[https://i.imgur.com/ns05w1Y.png]

[https://i.imgur.com/lX8L3zR.png][https://i.imgur.com/43Kx0S6.png]

[Lily]: You spent most of the day following me, so it’s only fair that I follow you now. But I'd rather not be left in the dark about what's happening.

[Yuri]: One second.

Of all the rooms in this hotel, The Trial Chamber is the most airtight. Before the first trial, It was impossible to find an exit even when we tried our hardest to escape.

And yet, when all the lights and the screens were shut down I could still see [Lily]. It shouldn’t have been possible for my eyes to adjust without a light source; if the electricity was cut then sunlight must have trickled in!

As my eyes adjust, I can see the edges of the tables, and then Lily (who even as a silhouette is brilliant as always). But she’s not literally radiant; I keep searching for the light’s true origin.

[Yuri]: Where is it…?

There! The domed ceiling! The artwork is in deep gray shades but it’s brighter than the flat tiles around it.

[Yuri]: That's not painted marble. That’s opaque, frosted, glass.

I drag the stepladder underneath the skylight, and pull out the wrench I had placed in my pocket. Don’t ask me about how hard it is to stitch a skirt with pockets deep enough to hold a metal tool; ask my brother because he's the one who did it for me.

Huh? Did you want to know why I had a wrench instead in the first place?

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

[Lily]: Yuri, why did you have a wrench in your pocket?

[Yuri]: Because I knew we'’d need it later.

Well, I had filched it from the toolbox expecting to use it as a weapon, for self-defense. But she doesn’t need to know that.

[Yuri]: Hand me the tape?

[Lily]: Okay….

I roll the duct tape so it completely covers the skylight above me. When I pound the tape with the wrench, the glass above it will break and stick to it rather than crumble down on top of my head. Then all I need to do is peel the sealant away.

I bash the pane a couple times with the wrench. The shards do stick, but then the binding doesn’t adhere fully to the ceiling. It slowly unsticks, and the entire glass/tape amalgamation just barely misses my head and crashes onto the floor.

Ah. That probably could have killed me.

[Lily]: Yuri! What are you doing?

[Yuri]: Don’t worry, don't worry, all according to the plan.

[https://i.imgur.com/g03PBvx.png][https://i.imgur.com/lMfVeuH.png]

I’m breathing fresh air; and sunlight comes down unobstructed from the hole. It’s bright enough for me to see all the little details in Lily’s upset face.I more carefully remove the remaining shards around the edges and use the tape again to pad the hole’s perimeter, covering any glass I might have missed.

Then I reach up, and pull myself through the gap. Or try to. At this point I am convinced that I’m a medical marvel, the first person with zero-percent muscle in their arms. I’m just kinda hanging out.

[Lily]: I’ll go find the others. You’re incredible, Yuri.

[Yuri]: Wait.

[Yuri]: Like I said before, the reason I’ve been trying so hard to escape is for you. Not for the others, though I still think we should go back for them.

[Yuri]: But… before we fetch them… can we at least check outside? The two of us?

She sighs. Footsteps. Then a creaking ladder.

I feel her pushing me up; and I lift myself out the rest of the way. I take her hand and pull her too; and then we’re together on the roof.

We find our way to the ground, and then - freedom.