“Asuka! This way!”
That voice!
I followed the voice through the darkness until eventually I could see a section of the floor lowering, about three by six feet. Soon, there was a hole in the floor of the stage.
I didn’t have time to think, so I tugged Minatsu’s arm, urging her to follow me. She was startled.
I nodded to her. “Sorry about this,” I said, hoisting her up and holding her in my arms.
“Come down, six feet.”
I could hear the voice coming from within the hole. Holding Minatsu, I plunged down onto the stage.
I felt weightless for a moment, before gravity pulled me down.
Tap!
Just as the voice told me, there was a floor about six feet under where the hole was.
I stuck the landing!
And though it was dark, I was able to land unscathed thanks to the voice coming from the darkness.
“This way!”
I heard the voice again, whispering to me. I put down Minatsu, and the two of us ran toward the source of the voice.
“Wh-what’s going on…?” Minatsu whispered to me.
“I’m not sure, but I think…”
We followed a figure that was running up ahead of us into a different room. Once we were inside, the person finally turned around to face us.
“I’m glad you two are okay.”
The figure turned on a small light, and both Minatsu and I went wide-eyed.
“Yukimura! And President Shiori! I thought I recognized your voices, but…what are you two doing here?”
“We can’t stay here for long, so we’ll explain that later,” Yukimura whispered, as she listened for what was going on outside.
“What was that hole that opened up in the stage?”
“Oh, that’s a trapdoor. It’s used to make performers disappear mid-show in an instant. Oh, and we left some dry ice going up there, so it’s making a little smokescreen. They shouldn’t be able to find us anytime soon.”
So that was that cold breeze.
“Let’s get moving,” President Shiori told us, and we all nodded.