
“Emergency services. How can I assist you?”
Christina almost sighed with relief. “We’re trapped in an elevator,” she explained quickly, her voice urgent. “We need help, immediately. We’re on the twenty-third floor of the Golden Rose Holiday Hotel. The elevator’s malfunctioning.”
“Understood,” the operator responded, their tone professional but calm. “Help is on the way. Stay calm and remain where you are. We’ll have someone there as quickly as possible.”
Christina didn’t waste another second. “Thank you!” she said, almost choking on her words. She hung up and looked up at the others, her voice filled with urgency. “Help is on the way. Just hold on a little longer.”
Tina shot her a look of disbelief, but Christina didn’t care anymore. She had done what she could. Now it was a waiting game, and all they could do was hold on. The sense of impending relief washed over her, but the tension in the elevator still hung thick.
Christina wiped her brow, breathing deeply, and waited, knowing that every second could make the difference between life and death.